Hello @Michael, I do believe that students in a classroom do have a better learning experience than online students, because during face to face interactions, an alert student is able to catch the subtle nuances, and things that are not verbally expressed. But formal education seems to get so expensive, and if we cannot afford classroom experiences (like formal learning at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard), I believe that online courses are the next best thing, and I wouldn't hesitate to avail myself to these opportunities if needed.  Thanks.

It would be determined by the categories that define "better".  Likert scales with various categories such as peer social interactions,face to face interactive educational involvement with peers and satisfaction, and formal structured class environment might rate high with some students.  However, there are some students who feel that they have a "better"  learning experience due to success in independent learning experiences and ability to succeed through intrinsic oriented focus.  They key is what is better and how it is defined and valued or devalued by each type of student. 

Students in class room receive the better environment for study with the understanding & the detail explanation of his study .Besides for his study with the better guideline,training & explanation of  the teacher he can gain & opportunity to prepare his own study notebooks.

With this class room study a student can understand & revise his study in a better comfortable way so that he may not experience ,hardship ,& tension of any study material .

With this student in classroom have better training than the online students.However for the higher study we cannot afford to neglect online students on computer base as not only they may get their fast working in their preparation at the same time for the higher study even '' GOOGLE '' acts as an encyclopedia .

This is my personal opinion 

Dear Michael W. Marek,

In my opinion students in a classroom have a better learning experience, because they can always ask the professor if there is something unclear. They can discuss topics with colleagues. The living word is the word. In my opinion blended learning is the real deal.

Please find attached article, very interesting.

This is my personal opinion

I have to agree with https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Harshvardhan_Singh. There are so many variable in each format that makes a huge difference each way. I think when we have an online course, it is advantageous to work in assignments that get the student out into the workplace interacting with working professionals. I have found this to be reported by students as extremely helpful, both in terms of learning and in terms of getting to know the people and field they are wanting to work in. 

Please read the 2 articles below: 

1. Pellas, N. & Kazanidis, I. (2014). Online and hybrid university-level courses with the utilization of Second Life: Investigating the factors that predict student choice in Second Life supported online and hybrid university-level courses. Computers in Human Behavior, 40(2), 31-43.

2. Pellas, N. & Kazanidis, I. (2015). On the value of Second Life for students’ engagement in blended and online courses: A comparative study from the Higher Education in Greece. Education and Information Technologies, 20(3), 445–466.

Regards

NP

Blended education combines the intimacy and face-to-face interaction of a physical classroom with the flexibility and convenience of an online one.

I agree with you Dr Kiran

Thanks for your blended opinion.

yes

Mike Allen and colleagues published a meta analysis in 2006 where they compared Distance education with face-to-face. They found no differences in general when it comes to learning. The differences are related to individual learning styles. Some prefer distance education and learn better that way. Others prefer face-to-face education and learn better that way.

I would say yes because there is noting better than face to face exchange of communication which allows observation of body language apart from actively listening to the spoken word. 

I believe the answer is Yes

I strongly believe that in class room teaching , the student interact with teacher to get solution to their problems. Also student learn the teaching methodology to how to disseminate to students in class room to pursue the teaching ethics. In class room the qualities of teaching and teacher are perceived by students. Online teaching have its benefit to save time and comfort of student to study when they are free but in classroom the discipline is followed by teachers.

Navigating formal schooling in the 60's and 70's, I was always fascinated by the rule bound classroom protocols employed by some of my more memorable teachers to deal effectively with student learning styles. Unwittingly, personality types tended to serendipitously determine the seating arrangements as well as the visual and auditory agency of the students in the classroom, sometimes to the chagrin of teachers unconcerned with such details or perhaps convinced democratic principles should apply to the organizational dynamics of their classroom. In any case, the loud, boisterous, self confident children who latched onto every classroom conversation like it was their last got top billing in the front rows while the more reserved, contemplative and introspective children gravitated to the periphery. Some of my more memorable teachers were quite skilled at understanding and accommodating these dynamics, not from a position of authority or as a desperate attempt to create order amongst the chaos, but more from the perspective of a symphony conductor insistent on hearing as much from the cello and flute players as the string and brass section. In other words, they let you know when it was time to make some noise. how much and how loud was up to you as long as it contributed meaningfully to the composition. I guess the question becomes one of determining whether virtual learning environments have changed the tempo and meter of the music being played and I believe it has in a significant way.

