A comparison of online and face-to-face cohorts in a school library media specialist graduate program : A preliminary study

School Library Media Specialist training via distance education is of interest to the library community which is seeking to stem the shortage of school library personnel. However, the effectiveness of distance education compared to face-to-face delivery has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study compares one graduate-level School Library Media Specialist program delivered both through online and face-to-face instructional delivery methods. We found that, for the most part, the two student cohorts (distance and face-to-face) performed equally in the areas demonstrating content knowledge. However, the online cohort earned fewer points than the face-to-face cohort on some project activities demonstrating the difficulty in relating the intricacies of project work via an online course. This study suggests that the delivery of School Library Media Specialist training can be conducted through an online format if attention is paid to communicating the details of project based work. Challenges of Online Distance Education Beginning as correspondence courses in 1 888, distance education (DE) in the library profession has evolved though stages of traveling faculty members, televised courses, and satellite communications to Internet or online courses' in an attempt to "reach authences that are not well served by traditional delivery methods."2 Today, "the Internet has become a regular part of the education of the next generation of library and information professionals."3 Over the years, researchers have examined the many facets of DE4 and, more specifically, the importance of online DE in library and information science (LIS) programs.5 They have found several barriers to effective online DE programs including technology problems, isolation of students, limited access to library resources, pressures of personal commitments, inflexible instructors, and unclear course requirements and instructor expectations.6 Researchers have focused on four major issues: effectiveness of the programs, learner perceptions, learner attributes, and delivery technologies.7 A great deal of current research on DE centers on the last three issues,8 especially on student attitudes and community-building. Developing a sense of community and fostering positive student perceptions are essential elements in providing successful online educational experiences9 and a number of researchers have explored this. Combining delivery technologies with community building, Nicholson explored the development of communication scaffolds through technology selection.10 The evaluation of program effectiveness, the fourth issue, presents some serious problems for researchers. Although a number of studies have shown that DE courses in general are comparable or superior to face-to-face (F2F) instruction," online distance education programs are often perceived by library employers and other professionals as inferior to traditional programs.12 Contributing to this perception is the fact that many of the studies of DE were based on older televised or satellite delivery modes and not on Internet delivery. A comprehensive review of the research on teaching courses online "did not reveal much discussion of evaluation in online courses."13 The majority of the research on learning outcomes in the cognitive domain in online courses has used examinations (especially midterms and finals) as a basis for comparison.14 Mandinach maintains that effective evaluation of on-line DE must rely on the development of new forms of assessment to measure both knowledge and skills.15 "It would be difficult to create randomly assigned treatment and control groups, ensuring equivalent groups, because of the diverse and unknown characteristics of online student populations."16 Thus assessment of online DE must include rubrics, and instruction must provide detailed explanations of all assignments with examples of acceptable and unacceptable work.17 As Lorenzetti points out, with online DE must come a great focus on accountability. …