Measuring ecoshock and affective learning in an online learning ecology

Students in an introductory communication course were asked to participate in an experiment to create an index for ecoshock and determine the relationship of ecoshock to other constructs. Students were assigned to a face-to-face (FTF) and an online learning ecology in order to measure the presence of ecoshock in both environment. The ecoshock index was tested against the construct of affective learning to determine the relationship between ecoshock and students' internalized positive attitudes toward course content and subject matter. The results of the study showed evidence that the reported experience of ecoshock in the online learning ecology is significantly higher than the reported experience of ecoshock in a FTF learning ecology. Furthermore, students in the FTF learning environment reported higher affective learning than in an online learning environment. Importantly, the results of the study indicated a strong negative relationship between ecoshock and affective learning.