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This review provides a rough sketch of the evidence, gaps and promising directions in e-learning from 2000 onwards, with a particular focus on Canada. The authors searched a wide range of sources and document types to ensure that we represented, comprehensively, the arguments surrounding e-learning. Overall, there were 2,042 entries in their database, of which they reviewed 1,146, including all the Canadian primary research and all scholarly reviews of the literature. In total, there were 726 documents included in the review: 235--general public opinion; 131--trade/practitioners' opinion; 88--policy documents; 120--reviews; and 152--primary empirical research. The Argument Catalogue codebook included the following eleven classes of variables: (1) Document Source; (2) Areas/Themes of e-learning; (3) Value/Impact; (4) Type of evidence; (5) Research design; (6) Area of applicability; (7) Pedagogical implementation factors; 8) A-priori attitudes; (9) Types of learners; (10) Context; and (11) Technology Factors. The authors examined the data from a number of perspectives, including their quality as evidence. In the primary research literature, they examined the kinds of research designs that were used. They found that over half of the studies conducted in Canada are qualitative in nature, while the rest are split in half between surveys and quantitative studies (correlational and experimental). When they looked at the nature of the research designs, they found that 51% are qualitative case studies and 15.8% are experimental or quasi-experimental studies. The findings of this review showed that studies that can increase the general understanding of "what works" in e-learning settings are underrepresented in the Canadian research literature. This article discusses the results of the research as well as implications for K-12 practitioners, post-secondary education, and policymakers.

This paper serves several purposes. First and foremost, it is devoted to developing a better understanding of the effectiveness of blended learning (BL) in higher education. This is achieved through a meta-analysis of a sub-collection of comparative studies of BL and classroom instruction (CI) from a larger systematic review of technology integration (Schmid et al. in "Comput Educ" 72:271-291, 2014). In addition, the methodology of meta-analysis is described and illustrated by examples from the current study. The paper begins with a summary of the experimental research on distance education (DE) and online learning (OL), encapsulated in meta-analyses that have been conducted since 1990. Then it introduces the Bernard et al. ("Rev Educ Res" 74(3):379-439, 2009) meta-analysis, which attempted to alter the DE research culture of always comparing DE/OL with CI by examining three forms of "interaction treatments" (i.e., student-student, student-teacher, student-content) within DE, using the theoretical framework of Moore ("Am J Distance Educ" 3(2):1-6, 1989) and Anderson ("Rev Res Open Distance Learn" 4(2):9-14, 2003). The rest of the paper revolves around the general steps and procedures (Cooper in "Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis: A Step-by-Step Approach," 4th edn, SAGE, Los Angeles, CA, 2010) involved in conducting a meta-analysis. This section is included to provide researchers with an overview of precisely how meta-analyses can be used to respond to more nuanced questions that speak to underlying theory and inform practice--in other words, not just answers to the "big questions." In this instance, we know that technology has an overall positive impact on learning (g[superscript +] = +0.35, p < 0.01, Tamim et al. in "Rev Educ Res" 81(3):4-28, 2011), but the sub-questions addressed here concern BL interacting with technology in higher education. The results indicate that, in terms of achievement outcomes, BL conditions exceed CI conditions by about one-third of a standard deviation (g[superscript +] = 0.334, k = 117, p < 0.001) and that the kind of computer support used (i.e., cognitive support vs. content/presentational support) and the presence of one or more interaction treatments (e.g., student-student/-teacher/-content interaction) serve to enhance student achievement. We examine the empirical studies that yielded these outcomes, work through the methodology that enables evidence-based decision-making, and explore how this line of research can improve pedagogy and student achievement.

This article has two interrelated purposes. The first is to explain how various forms of bias, if introduced during any stage of a meta-analysis, can provide the consumer with a misimpression of the state of a research literature. Five of the most important bias-producing aspects of a meta-analysis are presented and discussed. Second, armed with this information, we examine 15 meta-analyses of the literatures of distance education (DE), online learning (OL), and blended learning (BL), conducted from 2000 to 2014, with the intention of assessing potential sources of bias in each. All of these meta-analyses address the question: "How do students taking courses through DE, OL, and BL compare to students engaged in pure classroom instruction in terms of learning achievement outcomes?" We argue that questions asked by primary researchers must change to reflect issues that will drive improvements in designing and implementing DE, OL, and BL courses.

