Addressing problems in Virtual Learning Systems through Collaboration

Due to the confluence of economic and technological developments, there is a growing interest in virtual learning. The availability of enabling technologies has dramatically influenced the way we view the learning strategies of the future. However, many experimenters of virtual learning find this environment very demanding and sometimes downright frustrating. In this paper, we describe three pillars that form a basis for electronic learning systems, namely the telecommunication technologies, the virtual support system and the instructional issues. We point out a number of the challenges that can seriously hamper virtual learning efforts. Some of these challenges include: the constraints in the synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, problems associated with support infrastructures, meeting expectations of students, instructional resources, services and utilities, pedagogical approaches, etc. We use a technology adoption curve, to illustrate that some components in virtual learning are still in infancy and therefore large investments of money and/or energy might lead to frustration and disappointment. We then proceed with a number of suggestions on how to overcome some of the challenges in virtual learning situations while keeping the current stage of the technological developments in mind. In conclusion we describe how we managed to solve some of these problems through a collaborative effort between the University of Mannheim (Germany) and UNISA (South Africa), in which “old” static paperbased material were converted almost effortless into “new” dynamic web-based material with specially designed tools.