Online Education Systems Challenges And Opportunities

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Online system has been an option for several learners who have hard time in going to school and campuses due to various reasons such as financial problems or a hectic schedule. There are many individuals who prefer to continue their education through online media. Many people tend to learn various languages, which is not possible to get classes of that language due to area problem, so online education system helps a lot in that case also. Even some individuals who have been suffering from some disability and unable to go schools and campuses, online education system is one of the best sources of learning for those people as it require only internet connection and computer system. Therefore there are many issues regarding opportunity and challenges of online education system.

This study is based on secondary data which explores the issues regarding advantages and challenging factors of online education system. Advantages of Online Education System such as for Married women, Handicapped persons, Busy Professionals etc. and on the other hand challenges of online education system has also been explored in this study such as: minimal social interaction, challenges regarding Technology i.e computer literacy of learners, challenges regarding facilitator i.e lack of essential online qualities, challenges regarding online environment etc. has been studied and explained in this study.

Online Education System is a method of learning or getting certified with a degree or specialization by studying over internet or emailing or at home without attending the regular classes. In today’s life due to busy schedules, people are unable to attend classes or feel like not going special to attend the classes. But in this world of machine it has become not very difficult to learn or study various things with the help of E learning, i.e. online education System. People who tend to learn different learning materials or getting certified with a degree, they can easily avail the opportunity of Online education system.

If we see over the past years, online education has been quite an option for several learners who have hard time to go to school campuses due to several reasons such as financial resources or having hectic schedule. There are several individuals who prefer to continue their higher educational learning through online system. Since, online education offers flexibility of time which allows the learners to be flexible with their schedules and can still manage to perform several obligations in life such as having a full time work. So on other hand having an online degree will also add weight to resume of job seekers.

E LEARNING:

E learning refers to teaching or learning by the support of any electronic media. In this system there are mainly three elements which play an important role, which are as follows;

Sender (communicator)

Electronic media (online communication media via internet)

Receiver (learner)

Fig a:

Sender:-

Sender refers to the person who teaches or provides knowledge to learners. Sender is also known as communicator, who communicates with learners from various regions and also clear all the doubts of learners who are getting classes via online education system

2. Electronic Online Media:-

This is the medium which is used to transfer the message to the learner in an effective way. Media Richness Theory describes how and why particular media are selected to deliver a message. In MRT, richness is operational in terms of a medium’s ability to accomplish four goals: Sending multiple cues, supporting language variety, providing immediate feedback, and allowing personal nature to be communicated.

A rich medium, then, would allow for a variety of cues, both verbal and nonverbal, to be sent and received. It would also allow for the transmission of multiple language types, including the spoken and written word, and visual symbols and images. Rich communication media also permit feedback to be sent and received instantaneously and a high degree of personalization. Using these descriptions, a purely text-only, asynchronous element in an online course would be the least rich medium, whereas a synchronous videoconference or webinar would be the richest.

Before selecting a medium to convey a message in the online classes, it is helpful to do an evaluation of the tools that is being used. Depending on your personal technological efficacy, these tools may be limited to those that the institution licenses and supports or you may be able to venture out and use some freeware applications that are available online but often do not include user support. Use this sample chart (prefilled with a sampling of tools) to help you develop a media richness continuum of tools at your institution ( Jill Schiefelbein, April 10,2012)

Richness

Medium

Tools

High

Low

Webinar

Adobe connect

Videoconferencing

Video

You Tube

vimeo

Create your own

Audiovisual

Narrated PPTs

Adobe Presenter

Camatesia

Audio

Wimba Voice tools

Podcasting

Images

Power point

JPG Images

Texts

MS Word

HTML Editor

Receiver:-

Receiver is the learner who receives the messages from the sender via online media and learns the information and get knowledge which is being transferred in an online education system.

