OLAF: An Assessment of Online Learning Outcomes Among Forestry and Natural Resource Management University Students

Online learning has become an important advance in education in the last decade. We developed an online learning system related to land and tree measurements. University students were given pre- and post-exposure surveys for two courses offered within the online system. Surveys were designed to assess whether the knowledge level and confidence of students increased through interaction with the online system. A final assessment was conducted to understand user experiences with the online technology. Statistically significant increases in knowledge and confidence concerning land measurement concepts and tree measurement topics were evident among survey participants. Survey participants agreed that the course functioned properly, that graphics and images within the courses were useful, and that using the system prior to in-person instruction helped students better understand concepts.