The spread of COVID-19 struck us without warning and left educational institutions scrambling to respond to its emergencies. As a result, Institutions made a swift shift to the online mode of learning amid the lockdown restrictions where they were looking forward to this change but not this early. In comparison to traditional learning, online learning has a lot to offer. It is accessible at lesser costs, great flexibility for both students and teachers and more. However, online learning has certain challenges that require attention.
Here are some major challenges facing online education:
1) Boredom: several e-learning courses consist of never-ending texts or have multiple-choice questions that fail to engage students. With courses like these, students often get bored, and this lack of engagement and motivation is one of the main reasons for e-learning courses failure. Students often stop accessing the platform and do not complete their course; even if they do, they do not follow it whole-heartedly.
2) Technical issues: not all students and even teachers has the strong access to internet connection that online courses require.There are also compatibility issues that add a layer of difficulty. All this may lead to their frustration, reduces engagement and interest, the learning experience gets disrupted, and they probably abandon the course.
3) Gadgets shortage: not every student & teacher has a personal gadget to use. Many of them share their laptops, mobile devices and computers with their parents or siblings to keep up with their work.
4) No practical knowledge: in online learning, there are some limitations; not every subject can be mastered. For instance, subjects like science (Biology, chemistry and physics) has shown that the best way to learn something is by practicing it. The more you practice, the better you learn. It is the experiential learning through which we can internalize and recall the content and skills we learn. However, several online courses neglect this part and focus solely on theoretical content and external lessons. Students do not get to practice, and the learning process does not give the desired outcome.
5) Lack of motivation: in online learning, self-motivation is an essential requirement; but not all manage to stay motivated throughout the course. After enrolement, many learners fail to catch up the virtual classroom requirements, maybe due to low bandwidth, little or no access to technological devices or other technical issues.
sometimes teachers won't even notice that these are real challenges and can reflect on a students education progress.
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