Understanding the Experienced Opportunities and Threats of Online Learning in a Professional Development Programme

Understanding the Experienced Opportunities and Threats of Online Learning in a Professional Development Programme



Abstract Views
189

Downloads
106

Citations

Share

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##

Table of Contents

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##

Learning online as a new experience for students who are accustomed to the traditional face-to-face contact learning may be associated with numerous opportunities and threats. The qualitative case study sought to establish, from students; experiences, the opportunities, and threats of online learning. The study was informed by the Community of Inquiry framework and drew from the experiences of the participants of a 4-week long intensive training programme in a rural-based university in Eswatini. A purposive sample of eleven participants participated in the study by completing a programme evaluation form and participating in an online focus group discussion session. The study utilised the thematic content analysis method to analyse the collected qualitative data. The study found that there were several opportunities realised in online learning as well as some challenges which posed threats. The flexibility and convenience offered by studying online and transcending the limitations of time, space, and place were noted together with the utilisation of engaging learning activities, learning material, and content presented in multimedia as well as reliable online technical support and meaningful online academic support. Conversely, the issue of high workload, connectivity issues well as challenges in group activities were reported as threats. The study recommends the leveraging of all opportunities in enhancing online learning and being attended to threats in the planning and implementation of online learning.

Keywords: Advantages, Challenges, Online learning, Virtual learning space.
  1. Alqurashi, E. (2019). Predicting student satisfaction and perceived learning within online learning environments. Distance Education, 40(1), 133–148.  |   Google Scholar
  2. Archibald, M. M., Ambagtsheer, R. C., Casey, M. G., & Lawless, M. (2019). Using Zoom video conferencing for qualitative data collection: Perceptions and experiences of researchers and participants. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1–8.  |   Google Scholar
  3. Armstrong-Mensah, E., Ramsey-White, K., Yankey, B. & Self-Brown, S. (2020). COVID-19 and Distance Learning: Effects on Georgia State University School of Public Health Students. Frontiers of Public Health, 8:576227. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.576227.  |   Google Scholar
  4. Baber, H. (2021). Social interaction and effectiveness of the online learning– A moderating role of maintaining social distance during the pandemic COVID-19. Asian Education and Development Studies, 11(1), 159–171.  |   Google Scholar
  5. Basar, Z. M., Mansor, A. N., Jamaludin, K. A. & Alias, B. S. (2021). The Effectiveness and Challenges of Online Learning for Secondary School Students – A Case Study. Asian Journal of University Education (AJUE), 17(3), 119–129.  |   Google Scholar
  6. Buelow, J.R., Barry, T. & Rich, L.E. (2018). Supporting learning engagement with online students. Online Learning, 22(4), 313-240.  |   Google Scholar
  7. Chang, B. & Kang, H. (2016). Challenges Facing Group Work Online. Distance Education, 37(1), 73–88.  |   Google Scholar
  8. Chen, J., Wang, M., Kirschner, P. A. & Tsai, C.C. (2018). The role of collaboration, computer use, learning environments, and supporting strategies in CSCL: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 88(6), 799 - 843. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318791584.  |   Google Scholar
  9. Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K (2018). Research Methods in Education 8th Edition. London: Routledge.  |   Google Scholar
  10. Collier, A. (2014). Engaging Students in Online Environments. In B. F. Tobolowsky, Paths to learning: Teaching for engagement in college (p 115–134). South Carolina: University of South Carolina.  |   Google Scholar
  11. Creswell (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. London: Sage Publications.  |   Google Scholar
