With classes moving online, technology plays a pivotal role in the success and execution of learning. Personally, I haven’t experienced a great deal of technical issues, however it is a very real thing. I usually have the right capabilities, technology and connection to join my classes, but I have been in classes with technical issues and it completely disrupts the class. Although this isn’t an enormous issue for me, it is an issue that many people deal with and an obstacle that interfere with a student’s ability to learn.
The most vital part to a student’s ability to learn online is having the proper technological resources, especially strong internet connection. With a terrible connection, students can have a hard time staying involved in the class and even joining the class. There are plenty of people in this country in poor, or rural areas who lack the adequate internet connection to take part in online learning. The reality is people with stronger Wi-Fi do better in school. It allows them to focus on the class with no distractions and no concerns about their internet connection failing them. Having a strong internet connection shouldn’t influence grades and academic success. Looking across the nation, this is a problem for people. One example is in Wyoming, where only 30% of rural residents have access to high-speed internet. Having bad Wi-Fi when trying to do something online is extremely frustrating. Everyone’s been in the situation where they’re trying to do something online, but have to wait for it to load, or even lag out. It makes you want to take your computer and throw at the wall. Dealing with that daily, especially when it comes to a person’s education, is beyond irritating.
It’s so unfortunate because fixing these issues is really expensive. People can’t just get better Wi-Fi or extend a connection to their area, it cost a lot of money. It’s also illegal in many states for the government to help provide internet for those in need. Online learning brings up a multitude of technical hurdles that just weren’t a problem before. Between computers, internet connection, and other online resources needed for school, students are met with a whole new set of problems and stresses that can interfere with their education.
For many people dealing with these types of issues, there can be solutions. If people have trouble in online learning because of poor connection, they should look for another place with stronger Wi-Fi to allow them to join and participate in classes and other online activities. There are many public places that provide adequate Wi-Fi for people. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help for people who are in rural areas with poor Wi-Fi or people who are concerned about going in public areas due to the Corona Virus. It’s vital for the success of students that schools provide the resources to help them succeed in these tumultuous times. Whether it is providing the technology they need, or online resources to help them bridge the gap that is caused by online learning, schools need to do their best to provide students with what they need to thrive.
At this point many schools have been doing online learning for nearly a year and severe technical issues have likely been dealt with. Hopefully students without computers and strong internet connection have found solutions and received help so they can attend online classes. Despite these larger problems not being as big of an issue anymore, difficulties will always occur in online learning. It’s just a part of online learning, and hopefully these issues are minimized by now. Having technical issues completely disrupts a class and causes frustration throughout everyone. Hopefully, the future doesn’t involve online learning, so we can move past these issues that can be difficult to control.
Sources:
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/online-learning-challenges-inaccessibility-to-tech-and-academic-dishonesty/
https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/online-learning/4-challenges-facing-online-learners/
https://elearningindustry.com/5-common-problems-faced-by-students-in-elearning-overcome
With everything being virtual right now, I think we have all experienced technical difficulties in one form or another and those difficulties add to the stress of online learning. For example, the other day, my professor’s zoom wasn’t synching the slide correctly with half the class so people signed off and signed back on to try to fix the problem. Except when people tried to sign back on, they couldn’t get back into the class. Instead of trying to fix the issue, the professor kept going. While we can always go back and watch the lecture recording, it definitely disrupted the class and the learning process of many students as they weren’t able to ask questions in real time. Also, I really liked that you touched on how online learning is especially difficult for those of different socioeconomic statuses.