Challenges and Disadvantages of E-learning and Distance Learning

Challenges and Disadvantages of E-learning and Distance Learning

Higher Education e-learning and high school virtual schooling is currently broken. Here are some of the challenges (and ultimately opportunities) that I see in the distance learning and e-learning literature as I’ve reviewed it. The question becomes…can high school and higher ed e-learning meet the task?

1) Lack of customization to student’s interest (also length instead of modules)
2) Lack of student motivation
3) Lack of personal community and connection (not blended learning)
4) Its a banking model of education (which is partially inevitable)
5) Not experientially based–its simulation based at best
6) Not necessary based on the best science regarding How People Learn
7) Lack of quality assessment and feedback, which hinders learning.
8] Mostly disconnected to the needs of employers, which means its disconnected from the desires of students and parents. (this may be the largest criticism)
9) Some self-directed learners is sometimes too random and has no process (its too loosely joined–sometimes you need a bridge or a path). Also, some is subject to quality issues. The learner has to self-analyze content without requisite knowledge or criteria (its authority 2.0).
10) Lack of certification (or assessment) for self-directed learning.
11) Tech, toys, and teaching over learning.
11) Focus on memorization over learning core competencies.
12) Time resources at a minimum (Tradeoff w/ NCLB on the high school level. And NCLB cuts into the arts in time, funding, and resources.) But some teachers dont know how much time they have.
13) Lack of mentorship for self-learners and even some “just the facts ma’am” distance learning
14) Lack of adoption to learning style of learners. (e-learning just textbooks in drag)
15) Better aligning of incentives of teachers and learners (?)
16) Downtime + mobile as well as “play” are issues to consider as well.
17) Lack of digital literacy and keeping up with the pace of change
18) Digital divide short circuits improvement
19) Best practice coordination is distributed instead of centralized (in terms of teaching and technology)
20) Content is distributed instead of centralized (Merlot.org and Open Course Consortium are the exception)
21) No ranking, evaluation of current modules.
22) Underutilized talents and facilities
23) No way to ground social networking and web 2.0 tools
24) Slow transition to innovation (Crossing the Chasm: early adopters vs. mainstream vs. laggards)
25) No reverse engineering of career paths and career skill sets. (or very, very minimal)
26) Cost of higher ed and e-learning options. Most still seem to be 75 to 95% of bricks and mortar cost.
27) On the career and HR front generic knowledge stands in for industry specific knowledge and expertise. This is especially damaging in the humanities–which means they will likely lose funding, resources, programs, and professors.
28) Students lack passion for life long learning.
29) Lack of boundary spanners in education and business . No one in the gap.
30) Lack of career center employees means you have to scale their knowledge efficiently or get a strategic lever to add on top of what they already offer. (specifically on industry specific and network specific)

Consequently, the school to job area represents a rather large gap–as does the city specific info for moving and getting settled. On top of this Alumni networks range from good to bad–and you have creative centers which means geography or the spikiness of cities comes into play with Flat Earth fantasies. And the plethora of career counselors and consultants is a hot mess (no way to evaluate–or its minimal). Alternatives to traditional career paths often aren’t explored–this is especially important given the increase in slash careers and consulting.

This ultimately is both an opportunity given the potential for disruption onlined in Christensen’s book and troubling given the dramatic increases in the e-learning space which are expected. (note: white paper download from NMC.org)

What do you think? What are your findings and experiences regarding e-learning challenges?

Further Exploration of Disadvantages and Challenges of E-learning
For more on the future of e-learning check out Masie’s blog or this Slideshare presentation on the issue of challenges in e-learning. Here is e-learning guru’s summary of some of the issues with regarding e-learning and distance learning. Where should high school and higher education focus to make the most change? What are the levers which will be most effective in creating large shifts in improvements in education?

If you’d like to explore more, I recommend my best articles on university 2.0 and social media in the higher ed classroom.