The Challenges of E‐Learning: A SWOT Analysis of Online Courses

Background With the projected rapid growth of the demand for online education and its importance in post‐secondary education Contacos‐Sawyer (2010), many educational institutions the world over, are increasing relying on the support of ICT to deliver course materials and communicate with students. Problem The proliferation of online courses provides an expansive knowledge domain within the education sector. The voluminous possibilities information and communication technology (ICT) attributes to online courses and their delivery represents an array of challenges such as combating surface learning and even cheating. Purpose & Aims The aim of this paper is firstly to evaluate the essential characteristics of online courses as a means of delivering education through a simple SWOT analysis and thereby appraise the value of such courses with regards to delivery and participatory expectations. Implementation & Results From here by extension the study identifies a number common issues relating to online courses through both a teacher and learner perspective at a Swedish University and the authors conclude by offering suggestions of how to address motivation loss and plagiarism taking cognisance of what makes 'Good academic learning' McCormack & Pressley (1997) where motivation, knowledge, strategies and metacognition come to bear.