What does the research say? Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M. & Zvacek, S. (2000). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

Research Summary 1) No significant difference in academic achievement – Distance vs. Traditional 2) Students value distance learning, but if there’s a choice they prefer traditional 3) High risk group is the same either way – distance or traditional 4) Anxiety level is higher at the end than at the beginning of distance learning experience

Research Summary 5) More people are dropping out of distance learning because of their anxiety levels 6) Teaching to individual needs occurs in both traditional and distance learning situations 7) Planning increases the success and effectiveness of distance teaching 8) Effectiveness increases when students are taught by teachers who are trained as distant educators