If you ask me how I made it through college with two part-time jobs and a small business, my answer will be just one word: Remote learning.                                                                      

Online learning is the best thing that has happened to the education industry. It offers flexibility, making sure you get to set your own pace of learning, adjust your own schedule, and learn at your own convenience.

In fact, it opened a new avenue for people who are recruited and still want to continue their quest for learning. Similarly, it is a perfect option for students living far away from college and still cannot find accommodation nearby.

While all these things paint a very rosy picture for remote learning, there are a few challenges as well.

If you are currently enrolled in an online learning program or considering starting an online course, keep reading. This write-up will cover some of the important remote learning challenges and some simple tech remedies to fix them.

What Is Remote Learning?

Remote learning is a type of education that requires the use of the internet and technology. In this type of learning experience, students and teachers are connected via modern technology, i.e., a device (good laptop, tablet, or phone), internet, and a platform for interaction (Zoom, Google Meet, or a customized LMS).

With online learning, class can take place in real time, or it can be recorded as well. In both cases, a good internet connection like Xfinity internet is very important because students will be learning via video lectures. In case of live classes, video conference platforms like Google Meet and Zoom are quite popular. For example, using an AI note taker for Google Meet can also help students capture key points automatically during live sessions, reducing the risk of missing important information.

However, in the case of recorded lessons, open-source learning platforms like YouTube, Udemy, and Coursera are quite popular.

For recorded remote learning, generally, there is a platform that maintains a library of courses. All these courses are stored remotely, and the student can access these courses via a login and password. Remote platforms offer accessibility to standard education to everyone regardless of their location, financial status, technical background, or educational background.

The increase in remote learning opportunities has also improved remote working opportunities. Today, more people are choosing to work remotely as well as learn remotely.

Now that you know why remote learning is so popular, let’s look at some of the common challenges that students have to face.

Challenges Faced by Remote Learners

Online learning offers great opportunities. However, with great opportunities come even bigger challenges as well. As a remote learner, you need to not just recognize these challenges but also figure out ways to solve them.

Here are some of the common challenges to keep in mind.

Technology Issues

Imagine you are in the middle of a course and suddenly the video freezes up.

You might think this is extreme, but it actually happens in most cases. Students face issues like buffering, disconnection, delay in speech, or sometimes a straight-up blackout.

One of the most common issues reported by the online learners is somewhat connected to technical issues. These can be due to faulty or incompatible software, a slow internet connection, or damaged wires.

While these issues do not look big, they can actually destroy the overall experience.

No Social Interaction

Social interaction is one of the most important aspects of any learning experience. In a traditional setting, this interaction is two-way, i.e., from teacher to student and from student to teacher.

The teachers start by teaching the basics and then ask questions. These questions help the teacher to assess the knowledge of the students, and students are able to ask questions about the challenges they are facing.

Apart from this, the social interaction between students is also very important as it helps them to explore similar topics and share knowledge. However, in the case of remote learning, this interaction is quite limited.

Especially when the student is learning via recorded lectures, and every student has their own time schedule.

Distraction

Online distraction is quite common. You open a YouTube lecture, and next thing you know, you are watching a cat video. Moreover, some people try to Google different terms only to land on distracting memes and social media pages.

So far, distraction is one of the biggest issues that most online learners have to struggle with. However, it is not just limited to online learning, but instead, it extends to the overall online experience.

Digital Illiteracy

You are trying to log in to a Learning Management System (LMS) or a learning portal, but it requires two-step verification. Even after trying it multiple times, you fail to understand the verification steps.

What do you think went wrong?

In most cases, people think that the learning portal is faulty. However, even the most tech-savvy people struggle with simple verification steps. This is the reason digital literacy or prior training is required.                                                                                                   

Information Retention

There is no doubt that online platforms make learning easy and accessible. In most cases, students have access to the recorded lectures throughout the years. This lifts the idea of exclusivity and running out of time.

Eventually, the learner feels that there is always a time to come back. In turn, the learner may not feel motivated to retain information.

Limited Cross-Questioning

Cross-questioning is one of the healthiest forms of learning. When a teacher creates a healthy discussion in class, it helps everyone to jog their memory and ask relevant questions that can eventually facilitate the learning process.

In the case of online learning, social interaction and questioning are quite limited. There is little to no room for discussion. Instead, student has to rely on recorded lectures for learning.

No Feedback or Improvement

Lecture feedback is one of the best ways to help teachers come up with better ways to teach students.

In most cases, teachers actively seek feedback by the end of the lecture. Students get to share their opinion about topics, the quality of learning their experience, the expression of the teacher throughout the lecture, as well as the overall format of the lecture.

In case of remote learning, there aren’t a lot of ways to offer feedback.

Low Engagement Rate

Engagement in online courses is much lower because, in most cases, students get distracted. Moreover, in-depth lectures include a lot of details, making them boring, lengthy, and in some cases, very dry.

In a traditional learning style, teachers understand this issue and sometimes try to ask questions or conduct activities to engage the students. However, in an online setting, conducting activities is not possible, which only makes the process boring.

Limited Inclusivity for Students

Every student has their own learning capacity.  Most students like slow-paced learning. They try to understand every step and every term before moving to the next. However, in most cases, students like to go through the whole lecture before taking time to focus on each step, terminology, or topic.

Within traditional learning, teachers build a connection with each student, allowing them time to learn and polish their concepts before moving to the next step.

How to Solve Remote Learning Challenges via Tech?

Here are some of the ways to solve the remote learning challenges mentioned above.

Technology Issue

To resolve technical issues, student must ensure that everything is connected before starting their course. Apart from these software updates, checking the compatibility of media and other details can also help. Students should also make sure their internet connection is fast and reliable.

No Social Interaction

Online learning platforms have open comment sections where students can interact with each other as well as with the teachers. However, just comments and replies are not enough. Learning platforms should add voice message services for better and seamless communication.

Distraction

Getting distracted while learning online is very common. However, there are site and app blocking filters that can help you block social media and other distracting sites when you are learning.

Digital Illiteracy

As the new technology rolls out, online digital training sessions should be held to make sure students get to know the platform. Moreover, each learning platform must have a virtual online tour to help students get familiar with the function of the site, its features, and more.

Information Retention

While information retention comes down to the individual level, learning platforms can roll out different virtual activities to help the students learn and retain information. Flash cards, quizzes, puzzles, and interactive MCQs are other activities that can help store information for the long run.

Limited Cross-Questioning

Cross-questioning is very important for students and teachers. Online learning platforms should launch discussion rooms to help students have a live chat with their teachers and other students.

No Feedback or Improvement           

Feedback sessions after every lecture are very important, even in an online lecture. It is important for the learning platforms to have group and individual feedback sessions with the teachers and students. These feedback sessions can be done on a daily or weekly basis.

Low Engagement Rate

To boost the rate of engagement, learning platforms need to work on the visuals of their lectures. Rather than relying on the usual written board work, using animation, videos, sounds, and fun pictures can really help.

Limited Inclusivity for Students

For boosting inclusivity, the learning site should include a customized pace and one-on-one sessions. This will help people with different learning abilities to interact with the instructors.

Simply put, remote learning has a lot of perks.

However, acknowledging the related challenges is equally important. The above-mentioned list highlights all the challenges associated with remote learning and some simple solutions to address these issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the biggest barrier to effectively learning from home?

While there are a lot of technical issues, poor time management still stands as the biggest barrier to effectively learning from home.

How to address issues in online classes?

In online learning, talking to students right after the lecture, asking questions, and performing fun activities can help in addressing issues.