The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of
e-learning versus those of traditional instructor-based
learning, on student learning, based on student learning
styles. Another goal was to determine if e-learning is more
effective for those with a particular learning style. The
Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) measured the learning
styles of students. This post-test, intact-group design
examined the dependent variable of student knowledge
based on the learning style of each subject and the
learning method to which each was exposed. The results
revealed that for the instructor-based learning class
(traditional), the learning style was irrelevant, but for the
web-based learning class (e-learning), the learning style
was significantly important. The results indicated that
students with the Assimilator learning style (these learn
best through lecture, papers and analogies) and the
Converger learning style (these learn best through
laboratories, field work and observations) achieved a
better result with the e-learning (web-based) method.

Do ICT skills of freshmen change in 6 months at the university? What is the contribution of learning styles (or patterns) to the explanation of the variance in self-perceived ICT skills and the possible change in these skills? And what is the contribution of learning styles and of gender, social class, and ICT course attendance to the explanation of the variance in these skills? To answer these questions, data were collected in a panel research project that recruited 714 freshmen at a large Belgian university. The data show that the ability of the students to maintain a computer and to develop a website improves at the university but not the ability to use the Internet or to apply basic ICT skills. The analyses show that there is a link, albeit weak, between learning styles and self-perceived ICT skills. Learning styles can partially explain differences between groups of students with different characteristics. The data show that having a certain learning style might influence the perception of students of their ICT skill, but learning styles do not allow one to predict the change in the self-perceived ICT skills of the students.