This systematic review draws from and builds upon the results of a meta-analysis of the achievement effects of three types of interaction treatments in distance education: student-student, student-teacher, and student-content (Bernard et al., "Review of Educational Research," 79(3), 1243-1289, 2009). This follow-up study considers two forms of student-student interaction treatments, "contextual interaction" and "designed interaction". Typical contextual interaction treatments contain the necessary conditions for student-student interaction to occur, but are not intentionally designed to create collaborative learning environments. By contrast, "designed interaction treatments" are intentionally implemented collaborative instructional conditions for increasing student learning. Our meta-analysis compared the effect of these two types of interaction treatments on student achievement outcomes. The results favored designed interaction treatments over contextual interaction treatments. Examples of designed interaction treatments and a discussion of study results and their potential implications for research and instruction in distance education and online learning are presented. (Contains 3 tables.)

In a recent meta-analysis of distance and online learning, Bernard et al. (2009) quantitatively verified the importance of three types of interaction: among students, between the instructor and students, and between students and course content. In this paper we explore these findings further, discuss methodological issues in research and suggest how these results may foster instructional improvement. We highlight several evidence-based approaches that may be useful in the next generation of distance and online learning. These include principles and applications stemming from the theories of self-regulation and multimedia learning, research-based motivational principles and collaborative learning principles. We also discuss the pedagogical challenges inherent in distance and online learning that need to be considered in instructional design and software development.

This paper describes a range of models and methods for synthesizing diverse forms of research evidence. Although this topic is applicable to many contexts (e.g. education, health care), the focus here is on the research traditions of distance education and online learning. Thirteen models and methods are described, and seven examples from distance education and online learning are used to illustrate them. The models are classified as systematic, purposeful, and mixed and are described and compared in terms of purpose, methodological aspects, and expected outcomes. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

This meta-analysis of the experimental literature of distance education (DE) compares different types of interaction treatments (ITs) with other DE instructional treatments. ITs are the instructional and/or media conditions designed into DE courses, which are intended to facilitate student-student (SS), student-teacher (ST), or student-content (SC) interactions. Seventy-four DE versus DE studies that contained at least one IT are included in the meta-analysis, which yield 74 achievement effects. The effect size valences are structured so that the IT or the stronger IT (i.e., in the case of two ITs) serve as the experimental condition and the other treatment, the control condition. Effects are categorized as SS, ST, or SC. After adjustment for methodological quality, the overall weighted average effect size for achievement is 0.38 and is heterogeneous. Overall, the results support the importance of the three types of ITs and strength of ITs is found to be associated with increasing achievement outcomes. A strong association is found between strength and achievement for asynchronous DE courses compared to courses containing mediated synchronous or face-to-face interaction. The results are interpreted in terms of increased cognitive engagement that is presumed to be promoted by strengthening ITs in DE courses. (Contains 11 tables.)

This article extends the issues and arguments raised in Bernard, Abrami, Lou, and Borokhovski ("Distance Education", 25(2), 175-198, 2004) regarding the design of quantitative, particularly experimental research in distance education. A single experimental, study from the distance education literature is examined from six different perspectives to show the differences between preexperiments, true experiments, and quasi-experiments in terms of their impact on interpretability and generalizability (i.e., internal and external validity). Arguments for and against experimentation are discussed and the article ends with a description of meta-analysis, the quantitative synthesis of experimental research, and its potential for providing answers to questions that no single study can adequately address. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

This meta-analysis employs a theoretical framework in quantitatively synthesizing empirical studies that investigate the effects of distance education (DE) versus classroom instruction on undergraduate student achievement. Analyses of 218 findings from 103 studies were conducted according to how media were used to support DE pedagogy. The results indicate that the effect sizes for synchronous instructor-directed DE were consistent and not significantly different from zero; in asynchronous DE, media only supporting independent learning was generally less effective than media supporting collaborative discussion among students, although both subsets were significantly heterogeneous. Follow-up analysis of asynchronous DE findings was framed in terms of three patterns of interaction-student-content, student-instructor and student-student. (Contains 4 tables.)

This article is about the quantitative research practices and methodologies that are used in distance education (DE). It begins with an analysis and assessment of a segment of the DE research literature, DE/classroom comparison studies, based on a recently completed meta-analysis of that literature from 1985 to 2002. Overall, the 232 studies reviewed were judged to be of poor methodological quality and severely lacking in critical information about research practices. Studies of synchronous and asynchronous DE are discussed separately and recommendations are made for improving designs and measures within these patterns. Suggestions for future quantitative research areas are provided. In discussing these findings, we recognize that high-quality research is being conducted in the field and that qualitative forms of research contribute greatly to the mosaic of evidence that is the base of available knowledge about DE. Finally, three organizations, the What Works Clearinghouse (USA), EPPI-Centre (UK), and the Campbell Collaboration (international), all devoted to improving the quality of research and research synthesis in education, are described briefly; suggestions are made as to how their philosophies and approaches for judging the worthiness of research evidence can be used to improve DE research.

