TY  - JOUR
AU  - Figlio,David N.
AU  - Rush,Mark
AU  - Yin,Lu
TI  - Is it Live or is it Internet? Experimental Estimates of the Effects of Online Instruction on Student Learning
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 16089
PY  - 2010
Y2  - June 2010
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16089
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16089.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
David N. Figlio
Institute for Policy Research
Northwestern University
2040 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
Tel: 847-467-1503
Fax: 847-491-9916
E-Mail: figlio@northwestern.edu

Mark Rush
University of Florida
Department of Economics
P.O. Box 117140
Gainesville, FL  32611-7140
E-Mail: mark.rush@cba.ufl.edu

Lu Yin
University of Florida
Department of Economics
P.O. Box 117140
Gainesville, FL 32611-7140
E-Mail: luyin@ufl.edu
AB  - This paper presents the first experimental evidence on the effects of live versus internet media of instruction. Students in a large introductory microeconomics course at a major research university were randomly assigned to live lectures versus watching these same lectures in an internet setting, where all other factors (e.g., instruction, supplemental materials) were the same. Counter to the conclusions drawn by a recent U.S. Department of Education meta-analysis of non-experimental analyses of internet instruction in higher education, we find modest evidence that live-only instruction dominates internet instruction. These results are particularly strong for Hispanic students, male students, and lower-achieving students. We also provide suggestions for future experimentation in other settings.
ER  -