ABSTRACT
Aims The increasing development of information communication technology is increasingly positively impacting individuals in various fields, including education. This research aimed to understand the causes of ineffective online learning from the point of view of activists. Participants & Methods This qualitative research was conducted in 2019 in the context of Instructors in the Department of Accounting, Padang State Polytechnic. This study used a phenomenological design with semi-structured interviews that focuses on activists’ experiences (egos) who are central to the entire environment. Based on these assumptions, phenomenology seeks to find the intentionality behind the activist’s behavior for his understanding. Findings In the view point of participants, the causes of ineffective online learning were cultural and emotional. The cultural aspects are categorized under awkwardness with technology and content and characteristics of online learning and the emotional aspects are categorized under instructors’ pressures and workload and students’ dishonesty. Conclusion The effectiveness of online learning systems is about connectedness and quality. Meaning is a subjective truth that arises from the consciousness of a person who experiences and performs an action. . © 2021, the Authors.