Online Instruction Versus Face-to-Face Instruction At UNIMAS

Abstract

This article compared online instruction and face-to-face instruction at University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). Participants were undergraduate full-time students who were enrolled in the Human Resource Development Program. The learning materials used was 'How to write research proposals and reports'; and this represented a subtopic in the 'Research Methods' course. The design of an online learning environment emphasized four types of interaction: learner-content interaction (topic notes), learner-self interaction (multiple exercises), learner-learner interaction and instructor-learner interaction (online discussion on case studies and group project). The 'QuickPlace' software was customized to incorporate the component of multiple choice exercises. This latter was written with html language and linked to the 'QuickPlace'. The face-to-face group attended routine lectures and tutorials on the same topic. Test results indicate that the online discussion assisted students to learn case studies slightly better than the face-to-face instruction. This may due to the above learning interactions that resulted in a greater emphasis on self-oriented and group-oriented learning as compared to an instructor-oriented face-to-face learning experience. However, feedback from the students indicate a need to further improve the design of the online course.