Successful Course Transition from Traditional Delivery Methods to the Online Format

Instructors and course development experts are trying to define methodologies that will facili-tate the effective transferal of learning from the traditional classroom to the online environ-ment. Many agree that the most difficult item to emulate in the online environment is effective interpersonal communication between students and instructors. This study examined two lower level information systems courses at Northwest Missouri State University that are mapped to the IS 2002 model curriculum. The purpose was to determine if there were differ-ences in grades between online and traditional students. The researchers were also interested in determining any differences in student—instructor interaction that might exist in the online delivery method between the two courses. Course grades for a management information sys-tems course were compared by instructor, grade point average, number of credit hours com-pleted, and delivery mode. The only significant difference that surfaced was for delivery mode. Individual assignment grades and course grades for a computer literacy course were also compared with no significant difference found between online students and classroom stu-dents. A major component difference between these two courses was the use of multimedia delivery of instruction. The computer literacy course utilized streaming video components and planned student—instructor interaction while the management information systems course made limited use of these tools. These findings led to a redesign of the management informa-tion systems course for the Fall 2005 semester with increased use of these methodologies in hopes of increasing online student performance