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Contributor Charles Choi

A lack of human contact is a big difference between online and distance learning and traditional classroom settings. “You are kind of learning in isolation,” Monica Mogilewsky says. “You get lots of textbooks, journal articles, recorded lectures, and interactive material. For the most part, you spend much of your time learning on your own, and that takes a lot of self-discipline. It’s difficult not having people you can see, people you can have a gripe-and-drink session with.”

The challenge of staying disciplined in isolation may be a key reason why the average completion rate for MOOCs is less than 7 per cent, according to data compiled by UK doctoral student, Katy Jordan, at Open University. Taylor concurs: “Not many students make it to the end of MOOCs”.

From experience, Lara Hutson, a research assistant professor at the University of Buffalo, has seen that “the students who do best in online courses are those who are very self-motivated, regardless of subject matter.”

When looking at successful examples of distance learning programmes, “you often also find online learning is augmented with forums, discussion groups, and face-to-face interactions, peer interactions that can help students stay the course,” says Chris Taylor, engagement manager at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the United Kingdom. Continue reading →