ERIC ED602380: A Pilot Study on the Comparison between Blended and F2F Learning Methods in a SQL Course

* a in! TCYE [ The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology — December 2019, Special Issue for IETC-ITEC-INTEVolume 2 The Turkish*Online Joum of Educational Technol A PILOT STUDY ON THE COMPARISON BETWEEN BLENDED AND F2F LEARNING METHODS IN A SQL COURSE Mithat YAVUZARSLAN Computer Education and Instructional Technologies, Yeditepe University, Turkey mithat.yavuzarslan@yeditepe.edu.tr Hakan OLGUN Informatics, Istanbul University, Turkey hakan.olgun@ogr.istanbul.edu.tr Selim YAZICI Business Administration, Istanbul University, Turkey selim@istanbul.edu.tr ABSTRACT One of the main outcomes of the current period is to decrease in the cost and energy of accessing the information due to rapid growing of internet and Information Technologies. Therefore, transferring online courses to users via e-learning platforms has became more and more preferred in recent years. This paper aims to investigate the effect of an online course designed in Google Course Builder to teach introductory level SQL (Structured Query Language) on students’ knowledge and skills on use of SQL. 61 undergraduate students from a private university in Turkey who were enrolled in “Basic Computer Applications” course participated in this research. To establish an experimental research design, the students were randomly separated into experimental and control groups. Blended learning method was applied to the experimental group whose participants enrolled in the online course (SQL Course) and face-to-face (F2F) method was applied to the control group with the same learning content. While SQL Mid-Test was only conducted to observe the change of experimental group, SQL Final Test was applied to both groups. Since the sample size of the experimental group is under 30 and a normal distribution was not found, Mann-Whitney U Test was performed to compare the means of experimental and control groups. To compare the means of SQL Mid-Test and SQL-Final Test, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was performed. After two weeks of experiment, it was found that there is a significant difference between two groups in favor of participants taught with F2F method. It was also revealed that slightly but significant improvement were found on the academic performance of the experimental group. On one hand, the comparison between two groups demonstrated the constraints for learning a scripting language in a short time, however on the other hand results also showed the positive effect of blended learning environment to students’ learning performance towards using introductory level SQL. All findings of the study were discussed in the light of relevant literature. Key Words: e-learning, blended learning, F2F learning, SQL INTRODUCTION In recent years, the advances in information and communication technologies are continuing to change the mentality of education in terms of both academic and institutional. To investigate the relationships and differences between e-learning and traditional methods has always been a significant task for enhancing the quality of education. This study is designed as a pilot study to compare blended and face-to-face (F2F) learning methods and the findings of the experiment were discussed in the light of relevant literature. E-Learning and Blended Learning Methods E-learning has emerged with the rapid advance of information technologies and electronic systems in the last 20 years. The widest definition of e-learning is “the use of Internet technologies to deliver a broad array of solutions that enhance knowledge and performance” (Rosenberg, 2001, p.11). Pollard and Hillage (2001) stated that elearning concept refers to the processes such as providing information via information and communication technologies to enhance learning performance, preparing interactive learning materials to develop personal skills, and creating a multi-dimensional relationship between learner and instructor (monitoring the learning process, feedbacks, peer learning) by transforming the two previous steps into a broader level. When compared to F2F learning, a number of advantages makes e-learning more preferable. Schweizer (2004) indicated that institutions give priority to e-learning because of the quality of information in e-learning environment, productivity of new technologies in terms of their costs, spreading culture of e-learning and internet based technologies, increase of online courses, reduction of business cycles, and increasing competition in business www .tojet.net Copyright © The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology 17 a | TCYE [ The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology — December 2019, Special Issue for IETC-ITEC-INTEVolume 2 The Turkish“Online Joum of Educational Technolo market. Ally (2004) also emphasized that online learning platforms are transcending the boundaries of time and space, facilitating to access contemporary learning materials, and providing to communicate directly with the instructor. Additionally, directing student