When Online Learning Takes More Time (or so it seems?)

Here is an excerpt of a comment I received in an e-mail today describing a reason for not taking an online course:

"Schedule. It's really that simple...it is just too hard to keep up. It's a great medium if you have the time, but ...a lot of us...just don't have the time. If we have a 2-3 day [in-person course], it seems it's easier to get away and block that time."

The emerging conventional wisdom is that online courses are more flexible and convenient, and therefore should be easier to do than in-person classroom courses. But, as I learned from a study I recently conducted with a colleague, there are situations where, for a variety of reasons, prospective learners actually find it more time-consuming to take online courses.

My take on it is that there is an element of perception and an element of reality to such situations. In almost all cases, it is demonstrably less time-consuming to take an online course in terms of number of hours required. In this particular case, the course instructor estimated that it would take as much or less time to complete an online course relative to the equivalent classroom course, and more so if travel time were also included.

However, online courses often require learners to dedicate some time on a daily basis for a longer time period. This, plus the added cognitive load of doing an online course for the first time, can lead to the perception that more time is required.

The element of reality was that taking online courses was an added responsibility for prospective students in this particular case; they had to do the online course on top of their regular work responsibilities. By contrast, the time required to complete classroom courses was already accounted for in participants' existing workload. There is something to be said for designating a discrete block of time to complete a course, especially if the learner/employee gets "credit" (paid or compensatory time) for the course.

Granting comparable credit for an online course is a bit trickier because the structures for doing so are somewhat new and different, but it can be done. In fact, expecting learners to complete online courses without appropriate time and space is a sure recipe for limiting success. In the process, they are likely to perceive online courses as less convenient, less flexible, and even requiring more time.

To be successful, online learners need appropriate organizational support. Here is a document with some tips on how to support online learners successfully