5 Solutions to Misconceptions in e-Learning

 

It is normal in life for things to grow, people’s needs to change and for people to adapt – more often than not this is for the better. Developments are made at a rapid pace in many areas of society and embraced. This rings true in how we live, how we travel, our shopping experiences and even medical care. One of the main ways, if not the main way in which this was made possible was through technological advancements. The accessibility technology gives us is undeniable and affords us a lot of conveniences.

Online education was an obvious answer for all schools and colleges across the country during COVID-19. Most Irish educational bodies scrambled to get into the online world in a short space of time which in the end proved to be successful and kept their doors open…virtually of course. Showing that it can be done and it can be done well.

 

So, why is it that we don’t see e-learning in the same light as attendance based education?

Why do some see it as a second rate system rather than what every other industry does and see it as progression?

Why did it take a global pandemic, with the education industry to be on its knees for any change to happen?

How is it that traditional education remains to be the most popular where e-learning should be king?

 

I won’t blather on about how great e-learning is, there will be time for that during another blog post.

What I do want to talk about is the perceived issues around e-learning and how they can be addressed. Some issues of course are far too large and by no means am I suggesting I am an expert on it, but I do know a thing or two when it comes to learning virtually. The best policy after all, is to be proactive about short comings and find solutions.

 

So, here we go…

 

 

  1. Internet Access: This one may be hard to believe for some, we’ve grown up with the internet at our finger trips however, the digital divide is very real and very much a problem, be it geographical or socio-economic. These issues are quite large with many factors to them and something that will not be solved in a day; however, I do believe the government needs to step up and resolve this issue. After all, it is the 21st century and access to the internet needs to be available to all.

 

  1. Credibility: Assumptions are that e-learning is not reputable, that somehow presenteeism allows for better credentials. This is not true and merely an old stereotype. E-Learning is just a modern day form of distance learning when course work was posted to students. Here in Ireland academic standards are monitored. Our Accreditation comes mainly from QQI (Quality Qualifications Ireland) which is a Irish state agency responsible for quality of qualifications which they accredit. There are other reputable, industry specific organisations that accredit courses, QQI is just one such example.

 

  1. Computer Skills: Many of us were born into the online world, some of us were lucky to be young enough to grow up with it and others still struggle to understand it – call it the “generational gap”. There needs to be more of a push to equip people with basic computer skills and not just for education, but for everyday life. This is a topic that you could write a thesis on because again, geographic and socio-economic issues are at the heart of this but the fact remains the same – education around computer literacy needs to be more accessible.

 

  1. Social Aspects: It is common place for people to turn to online education mainly for their time constraints – they want to fit education into an already busy schedule. The social aspect is something that is least on their mind. However, with modern day technology, the social aspect is available but virtually through software made just for this or even your old reliable Whats App group.

 

  1. Change: As humans we generally don’t like change and would find anything new difficult to adapt to, we love the predictability of our comfort zones. This may not be such an easy solution as it involves changing a person’s mindset. Our job as e-learning professionals and advocates is to give as much help as we can, educate people on e-learning benefits and hopefully then through conversations with peers, mindsets and outlooks can begin to change and adapt to a new more flexible way of learning online.

 

Online education has a long way to go and many obstacles need to be cleared before e-learning becomes mainstream, until then, we remain being confident that we are doing all we can to make further and higher education accessible to everyone.

 

Joe Walsh

Director

The Open College