  12. Creswell, J.W. & Plano Clark, V.L. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.  |   Google Scholar
  13. De Paepe, L., Zhu, C., & Depryck, K. (2018). Online Dutch L2 learning in adult education: Educators’ and providers’ viewpoints on needs, advantages and disadvantages. Open Learning, 33(1), 18–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2017.1414586.  |   Google Scholar
  14. England, T., Nagel, G. & Salter, S. (2019). Using collaborative learning to develop students’ soft skills. Journal of Education for Business. 95. 1–9. 10.1080/08832323.2019.1599797.  |   Google Scholar
  15. Fenech, C. S., & Raykov, M. (2018). Studying and Working—Hurdle or Springboard? Widening Access to Higher Education for Working Students in Malta. In Adrian Curaj, Ligia Deca and Remus Pricopie (Editors), European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies. Springer Open.  |   Google Scholar
  16. Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2001). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2), 87–105.  |   Google Scholar
  17. Gedera, D. S. P. & Zalipour, A. (2018). Use of interactive video for teaching and learning. In ASCILITE 2018 Conference Proceedings (pp. 362–367). Deakin University, Geelong, Australia: Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education.  |   Google Scholar
  18. Hadjeris, F. (2021). Revisiting Sustainable Development Goal 4 in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Online Teaching in Algerian Higher Education Institutions. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3, 160–168. doi:10.1002/hbe2.245.  |   Google Scholar
  19. Hanghøj, T. (2013). Game-based teaching: practices, roles, and pedagogies in New Pedagogical Approaches. In S. de Freitas, M. Ott, M. M. Popescu, and I. Stanescu (Eds) New Pedagogical Approaches in Game Enhanced Learning: Curriculum Integration, eds (pp 81–101) Hershey PA: IGI Global. doi: 10.4018/978- 1-4666-3950-8.  |   Google Scholar
  20. Heale, R. & Twycross, A. (2018). What is a case study? Evidence Based Nursing, 21(1), 7–8.  |   Google Scholar
  21. Holland, A.A. (2019). Effective principles of informal online learning design: a theory-building metasynthesis of qualitative research. Computers and Education, 128, 214–226.  |   Google Scholar
  22. Hsiao, E. & Huang, X. (2019). Strategies to support personal knowledge management using a wiki site in online courses. Journal of Educators Online, 16(1), 1–12.  |   Google Scholar
  23. Kalliola, S., Niemelä, J., & Eskelinen, O. (2017). How to reconcile work and university studies – An action research case from Finland. International Journal of Action Research, 13 (3), 221–239.  |   Google Scholar
  24. Kim, H. J., Hong, A. J. & Song, H. D. (2019). The roles of academic engagement and digital readiness in students’ achievements in university e-learning environments. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(21). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0152-3  |   Google Scholar
  25. Kokoç, M. (2019). Flexibility in e-Learning: Modelling its Relation to Behavioural Engagement and Academic Performance. Themes in eLearning, 12, 1–16.  |   Google Scholar
  26. Koivisto, J. & Hamari, J. (2019). The rise of motivational information systems: a review of gamification research. International Journal of Information Management, 45, 191–210. doi: 10.1016/j. ijinfomgt.2018.10.013.  |   Google Scholar
  27. LaTour, K.A. & Noel, H.N.(2021). Self-Directed Learning Online: An Opportunity to Binge. Journal of Marketing Education. 43(2):174–188. doi:10.1177/0273475320987295.  |   Google Scholar
  28. Maceviciute, E. & Wilson, T.D. (2018). Digital Means for Reducing Digital Inequality: Literature Review. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 21, 269–287. doi:10.28945/4117.  |   Google Scholar
  29. Mathrani, A., Sarvesh, T. & Umer, R. (2021) Digital divide framework: online learning in developing countries during the COVID-19 lockdown. Globalisation, Societies and Education, DOI: 10.1080/14767724.2021.1981253.  |   Google Scholar
  30. Mayer, R. E. (2019). How multimedia can improve learning and instruction. In J. Dunlosky & K. A. Rawson (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of cognition and education (p. 460–479). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  |   Google Scholar
