Working from home as well as online education has become the new norm because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the concept of studying from home existed before the pandemic, it has certainly reached a whole new level in these challenging times.
While online education turned out to be the biggest savior for both institutions and students, it has its own challenges.
It’s critical for all the stakeholders including institutions, teachers, and students to overcome these challenges in order to execute online education most effectively and efficiently.
That’s where this article comes into place that discusses the biggest challenges facing online education and how to overcome them.
Let’s go ahead and get into it.
What Are the Biggest Challenges Facing Online Education Today?
It can lead to indiscipline in students if they are unable to learn what they need.
Here’s a list of the biggest challenges regarding online learning along with solutions to address them.
Adaptability
Adaptability to the online education environment is perhaps the most common problem that both teachers and students face.
It’s difficult for many people to get used to computer-based education because of the sudden change.
Students and teachers who have been interacting with each other in the traditional classroom mindset find it difficult to perform with the same efficiency and focus using online platforms.
Solution to Overcome
Nowadays institutions and other independent online learning platforms use artificial intelligence for adaptive learning that allows teachers and students to adjust their content based on their unique needs.
It allows teachers to understand their strengths and weaknesses to curate personalized for each student to generate better outcomes.
Distractions
Distractions are undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges that everyone, involved in online learning, faces.
A pet running in your room or just a delivery guy ringing your doorbell can be disruptive.
Time management becomes even more challenging as a result of additional responsibilities and distractions.
Both students and teachers need to manage their time by taking online education more seriously and set their daily schedules.
More importantly, they also need to learn to stick to their timetable despite the continuous distractions.
Solution to Overcome
The best way to overcome distractions is to have a dedicated spot for studying in your home.
You need to make sure that it’s quiet and not accessible to your pets and young siblings.
Teachers also need to do the same to improve their productivity.
Building a daily schedule that explains what you need to do on that day and sticking to it is also very important.
You can also share it with your family members to let them know that you won’t be available for anything during your online learning sessions.
You might also need to use some tools in your smartphones to block social media apps while you’re studying.
After all, you don’t want to waste a couple of hours by scrolling up and down needlessly.
Technical Limitations
Not every student and teacher has a strong internet connection with high bandwidth for their online classes.
You might also face some compatibility problems with your smartphones, tablets, browsers, or even operating systems.
It’s also important to note that not all people own powerful computers that can run modern online learning platforms seamlessly.
These technical limitations add another layer of difficulty for people involved in online education.
Not only does it reduce interest and engagement, but it can also lead to frustration that can completely disrupt the online learning experience.
Solution to Overcome
The best way to overcome this challenge is to inform your instructors about your situation.
Many professors conducting online classes usually record their sessions and they can provide you with that.
You can also opt for courses that can easily be searched online.
Make sure that you can find the desired information easily and download it on the device you have to learn the course at your own pace.
This way you can sort out all types of technical problems to make sure that they don’t make the process of online learning problematic.
Lack of Social Interactions
If you’re involved in online education, then you’d already know that it lacks the social aspect of your academic life.
Within the layouts of the traditional academic programs, institutions provide both teachers and students with plenty of opportunities for useful social interactions with peers.
While you can have virtual social lounges and classroom activities with online learning, it’s still not the same as in-person and physical interactions.
You can create more considerable and meaningful bonds by interacting with your colleagues and co-students in person.
Depending upon your nature, it can be very difficult for you to adjust to a virtual learning environment.
Solution to Overcome
Due to the absence of a teacher and lack of human contact to discuss issues, you can easily get frustrated by online education.
Sometimes you need a physical space to practice with real tools and resolve your queries.
That’s why the online world, despite its perks, can become too small.
You can organize online forums, group work, and webinars to foster your personal interaction as much as possible within the online learning environment.
It’s also possible to conduct a weekly or monthly in-person meeting with your colleagues or classmates in your home as well.
However, you’ll need to make sure that you follow all the safety protocols such as social distancing.
No Practical Knowledge
Online education comes with a lot of limitations.
One of the most hurting ones is that it doesn’t allow you to master all the subjects, especially physics, chemistry, and biology.
These subjects require practical experiments and the more you practice, the more you will learn.
Learning with practical experiments helps students to internalize the skills and memorize the content that they learn.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible with online education as it’s based on external lessons and theoretical content.
Solution to Overcome
The best solution to overcome this problem is to use online simulators and online video tutorials that allow you to see how the practical experiment is actually carried out.
Simulators allow you to recreate real-life scenarios.
You can ask your teachers to use this technique so that you can see the experiments in a controlled and safe environment.
However, you still won’t be able to perform the experiments yourself but you’ll learn how to put your skills and knowledge to practical use.
Lack of Motivation
Most students don’t really see their home environment as a space to study and you may find it very difficult to get started with online learning in the first place.
It’s undoubtedly a struggle to get used to this new norm.
Self-motivation is one of the most critical requirements for online education and staying that way throughout the course can be extremely tough.
All the challenges mentioned above can play their part and you can fail to catch up with the requirements that your virtual classroom demands.
Solution to Overcome
In addition to creating a dedicated workspace and creating a daily schedule, you can also consider focusing on your ultimate goal.
Keeping the reasons why you’re pursuing an academic program at the forefront of your mind can also help a great deal.
You can also post these reasons along with some motivational quotes in your workspace where you can see them stay motivated.
It’s also important to stay in touch with your teachers and classmates to get more involved in your degree.
Conclusion
These are some of the biggest challenges facing online education.
If you’re experiencing any of these, then you’re not the only one.
Consider applying all the solutions that we’ve discussed to solve raised questions and get rid of anxiety caused by the sudden change.
All the best in your journey!
