A. Student support and services.
B. Lack of experience.
C. Feedback and teacher contact.
D. Isolation.
E. Training.
BARRIERS TO LEARNING IN DISTANCE EDUCATION: HUMAN FACTOR
1. There are several areas of concern for distance students. A first area of concern for the distance student is the lack of contact with the teacher. Because there is not daily or weekly face-to-face contact with teachers, students may have trouble in self-evaluation. These barriers can be mitigated through e-mail.
2. A second area of concern for distance students is the lack of support and services such as providing tutors, academic planners and schedulers, and technical assistance. Technology costs and considerations can be a source of budgeting problems; however, student support for distance learners should be of primary importance.
3. A third problem area is the feelings of isolation reported by distance students. Students of all kinds want to be part of a larger school community, and simply a member of a “correspondence” course. For many traditional students, this is an important part of their social lives.
4. Another problem encountered by students is the lack of student training, particularly in reference to technical issues. Distance learners must be taught how to manage, not only their study time, but the materials presented as well.
5. If students are undertaking distance learning courses that require knowledge of computers, then the students must be taught, at a minimum, the fundamentals of operating the system of choice of the distance -taught course. If distance learning is to be successful, technical barriers must be made a non-issue.