 My name is Dr. Naima Hassan and we will discuss the issues and challenges faced by the teachers as well as students in an e-learning environment. First of all, we will go through some issues and problems you may face in teaching as well as in learning in a virtual institution. Then we will move on to some striking solution to these problems. It is important to know that these issues are not entirely related to virtual teaching as conventional mode of teaching also pose some issues of its own right. It is important to know that these problems are not entirely related to virtual teaching as conventional mode of teaching also pose some challenges of its own right. So let's start with issues first. There are some issues in e-learning and e-teaching which includes a lack of ICT related knowledge and experience, lack of basic orientation about the system, accessibility and technological issues, teacher-student interaction and lastly some psychological challenges you may face during e-learning or teaching. First issue is lack of ICT related knowledge and experience. Teachers are supposed to attend students virtually, they are supposed to handle bulk information and plan for their teaching strategies online. Not all teachers are accustomed to prior knowledge of computers, they know little about software and its usage. Without proper knowledge of computer and software tools and ICT related skills it might become pretty difficult for them to teach online effectively. Similarly, students also have to rely on different online platforms for e-learning and they have to go through LMS, they have to maintain their assignments and quizzes and projects digitally. If students are not well equipped with computer knowledge and software usage, it can hinder their ability to access course related material, it can make it difficult for them to submit projects, attempt quizzes online in due time. Digital literacy also include knowledge of online security safety practices, privacy concerns and responsible digital citizenship. Sometimes while teaching in virtual university we get lot of queries from students, students ask you about how to activate their system, how to get connected on Zoom, how to work on Google Docs. If you get queries related to these issues, you must know students are facing issues related to their experience and knowledge about ICT or computer, so you must deal with them accordingly. Second challenge of e-teaching and e-learning in a virtual environment is lack of basic orientation about system. Students after getting admission in virtual university often complains about the lack of basic understanding about the system. They sometimes don't have idea about how to study at virtual university, where to start their courses, how to manage their classes and students often ask you through emails or ticket system or through MDBs that are there any online classes, where are the teachers, how do I submit the assignments, these are the very basic issues you might come across during your teaching experience in a virtual institution. If student lacks basic understanding about their LMS, they might find it difficult to obtain their course related materials, they find it difficult to handle the semester activities effectively. They don't know about the grading scheme, they don't know about the course calendar. If being a virtual university teacher, you or yourself is not well aware of the system, it will be very difficult for you to guide your students effectively. Next issue is accessibility issue or technological related issues. Not all students have access to reliable internet sources and compatible equipments and softwares. As I have mentioned earlier, virtual university has a diverse population of students. Students are coming from different backgrounds, students are coming from different regions of the country, some students are from rural areas, some students are from urban areas, many are coming from very far flung areas where students don't have stable internet connection, they don't have proper equipment. You get a lot of queries related to these issues. For example, students often ask you about rescheduling of the quiz because they don't have internet connection at their area, they don't have webcam, they don't have a laptop to present in VivaVos so they ask you about if they can use mobile phones to present in VivaVos. These issues can disrupt their learning experience, lead to missed lesson assignments and cause frustration. Another challenge of virtual teaching is student-teacher interaction. We'll go through the student-teacher interaction problems according to a teacher's perspective first. We'll discuss student perspective as well. One of the major issues of student-teacher interaction in a virtual environment is reduced proximity. Virtual teaching removes the physical presence of a teacher leading to reduced non-verbal cues, eye contact and proximity to students. These factors may make it challenging for teachers to gush their students' engagement, attentiveness and understanding. Reduced proximity leads to another problem that is distraction. Teachers face challenges in preventing distractions and maintaining focus among students who may be at their homes distracted by different potential diversions and distractions. They have less control in a class or in a session. Students often mute their mics or they remain busy in talking with the others while joining a session. Students often sometimes ask their teachers to on their cameras, they are busy in doing house chores while joining a session. Another issue of student-teacher virtual interaction is delayed or distorted communication. Most of all, students don't communicate or contact their course instructor in a timely manner. Students sometimes join in Google Meet sessions or Zoom sessions but due to internet connectivity issues, they don't get their teachers verbatim properly. For teachers, this sometimes becomes difficult. If a student is joining a remote area and they don't have a stable internet connection, then they won't be able to communicate properly. And the next issue is equal opportunities for all. As I said earlier, there is a diverse population of students from different backgrounds and regions. They have different ethnic backgrounds as well. So it is very difficult for a teacher to manage all the students in same manner. Teachers may need to accommodate them according to their time zones as there are some overseas students in spew program. So they tend to accommodate them according to their time zones, their language barriers and learning disability to promote inclusivity. One of the basic and major issue of student-teacher virtual interaction is difficult rapport building. In conventional mode of teaching, it is very easy for a teacher to build rapport with their student