  31. Müller, C. & Mildenberger, T. (2021). Facilitating flexible learning by replacing classroom time with an online learning environment: A systematic review of blended learning in higher education. Educational Research Review, 34(1), 1–16.  |   Google Scholar
  32. Nikolov, R., Lai, K. W., Sendova, E., & Jonker, H. (2018). Distance and flexible learning in the twenty-first century. In J. Voogt, G. Knezek, R. Christensen & K. W. Lai (Eds.), International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (2nd ed.), (pp. 1-16). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.  |   Google Scholar
  33. Patton, M.Q. (2015). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 4th Ed. SAGE Publications Inc Thousand Oaks, C A:Sage.  |   Google Scholar
  34. Prasetya, D.D., Wibawa, A. P., Hirashima. T. & Hayashi, Y. (2020). Designing Rich Interactive Content for Blended Learning: A Case Study from Indonesia. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 18(4), pp. 276–287.  |   Google Scholar
  35. Queiros, D. R. & de Villiers, M. R (2016). Online Learning in a South African Higher Education Institution: Determining the Right Connections for the Student. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(5), 165–185.  |   Google Scholar
  36. Raheim, M. D. H. (2020). Indonesian University Students’ Likes and Dislikes about Emergency Remote Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Asian Journal of University Education (AJUE), 17(1), 1–18.  |   Google Scholar
  37. Roberts, T. S. & McInnerney, J. M. (2007). Seven Problems of Online Group Learning (and Their Solutions). Educational Technology & Society, 10 (4), 257–268.  |   Google Scholar
  38. Sammut-Bonnici, T. & McGee, J., (2017). Case study, Valletta: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  |   Google Scholar
  39. Smith, J., Fisher, J., & Ramprogus, V. (2020). Adding University to work and life: The work-life balance and well-being experiences of women who combine employment, HE learning and care of the family. Community Work & Family, DOI: 10.1080/13668803.2020.1779662.  |   Google Scholar
  40. Van Den Berg, G (2020). Context Matters: Student Experiences of Interaction in Open Distance Learning. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 21(4), 223–236.  |   Google Scholar
  41. Van Wyk, M. M. (2021). Academic Support under COVID-19 Lockdown: What Students Think of Online Support e-Tools in an ODeL Course. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 18(2), 137–157.  |   Google Scholar
  42. Walters-Archie, A. (2018). Academic support for online students in the English-speaking Caribbean at the University of the West Indies Open Campus. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 42(6), 868–878.  |   Google Scholar
  43. Wang, C. Y., Wu, H. K., Lee, S. W. Y., Hwang, F. K., Chang, H. Y., Wu, Y. T., et al. (2014). A review of research on technology-assisted school science laboratories. Educational Technology & Society. 17, 307–320.  |   Google Scholar
  44. Wardlow, L. (2014) “Using technology for effective parent-teacher communication” http://www.digitalpromise.org/blog/entry/using-technology-for-effective-parent-teacher-communication#.VbZwrVnpuLA.email. Accessed 8 May 2022.  |   Google Scholar
  45. Zawacki-Richter, O., & Anderson, T. (2014). Online distance education: Towards a research agenda. AU Press.  |   Google Scholar
  46. Züll, C. (2016). Open-Ended Questions. GESIS Survey Guidelines. Mannheim, Germany: GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. doi: 10.15465/gesis-sg_en_002  |   Google Scholar

How to Cite

Maphosa, C., Rugube, T. T., Mthethwa-Kunene, K. E., & Dlamini, P. (2022). Understanding the Experienced Opportunities and Threats of Online Learning in a Professional Development Programme. European Journal of Education and Pedagogy, 3(3), 242–250. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejedu.2022.3.3.366

Search Panel

 Cosmas Maphosa
 Google Scholar |   EJEDU Journal
 Talent Tapiwa Rugube
 Google Scholar |   EJEDU Journal
 Khetsiwe E. Mthethwa-Kunene
 Google Scholar |   EJEDU Journal
 Patience Dlamini
 Google Scholar |   EJEDU Journal


Most read articles by the same author(s)