All over the world elearning and online learning have taken over a big way in education.

However, teachers and students both are coping with the challenge. There is a big difference between elearning and online learning. Although both of them require web-based access, elearning requires someone to log in to a portal and complete online assessments and watch prerecorded lectures. On the other hand, in online learning, students and teachers are present at the same time although at different places and connected through a webcam. The teachers deliver lectures to students through special software. So, elearning is independent learning i.e. learning at own flexibility for a student.

Online learning requires some hard work from the student’s side. The students can feel less motivated because there is no communication with peers in such courses. So, they cannot feel the urge to complete the module. This issue can be resolved by making them go to schools at least once in a fortnight. To be successful in online learning, it’s better to encourage interactions among classmates.

Effects on students

• • Lack of time management: In elearning students also get the desire to perform because they don’t compete with anybody. Also, there is no time management needed if the classes are not conducted on time. In schools, online learning classes are taken on time. So, students are motivated to do things on time. But in elearning courses, this is not where students have to listen to prerecorded videos. There is also no extra pressure on students. So, students should build up self-motivation to have proper time management and complete the assessments and classes as per schedule in elearning courses.

• • Social isolation: It is one of the most important effects of elearning. Students don’t have any interaction with the teachers.

• • Slow feedback: Students also don’t get a simultaneous response to their answers, unlike a classroom in elearning. When they post their query on a chat messenger the teacher might not be online and respond with some delay.
    Moreover, although elearning modules have assessments built within them, they lack personalized answers given by humans. The solution to this problem is that professors can video chat with students during their office hours.

• • Lack of communication: Lack of communication may also manifest itself in other forms in online learning. The students since they don’t get a chance to interact much with other students and teachers, might not develop team skills also. In the future, such students might develop as graduates who have theoretical knowledge but can’t communicate well face-to-face. The solution to this problem is that students must be encouraged to give online lectures during such online learning and elearning to boost their communication skills.

• • Cheating during online tests: The students have a lot of options to cheat during their assessment. In classroom assessments, the teachers can monitor the students or there is a video feed but on online assessments, the students can access google. Although a webcam may be used to verify the student’s identity, sometimes, the students might turn the webcam off during the test and make someone else take the test on their behalf. So, checking students through online assessments is quite tough.

    There are measures built-in online learning tools which can prevent such cheating. Online proctoring is the ideal solution. In this technique, the student is verified before the test through the webcam where artificial intelligence is used to match his face with that given on ID. He can’t turn the webcam off during the test. The screen feeds of the students are shared. Even the audio and video activities are recorded and any background noise is treated as a red flag. Any unwanted objects captured in the video recording are also indicated as a red flag. This method also restricts candidates log in to their device through a specific IP address. It also makes sure that candidates are not able to switch windows during the test.

    So, this is how online learning is advancing despite its shortcomings.