Is the use of an online course delivery format, when compared with the more traditional face-to-face format, good or bad in the context of university education? Those who subscribe to the no-significant-difference perspective argue that online delivery is good, because it allows students with time and geographic distance constraints to obtain the education that they need, with no significant negative impact on the quality of the learning experience. Others argue that online delivery is bad, advocating a version of the competing significant-difference perspective, because the electronic communication media used for online delivery are not rich or natural enough to enable effective learning. This study contrasted students perceptions and grades in two different sections of the same course: one delivered entirely online and the other delivered face to face. Data were collected and analyzed at two points in time, namely, at the middle and end of a long semester. The study found support for both the no-significant-and significant-difference perspectives. At the middle of the semester, students in the online condition perceived communication ambiguity as significantly higher, and also obtained significantly lower grades, than students in the face-to-face condition. At the end of the semester, no significant differences were found.

This study provides a combined test of the media naturalness and channel expansion theories with a study of communication media perceptions and use outcomes in the context of a college information systems course delivery. Data was collected from undergraduate students at the middle and end of a long semester. Approximately half of the students took the course face-to-face, and the other half online. As predicted, based on media naturalness theory, grades were significantly higher in the face-to-face condition than the online condition at the middle of the semester. Consistent with predictions based on channel expansion theory, the difference between grades obtained at the middle of the semester disappeared at the end of the semester. This study shows that online course delivery may lead to both negative and positive effects in the same semester, leading to a final outcome that is generally positive. It provides a more nuanced view of online course delivery effects, and clarifies previous empirical findings that appear paradoxical at first glance.

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The collaboration of individuals across large geographic distances began some time ago, perhaps as far back as the 19th century, with the invention of the telegraph, due to its significant impact on communication (Teresko, 2000). Today, with the increased use of computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web, electronic communication (e-communication), as well as electronic collaboration (e-collaboration) offer individuals around the world the possibility of working together. The wide use of tools such as e-mail and instant messaging, among others, captured the attention of scholars, who began searching for theories that could explain the behavior surrounding the use of electronic media (Kock, 2005b; Simon, 2006).

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