The relationship between individual learning styles and the effectiveness of any learning design and implementation process, whether F2F or virtual, is a key consideration in the experience of learning. To my mind, behavioral modelling of the introvert as opposed to the extrovert in a traditional classroom setting has some interesting permutations when applied to a virtual setting. The linked article by Offir et al. (2007) provide some interesting comparisons between cognitive styles and achievement levels in both F2F and virtual learning environments. I've come to believe, however, that attempts to valuate the learning experience as a matter of context (F2F or Virtual) is somewhat akin to comparing apples and oranges if concerns are focused on nurturing  individual learning processes (formative) and not preoccupied with assessing prescribed learning designs (summative). In that respect, blended and flipped classroom models provide some interesting avenues for reconciling such debates.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08923640701298613

According to me, students in the classroom have a better learning experience than online students. Because, in class room teaching, the student can interact with teacher to get solution to their problems and more effective learning can be provided with face-to-face training.

as Harshvardhan Singh,   plus a note :

a proposal action to come is a good and flexible weighted average of these components towards their fusion. In other words, a traditional classroom teacher must try to include the "e-classroom of online students" as an additional or extended team towards a new era of a challenging fusion classroom, using fusion tools.

There's a problem with the way you've framed the issue.  There are a range of F2F classes -- some good some bad -- where the average is, is not really known.  The same is true of online -- some very good, and some bad.  I can compare a bad F2F course with a good online one.  Online wins.  Can do the opposite and then Online looses.   You're trying to use a mile-wide paintbrush to paint a room.  It's not effective, accurate, or reasonable.  

When I see that type of comparison either asked or offered, I know that there's a lack of perspective of the range of options in online and a lack of remembering those bad face-to-face classes we've all experienced.

According to me, classroom teaching or face-to-face teaching can gives the valuable and better learning experiences than online instructions to the students, because, teaching is more than simple instruction. In face-to-face teaching, a personal bond is established between the teacher and the students. The students can learn in a direct touch of the teacher and can learn the information, knowledge, skills, attitudes, beliefs, values etc. that is very difficult in online learning.  

In my experience, covering two decades, including helping to create the first virtual high school in the US, there's a strong bond created in the online learning environment.  We consistently hear both students and teachers tell us they know their counterparts better in their online course than in any of their F2F courses.  It's all in the design.  Some designs both in F2F and online don't contribute to creating a personal connection, while others do.  There's not a singular model.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses. In fact blended learning too. A teacher's experience in the respective domain and the student's level of familiarity really makes a difference in determining their likes and dislikes. Each system can strive towards perfection.

Hi! Perhaps, or perhaps not. Physical classroom or not? is not the critical question for quality of learning. A physical classroom does however not make it possible for everyone to access, so there is one population students there and another online, each with theire characteristics. "Learning experience" interpreted as "happiness research" may also something else than learning... 

DE in least developing countries is said to offer better teaching facilities than f2f as the student have  not just the verbal instruction but have written study guides and other well designed instruction delivery systems that enhance their learning. DE is certainly delivering more learning to a diversity of learners in convenience of their locations. F2F in overcrowded halls falls short of delivery of effective learning.

Michael I read your question and I said to myself

Hmmm - why do we feel we need to compare face to face with online? 

Then I felt strongly, that right now, we should not compare either because the design strategies, even when used to procure the same effect, they are indeed different.

I still believe that each offering, has its pros and cons and based on what it takes to be successful there are many factors where each would succeed and fail.  The original description of a learner for the online environment has since been ignored and thus we offer online and blended learning to everyone.  Note - we specifically ignore these guides and still offer learning to everyone in this medium. 

So I am challenged by your question, because designing a f2f course using social learning will look differently in an online environment and will also have many factors mediating the design.  As a design researcher, I'm not sure I can generalise at this point to say that one is better than the other.  I can say though that both have numerous areas for improvements and research will assist with this thought.  Technology and diverse contexts and learners are giving us a lot to think about and there is an area where improvement for both is needed.

