The Challenges of E-Learning - Essay Example

? THE CHALLENGES OF E-LEARNING goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper] Table of Contents Contents Page Introduction 1 2. Main Issues 1 2.1 Communication through Writing 2 2.2 Lack of Group Discussion 3 2.3 Web Navigation 4 2.4 Interacting With Teachers 5 3. Getting Success in Online Environment 6 4. Conclusion 6 1. Introduction The concept of online education is finding its base in almost every educational system all over the world. As Rogers (n.d., p. 1) states, “Distance learning is a course or program completed remotely from the school or university which offers the educational opportunity”. Online learning refers to such environment where teachers have no physical presence and both students and teachers have to communicate with each other using different communication technologies, such as, internet. E-learning offers a number of considerable benefits to students. Some of the main benefits of learning for students include learning flexibility, improved adaptability to technology, improved computer skills, improved time management ability, and improved communication skills. In the present world, online learning is making its ground because it is proving very beneficial for distance learners (Shepherd 2012). "E-learning with its more active and interesting opportunities is gradually replacing the traditional form of teaching” (Roy 2010, p. 1). However, there exist some problems that learners usually face while studying in an online learning environment. In this paper, we will discuss some key problems that students face when studying in online environments. The paper will also include some discussion on the ways that can be used to overcome those challenges. 2. Main Issues Some of the main problems for distance learners in online learning environments include decreased interaction with teachers, difficulty in communication through writing, lack of group discussion, and lack of web navigation skills. All of these problems make distance learning difficult for students. Let us discuss these problems in detail and find some solutions to overcome these issues. 2.1 Communication through Writing Communication through writing is one of the main problems associated with e-learning system. E-learning system requires people to be skilled in communicating with fellows and teachers through writing because most of the communication takes place in written form. “In online learning environment, most communications will be done in written format” (Havert 2010, p. 1). As compared to traditional learning system where students can interact with each other and with their teachers verbally, e-learning system requires students to be more efficient in writing. Some people are not skilled in doing electronic mode of communication, such as emails and it creates problems for them as online students. Another very important think to consider in online study environments is the ability to use of blackboards and discussion boards. For example, if we talk about discussion boards, we can say that they not only enable communication between teachers and students but also provide a way to the students to interact with other students. Some online institutes make use of graded discussion boards to measure knowledge of the students. In graded discussion boards, teachers ask the students to write short paragraphs on the topics provided by them. Teachers mark the responses of the students considering the relevance of the content with the topic. Some students are not skilled in the use of graded discussion boards because of which they sometimes miss the deadlines of the discussions and get no marks allocated for the graded discussions. Solution As the ability to communicate through writing is very important for a student doing online study, therefore, students should improve their written communication skills to be successful in online learning environments. They should improive their computer skills, as well as internet skills to reap the benefits of e-learning. Moreover, it is also the responsbility of oinline education providers to give some raining to new students before starting the actual course. A one-week training before the start of the course can prove very beenficial for the students who do not have sufficient amount of knowledge regarding the ways to be successful in e-learning environment. In training, students should be taught the way to open assignments, submit assignments, submit quizzes, and participate in graded discussion boards. 2.2 Lack of Group Discussion Lack of group discussion is another problem that students usually face when studying in online learning environments. In online learning environments, students are geographically separated from each other because of which they cannot interact with each other to discuss course related concepts or to prepare for exams. Group discussions usually play an important role in promoting students’ learning ability and exam performances. For example, when students study in the form of group, they discuss different course related issues with each other which results in strengthening their concepts about the course and their exam performances improve as a result. On the other hand, when they do not get a chance to discuss things with each other, they cannot build their concepts properly because of which the level of their exam performances goes down. This is the case with majority of their students studying in online learning environments. They find it hard to share their knowledge with their class fellows because they do not know their locations. There are many benefits of group discussions that students studying in traditional learning environments can get. Some of those benefits include improved concepts, improved learning through communication, and increased understanding of course related knowledge. Online students have to find their class fellows online in order to form groups and do combine study. Solution To overcome this issue, online education providers should form groups for students of same semesters or classes on their own in order to facilitate students in interacting with other students of their class. They should create sections for all classes on their website so that students from any particular class can interact with the students of their respective semesters/classes easily for knowledge sharing and group discussions. 