Students' Perceived Difficulty and Satisfaction in Face-to-Face vs. Online Sections of a Technology-Intensive Course

One of the major concerns about online learning has been the low level of student satisfaction and retention rates. Using the community of inquiry (CoI) framework, this study examined course delivery modes and students' perceived ratings of course difficulty in online and face-to-face sections of a technology-intensive course and how the delivery modes and perceived difficulty were related to the essential elements of the CoI framework and course satisfaction. The findings revealed that more students in the online section found it difficult to learn in a technology-intensive course. Also, while different delivery modes were closely related to social presence, students' perceived course difficulty was significantly related to teaching and cognitive presences of the CoI framework. Additionally, there was a correlation between students' perceived difficulty ratings and student satisfaction in online learning.