Blended Learning

Many online degree benefits are fairly obvious but more recent studies are also finding students who take online courses and blended courses outperform their traditional counterparts.

In a study released in September 2010, the U.S. Department of Education listed blended learning as the most effective teaching method. Blended learning is when in-class instruction is supplemented with online coursework. A former critic of online coursework, Marc Loudon reports seeing his students achieve a full-grade higher average when online homework is combined with class lectures and textbook homework. Loudon is a professor of medicinal chemistry and teaches organic chemistry at Purdue University. He followed the success of 226 organic chemistry students in the fall 2009 semester. He found no other explanation for the difference in grades other than the ones who took advantage of the online materials achieved higher grades.

The DOE study analyzed over 1,000 other studies relating to online education that were conducted between 1996 and 2010. The study found students in blended programs performed marginally better than those students who only received in-class instruction. The study made no recommendations as to which online programs were better than others.

Students looking for a leg-up on the competition might find it effective to supplement their traidtional on-campus coursework with open courseware and the many free college textbooks to create their own blended education.

As with any educational institution, its effectiveness ultimately depends upon the instructor, the course materials and the student's own dedication and desire to succeed.