I think it depends on the student. Some students need to have the interaction f2f based upon their preferences and learning styles. I have had students who were extremely frustrated with a statistics course which was presented online, while others did great without any complaints. I believe students should choose the modality less on convenience and more aligned with their learning style to ensure success. Well designed courses, in either modality, can have equal outcomes. 

I think that online activities are an excellent complement to the F2F course. The best way is to use blended Learning, so that presential courses focusses on exchange activities and projects pedagogical approach. All desciptive activities in classroom can be deployed on online plateforms. This approach permits to optimize F2F time....

We compared the performance of two different modes of delivery: face-to-face mode and online mode of learning. Refer to the enclosed paper, we compared over 2000 students (in two different modes) studying in a MSc programme. Courses in the two modes of study were delivered under the same school calendar, same teachers, same assessments and same examinations. The research results conclude that there are no significant differences in performance between students studying in f2f and online modes.

Article A comparative study of student performance in traditional mo...

The study was conducted with MSc in E-Commerce students in part-time mode. We got accounting and project management students, but we exclude them from the study. We have not replicated the research to apply in other disciplines, but we think that it works with mature students studying in part-time mode at postgraduate level (with a full-time job), where campus life is not an important aspect for their consideration.

It depends on the student. Introverted, easily distracted, or students with anxiety can thrive in online programs. Very social students can thrive in a collaborative classroom environment. It really depends on the needs and learning style of the student. Students should have access to well-rounded curriculum to blossom in either environment. Hope this helps!

Hi Kerrin, that is true although perhaps a combination  of every teaching and learning methods available or created should be used to avoid boredom whilst encouraging the introverts to mix and the anxious to go beyond their comfort zones to help them overcome their difficulties etc.

Hi everybody,

discussion turns to be very interesting and rich as all of you contribute with a wide variety of points of view, considering internal and external factors conditioning learning. Furthermore, because student is a human being, as Freire said, she or he can not learn from someone is not trusty. Then it is very important that she or he feels the learning environment provides respect to student opinions and culture.

There are different ways to provide a learning environment that is good and confortable for students, and it is required to consider student characteristics and cultural context.

Best regards for everybody

To my opinion anyone from F2F and online cannot be picked up as better suited than the other. Am sure each one of us have experienced the best and the worst sessions in both the modes. It will depend on the orchestration of the content, the media, the modality, interactivity, learner's motivation, etc.

 The views  by Harshvardhan Singh about the  benefits of " emotively supportive face-to-face environment of the classroom allows immediate feedback, and an immediate social environment, which has been viewed as essential to a quality educational experience. Facial expressions and body language are vital clues to the level of student understanding and engagement, and fundamental to recognizing those 'Learning-Moments"

Today all young and old are enjoying all forms of emotions by online learning that has been enhanced by the ever improving educational technologies that allow a student access to learning anywhere, anytime and using a variety of techniques. Facial expressions can be misguiding as they tend to elevate egos of the "sage on the stage" rather than deliver learning. Online learning is more thrilling than being tethered to a fixed  place gaping at a teacher or lecturer trying to hide boredom by drawing all sort of figures to aver sleepy eyelids from closing and one begin to snore in public.  In online learning you choose the best time and learn to be self-motivated as you are teaching yourself.

Do students in the classroom have a better learning experience than online students? - ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Do_students_in_the_classroom_have_a_better_learning_experience_than_online_students#view=5718b86b4048545d05101b43 [accessed Apr 22, 2016].

I think the more fundamental issue to be addressed is whether the teaching-learning transaction - online or face-to-face, adequately accounts for the different types of interaction required if the learning experience is to be meaningful. Though somewhat dated, I think the Community of Inquiry (COI) model advanced by Garrison and his colleagues, with its emphasis on social, cognitive and teaching presences, continues to provide a useful framework for examining and planning for the various aspects of the teaching-learning interaction.

Of course,  that the primary focus of these theorists is learning in the online environment. Nonetheless, I believe that the underlying principles of the model are applicable across the board.

