The challenges of online learning: Supporting and engaging the isolated learner

By Jenna K. Gillett-Swan. 2017

612 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Higher education providers are becoming increasingly aware of the diversity of their current and potential learners and are moving to provide a range of options for their engagement. The increasingly flexible delivery modes available for university students provide multiple pathways and opportunities for those seeking further education. In changing between and across modes, a one-size-fits-all approach is often used. That is, internal content is converted into a form deemed suitable for an external delivery. However, there is a significant problem with the one-size-fits-all approach for external students who feel or experience isolation. When compared to their internal counterparts, these students often face a number of barriers to their full participation in coursework units. These barriers may not be experienced by those engaging in these same units via face-to-face or blended enrolment modes and therefore present another type of learner to consider in the planning and implementation of learning activities online. The barriers to participation appear particularly evident in groupwork activities. The online environment also presents challenges for many academic staff who increasingly require higher levels of technological competency and proficiency on top of their regular academic workload. Drawing on reflections of several years of facilitating student learning online, this paper provides one lecturer’s perspective and critical commentary on some of the challenges faced by external students and the implications of an increasingly online delivery framework for practice.

Subfields: Education

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3640754436a221392c4c19adc2462f7ba34a5f8b

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Citations in the corpus

ESL Teachers’ Challenges in Implementing E-learning during COVID-19 (2021, background): “Furthermore, “one size fits all” approach is not suitable to use in e-learning situation as it could restrict students with individual differences to participate in the lesson (Gillett, 2017).”
Student engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A systematic review (2022, background): “This sudden change posed challenges to both teachers and students who were inadequately prepared for online learning because research indicates that engaging students in online learning environment is often more challenging than in traditional face- to-face courses (Gillett-Swan, 2017; Hew, 2016).”
Facilitating flexible learning by replacing classroom time with an online learning environment : a systematic review of blended learning in higher education (2021, result): “This confirms current research findings and reviews, showing that it is not the learning format that is decisive for learning success but that teaching and learning are strongly circumstantial and context-dependent (Gillett-Swan, 2017; Nortvig et al., 2018).”
Learner satisfaction, engagement and performances in an online module: Implications for institutional e-learning policy (2020, background): “Students, in online courses, often experience learning difficulties, which encompass a range of factors such as digital literacy, conceptual understanding, technical issues and ease of access (Gillett-Swan 2017).”
Award-winning faculty online teaching practices: Course design, assessment and evaluation, and facilitation (2019, background): “As online learning has the potential to isolate learners, the facilitation strategies used by faculty should target student behaviors that mitigate this threat (Gillett-Swan, 2017).”