Opportunities in Online Education System

Opportunity for Disable Persons

Opportunity for House Wives/Married Women

Opportunity for Busy Professionals

Career Opportunities

Opportunity for Disabled/Handicapped Person:-

Handicapped person feel difficult in going school campuses. Some of them stop their study in between due to their disabilities. But online education system provided way to them in learning and getting certified with degrees via online education.

Opportunity for Married Women:-

There are great benefits and opportunity of Online Education System for married women. Some married women who were not able to finish college during their early ages because they got married and lost the opportunity to continue their studies. After marriage, it become very difficult to continue their classes by joining the colleges due to heavy responsibilities, but in today’s world online education system, they can manage their family along with continuity of their online education. So the can pursue their degree further with the help of online education system

Opportunity for Busy Professionals:-

Professionals who are always busy with their jobs also find time in online education. They believe this is great opportunity to finish another course in order to add more meaning to their lives. They all know that those with higher level of education have good chances of landing good jobs and higher salaries. The virtual education made many professionals graduated in master’s or doctorate degrees.

Career Opportunities:-

There are various Career opportunities in online education system. There are many advantages to teaching online. Virtual instructors are often able to work from anywhere they choose. You could get a job teaching online for a prestigious school in another state and not have to worry about relocating. Since many e-courses are taught asynchronously, instructors are often able to set their own hours while teaching online. Additionally, instructors who make a living teaching online are able to interact with pupils from around the nation.

Challenges in Online Education System

Challenges

Challenges regarding online environment.

Time Management

Less social Interaction

Computer

Knowlegde

Technological challenges

S

Less Social Interaction:-

The main challenge of online education system is that in online environment there is very less social and face to face interaction can be carried out. It is very difficult to communicate all the doubts via online system due to minimal social interaction and less face to face interaction. Due to less face-to-face interaction relationship could be less strong between experts with their students, it leads to less bonding between them.

Technological Challenge:-

Before any online programs, it is very necessary to have appropriate technologies to be used while using online education system. All the students should also know how to access online learning environment. They should be able to afford to access better internet technologies. This is significant issue in rural and lower socioeconomic areas. On the other hand internet connectivity problems also is the mail challenge to be handled in online education system

Computer Literacy:-

While accessing online education system both online experts and learners should be computer literate. If any one side whether expert or student failed or illiterate in computer usage then it will be very difficult to use online education system. This can be stressful for one who is not familiar with computers. Others may not have the technology on their computers or their Internet programs that will keep up with what the school offers. For example, they must be able to use a variety of search engines and be comfortable navigating on the World Wide Web, as well as be familiar with Newsgroups, FTP procedures and email. If they do not possess these technology tools, they will not succeed in an online program.

Time Management:-

One of the biggest challenges of online learning is time management. Even though you are not in a traditional classroom you must make time to do the daily assignments, participate in chats, take the assigned tests, prepare for classes and study. Online classes are often just as challenging, if not more so, than a traditional brick-and-mortar institution. It is much easier to plan your schedule around online classes but you will still have to make time to perform each task in order to be successful (Melody Dawn)

Online Environment:-

In online learning program, it is important to recognize that, some subjects should not be taught online because the electronic medium in its current state of development does not permit the best method on instruction. Examples are hands-on subjects such as public speaking, surgery, dental hygiene, and sports where physical movement and practice contribute to the achievement of the learning objectives. These subjects are probably best taught in a face-to-face traditional learning environment. On the other hand communication factor is also main challenge of online education system because communication is one of the main factors which is essential quality factor of online education system.

CONCLUSION

It has been concluded that there are various challenging factors along with opportunities of online education system. Married women can continue their study further with the help of online education system. On the other side online education system provides opportunity of learning for handicapped persons, busy persons can learn a lot in there busy schedule via online media at anytime, anywhere. If we talk about challenges of online education system: We talk about online environment where internet connectivity problem has been discussed, managing of time while teaching online has to be maintained properly for better quality work, minimal social interaction of expert with their students also considered as a challenge of online education system.