Distant Learning Students: A Comparison with Traditional Studies

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine if distant learning students are different from traditional students as concerns their motivation, wants, and what they receive from their educational experience. The differences between these two groups was found to be small. The major difference uncovered was that the distant learning students are less dissatisfied with what they receive from the educational experience. This could imply that the distant learning student is learning more of the course material due to less frustration. The major differences in types of students is between those who are motivated by a desire to learn the material versus those who are taking the course to satisfy some higher requirement, such as getting a degree from the institution. However, the motivation for taking the course is nearly identical for distant learning students and traditional students. Educational emphasis and presentation was not shown to demand modification to accommodate distant learning students. The distant learning educational format, while not directly examined in this study, should, however, probably be altered from the traditional educational format to accommodate the electronic media.