The development of information technology has led to the development of educational innovations, in particular online learning (distance learning). More and more Ukrainian universities are joining the development of open curricula, marking the global technological revolution in online learning. Western scholars point to an increase in demand for distance learning courses over the past few years: the global market for independent distance education in 2019 reached $ 35.6 billion. In the United States, experts predict that over the next five years it will grow by an average of 7.6% per year and will amount to 51.5 billion dollars USA.

Distance education in Ukraine was introduced in the 2000s, is now in its improving and globalization, integration processes and the introduction of information technology create the preconditions for its development.

The more rapid introduction of e-learning tools in the world began with the spread of information and communication technologies and the Internet. Websites of classes and schools were created, where information of educational content was posted (homework, links to additional sources on deepening the study of the content of the subject, the screen of success students and more). E-mail was used not only for emergency messages, but also for intellectual scientific discussions and process of informing students. Social networks have become very useful for individual and group consultations, communication and training. All the mentioned above gave a positive impact on the rapid development of innovative technologies at the higher education establishments.

Unfortunately, lack of funds and general trend for impoverishment of the population prevent the higher schools from stable improving and gaining the top position in the educational sphere. Quarantine highlighted the lack of an electronic library on all-Ukrainian level, where the content meets all the criteria and requirements of the State Standard. A lot of low-quality educational content is distributed on the Internet. For the most part, such services are provided on a paid basis, which contradicts the basic law of Ukraine on free education in secondary schools. There is no legal framework for the organization of education process by distant form i.e. protection of intellectual property of teachers when creating electronic content of the course. This circumstance is a deterrent to the involvement of teachers in distance learning. Insufficient technical capabilities of all users, consequently we should mention  low speed of the Internet; imperfect free software; high prices for the software educational process has needed; lack of technical ability to check the independence of performing the tasks by the students, etc.

Besides the cost of the technology, there is the possibility of not utilizing all its potential. Some of these problems arise from a lack of training, some from the instructor's attitudes about using the technology, and still others by hardware problems. It seems to be self evident that instructors need to be trained to use distance learning technology, but too often they are not. Once again, it appears that administration may feel that the technology itself will improve the course. Advancement in technology does not lead to effective distance education. The best distance education practices depend on creative, well-informed teachers. We can suggest that newer technologies are not inherently better than old ones and many of the lessons learned from the application of older technologies will still apply to any newer technology. Again, the teacher should be trained to take advantage of both their experience and being able to adapt that experience to the new environment of distance learning. The instructors must be trained not only to use technology, but also to shift the way in which they organize and deliver material.

Equipment and hardware malfunctions can be a great detriment to the effectiveness of distance learning. When a problem occurs in a class everything comes to a standstill and the learning environment is interrupted. If there are too many instances, the entire course can be affected. For instance, if an overhead projector goes out during an instructor's presentation, an alternate way of delivering that information can easily be found. However, if a compressed video presentation has problems, the entire class must be stopped until the problem is resolved. If the teacher goes ahead with the lesson, one site will miss out on that information. During this particular session there was never more than a four-minute period before the connection to one of the sites was lost. This may be an extreme example, but according to the instructor involved in the presentation, the course experience was better, but similar to past experiences. At Ivan Pului Ternopil National Technical University, they discovered that using compressed video as a single medium of delivering distance education was not as effective as was first hoped. Because of this they developed a different concept of an “electronic classroom” that did not rely on just one mode of delivery. Their experience was that compressed video had connection problems and did not work well broadcasting information delivered by lecture. The failure of the hardware can be a very frustrating thing for all involved in distance learning. For the teacher, it means they can be well prepared for the class only to have a bad connection or camera failure cause the entire lesson to go bad. For the technician, the frustration and inability to keep the class running smoothly may affect the instructor’s view of their competency, causing friction. For the student, an inability to get a flow to the class and feel like progress is being made can hinder the learning process. Those students used to the traditional face-to-face instruction and who do not have a tolerance for ambiguity will have a difficult time.

Thus, any technological challenge of the 21st century for the higher education in Ukraine can be overcome in case the specialists work together with the teachers and try to meet their needs in solving problems with distance learning from the technical point of view.