third- millennium challenges in virtual -learning contexts : a systematic review in developing countries

Background: education is the only industry in the pandemic era in most countries, even developing countries, has been wholly transferred to the online mode. although virtual learning is the best way to continue education during an epidemic, developing countries face challenges. this study aimed to determine the challenges of virtual education in developing countries. methods: the prisma guideline was followed in this review, with seven databases searched: scopus, isi, sciencedirect, emerald, pubmed, ovid sp, google scholar. the query '( virtual -learning or e-learning or online learning) and (challenges))' was used to retrieve records within the title, keywords, and abstract fields with no date restrictions since we wanted to find out as many articles on this topic as possible. references of the included articles were backward-tracked, and google scholar was searched to identify extra potentially relevant articles. the literature search was conducted on january 9, 2021. three hundred and twenty-five records were retrieved from the literature search, with 56 retained after removing duplicates. after a detailed screening and selection process, 32 articles were selected.results: the results showed that the most critical virtual learning challenges in developing countries were in six item 1. technical (lack of proper telecommunications infrastructure, lack of necessary electronic standards, hardware and software, reduced information security) 2. cultural (attitude of second-rate education (3. virtual -learning skills (unfamiliarity with the virtual learning environment, low hardware and software literacy) 4. socio-psychiatric factor (fear and anxiety in facing the virtual learning environment, distractions) 5. quality of education (difficulty in assessing the quality of learning, lack of effective student-teacher interaction( 6. ethical (information plagiarism, lack of intellectual property rights, and copyright law) was why most e-learners and e-tutor in developing countries were dissatisfied with virtual learning. conclusion: according to the results, to overcome these challenges, it is necessary to create infrastructure and technology standards and use the experiences of developed countries concerning virtual -learning. in addition, it is necessary to create an appropriate culture and familiarize professors and learners with the development and use of a virtual -learning system while maintaining ethics.