Online education less effective? Too short of the mark.

The NRC posted two articles last week in response to a Rutgers University study. This study compared a lecture in a classroom setting, followed by a discussion, with a setting in which students viewed and listened to a PowerPoint with recorded text online, and in which they could communicate with each other via a chat function. This showed that the students who had been taught in the classroom setting achieved better results, than those who had followed the online version.

From this, the conclusion was then drawn that online education is less effective than classroom education. 

I find it very striking that a conclusion is drawn that online education is less effective based on two situations, where there are many more variables at play than just the online or classroom setting. Every (good) researcher knows that you always have to take into account any other variables before you start drawing conclusions. It's one of the first things I was taught when I was in college. One of the researchers indicates in the article "that universities need to be very careful about implementing online education, because so clearly there are advantages but also disadvantages. 

As far as I am concerned, we are now comparing apples with oranges. A recorded PowerPoint cannot pass for the same as a teacher! A chat function is not the same as a lively discussion between students. 

In my view, there is now a kind of bad e-learning, a static way of learning, compared to a classroom version. This is outdated. There are so many more tools now to connect live online, and to really interact in an online learning situation.

The point I want to make is that classroom does not necessarily mean good and effective teaching. Again, the various factors come into play, those factors that I talk about above. How good is the teacher? How strong is the supporting presentation? To what extent are the students participating in the lesson (and again, to some extent, you have control over this as a teacher)? What forms of work are used?

It is not for nothing that when we train LOL trainers, we (Learning Connected and Study2Go) pay a lot of attention to didactics: for example, to creating structure in a live online session and to the use of work formats.  

Good online teaching requires good design. This design will need to look different than a classroom lesson. After all, you are working online. And not classroom.