New information and communication technologies yet made their way to support, amend, and enlarge classical knowledge transfers. In the case of teaching methodologies, various e-learning instruments are entering classrooms worldwide and therefore enforce the development of new didactical concepts of teaching. Whereas numerous studies describe the e-learning state-of-the-art as well as the respective experiences in practice, model driven analysis of the implied learning effects and concerning utilities are extensively lacking.
The objective of this paper is to shift the perspective to theoretical impacts of knowledge transfers and the feasible learner’s utility gained by different teaching strategies. Following the Uses-and-Gratification Theory (Blumler and Katz, 1974), the derived model compares three learning and teaching scenarios. The underlying assumptions are that the information content itself stays constant and is a fixed factor regardless in which transmission context the learning material is delivered whereas each learner makes an individual choice of the channel or bundle of channels the learning information is provided. Thus, the scenarios ‘traditional in-class teaching’, ‘proper e-learning’ and ‘Blended Learning’ as a combination of in-class sessions supported by aligned virtual learning offers are determined and enhanced by the incorporation of individual learning curves and differing media preferences.
The study examines utility functions and emerging learning benefits by comparing complementary teaching methods to optimize future teaching strategies and hence, to foster learning outcomes.