Date of Award

4-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. John Caputo

Second Advisor

Dr. Heather Crandall

Third Advisor

Dr. Carolyn Cunningham

Abstract

Although online education is praised for convenience, a stigma still remains about its quality. Constant comparisons to traditional methods coupled with a popular belief that online education is ”easier” continue to denigrate online learning to an inferior alternative. Online education and the technology behind it are innovative but their relative immaturity has limited most of the research to an institutional perspective. This exploratory study examines the student perspective of online education in terms of personal satisfaction and frustration by interviewing eight students with online education experience and analyzing their perceptions using existing computer mediated communication theories. This study provides insight into the unique communication aspects of online education and shows how the rate of information exchange in online environments is expanding beyond originally understood capacities. Computer mediated communication theory should advance to reflect current channel and rate capacity if we are to fully understand the potential of online education.

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