Garrison, D. & Archer, W. (2003). A Community of Inquiry Framework for Online Learning. In M. Moore (Ed.) Handbook of Distance Education. New York: Erlbaum.

How can this question be answered unless the context of  "enjoyed" be defined and quantified?  Individuals who enjoy online classes enjoy them for a number of reasons that may be the direct opposite of the reasons a person enjoys in class classes.  Having a questionnaire, survey, and Likert scale which allows a person to detail what they enjoyed and did not enjoy about both online and in-class learning environment seems to be the best way to approach this.  It would be a way to determine if there are common characteristics of each that could be examined.  Even the common characteristics may have variations.  I say go deeper!!

I am currently studying this topic. There are noted differences in online learners versus those who are in traditional courses, I have taught online courses for a number of years, and note that students must be ready for online learning prior to taking an online course. There is a belief among some students that online courses are a click and answer thing, but much more effort is needed to successfully complete an online course. In rural areas, for example, students may not have access to a computer or internet from home, which poses a problem, specifically if they are employed and the college library closes before they get off work. Additionally, I believe educational institutions should have preparatory classes before students take online courses. We must not set students up for failure.

sometime

I think that it may be different for different students as online is for the professionals who don't have the time to attend personally. But class room for those who are interested will be better as they will have to attend and interact face to face.

It's interesting to see the answers and surmise, from the answers the level of experience the respondent has had in both Online and face-to-face environments. If they've conducted research at some scale, and if they have a perspective on the range of online course designs, as well as on the range of face-to-face course designs. I see survey questions similar to the initial question, and in reviewing the responses, find it interesting to see the lack of experience some of the respondents have with online learning. I think it's fair to say that good online courses (exist) and can knock your socks off, and that's also the case with good face-to-face courses. But it's also fair to say that there are horrible classes/courses in both settings and without the broad range of experience someone can be comparing apples and horse-shoes.

FWIW -- been doing online education for more than 2 decades, both in higher ed and public education in the US. Also have conducted research on online learning as well as written a good deal on the topic.

Good Answer Irshad Ullah

Thank you for reading this question that I asked a few years ago. Because of your interest in this question, I am asking, can you also help with an urgent research survey about teaching during COVID-19? The survey is very relevant to the topic of this question.

The link to the survey is: https://forms.gle/qX522tiJsPNbgsGF9

If you have converted any courses to distance learning because of the coronavirus pandemic, please take a few minutes to complete this survey right now. The survey is 18 questions (most are Likert scales), plus demographics.

The researchers are asking higher education faculty of all disciplines around the world to address their experiences in changing their classes from face-to-face instruction to online or other kinds of distance learning. Your responses will be anonymous.

Yes sure. Classroom environment add many important things to the learning process. The situation is different with e-learning alone as this will lack the physical existence of the teacher and students.

Dear Marek,

I think both are imperfect. Each one has its pros and cons. In my view, the best strategy to adopt is a mixture of both which is so-called blended learning so that this would minimize the drawbacks of each one. Regards

Michael W. Marek

Certainly, traditional face-to-face education is better than e-learning or distance learning, because there are large individual differences among students, and there are also big differences between software in educational design as well.

Hi Majeed Rashid Zaidan ! I don’t se your argument. And?

We also have this situation: who can fit a classroom-based course with daily sessions at a campus into their lives, and who cannot? Young traditional students at a campus and students in flexible education are often different kind of students, with different possibilities to participate and varying needs.

Then - is the student ”experience” really the most relevant criteria? I thought it was about learning and there the research situation is very clear - sitting in a classroom is no significant factor for learning results.

@Michael W. Marek

Dear,

I think that for different students it may be different as online is for professionals who don't have the time to attend personally. But classroom will be best for those who are involved, because they will have to participate and communicate face to face.

Depends on the student itself

In my view, you can create valuable learning settings both online and offline. I think with the current situation of many university lecturers "forced" into online teaching, we will gather a wealth of experiences that can help build future courses. And now it seems these experiences are shared widely, with free online seminars, papers etc. We have for example observed an intense exchange on experiences in online teaching in a group of project manager lecturers in German speaking universities (https://gpm-hochschulen.de/). An extremely valuable inspiration and help. I agree with the posts pointing to blended learning, making use of the advantages of both "worlds". However, I believe, it is the tailoring of the design of your course to both the desired learning outcomes and the specific circumstances at hand (tools, types of students, schedule) that makes a difference in learning results, and not the question online vs. offline.

