Proactively Facing the Most Difficult E-Learning Challenges

No field on this planet is without challenges, and the e-learning industry is certainly not an exception. Admirably, e-learning harnesses the power of the networking technology to make learning possible at any place, via any Internet-enabled device, and at anytime. This actually overcomes the problems involved in hiring a trainer to teach during the work time, such as productivity disruption, increased overhead expenses and inefficient in case the targeted audience is geographically distant. Although an e-learning program is a better idea to learn at one’s own pace and during free time, a few challenges surround this new way of learning, which need to be resolved for enjoying maximum efficacy.

One of the challenges involved in e-learning is motivation to learn. Unlike classroom-style sessions that offer the benefits of responsibility and command, e-learning is actually restricted to devices on which people tend to learn on their own. Although this is a good point for enthusiasts, others may not fully go through the course material. Therefore, it is a big challenge to keep the learners motivated enough to take up the entire course. Therefore, you can solve this problem by making visually appealing courses or telling a real-life story.

Another challenge is the lack of proper feedback in relation to the classroom setting wherein there are many feedback modes such as discussions and nonverbal cues from the instructor. In the self-paced e-learning courses, the feedback is either a recorded voice or a text on the screen. This might not be enough to help the learner understand the concept or content. One way to solve this problem is to include the contact of Help Desk for an instant discussion with the remote instructor who can easily make you understand what you did not.

E-learning is yet not free of technological difficulties. Although it is an innovative technology in itself, there are limitations to hinder its power. For example, the two learners may get to see a different appearance of the same course just because they are using different Web browsers. In this way, a visually appealing course tends to lose its effectiveness. What is more to it is that the inclusion of Flash and videos can result in longer loading times. Interestingly, you can solve this problem in different ways. First, you can enumerate the specifications required to view the course and use some other technology to add videos or animations that do not affect the loading time. Second, you can try to make the course platform-independent.