Questions & Answers

This is a question for entrepreneurial facilitators working in virtual learning environments. From your experience, what is the best class size?

This is a question for entrepreneurial facilitators working in virtual learning environments. From your experience, what is the best number of attendees to have enrolled in a class? Do small class sizes yield a better learning experience for the virtual learner?

Asked by Ann Shofner

45 on Jul 22, 2009 18:17 EDT

Version History

Date Edited
Notes
Jul 22, 2009 18:21 EDT
Corrected a misspelled word

Answer Question

Best Answers As determined by asker

There are no best answers selected.

All Answers

Mathew Georghiou 75

Good question. I'm not sure there is an ideal size as it probably depends on what the course is about.

Certainly, a smaller group has the opportunity to become more intimate, but this may manifest itself more in the offline world than it does in the online world. Online activities tend to be more interesting when there are enough people contributing to the activity.

Assuming technology is not a limitation (which it is), there are some benefits to a large class size when it comes to online courses. For example, the more people involved, the more student-generated content there will be. Students will generate more ideas, more questions, post more resources, and perhaps begin to collaborate more amongst themselves as they answer each other's questions, etc. It could direct the instructor to do more facilitation than professing.

So, it appears as though there are pros and cons to all sizes, so ultimately it comes down to what the objectives of the online activity are.
Reply
Sep 1, 2009 16:21 EDT
Thread 1

Cristina 20

I think that, being a virtual environment, it's best that a class becomes a small community. So, there will be more ideas, more communication, more resources and more feedback. The ideal size in my opinion is around 25 students.
Reply
Jul 24, 2009 06:51 EDT
Thread 2

EntreOasis