April 2002 — Features
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Improving Student Performance in Distance Learning Courses
The tests were particularly problematic. Quizzes were not given for the on-campus course since it was an introductory course, and the students seemed to keep up well with the material. But I discovered the online students were not studying the appropriate material for the tests. To address this, online quizzes were introduced to the course Web site for the students to take as many times as they wanted. The scores are not recorded and the questions are in the same format as on the actual tests, although they are not exactly the same. Ten questions are chosen randomly from a bank of 20 for each quiz. In addition, each chapter has its own quiz. Students say they have found these quizzes to be invaluable.
The tests have been developed in a manner similar to the quizzes. Each 100-point test is created from a 200-question test bank. As each student logs in their test is created randomly from the test bank. This makes cheating extremely difficult because each test contains different questions. Even if the questions are the same, they are randomized so they do not appear in the same order. And although the test is open book, the students are admonished to study, because the questions are in random order and they do not have time to look up the answers to each question. The tests are timed and automatically submitted at the end of the time limit. The addition of these practice quizzes has dramatically improved performance on the tests.
A point about testing that should be made is that many educators are concerned about students finding someone else to take tests for them. I agree with the statement made by Palloff and Pratt (1999): "Cheating is irrelevant in this process because the participant would be cheating only him- or herself." Although attempts are made to minimize the threat, educators should not let this prevent them from teaching online. Tech-nology will allow educators to verify the identity of students taking online tests in the future, so educators must trust students for now.
Alleviating Problems
To alleviate communication problems that inevitably develop in distance learning courses, it is helpful to institute online office hours. Students are not often prepared for the isolation of distance learning when they sign up for the course. The problem occurs when the students are not disciplined enough to check their e-mail regularly for course updates and are reluctant to ask questions when problems occur. Online office hours offer an opportunity for students to receive an immediate response to a question. A three-hour block of time scheduled once a week should be sufficient. Of course, this can be in addition to on-campus office hours, during which students can contact the instructor either in person or by phone. It is also helpful to communicate weekly with students, encouraging them to contact the instructor immediately with any problems.
I utilize e-mail as the primary method of communication in my courses. A policy noted in my sylla-bus states that all e-mail is answered within 24 hours on weekdays, and checked at least once during weekends and holidays. Although this is the formal policy, I do check e-mail more frequently. One thing many distance learning instructors forget is that distance students often feel as if they are out in cyberspace alone. Without a classroom environment in which the students can feel comfortable as part of a group, a camaraderie must develop between the instructor and individual students, as well as among the students themselves.
