Popularity of Online and Curiosity of On-Campus Learning Among Distance Education Students of PNG University of Technology, Papua New Guinea

Online education using information technology is an extension of classical education that brings higher education (university education) to the communities. The use of information technology and its efficacy for distance education in this region (Pacific Islands) is not widely reported. In this study, a purposely designed questionnaire with four open-ended questions was handdelivered to two focus groups of 180 students each (360 students) at the PNG University of Technology over three years (2017–2019) to determine the popularity of online and curiosity of on-campus learning among distance education students at the PNG University of Technology. The four open-ended questions were designed to show the popularity and curiosity of two modes of delivery, online and blended, and their efficacies. Nearly 60% of the young students showed online education is popular compared to 38% of the mature students with most of them (55%) demonstrating online education is a suitable mode of delivery in distance education. Demographic separation of the data indicated 15–30% of the female students thought a blended mode is suitable, compared to 60–80% who recommended against it. A similar number of male students (70– 75%) pointed out that the blended mode cannot be recommended to future distance education students because many higher education institutions are incapable of running concurrently their regular programs. In all, 60–75% of the respondents indicated providing online education is bringing university education to the communities, therefore, an important community service