A review of the effectiveness of computer—based online courses with college English learners

付靜

Abstract：With the advent of 21st century， the development of computer and network technology has provided tremendous potentials for improvement to online courses which have been receiving global attention. The college English learning based on online courses has developed rapidly in the last decade. This review is about the background of online courses in abroad and in the domestic and relevant researches and studies about online course in abroad and in the domestic. And the authors view and research design are demonstrated in the end.

I. Background of online education in abroad and the domestic

The online education was first proposed by America government early in 1992， known as “the information superhighway” strategy. And “Educational Technology Initiative” was put forward by Bill Clinton in 1996， and further details were given by the time of the State of the Union Program in 1997， which elaborated on the grand plan named as “the US education action” with the capital injection of 51 billion dollars. The Web-Based Education Commission was established in 2000.

In China， the initial proposal of computer-based online courses came into being in 1994. During the next two years， online courses were put into practice in some elite schools in China as pilot projects. In 1999， ministry of education drafted “the opinion of the development of contemporary distance education”， and the project “CERNET （China Education and Research Network） High-speed Network Backbones” were set up in September of the same year which was expected to be established before December in 2000. The online courses were expanded with 31 elite schools applied the project.

II Studies of online courses in the abroad and domestic

2.1 Studies of online courses in the abroad

As for the study from abroad about the topic of online courses， according to Jstor （journal storage） and CNKI， some studies are undertaken to compare the effectiveness between computer-based training and the traditional lecture method. Some are about the blended learning， which refers to an organic integration of face-to-face classroom learning and online learning （or e-learning）. Some concentrates on the factors that contribute to student satisfactions of online courses. Some present best practices that are associated with online courses. Some talk about the changing demographics of online courses.

Arbaugh （2010） claimed that online education has increased dramatically over the past decade， with most educational institutions using learning management systems to supplement face-to-face delivery and/or deliver courses online. Arbaugh （2000a； 2000b； 2000c） also proposed that there was a variety of components to study on online teaching， such as perceived usefulness of the course， flexibility， interaction， and student experience and engagement. Vaughn （2007） proposed that the benefits of online teaching included the accessibility to students at locations often far from the location of the instructor， the flexibility in the program structure， and the cost effectiveness. Others added the availability of the course at any time that students work on their own pace and they have， therefore， the opportunity to reflect on what they study and the material included in the course （Sampson， Leonard， Ballenger， & Coleman 2010）. Tallent-Runnels et a1. （2006） proposed that the course environment， learners characteristics， and institutional and administrative factors formed part of the components of Web-based courses that contribute to their effectiveness. More recently， Baker （2010） found that instructors positive attitude towards technology and their interactive teaching style contributed to learning effectiveness.

Although online courses benefit students， some suggested that there were some disadvantages included. Rovai and Bamum （2003） in their study found that instructors found it difficult to create relationships with their online students. Although 90%of universities offer online courses and distance learning（Clark & Mayer. 2003）. Manochehri and Young （2006） criticized the quality of the content and the delivery mode of online courses. In fact， Portugal （2003） suggested that there was limited research on the best practices of online courses. Most of the studies identified the components of these courses without exploring in depth the benefits of this delivery mode or student satisfaction. Nevertheless， Kane （2004） suggested that the institutional context and commitment， curriculum， learning outcomes and instruction， faculty support， student support， and evaluation and assessment were amongst the indicators of the quality of online courses.

Some studies proposed that there were no significant differences between online and face-to-face results on students achievement or the evaluation of the teaching methods （Fortune， Shifflett， & Sibley， 2006； Heiman， 2008； Lim & Cheah， 2003； Means， Toyama， Murphy， Bakia， & Jones， 2009）. Russell （2011） found no significant differences between learning in the two modes of delivery. Nevertheless， Marra， Moore， and Klimczak （2004） found evidence that online teaching enhanced student in critical thinking， generating ideas and clarifying information. Moreover， they proposed that the use of technology improved students acquisition of the required knowledge， development of conceptualization， and reflective observation skills. However， they found that this form was not effective in developing， for example， listening comprehension skills. Bernard et a1. （2004） examined 200 students and found mixed results. They proposed that further study was required to determine the effectiveness of either face-to-face or online method on student satisfaction in order to be able to identify success factors. Student satisfaction from course evaluation might provide excellent indicators to determine the quality of online courses （Sampson et a1.， 2010）.

2.2 Studies of online courses in the domestics

As for the study in the domestic， there are many research studies revolving around effectiveness of online courses from the perspective of college English learning. It is a well-known fact that the emergence of the internet has provided a broad space to English teaching and learning in the university and opened up a new channel for college students to learn English. And some scholars focus on how to increase and optimize the effectiveness of online courses of English learning for non-English majors in college according to the features of online courses. （Jin， 2006； Zhang & Han， 2015）. Some study factors that contribute to the effectiveness of online courses. （Wang， 2014）. Some Studies focus on English learning anxiety of college students based on the comparison of multimedia and traditional classroom teaching. （Zeng & Liu， 2012）. Some concentrate on the effectiveness of online courses of college English. （Yu， 2012）. Some studies are about the study of Web-Teaching Modes in English. （Hu & Zhang & Shen， 2003； Liu， 2010； Chang & Xu， 2012）. Some carry out studies based on the theory of constructivism to discuss college students self-actualization. （Ma， 2013； Shi， 2014）.

References：

[1]Chirag Patel and Taran Patel， Exploring a Joint Model of Conventional and Online Learning Systems1， e-Service Journal， Vol. 4， No. 2 （Winter 2006）， pp. 27-46

[2]Arbaugh，J. B. （2000a）. Virtual classroom characteristics and student satisfaction in internet-based MBA courses. Journal of Management Education， 24（1）， 32- 54.

[3]Arbaugh，J.B.（2000b）.Virtual classroom versus physical classroom：An exploratory comparison of class discussion patterns and student learning in an asynchronous Internet—based MBA course. Journal of Management Education， 24（2），207-227.