1363 L Learning Outcomes Across Instructional Delivery Modes Bosede Aworuwa Texas A&M University-Texarkana, USA Robert Owen Texas A&M University-Texarkana, USA Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. INTRODUCTION A discussion of distance learning usually entails a wide range of instructional and learning activities, instruc- tional delivery modalities, and learner interactions characterized by some distance between the teacher and the learner, and mediated by a variety of technological tools (Schlosser & Simonson, 2002; Tiene & Ingram, 2001). The tools available for the delivery and access to learning materials contribute in large measure to the kind of experiences that learners have with distance learning. Distance-learning delivery and access tools have radically evolved in recent years with the advent of new and mostly Web-based technologies. Podcast- ing, virtual communities, and social networking tools, such as Facebook and MySpace, all have implications for how current and future learners access and even cocreate contents of instruction locally and at a distance (Appel, 2007). Distance learning environments employ any dif- ferent combination of telecommunication systems. These include cable, satellite, two-way interactive fber networks, desktop videoconferencing, and the Internet. Components of online learning environments, such as a computer interface, provide access to data in a variety of formats (text, graphics, videos, audios, or multimedia). Online communication tools facilitate student-to-student, student-to-teacher, and student- to-content interactions. Course management software contains evaluation tools to assess and monitor students’ progress, as well as tools to provide support to learners (Tiene & Ingram, 2001). Each combination of these technologies provides pedagogical opportunities or obstacles that can affect outcomes of learning. The technologies present the opportunity to deliver instruction, in different modali- ties, synchronously or asynchronously. Synchronous instruction and learning can take place through live face-to-face instruction, interactive broadcast media, and communication forums of the Internet. Asynchro- nously, instruction and learning can take place through the World Wide Web and through prerecorded audio and video. The present authors contend that we lose and gain certain outcomes by using particular delivery modalities. Effective selection of different modalities has implications for optimal educational outcomes. BACKGROUND Instruction offered to the distance learner today falls into a range that can be categorized along a quasi-con- tinuum of modalities. On one end of the continuum is the traditional face-to-face instruction delivered by a live instructor to students in other locations through distance media such as the interactive television and live Web cast. On the other end of the continuum is the completely automated instruction in which the machines take the place of a live instructor to provide learners with dynamic interaction with course content, as in the case of online simulations. In between these two modalities are hybrids or blended models in which face-to-face instruction is combined with the use of various online tools. These include the information assistance model in which the Web is used as a placeholder for course syllabi and other class information, Web-assisted or Web-enhanced instruction (Dabbagh, 2000) in which some of the course activities are carried out with the aid of the online tools such as e-mail, discussion board, listserv, and fully online instruction in which students’ interaction with each other, course materials, and the instructor is totally through online means. As we move from left to right of this continuum, there are trade-offs in educational outcomes of deliver-