AUTHOR=Gernsbacher Morton Ann TITLE=Why internet-based education? JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology VOLUME=5 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01530 DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01530 ISSN=1664-1078 ABSTRACT=

This essay illustrates five ways that Internet-based higher education can capitalize on fundamental principles of learning. Internet-based education can enable better mastery through distributed (shorter, more frequent) practice rather than massed (longer, less frequent) practice; it can optimize performance because it allows students to learn at their peak time of their day; it can deepen memory because it requires cheat-proof assignments and tests; it can promote critical thinking because it necessitates intellectual winnowing and sifting; and it can enhance writing skills by requiring students to write frequently and for a broad audience.