Distance Education: An Exploration of Alternative Methods and Types of Instructional Media in Teacher Education

Abstract

Universities currently are exploring an array of instructional media to facilitate the delivery of instruction. Consensus from the studies indicates that there is no significant difference in the achievement of students who participate in traditional or online coursework. However, little research has compared traditional learning with the new multimedia online technologies that are becoming more prevalent in distance education. This study investigated the achievement, student satisfaction, and instructor course evaluations of pre-service general education students who participated in three special education courses in which a variety of instructional media and methods were used. The media used were: (a) a traditional classroom, (b) an online classroom (WebCT), and a (c) class-in-a-box via multimedia CD-ROMs. The various methods used to deliver the instructional content included PowerPoint notes, lecture notes, digital videos, and the textbook. Results of the study revealed that there were no significant differences found between the achievement of the students and the three conditions (e.g., traditional classroom, the online classroom, or the class-in-a-box via multimedia CD-ROMs). Also, no significant differences were found in the student satisfaction of the three groups. All were satisfied with the type of media of instruction in which they participated. Finally, the instructor course evaluation results completed by the three groups were not significantly different, indicating that the three groups evaluated the instructor and the instructional media similarly. The implications of these results for delivering courses via distance education are discussed.