Electronic Discourse: compared to written and spoken language

Our life comes to a full-stop without communication. Being a social animal we need to be in touch with our community. Whenever we need help or express our ideas to others, we communicate. Our curiosities as well as the need for co-existence propel us towards sharing our words with people. Even animals make noises and gestures to signify their feelings or describe a situation. Being human, we have several coherent ways to communicate. Traditionally we have either expressed ourselves orally or in writing but with advancement in technology we have become familiar with “Electronic discourse” or the “Computer mediated communication” in technical terms. Electronic discourse has both similarities and differences with the spoken or written language. It is originated from the traditional communication system only, but provides a platform where we can exploit both the benefits of written as well as spoken language.

Electronic discourse is similar to written language in many ways. We type in our emails, text messages and social networking updates which is electronic form of writing. When in forums or discussion rooms, we type in our responses alike formal writing. In the same way, when we post things in our blogs or websites, we can edit our work, select from a large vocabulary and consult different materials before finally publishing them, which is quite similar to writing. These points can also be used to contrast the electronic discourse from spoken language.

On the other hand, electronic discourse can be dynamic like instant messages where we can quickly respond to any queries or clarification. Also, most of the instant messages are volatile, whole chat is lost when we close the application unlike a written text. We can use a single click to signify something just like clicking “Like” button in Facebook. The recent functions like “Video Chat” are also totally different from written language. And as above, these points can be used to signify the resemblance of electronic discourse to spoken language.

Therefore, electronic discourse possesses both the qualities of spoken as well as written language and thus has collapsed the gap between them. And so, it has both similarities and differences when we analyze from any one perspective. But one of its greatest drawbacks is that unlike natural ways of communication, it allows anonymity to a large extent and hence has given rise to criminal activities over the electronic media.

Challenges of Online Learning

Everything in this world comes with benefits and with it the challenges. Such problems can be me minor but sometimes seriously disturbing too. Although we can choose different approaches, it is hard to ignore the hindrances and move on. In the same way, there are challenges related with online learning too, which can affect the overall study mechanism, and need to be addressed.

Firstly, the most obvious challenge we face in online learning is that it is totally different from traditional study methods. There is no live contact between the instructors and students as there is no specific time frame to study. It is also possible that they might never come into live communication since they can be in assorted time zones. Also, there are none of the things like cross-questioning, additional explanation and sharing contextual ideas as in traditional classrooms. 

Similarly, not all students have access to similar technologies. It can also be due to unavailability of resources or inability to afford them but on the whole, affects the learning process. The variation in technological aspects like internet speed, strength of devices, and compatibility issues make it difficult for both the students as well as the educators to manage things in an equitable manner. In addition, all the students may not we be pre-equipped with good computing skills. 

Also, it is a challenge for the instructors to prepare, maintain and asses the study materials and student responses in a limited time frame. Unlike traditional system, online learning can have hundreds of times more students enrolled in a program and so, it is very difficult to identify and help weak students, motivate the bright ones and, review and grade individual works with good efficiency. Additional time is spent to check and reply the queries, and discuss with the students as well.

Finally, apart from study, there might be some external issues related with online learning too. These issues contain but are not limited to payment problems (problems with payment can mean you cannot register for coming courses or sit for the final exam), technical problems (you have power cuts or problem with your internet connection or PC), work load (you work full time and it is hard to keep up the pace) and response time (even if you report all these problems to the institution, they take some time to get solved). Thus, they might also obstruct the study process.