Susanne Marx In an online survey I am currently conducting, many faculty believe that their classes converted to online this semester may continue as distance learning in the future, after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, although with changes and improvements.

If you have not taken the "COVID-19 Teaching Experiences Questionnaire," please do.

https://forms.gle/qX522tiJsPNbgsGF9

I am positive about it.

Michael W. Marek just filled the survey, would be interested in your final results...

Nice Contribution Michael W. Marek

Anders Norberg So do you think that online and face-to-face versions of a class can essentially be the "same class" or do they need to be structured very differently due to the context of the class?

Thy might need to be structured differently but online teaching experience can be 'better' than on campus classrooms too.

Alia Amir I think you make a very good point. Many teachers who are used to face-to-face teaching do a poor job of structuring online classes because there is little training, and few sources to understand "best practices."

I think so. Social interaction is a significant part of learning.

Everything is an experience. Every change brings uncertainty and risk. Uncertainty is defined by the state and time and risk by the effect of the implementation of the process: knowledge. It is more difficult for those who are facing change for the first time from the Internet classroom, both educationally and socially. Time will tell.

Thanks Michael W. Marek

The following are the pro's of classroom teaching that digital or online education will find hard to replace:

1. Promotes collaborative learning

2. Enhances critical thinking skills.

3. Improves social skills.

4. Builds organizational skills.

5. Keeps students stimulated.

6. Teaching style can be modified according to the student's issues.

7. Develops important personality and career-building skills

Actually, no.

The problem with most answers in any discussion about online (aka digital) vs brick and mortar instruction is that they paint both as single things. Whenn the reality is that even in the traditional classroom there are lots of options, both good and bad. And when someone says digital or online can’t do this.... they have a single picture of online or on-ground but, that’s no real. I could point out really terrible on-ground courses and match them up with outstanding online courses where the classroom course wouldn’t be able to come close in quality to the online or digital course. It’s time to end this type of comparison.

There’re really great as well as pretty bad traditional courses. And likewise, there’ are very poor and other spectacular digital courses. A well-designed online course with an experienced online teacher goes head to head as an equal with the best on-ground course.

If you don’t have the broad experience with the field it’s better to ask how, rather than say it can’t be done. Saying it can’t be done shows a lack of experience with the breadth of the field.

I beg to differ. Online interaction is slso social interaction. It is just with a different modality.

Raymond Rose and Alia Amir I think I agree with you that it is not simply a question of the modality, but rather the quality of the instructional design. It is true, however, that many faculty have little training in instructional design for Online Distance Learning and therefore do a poor job. But it is not so much the fault of the online context as it is of the poor instructional design, in my opinion.

Michael W. Marek almost... I would say: "It is not the fault" -- rather than "not so much" the fault... Yes, institutions that require faculty to teach online without adequate preparation create the problem. In the Spring there may not have been much choice, and I fault that leadership for not getting an understanding of what digital learning required but ignoring that before the Fall start was not responsible leadership for both faculty and students.

Don't blame the lack of understanding of online learning pedagogy on online learning. And, don't assume that on-ground instruction is automatically the best. Take a look at what the research on learning says about on-ground lecture-based instruction.

We predicted that those "never online" folks -- who were suddenly forced into remote teaching and not provided any support would then say, I know online learning is bad because I've done it. What they should have said is my remote teaching was bad because I didn't know how to do it. But remote teaching and online teaching are very different animals.

There are standards for quality online teaching by Quality Matters and Online Learning Consortium that are designed for higher education, and there are standards for K-12 too. Are there standards for on-ground quality teaching too?

Michael W. Marek I agree that those who might have little training about online teaching/learning might do a poor job, but that is true for on campus classes as well. We learn to teach by experience. I think it all boils down to lesson planning, and how well we have understood how lesson planning works, and how we choose different activities to facilitate learning aligned with learning objectives in a synchrous and asynchronous classrooms.