A Comparison of Traditional and Web-Based Tutorials in Marketing Education: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Crucial to achieving educational effectiveness and academic credibility is the systematic evaluation of innovative practices. Despite the rapid advance of cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet and the World Wide Web into higher education, this imperative still remains. The present study investigates marketing students’ perceptions of different modes of tutorial that supplements rather than replaces traditional face-to-face lectures. The three alternative modes investigated were a face-to-face approach and two Web-based approaches— one asynchronous (bulletin boards) and one synchronous (chat rooms). Findings indicate that face-to-face tutorials are most highly rated in terms of the effectiveness of the learning environment and several other criteria. While gender and Internet experience did not affect perceptions of different tutorial types, ethnicity did. Findings and implications are discussed.