The US Department of Education recently released a report called "The Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning; a Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies." The full report is available to the public at http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf.

There are many interesting findings in the report but one that stood out was that "classes with online learning (whether taught completely online or blended) on average produce stronger student learning outcomes than do classes with solely face-to-face instruction."

In this study, students took the same courses in both online learning environments and in face-to-face learning environments. While, the students who completed online / eLearning courses did show better results, those who were exposed to a blended learning approach (with both online learning and face-to-face elements), did even better. It was also found that students who only completed online courses, did not have as high results as those who experienced the blended environment that also included some aspect of face-to-face instruction.

Another part of the report goes on to state that online learning with student-prompted interaction and the ability to be individualized based on specific needs produced even better results.

"Studies comparing variations of online learning provides some additional insights with respect to designing effective online learning experiences. The practice with the strongest evidence of effectiveness is inclusion of mechanisms to prompt students to reflect on their level of understanding as they are learning online. In a related vein, there is some evidence that online learning environments with the capacity to individualize instruction to a learner's specific needs improves effectiveness."

It has long been Avilar's feeling that a blended learning approach is most effective and this really encourages us. That's why our WebMentor LMS has a full set of features for delivering and supporting blended learning environments and our skill assessment and development product WebMentor Skills allows users to create their own Individual Development Plans.

I was very pleased to see the results of this study which show the value of weaving online learning into training and development programs.