@article {
	title = {Do tutors make a difference in online learning? A comparative study in two Open Online Courses},
	author = {Heller, Richard Frederick and Chilolo, Edward and Elliott, Jonny and Johnson, Brian and Lipman, David and Ononeze, Victoria and Richards, Justin},
	abstract = {Two free fully online courses were offered by Peoples-uni on its Open Online Courses site, both as self-paced courses available any time and as courses run over four weeks with tutor-led discussions. We tested the hypothesis that there are no measurable differences in outcomes between the two delivery methods. Similar numbers attended both versions of each course; students came from multiple countries and backgrounds. Numbers of discussion forum posts were greater in tutor-led than self-paced courses. Measured outcomes of certificates of completion, quiz completion and marks gained were very similar and not statistically significantly different between the tutor-led and the self-paced versions of either course. In light of little discernible difference in outcome between self-paced learning compared with courses including tutor-led discussions, the utility of the time cost to tutors is in question. The findings may be relevant to others designing online courses, including MOOCs.},
	year = {2019},
	month = {07/2019},
	language = {English},
	journal = {Open Praxis},
	volume = {11},
	issue = {3},
	pages = {229-241},
	country = {Australia},
	doi = {10.5944/openpraxis.11.3.960},
	issn = {2304-070X},
	refereed = {yes},
	keywords = {open online course, tutor, outcome, student engagement, motivation, self-paced learning},
	attachments = {960-3798-2-PB.pdf},
}