Online vs Classroom Delivery of an Immunization Course
Online vs Classroom Delivery of an Immunization Course
The Comprehensive Immunization Delivery course met for 50 minutes once a week. The classroom section of the 1-credit course was conducted exactly as it had been in previous years. Although, the course lectures were traditionally offered in the classroom and were not recorded in the lecture capture system, there was 1 week that the class did not meet and the lecture was available online. All students were required to attend a hands-on vaccine administration laboratory session as well as to complete and respond to a written vaccine administration question assignment. There were 2 quizzes in the course (1 in class and 1 online) and a final comprehensive examination. The only additional assignments compared to previous years were completion of 2 survey instruments, 1 at the beginning of the semester and 1 at the end of the semester. All students in the course received points toward their course grade for completing both survey instruments, which assessed their opinions and preferences. No additional coursework was assigned to students who participated in the study.
Besides the location of the lectures, all other course activities were identical for both sections. The classroom lectures were recorded for the online section and were only available to those students registered for that section. The recorded lectures showed the instructor's presentation slides and included the audio of the presentation. Students in the online section could watch the lecture at any time and as many times as they wanted. All students already were familiar with recorded lectures and the lecture capture system as other courses in the PharmD program recorded all live lectures for student reference. Students in the classroom section had access to the course instructor during class. Both sections could access the course instructor through e-mail and the instructor was available for appointments to discuss any course questions or concerns.
The study included both P2 and P3 students. Students who preregistered for the course and were interested in participating in the study provided written informed consent. Recruitment e-mails were sent to students who did not complete consent forms but had preregistered for the course. Consent forms were accepted until the start of the spring 2013 semester. Students were offered $10 on their university card to cover printing costs as an incentive for participating in the research study. The lecturing faculty member was blinded to the participation status of the students.
All students who enrolled in the course through the preregistration process were randomly assigned to either the classroom or online section using block randomization. Students were informed by e-mail of their randomization and given the registration number for that course. Exceptions to the randomization (eg, scheduling conflicts, personal issues) were not allowed.
Faculty time spent on the online course development was minimal as the in-class lectures were recorded and then posted online for the online section. Information and instructional technology support was instrumental in making sure the online section had access to the recorded lectures in a timely fashion. No new technology was purchased for implementation of the online section. As a result of increased enrollment in the course, there was an increase in faculty time required for grading assignments and conducting the hands-on laboratory sessions. Also, because of the overall increase in course enrollment, additional proctors were required to administer the in-class quiz and final examination.
Design
The Comprehensive Immunization Delivery course met for 50 minutes once a week. The classroom section of the 1-credit course was conducted exactly as it had been in previous years. Although, the course lectures were traditionally offered in the classroom and were not recorded in the lecture capture system, there was 1 week that the class did not meet and the lecture was available online. All students were required to attend a hands-on vaccine administration laboratory session as well as to complete and respond to a written vaccine administration question assignment. There were 2 quizzes in the course (1 in class and 1 online) and a final comprehensive examination. The only additional assignments compared to previous years were completion of 2 survey instruments, 1 at the beginning of the semester and 1 at the end of the semester. All students in the course received points toward their course grade for completing both survey instruments, which assessed their opinions and preferences. No additional coursework was assigned to students who participated in the study.
Besides the location of the lectures, all other course activities were identical for both sections. The classroom lectures were recorded for the online section and were only available to those students registered for that section. The recorded lectures showed the instructor's presentation slides and included the audio of the presentation. Students in the online section could watch the lecture at any time and as many times as they wanted. All students already were familiar with recorded lectures and the lecture capture system as other courses in the PharmD program recorded all live lectures for student reference. Students in the classroom section had access to the course instructor during class. Both sections could access the course instructor through e-mail and the instructor was available for appointments to discuss any course questions or concerns.
The study included both P2 and P3 students. Students who preregistered for the course and were interested in participating in the study provided written informed consent. Recruitment e-mails were sent to students who did not complete consent forms but had preregistered for the course. Consent forms were accepted until the start of the spring 2013 semester. Students were offered $10 on their university card to cover printing costs as an incentive for participating in the research study. The lecturing faculty member was blinded to the participation status of the students.
All students who enrolled in the course through the preregistration process were randomly assigned to either the classroom or online section using block randomization. Students were informed by e-mail of their randomization and given the registration number for that course. Exceptions to the randomization (eg, scheduling conflicts, personal issues) were not allowed.
Faculty time spent on the online course development was minimal as the in-class lectures were recorded and then posted online for the online section. Information and instructional technology support was instrumental in making sure the online section had access to the recorded lectures in a timely fashion. No new technology was purchased for implementation of the online section. As a result of increased enrollment in the course, there was an increase in faculty time required for grading assignments and conducting the hands-on laboratory sessions. Also, because of the overall increase in course enrollment, additional proctors were required to administer the in-class quiz and final examination.
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