Challenges of Remote Education

 

There are many different remote learning challenges that you might encounter while taking the adaptive learning option. It’s important to be prepared so that you can take advantage of the benefits that remote learning can provide. To help you increase your awareness, we’ve gathered 10 remote learning challenges that you might face in your online learning and development experience. 

1. Expensive Online Training Tools and Programs

One of the first remote learning challenges that you might encounter is that remote learning can be expensive. Some online courses for adults require payment if you want full access to a course or certification. Specialized software and tools can also be costly and sometimes aren’t provided as part of the course. In some cases, it might even be a requirement to have access to a learning management system or certain programs and equipment before you can avail of certain instructional courses.  

Nothing beats a free option, so you can take advantage of EdApp’s free learning system that can help you create and distribute remote learning materials, as well as manage and monitor learners. This all-in-one tool includes features such as free certification, gamification, micro learning, social learning, corporate learning, virtual classrooms, collaborative learning, personalized learning, and more that will be covered throughout this article that can help you save money when it comes to m learning. 

2. Lack of Motivation and Engagement

Early on, your learners will encounter that trying to find the motivation to do their coursework might be difficult. Sometimes, the objectives of online courses aren’t as straightforward compared to classes being held in training centers or classrooms. Similarly, it’s difficult to engage with lessons when there’s no supervisor or instructor to physically facilitate employee training and monitor learning progress in real-time. If these remote learning challenges are not addressed, they can have a direct effect on a learner’s performance. 

Several cloud-based digital learning platforms, however, have features that can increase engagement and motivation. EdApp uses achievements, real prizing, and leaderboards to combat the lack of motivation and boredom associated with remote learning. Through EdApp’s prizing feature, learners can convert their learning achievements into real prizes, such as gift vouchers. If you have learners that get motivated through friendly competition, they can play for the top spots on lesson leaderboards as they complete their elearning courses. 

3. Difficulties Adjusting to a New Learning Environment

For some people, it can be difficult to wrap their heads around learning in their homes or personal spaces. Schools, training centers, and other educational institutions have always been considered pedagogical venues, while personal spaces like bedrooms and living rooms are for rest and leisure. It’s this initial disorientation in learning environments that can affect the mindset of your learners. Not to mention, some households are considered inappropriate places for learning with family, pets, or chores around, making it difficult to focus. Some people learn to adapt to their new surroundings and new distractions eventually, but it doesn’t make the initial struggle any less challenging. 

4. Conflicts with Time and Responsibilities

Learning from home can cause a shift in one’s schedule, especially if they are also working. Not everyone can effectively compartmentalize the educational, professional, and personal aspects of their lives. For learners, changes to one’s study-work-life balance could cause conflicts with their schedules. With time-sensitive courses and synchronous video conferencing training, it can be difficult to manage time effectively for some. For team leaders, managers, and instructional designers that need to both train and work, it can take time to create online courses or find suitable online course platforms.. 

5. Different Learning Styles and Pace

There are many different learning styles such as visual learning, verbal learning, social learning, and more. It can be easier to adjust to your learners’ different learning styles when you’re together in a physical classroom. Those who learn best by being in social settings or doing things more hands-on might struggle with remote learning. Remote learning can feel very solitary when you can’t touch traditional course material or when you’re not surrounded by other learners.

Instructors can also control the pace of learning better when they can physically see their learners reacting to the lessons in real-time. Remote learning tends to be quick sometimes, especially if all the lessons are already readily available or can’t be repeated. This can have an impact on learners’ information retention, which will directly affect assessment scores, completion rates, and individual company performance. 

Luckily, there are remote learning courses available that include online discussions as a part of their course to encourage comments and questions. EdApp supports this social learning and blended-learning strategy with its forum-like discussions, allowing people to learn and collaborate remotely. Coupled with the spaced repetition tool, Brain Boost, you can have your learners take personalized quizzes that generate questions from lessons that they might have initially struggled with. This encourages information retention and helps solve the challenge of remote learning feeling too fast. 

6. Inadequate and Limited Learning Contents

Although there are plenty of elearning resources available, depending on your industry and needs, the material available to you and your learners might be inadequate or limited. Similarly, learning materials might only be available in one format such as videos, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, flashcards, and more. Some subjects need to be presented in different formats to effectively deliver the information to your learners. Fortunately, some platforms support multimedia hosting, so presenting your training with different media formats and other supporting documents becomes simple. 

7. Lack of Instant Communication and Feedback

When instructions are unclear, learners would usually ask for clarification. However, feedback isn’t always instant in remote learning. Relationships between learners can be affected when overall peer-to-peer or learner-to-instructor communication is lacking. This can hurt your learners’ learning experience.

There are learning platforms that support learner surveys, questionnaires, push notifications, and actionable reports that allow managers to communicate with their learners. EdApp has all four of these features. Through analytics, you can individually see how your learners are performing and instantly give out feedback, comments, and reminders through personalized notifications and reports. This will give your learners a more comprehensive learning experience since their learning needs are addressed personally.

Learners can also give their own opinions and feedback through answering surveys and questionnaires. These forms can be added at the end of lessons so that comments coming from learners are received instantly. Feedback and comments received through these methods can then be used to improve the course or lesson content. These features are all built into the app, making the exchange of feedback easier. 

8. Ineffective Use of Remote Learning Tools 

Other remote learning challenges include the navigation and use of different technologies. Some people aren’t tech-savvy, causing them to use certain hardware and software ineffectively. Some learning software require users to have specific computer knowledge or skills. At the same time, you might need to use and integrate multiple software and learning resources in your training ecosystem. Lack of technological know-how from either instructors or learners can influence how remote learning is conducted and received.

9. Technical Issues

Technical issues are things that sometimes can’t be helped when it comes to remote learning. Technology deteriorates with use, electrical or mechanical maintenance needs to be done, and software updates are required from time to time. When your courseware or lessons are all online, your learners will have to be dependent on their WiFi connection to complete their learning. However, not everyone is in an environment that allows them to stay consistently online. If your learners don’t have stable access to the internet or your LMS software, you might want to reconsider remote learning. Or, instead of instructed led training, you can look for course management systems or training tools that give you access to offline learning. 

10. Negative Effects on Physical and Mental Health

Lastly, one of the more significant remote learning challenges is the effects it can have on your learners’ physical and mental health. In regards to physical health, your learners’ posture, sleep schedule, and overall physical fitness can worsen. Learners might sit on a chair and stare at a screen for hours, causing body pain, eye strain, and headaches. Sleep deprivation is possible when learners don’t have a stable study-life balance and can affect learning competency. Not to mention, with the lack of commuting to and from learning institutions, your learners might not get enough much-needed exercise.

For mental health reasons, the stress of remote learning can be consequential. Remote learners are typically in isolation, and although this might not bother some people, interaction is still an important part of learning and life. Remote learning can also tend to mentally overwhelm earners with several lessons and bulk information. Learning should be a positive and productive experience for all, not a negative one.