2.3 Web Navigation Some students are less skilled in the use of internet and other IT based technologies. For example, some students do not know how to operate the websites of their e-learning providers and the way to use their logins to view assignments and quizzes. Moreover, they also feel difficulty in exploring other websites while doping assignments. For example, they do not know how to go the relevant websites to get the required material for study. Some students are not skilled in using basic software applications because of which they become late in submitting their assignments and quizzes and consequently they get low marks. In traditional settings, a person has many class fellows around him/her who can guide him/her in all matters, but in online settings, a person has to do everything on his/her own which make e-learning slow and uneasy for some people. Solution Therefore, a good way for the students is to achieve success in e-learning environments is to get perfection in the use of internet. Perfection in web navigation is very important to participate in online discussions, as well as in online quizzes and assignments. As most of the communication between students and teachers takes place through internet, so students need to be efficient in the use of different internet applications. 2.4 Interacting With Teachers Another difficulty that learners face in online environments is their ability to interact with teachers. In traditional settings, students can easily interact with their teachers and can ask questions to them to clear their concepts. They can interact with them at any time in the institute which is a great benefit of traditional education. On the other hand, in e-learning environment students cannot communicate with teachers easily or at time when they need them. For example students have to send emails to their teachers regarding their questions and have to wait for the replies due to which the interaction process becomes slow. The reason is that in an e-learning environment, teachers have no physical presence and students have to listen to their teachers through videos available on internet or through television channels. In this way, students are unable to ask questions directly to their teachers, rather they have to contact their teachers through discussion boards and emails, which can affect the learning process for students. Solution The solution for this problem is implementation of such system which should speed up the question and answer process for students. Lowering the response time is the most viable solution for this problem. Students should also adapt themselves to this feature of online learning in order to be successful in such environments. 3. Getting Success in Online Environment To be successful in e-learning environment, students need to have some key skills and abilities related to internet usage and written communication. There exist some viable ways for students to achieve success in e-learning environments. Some of the main ways include improving written communication skills, making proper time management schedule, and improving web navigation skills (Roper 2007). Time management is the most effective way to succeed in online education (Gatlin n.d.). Self-motivation is also a key element of success in online settings (Brighton 2010). Along with all these success factors, student participation also holds much importance in online environment (Woods 2011). 4. Conclusion Summing it up, an e-learning environment is one in which students and teachers are geographically distant from each other and teachers have no physical presence in front of students. Although such learning environments offer flexibility, ease of time management, and other considerable benefits like these to students, but students need to be proficient in the use of web and written communication in order to overcome the challenges of e-learning and reap maximum benefits of online educational system. References Brighton, T 2010, Success in online learning, viewed 08 May 2013, http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/dso/how-to/success-online.php Gatlin, S n.d., How to Succeed as an Online Student, viewed 08 May 2013, http://distancelearn.about.com/od/distancelearning101/a/studentsuccess.htm Havert, J 2010, What Qualities Make For a Good Online Student?, viewed 08 May 2013, http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Qualities-Make-For-a-Good-Online-Student?&id=3926058 Rogers, C n.d., What is Distance Learning?, viewed 08 May 2013, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-distance-learning.htm Roper, A 2007, How Students Develop Online Learning Skills, viewed 08 May 2013, http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/how-students-develop-online-learning-skills Roy, P 2010, Importance of E-Learning, viewed 08 May 2013, http://ezinearticles.com/?Importance-of-E-Learning&id=4005671 Shepherd, C 2012, What is e-learning good for?, viewed 08 May 2013, http://clive-shepherd.blogspot.com/2012/07/what-is-e-learning-good-for.html#!/2012/07/what-is-e-learning-good-for.html Woods, D 2011, The Key to Successful Elearning, viewed 08 May 2013, http://www.dougwoods.co.uk/blog/the-key-to-successful-elearning/ Read More