Daily Times

Many higher education institutions in the world offer or are planning to offer online courses. Whether online education is better or worse than traditional face-to-face education is no longer a question. Due to the pandemic of COVID 19, almost all educational institutions are now forced to offer some or all of their courses online, including K-12 (U.S. school system), and other school systems around the world. The question now is how many countries have the capability to offer online courses and achieve an acceptable quality of learning.

Online education is “structured learning, in which the instructor and student are separated by time and space, uses the latest technology to bridge the gap between participants in education” (Ham, 1995; McIsaac & Gunawardena, 1996). Edu.gov defines “An online course as one in which at least 80 percent of the course content is delivered online. Face-to-face instruction includes courses in which zero to 29 percent of the content is delivered online; this category includes both traditional and web-based courses.” That is, to take an online course, a student must have a computer or regular access to a computer with a current operating system and an Internet connection (high-speed broadband access is recommended). In addition, some courses may require video or audio playing software or other specific software applications.

Given these basic requirements, some countries and well-do-to families may have the resources and capabilities to switch easily from traditional to online education. Other families and countries, including most developing and underdeveloped, do not have some or all the resources and capabilities needed to offer or take online courses. Even in developed countries, some families cannot afford to get the required equipment and software to access online courses. For example, in the United States, some families with school-age children do not have a computer or a tablet (e.g., an iPad) or have an Internet connection to go online. As a result, students are provided learning packages to be picked up by their parents. Likewise, many instructors in developing countries cannot afford to buy a computer or have access to the Internet. As a result, the majority of students and instructors cannot take or teach online courses due to a lack of computer equipment, knowledge about computer technology, or access to high-speed Internet.

Developing countries should not jump in offering online courses without proper preparation and knowing the technological conditions existing in the country. Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous for the institutions, the country, and students

In many developing countries (e.g., Pakistan), besides the lack of equipment and other hardware and software problems, the worst problem is the shortage of electricity. Most villages and small towns do not have electricity and, if they have it, it is only for one or two hours a day. Even then, the voltage is so low that it does not light up a bulb. Even big cities have blackouts four or five hours a day. Further, electricity is so expensive that many people try to conserve to avoid a high electric bill. How can one have a computer or other hardware given the unreliable electric service?

The question then is; can any educational institutions offer any online courses under such conditions? If the students and instructors do not have the necessary resources, then the answer is “no.” Switching from brick-and-mortar operations to virtual ones requires technical setups, student access to broadband and computers, and software accessibility to ensure that students still have access to the best possible education. This transition is a considerable hurdle for schools and universities as well as low-income families in most countries. These technological issues prevent students in developing countries from accessing online courses. So how would countries facing technical problems with pandemic or no pandemic environment educate children and adults to have an educated society?

Some challenges online education faces are high-level of poverty, illiteracy, political and economic instability, and poor infrastructure, among others; however, the first obvious problem in many developing countries is the lack of Internet connection due to the poor infrastructure and lack of global communication technologies. The unreliable Internet causes a very high frequency of internet disconnection. Unreliable Internet creates a variety of interaction problems, such as poor sound quality, long question-response lag time, question-answer overlap, and numerous repetitions before students or teachers make themselves understood. These technology-related challenges impair instructor-to-student relationships. During periods when the internet connection is supposed to be working, its narrow signals do not allow clear instructor-to-student communication. The constant Internet interruption results in wasted time and, sometimes, observable signs of frustration if not exasperation from both students and instructors and may triple the time the interaction normally should take. The average connection rate in developing countries has a frequency capacity of one-fifth of the broadband connections available in developed countries. Thus, technology is not conducive to a productive, pleasant learning environment. This alone may discourage many students and instructors from participating in online education.

Online courses are designed to guide students toward self-directed learning. In addition, students have to rely on self-learning, which may be hard for some students. Online courses require a student to remove barriers and obstacles in learning subject matter while attempting to achieve quality learning. Therefore, some students may not be capable of removing these obstacles and barriers in addition to learning the subject matter. This conflict will cause more frustration, which may cause students to drop out. To avoid failure will require constant support and course material that is easy to access and easy to comprehend without requiring a lot of interaction between the students and the instructors. In addition, some institutions must provide tutorials and seminars to train students and instructors on the use of course materials and provide a technology helpline to answer questions about any problem that arises during the learning process.

For a successful online learning experience, a student must be engaged and actively participate in learning. That requires that courses taught in a classroom should not be moved online without transforming them that match technology and easier for a student to learn without much support. Suitable adaptive learning technologies such as user-friendly software should be used to give students and families some control over how they structure their learning time.

As a result, the instructor role becomes more about checking in with students to coach them on self-directed learning activities and provide targeted interventions only. With proper data collection, instructors receive daily data on each student’s activity and progress, which makes it easier for teachers and students to focus on areas of weakness of learning. The data should provide information on what students are learning, where they are on their learning path, and where they are going next with their learning. The system should allow students to make personalized learning possible through rich content, simulations, collaboration tools, and production opportunities. As students become engaged with online content, their experience makes them very comfortable asking others or their teachers for support. However, “intelligent” tutoring systems can assess students’ current weaknesses and reasons for the weaknesses and adjust instructional materials to meet students’ needs.

The writer is Ph.D. (USA), Professor Emeritus (USA)