There is an assumption that a face-to-face interaction delivers a better result than a ‘cold’ online interaction. But that is not always the case.
For an increasing number of tasks, a well-managed website is much better than a human being at helping you get the job done.
Sometimes it’s a mix. You go online and do a bunch of stuff on your own and then you get some online help to do some more.
“On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction,” according to a report by SRI International. “The report examined the comparative research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 2001 to 2010,” Steve Lohr wrote in a New York Times article. “Some of it was in K-12 settings, but most of the comparative studies were done in colleges and adult continuing-education programs of various kinds, from medical training to the military.”
The study found that, on average, students studying online ranked in the 59th percentile in tested performance, in comparison to classroom students who ranked in the 50th percentile.
We are only scratching the surface of the potential that the Web can deliver. It’s a very exciting time and if you’re involved in the Web you are standing in the middle of the beginning of one very big revolution in how we live, learn, work and play.