The study reported here concerns the development and predictive validation of an instrument to assess the achievement outcomes of DE/online learning success. A 38-item questionnaire was developed and administered to 167 students who were about to embark on an online course. Factor analysis indicated a four-factor solution, interpreted as "general beliefs about DE," "confidence in prerequisite skills," "self-direction and initiative" and "desire for interaction." Using multiple regression we found that two of these factors predicted achievement performance (i.e., Cumulative Course Grade). Comparisons of pretest and posttest administrations of the questionnaire revealed that some changes in opinion occurred between the beginning and the end of the course. Also, categories of demographic characteristics were compared on the four factors. The overall results suggest that this instrument has some predictive validity in terms of achievement, but that Cumulative Grade Point Average (i.e., the university's record of overall achievement) is a much better predictor.

A meta-analysis of the comparative distance education (DE) literature between 1985 and 2002 was conducted. In total, 232 studies containing 688 independent achievement, attitude, and retention outcomes were analyzed. Overall results indicated effect sizes of essentially zero on all three measures and wide variability. This suggests that many applications of DE outperform their classroom counterparts and that many perform more poorly. Dividing achievement outcomes into synchronous and asynchronous forms of DE produced a somewhat different impression. In general, mean achievement effect sizes for synchronous applications favored classroom instruction, while effect sizes for asynchronous applications favored DE. However, significant heterogeneity remained in each subset.

Studied the effects of group formation strategy and levels of tutor intervention on online collaborative learning in a distance education class. Results with 45 undergraduates favor the random assignment of students to collaborative groups and the introduction of tutor intervention during the course of project work. (SLD)

Provides an overview of issues relating to practice and research regarding collaborative online learning in distance education. Topics include traditional problems of distance education; instructional design issues, including course preparation, social climate and sense of community, instructor's role, and the effective use of technology; and issues for future research. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study conducted in a distance education nursing course at St. Francis Xavier University (Nova Scotia) that was designed to assess the instructional potential of two learning strategies, post questioning and concept mapping, in the presence and absence of feedback. Treatments for the experimental and control groups are described. (18 references) (LRW)

Investigates the effectiveness of inserted questions and concept mapping for enhancing academic performance. The study sample was composed of 141 nursing students enrolled in a 20-week distance education course. Subjects who completed concept mapping exercises outperformed those using inserted questions or a combination of the two instructional strategies. (26 references) (KRN)

Discussion of interpersonal communication in distance education highlights a project developed at St Francis Xavier University that used voice mail, a telephone-based computer communication system, to enhance communication between students and staff. A needs assessment study is described, and current communication patterns are examined. (15 references) (LRW)

Discussion of interpersonal communication in distance education focuses on a study conducted at the Institute of Canadian Bankers based on Keegan's theoretical framework of re-integrating interpersonal components through learning materials. Hypotheses tested are explained, and achievement, self-perception of learning achievement, final academic standing, and student attitudes are examined. (33 references) (LRW)

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In this experimental study two independent variableswere manipulated. Each was associated with online collaborative learning ina distance education context. One of these (group formation strategy) addressesone of the early decisions that must be made in forming groups for collaborativeproject work. The second (levels of tutor intervention) relates to the on-goingprocess of group management in a computer-mediated environment. An additionalindependent variable (type of collaborative project) served as a within-groupfactor in the design. Two measures of individual achievement (final exam scoresand idea units) and a measure of group dynamics served as dependent variables.Prior academic achievement (current grade point average) served as a covariatein the analysis of the achievement data. There were no differences acrossthe two types of projects, but two slightly different interaction patternsemerged from the analysis of the achievement data. In general, however, theseresults favored the random assignment of students to collaborative groups(as contrasted with allowing students to pick their own partners) and theintroduction of low tutor intervention during the course of project work.Two main effects emerged from an analysis of the group dynamics data, oneof which supports the random assignment strategy. Because of these findings,it is difficult to suggest a totally unambiguous strategy for formulatingand managing online collaborative project work. However, some tentative suggestionsare advanced. Some guidelines for online collaborative learning are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]