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Discriminant analysis was used to determine whether classifications could be made between students enrolled in e-learning and in face-to-face university courses (N = 353) based on their scores from separate instruments measuring sense of community and motivation. Study results provide evidence that the predictors were able to distinguish between the 2 groups. The results reveal that stronger intrinsic motivation of the online group represents the most important predictor in discriminating between online and traditional students. Implications of these results for online instructors are discussed, and recommendations for further research are provided.
INTRODUCTION
Distance learning has increased markedly in recent years. According to the Allen and Seaman (2006), 3.1 million students studied online in the fall of 2005 and it is projected that numbers will continue to increase. The additional number of online learners in 2005 was around 850,000, more than twice the number added in any previous year, and online students represented 17% of the total student population in higher education. This growth rate greatly exceeds the overall growth rate in the higher education student body and is over ten times that projected by the National Center for Education Statistics for the general postsecondary student population. A growing body of research compares online instruction to face-to-face instruction, much of which reports no significant differences (Saba, 2000). These studies do, however, reveal the complexity of distance education, indicating the many variables involved in the concept. Two important variables that affect distance learning are the sense of community experienced by the students and the degree to which students are motivated to learn in an online environment. This study examines these two variables and seeks to identify whether they can be used to classify participants as being either online or face to face students.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Sense of Community
A sense of community is important for all learners, whether they be online or face-to-face students. McMillan and Chavis (1986) define sense of community as "a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members' needs will be met through their commitment to be together" (p. 9). They identify membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection as the...