Perceived Challenge in E-Learning and Its Causes

This paper presents the results of a study on the perceived challenge of e-learning with special reference to the National Program for Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) offered by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc)jointly. The programme has been used to model learner requirement and expectations through technology enhanced and online learning worldwide. Survey data collected from across India is used to identify the predominant sections of users that feel "e-learning is challenging" and hence aren't able to engage fully in the e-learning process. Such findings will also have direct bearing on future design of all online learning processes worldwide through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). An attempt is also made to identify the causes of this perception and corroborate the same with an analysis of the survey data. Finally, along with the results of the analysis, some suggestions for NPTEL and other online content providers worldwide, following the movement by UNESCO to create Open Educational Resources (OERs), are also given to help them chart their future courses of action. On the user side, some of these suggestions may also be helpful for overcoming this perception by addressing the roots of similar problems.