Online learning has developed to become a new and an effective tool of getting an education in an
extremely technologically improved environment. It is getting today increasingly popular among
the learners as a result of the covid-19 crisis and the increasing demands from the work place and
the amplified availability of modern educational choices and tools, and this trend is perceived in
different ways by students. Thus, the students who have approached online learning differently
can be categorized into satisfied students and complaining students
The first kind of students is the satisfied ones. These students consider that they can attend
classes from any location of their comfort. Additionally, online lectures can be recorded,
downloaded, and saved for future reference. This offers students a chance to reach the learning
material at any time of their choice, and it creates a paperless education environment which is
more affordable. Moreover, instructor accessibility is an important topic that emerges in the
study on student experiences with online learning. For example, students who have good
experiences tend to describe teachers as “always being there,”” being fast to respond” and
describe themselves as “being more comfortable with asking questions without the fear of feeling
stupid and embarrassed”.
Another group of students is the complaining ones. One of the challenging problems students
most frequently encounter attending their distance learning is the feeling of isolation. For
example, one student described his feelings as follows: “I haven’t talked to anybody this
semester” and another said: “I didn’t feel connected”. Moreover, for a lot of students, another
challenge of distance learning is the struggle with concentrating on the screen for a long time. For
instance, students can get easily preoccupied by social media platforms and other websites.
Additionally, technological breakdown is the third challenge that encounters some students. The
server which hosts the application could crash and eject all students from the classroom,
smartphones or PCs can have several problems which could restrict students’ access, finally, the
Internet connection of students or instructors may fail.
In conclusion, the increasing availability of online learning has expanded its popularity among
the students for the last couple of years, some of them are pleased with the experience while
others are unsatisfied. Today, students are taking today online courses for numerous causes,
and in the middle of a world pandemic, one of those causes is that they just have to so that they
could continue their studies. Teachers must work to help students who are struggling in
managing their time, encourage engagement, be flexible, provide options, and strive to make an
ambiance of enthusiasm. And, students must not be embarrassed of asking for help.