Challenges of Online Learning

In general, distance education has four defining components (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2003):

Four Defining Components of Distance Learning

  1. It is institutionally based.
  2. Teacher and student are separated.
  3. It uses interactive telecommunications.
  4. Participants share data, voice, and video.

Of these components, the separation of teacher and student is one of the biggest challenges of online learning. This separation can cause anxiety and feelings of isolation for students. A goal of online learning is to reduce the feeling of separation. Communication and prompt feedback via email, discussion boards, gradebook, and other tools in D2L can help meet this challenge.

Internet connections and other technology can also be a challenge. Occasionally servers fail, routers go down, hard drives crash, or the Internet gets congested. Any of these can cause frustration.

In sharing data at a distance, students also have much more responsibility for their own learning and motivation than in a traditional classroom environment. Students could experience new content, a new way learning, and new technology simultaneously in an online environment. This situation can be difficult for some students to manage.

These challenges can be overcome through effective online teaching practices. An overview of these practices is illustrated by the Seven Principles of Good Practice (Chickering and Gamson, 1987).

References

Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin, 39 (7), 3–7.

 

Simonson, M., S. Smaldino, M. Albright and S. Zvacek. 2003. Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education. Upper Saddle River , N.J. : Merrill/Prentice Hall.