Students’ Experiences of E-Learning Challenges; a Phenomenological Study
Background: The emergence and use of e-learning in education have been one of the most important achievements of higher education which can solve many of the problems of this system, and addressing the challenges of e-learning are one of the concerns and problems of our society. Objectives: The purp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ijvlms.sums.ac.ir/article_45841_bf6d528b06b2a94c32859036cc4a3154.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818229759795003392 |
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| author | Maryam Shafiei Sarvestani Mehdi Mohammadi Jalil Afshin Laleh Raeisy |
| author_facet | Maryam Shafiei Sarvestani Mehdi Mohammadi Jalil Afshin Laleh Raeisy |
| author_sort | Maryam Shafiei Sarvestani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The emergence and use of e-learning in education have been one of the most important achievements of higher education which can solve many of the problems of this system, and addressing the challenges of e-learning are one of the concerns and problems of our society. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the students’ experience of e-learning challenges at the Virtual School of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). Method: The research design was qualitative with the phenomenological method. Potential participants included students from Virtual School of SUMS. 10 students were selected using a purposive sampling method with a standard technique. The data collection method consisted of a semi-structured interview. After coding the data using thematic analysis method, basic, organizing, and inclusive themes were extracted. Results: Results classified the challenges of e-learning at the Virtual School of SUMS into six general categories which are as follows: 13 educational challenges, including the extensive amount of context in the courses as well as a large number of modules, disregarding the educational prerequisites of the field, failure of professors to accompany students at the early stages of the projects, etc.; 10 organizational challenges including non-diversification of e-learning courses, high availability of online academic staff due to lack of e-learning experience, 9 ethical challenges such as lack of appropriate culture for applying this discipline, negative perception towards e-learning, 8 technical challenges including low speed of internet, shortage of physical spaces in e-learning, 5 supportive challenges such as lack of facilities, lack of permission to use the university canteen, 5 evaluation challenges such as mandatory in-person exams in e-learning courses, not allocating a reasonable proportion of the final mark to in-person exams, 3 managerial challenges such as inefficiency of the educational content, rejection of students by the head of virtual faculty due to lack of time and lastly, 2 communicational challenges such as lack of interaction with academic staff and classmates as well as lack of face-to-face communication. Conclusion: Understanding the challenges and obstacles of establishing e-learning in Iran's higher education and providing practical solutions for them, developing this type of education and, as a result, the excellence of Iran's educational system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T10:23:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0f0a516513b4403285afb313f28a8e6f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2476-7263 2476-7271 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T10:23:43Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Shiraz University of Medical Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-0f0a516513b4403285afb313f28a8e6f2022-12-22T00:27:30ZengShiraz University of Medical SciencesInterdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences2476-72632476-72712019-09-0110311010.30476/ijvlms.2019.4584145841Students’ Experiences of E-Learning Challenges; a Phenomenological StudyMaryam Shafiei Sarvestani0Mehdi Mohammadi1Jalil Afshin2Laleh Raeisy3Department of Educational Administration & Planning, Faculty of Education & Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. Tel: +98 939 7991215 Email: maryam.shafiei@gmail.comDepartment of Educational Administration and Planning, Faculty of Education & Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, IranDepartment of Educational Administration and Planning, Faculty of Education & Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, IranDepartment of Educational Administration and Planning, Faculty of Education & Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, IranBackground: The emergence and use of e-learning in education have been one of the most important achievements of higher education which can solve many of the problems of this system, and addressing the challenges of e-learning are one of the concerns and problems of our society. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the students’ experience of e-learning challenges at the Virtual School of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). Method: The research design was qualitative with the phenomenological method. Potential participants included students from Virtual School of SUMS. 10 students were selected using a purposive sampling method with a standard technique. The data collection method consisted of a semi-structured interview. After coding the data using thematic analysis method, basic, organizing, and inclusive themes were extracted. Results: Results classified the challenges of e-learning at the Virtual School of SUMS into six general categories which are as follows: 13 educational challenges, including the extensive amount of context in the courses as well as a large number of modules, disregarding the educational prerequisites of the field, failure of professors to accompany students at the early stages of the projects, etc.; 10 organizational challenges including non-diversification of e-learning courses, high availability of online academic staff due to lack of e-learning experience, 9 ethical challenges such as lack of appropriate culture for applying this discipline, negative perception towards e-learning, 8 technical challenges including low speed of internet, shortage of physical spaces in e-learning, 5 supportive challenges such as lack of facilities, lack of permission to use the university canteen, 5 evaluation challenges such as mandatory in-person exams in e-learning courses, not allocating a reasonable proportion of the final mark to in-person exams, 3 managerial challenges such as inefficiency of the educational content, rejection of students by the head of virtual faculty due to lack of time and lastly, 2 communicational challenges such as lack of interaction with academic staff and classmates as well as lack of face-to-face communication. Conclusion: Understanding the challenges and obstacles of establishing e-learning in Iran's higher education and providing practical solutions for them, developing this type of education and, as a result, the excellence of Iran's educational system.http://ijvlms.sums.ac.ir/article_45841_bf6d528b06b2a94c32859036cc4a3154.pdfstudentse-learningexperienceschallenge |
| spellingShingle | Maryam Shafiei Sarvestani Mehdi Mohammadi Jalil Afshin Laleh Raeisy Students’ Experiences of E-Learning Challenges; a Phenomenological Study Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences students e-learning experiences challenge |
| title | Students’ Experiences of E-Learning Challenges; a Phenomenological Study |
| title_full | Students’ Experiences of E-Learning Challenges; a Phenomenological Study |
| title_fullStr | Students’ Experiences of E-Learning Challenges; a Phenomenological Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Students’ Experiences of E-Learning Challenges; a Phenomenological Study |
| title_short | Students’ Experiences of E-Learning Challenges; a Phenomenological Study |
| title_sort | students experiences of e learning challenges a phenomenological study |
| topic | students e-learning experiences challenge |
| url | http://ijvlms.sums.ac.ir/article_45841_bf6d528b06b2a94c32859036cc4a3154.pdf |
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