and vice versa. In virtual setup, it might be challenging for a teacher to feel connected with their students or make their students feel connected to their course instructors. As there is no face-to-face interaction, it can make it difficult for teachers to establish a rapport. It is difficult for them to address their students' emotional needs, to address their individual concerns regarding teaching or regarding course material or regarding any domestic issues. Students often complains you about they are busy, they are disturbed due to some domestic issues, they have some family issues, most of the students are job holders. So they often get to complain about their personal and work-life issues. If you get queries related to these issues, please know that students are in need of some emotional support from their course instructor. It is not necessary that you tell them their family issues and their solutions, but if you listen to the students' problems attentively, then it is very effective to feel emotionally connected for the students. Next and last is student-teacher relationship. In a virtual setup, it is very difficult to establish a student-teacher relationship but if a course instructor or teacher is an empathetic teacher, he or she can build a strong student-teacher relationship through LMS or through digital forums as well. Next, we will move on to student-teacher virtual interaction according to a student's perspective. One of them is lack of peer support. Virtual university's mode of education is asynchronous, which includes pre-recorded lectures and content material available on LMS. Students tend to get these course materials and lectures online and which reflects that they have minimum communication or interaction with their teachers and with their peers. Conventional system students have a lot of support from their peers, their class fellows say or their teachers say. So in virtual learning system, students may feel isolated or lack the feeling of connectedness with other peers. Sometimes students like to work in group projects and in virtual setup, majority of the course student has to attend alone or individually, which may lack the interactive element present in face-to-face learning. Next issue of student-teacher virtual interaction according to student perspective is delayed and incomplete feedback. As I have told you earlier that virtual university mode of education is majority in asynchronous mode and students don't get immediate feedback on their assignments and on their quizzes or any other academic related task. Next issue is delayed or incomplete feedback. Virtual university's asynchronous mode may reduce the immediacy of feedback from the teachers. Due to the asynchronous mode of education, students may have to wait longer to receive feedback from their course instructor. Sometimes students need to ask a question when he is watching a video lesson or reading a handout or going through any course related material he needs to ask a question or query from his or her teacher, they don't get immediate or instant reply or feedback. Sometimes teachers don't reply them or don't give their feedback properly. They send incomplete or little feedback to the point very brief feedback that can hinder their progress and understanding of the course material. Sometimes a student asks you about where to find a download, for example, student asks you where to find handouts of the course material and teacher replies that you can find it in the download section of the course. But they don't tell them where to find that download section in the course on LMS. So reply and give feedback properly and in complete manner. Let's move on to some common psychological challenges in e-learning in teaching. One of the major psychological challenges a teacher or student may come across is social isolation which leads to lack of motivation. Virtual teaching and learning can be isolating for both teachers and students as well. The lack of face-to-face interaction can lead to feelings of disconnection and isolation which can affect students or teachers' motivation to work in virtual environment or to study in virtual environment effectively. If I talk about a social isolation according to a student's perspective in conventional mode of teaching and learning, students get to communicate with their peers, with their class fellows very often. They communicate with their teachers to stay motivated and feel connected with others. So they complete their assignments more enthusiastically. It is very difficult for them to work in isolation or individually in a virtual setup. Similarly, it is very difficult sometimes for teachers or the course instructors to work individually. Teachers also feel isolated if they don't get to communicate with their students more often. This can lead to less motivation and feeling of disconnection in teachers and students as well. Next issue is procrastination. A common psychological issue of e-learning and teaching is procrastination. Procrastination is the act of delaying tasks which poses a significant challenge in e-learning and e-teaching. For students, students have to rely on their own to complete their semester activities, to complete their study projects, to study on their own, which often leads to lack of motivation and resultantly they end up in delaying their tasks. Teachers and instructors also find it difficult to stay motivated and connected all the time. Instructor may also procrastinate on updating the course material or providing timely feedback to the students. It is very difficult for them to handle multiple channels and doing different tasks simultaneously which may lead to procrastination. Lastly, we will talk about burnout as a psychological challenge in e-learning and teaching. Being a virtual teacher often demands extra additional time and effort. For example, teachers are engaged in multiple tasks at the same time. They are designing and engaging lessons. They are handling students from different courses, from different backgrounds. They are also busy in doing some administrative tasks. So it is very difficult for them to do all these tasks simultaneously. It can become sometimes very overwhelming for them. The blurring of boundaries between professional and personal life of the teachers may often lead to stress, which consequently disturbed your physical and psychological health. If you are not feeling psychologically fit, it can lead to a decline in your physical health as well. So it is very important to keep in mind that burnout can be very challenging for a teacher in virtual setup when they don't even realize they are experiencing burnout. So it is very important to take care of your psychological well-being as well as your physical well-being for being an effective virtual teacher.