Weaknesses Pertaining to Online Education

There are certain factors which may cause serious threat to the success of online educational programmes. Some of these problems are discussed below:

1. Access to Technology
For any online learning programme to achieve success, it should have students who can access this kind of learning environment. In other words, the students who are unable to access the online environment for learning purposes due to any reason including logistics, economical, etc. are not eligible for this mode of education. This issue is especially holds good for those belonging to the rural areas. In fact, Internet accessibility has greater significance in online education. Furthermore, if the students are unable to afford the technology employed by the institution, then online education is a total failure.

2. Computer Literacy of Faculty and Students
For the proper functioning of an online learning environment, the students as well as the facilitators should possess at least a minimum knowledge about computers. To give an example, they should know how to use different search engines and browsing the whole web. Also, they should be well-versed in FTP procedures, newsgroups, email, etc. 

3. Curriculum
This is an important factor in any online educational programme. It should be well-designed to bring about success of the programme in question. In many cases, the significance of curriculum as well as the requirement for educational experts for developing course material is ignored in the institution’s hurry to implement online education. The teaching methods and curriculum followed in conventional form of education does not go well with the online system of education. In fact, the online curriculum should be able to make the most out of written communication among students.

4. Facilitator
If the facilitator is not given proper training to carry out the responsibilities involved in online education, it will have a negative impact on the success of the same. In other words, an instructor should communicate properly in term of writing and also the language of the course material. In fact, an online educational programme will be a failure if the instructor is not prepared to communicate with the students in the virtual classroom. Further, he should have the capacity to provide necessary support for the students in order to compensate for the absence of physical presence. 

5. Students
Online education is the best mode of education for self-disciplined and mature students. Students who are highly dependent cannot benefit from this system. Students are able to get full control of their learning experience in this educational system which places more responsibility on them. 

To conclude, some of the disadvantages of online education are discussed in this article. This would help to get a clear idea about who all can opt for this system of education.