| Although the number of online courses offered at the college level has increased significantly since 2002 with over 11.5 million students enrolled in online courses in the fall 2014, the attrition rates for online courses remains higher than face-to-face courses (Allen and Seaman, 2016). Studies have demonstrated high attrition rates in online courses at both the community college and university level. Maintaining strong communication with students from the beginning of the course to start building the trust of the students. (Casey & Kroth, 2013). With a lack of the traditional face-to-face interactions achieved in a classroom setting, instructors can incorporate methods for bridging the communication gap and sense of community through online discussion technologies to enhance student outcomes and increase attrition rates (McCarthy, Smith, & Deluca, 2010). Many prior studies have focused on the benefits of textual discussions, however many audio/video discussion methods have become more commonplace. Communication and students outcomes could help retain students in online courses. This study compared student test grades and final course grades in a Principles of Radiographic Exposures course at a public university to determine if using audio/video discussion methods resulted in higher test and final grades than utilizing textual discussion methods. The study concluded that a statistically significant difference did not exist between the two groups. Future research could include a larger study population as well as include different disciplines or a different method of audio/video discussion. |
