Abstract

This study described and analyzed the responses of a selected sample of experts and students in relation to the future challenges that might arise from the application of e-Learning in university instruction. Seventeen instructors and twenty students participated in two open-ended questionnaires. The questions consisted of a number of divisions: pertaining to instructors, students, curriculum, software and hardware use, and the educational system. The study examined the psychological, sociological, moral, cultural, health effects of the application of e-Learning. Based on the instructors' responses, the results of the study pointed out their shortage of awareness and lack of training when it comes to technological education among the main challenges they faced with a percentage (65%), the high cost of e-Learning (65%) in addition to the narrow understanding of the changing roles of educators and students as another important challenge (42%), the difficulty of designing circular (35%), lack of clear policies, and shortage of awareness of the concept of a system were also identified as important points (35%). As for the students' responses, resistance to adopting new technology (55%), lack of skills for using hardware and software were among the challenges they identified (55%), and lack of coping with changing roles (40%). Both instructors and students pointed out a number of psychological, sociological, cultural, and health effects of using e-Learning. The study recommended the importance of spreading awareness of the concept of e-Learning as a holistic system and called for more studies to come up with plans for building new strategies to encounter the challenges resulting from using eLearning in the university instruction.