1. Online Students Preference in Learning Activities Dr. Jo Lynn Suell Dr. Glee Whitsett

2. Purpose of Study The purpose of this study was to determine if a particular method of instruction was considered more effective in these online classes. Methods included – Lecture videos – Voice over power points – Discussion boards

3. Participants The study was conducted at a small liberal arts university in southeastern United States. 93 participants were enrolled in the college of Education 35 undergraduate and 58 graduate students. Majors : elementary, secondary, special education, and counseling. female (65) males (28). 23 no previous online classes and 67 had taken more than 1 online class. 90 out of 93 responded to the survey.

4. Methodology A Likert Scale was used in this study. Students were asked to rate each activity according to how much the activity helped them understand the topics. The activities included: Discussion boards, Voice over power points, and Video Lectures with closed captioning. The question read ; ”I feel _________ added to my understanding of the topics in this course.” The scale used the ratings of Strongly agree (4 points), Agree (3 points), Disagree (2 points) or Strongly Disagree (1 point). Participants were also asked to put the three variables in order of importance for their individual learning.

5. Results Likert Scale Activity Strongly Agree AgreeDisagreeStrongly Disagree Discussion Boards Male /Female 0/215/2514/330/2 Undergraduate /Graduate 0/215/2519/280/2 Voice Over Power Points Male/Female0/1 7/1316/397/8 0/1 Undergraduate /Graduate9/1118/377/8 Lecture Videos Male/Female 1/0 11/2117/341/6 Undergraduate /Graduate 0/1 11/2122/291/6

6. Rate order Students were asked to rate in order of the most effective assignment Discussion Board50 Lecture Videos28 Voice Over Power Points13

7. Discussion Based on the results of the study, the researchers have found that there was no statistical difference in the Likert scale ratings for the three activities when computed using SPSS. When participants were asked to rate in order the method that they found most helpful, the discussion boards were the most favored by a large margin. In this study collaboration is the preferred method of learning by a wide margin. Passive learning was not favored by subgroups of males or females and graduate or undergraduate students.