Using Rich Picture to Understand the Issues and Challenges in E-Learning Environment: A Case Study of Students in Higher Education Institution

Abstract

E-learning has become an important mechanism for teaching and learning in the 21^st century. However, little is known about the issues and challenges faced by students as one of the primary users of e-learning in higher education institutions. Thus, this research adopts a qualitative case study with a purposive sample of ten students in a public higher education institution to explore issues and challenges of e-learning usage. Rich Picture originated from Soft System Methodology (SSM) was applied to the case study to explore the issues and challenges faced by the students, specifically in using e-learning as a tool in their learning process. The Rich Picture can be a useful tool to understand and map complexity and to solve problems. A thematic analysis was employed to understand the intricate patterns of emerging themes for achieving patterns in the data. The findings specify that through e-learning, the issues and challenges are categorised into three main aspects which include people/human, environment and technical. Each of these elements is narrowed down into positive and negative side. The most frequently mentioned of the positive side for i) people/human element is the 'self-initiative',  ii) environment element shows the 'encouraged students to learn at their own speed' and iii) technical element shows' accessible at anywhere and anytime'. Meanwhile, the most cited for negative side for i) people/human element is the 'lack of discipline', 'struggle to understand course topic' and 'lack communication skills', ii) environment shows 'distraction' and iii) technical element shows' poor internet connection'. The findings contribute to the theoretical perspective by utilising the Rich Picture of SSM. Following the Rich Picture approach, this research produces a picture with a holistic view of the issues and challenges in e-learning usage among students. Practically, the findings outlined in this research could be a reference to university management to revise the e-learning system plans and improve the platform for better students learning experience.