We are discovering that online courses are not a panacea. We must tread lightly here, and remember that those students who are academically challenged need physical instruction. They need the discernment and support of an expert educator to help navigate the difficult waters of remediation. Here is a study showing the online “remedy” does not work for older students. If we extrapolate we can only imagine that little ones, who need expert instruction and help cannot and must not be assigned online courses to remediate. To those of us who have been in the field a long time, this is common sense. In academia, however, we know that common sense is often not common.
“Academically challenged students do worse in online than in face-to-face courses. The existing evidence suggests that online coursework should be focused on expanding course options or providing acceleration for students who are academically prepared, rather than shoring up the performance of those who are lagging.”
