The University of Houston Embraces Hybrid Instruction
Concerns about the Quality of Fully Online Courses
The dramatic increase in DL has aroused a number of concerns among educators (Reis, Stavitsky, Gleason & Ryan, 2000). One concern is that course quality will suffer with conversion to a mediated format. A number of studies have found that students perceive DL classes as inferior in quality to f2f classes (Thyer, Artelt, Markward and Dozier, 1998). Faculty have also found that mediated courses can require significantly more time to prepare and conduct than do traditional courses (Reis et al, 2000).