Week 2-Discussion 2-

Week 2- Discussion 2: Challenges of E-Learning and Recommendations

　　The landscape of K-12 public education is changing significantly. The recent trends in the US are supportive of the continued expansion of distance learning opportunities that aim at elementary and secondary school students. As the pressure on decision-makers to facilitate the implementation of distance learning opportunities for K-12 students continue to rise, there are concerns regarding the scalability and effectiveness of existing programs, the needs, costs, and challenges in creating new programs (Divech et al., 2013). There is a need for long-term strategic thinking pertaining how best to adapt, adopt, and implement distance education into the existing educational system, thus ensuring the most effective utilization of institutional resources as well as optimal outcomes for the success of learners (Higley, 2014). Potential barriers faced by learners and instructors in an e-learning setting ought to be considered in a bid to warrant the success of learners. The role of the instructor and the role of the student needs to be put into consideration.

　　The digital divide is one of the challenges facing e-learning. The digital divide can be defined as the gap between those learners who possess, do not possess, and have knowledge of how to use the information technologies that are transforming education. However, due to the affordability of many information technologies today, the digital divide can be considered to imply the disparity in knowing how to use the technologies (Divech et al., 2013). The digital divide in the e-learning environment is more about closing the gap between the appropriate use of resources to gain quality education results, and lack of access to the technology (Higley, 2014). One of the solutions to this challenge is for the instructor to ensure the learning environment is one that enhances collaboration. Learners should be provided with the opportunity to collaborate, create, and share various technologies thus enhancing e-learning experience while supporting ongoing and self-directed learning.

　　Student motivation is another e-learning challenge. While student motivation can only truly occur intrinsically, the creation of the right online environment is imperative. The instructor has a mandate to create an e-learning environment where students want to learn and feel successful. It should be noted that the online environments of today lack teacher presence as well as technical support (Higley, 2014). Having a well planned and explicitly laid out e-learning instructional environment is not sufficient to sustain the interest of the learner or enhance intrinsic motivation. There is a need for instructors and teachers to anticipate and prevent motivational challenges unique to e-learning in an attempt to promote student motivation (Divech et al., 2013).

　　Limited knowledge regarding online learning can result in limited interest among instructors and students. Lack of governmental leadership and vision in formulating policies for the implementation of online learning is another barrier. Another barrier is limited economic resources in a majority of countries that have not invested in technological infrastructure, teacher training and content development prerequisite to implement e-learning (Higley, 2014). There is a need to create more awareness regarding this mode of teaching besides ensuring support from the government in terms of policy formulation and funding.

　　It is recommended that there is need to develop organized evaluation systems that assesses a wide spectrum of distance learning in a bid to facilitate consistent data collection. It is imperative to improve the quality of research that evaluates critical components of learning directly to young learners (Divech et al., 2013). Implementation of research initiatives that are tailored for special needs and at-risk learners is important in improving the distance learning education setting.

　　References

Higley, M. (2014, March 14), E-Learning: Challenges and Solutions, E-Learning Articles, Retrieved from <https://elearningindustry.com/e-learning-challenges-and-solutions>

Divech, C; Divecha, D; Agre, G. & Angelova (2013) Current Practices, Trends and Challenges in K-12 Online Learning, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Cybernetics and Information Technologies, Vol. 13, No. 3 Retrieved from <http://www.cit.iit.bas.bg/cit_2013/v13-3/8-7dichevi3-2013-gotovo.pdf>