title: Should I take this course online?
abstract: As the number of online nursing courses increases, students are faced with the daunting question, "Should I take this course online?" Although online courses are convenient, convenience should not be the sole factor for making this decision. Students and their advisors should discuss the characteristics of successful online students before deciding to take a course online. A study was conducted in which the same face-to-face and online version of a course were compared using Ragan's framework. The results of the study describe characteristics that can serve as useful criteria for predicting student success in an online course.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Health, University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. oneil@son.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: O'Neil
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D020375:Education, Distance / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D008875:Middle Aged; D017145:Models, Educational; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D015397:Program Evaluation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*