Thanks to COVID-19, many Caribbean countries have ramped up their purchase of tablet computers for students. However, with the focus being on the securing devices, a number of challenges have not been effectively addressed to ensure effective e-learning.
Around this time of year, and even if you do not have children, ‘back to school’ would be in the air. Sometime this week, being the last full week of August, would have been payday for many, and a time to buy the final bits and pieces to ready children for school. However, this year, the mood seems more subdued. In some countries, the start of the new academic school year is being delayed by a month, to October, for a broad range of reasons, including, but not limited to the following:
- COVID-19 infection rates have been rising in some Caribbean countries, and so it has been considered prudent to keep schools closed for a few more weeks;
- The results of the regional high school examinations still have not yet been released; and so students may not yet know whether they have successfully matriculated to pursue further studies.
- A wide cross-section of schools in the region are opting to have a mix of in-person and online classes. However, scheduling, logistics, along with the requisite resources and support, may not be fully finalised.
Although over the past few years, many Caribbean countries have embarked up initiatives to achieve one laptop, or one tablet computer, per student, COVID-19 and the ensuing school closures that occurred, made it painfully obvious why remote, or electronic (e-), learning is so crucial, and why all students need to be connected. To that end, several governments across the region have been scrambling to purchase tablet computers, which are either already in-country, or should be arriving soon.
However, as the reality of operationalising all of those tablets is beginning to hit home, a number of challenges are becoming evident. We outline five of them.
1. New devices, no Internet connectivity at school
In distributing tablet computers to students, there is an expectation that at the very least, they will be able to use them at school, to augment whatever face-to-face interaction they will be receiving. More importantly, using the tablet computers at school will ensure that there is some semblance of continuity during the times when students are required to engage in e- learning.
However, when there is no Internet connectivity in schools, it could be argued that the justification for students having tablet computers becomes weaker. First, students are not able to benefit from the digital tools that could improve the learning experience, generally, and in the classroom. More importantly, there is a sense that the chasm between in-person and e-learning is being exacerbated, instead of the two modalities being integrated to, once again, improve the quality of the learning experience.
2. Internet access for school administration only
To varying degrees and across the Caribbean region, a concerted effort has been made to ensure that schools have internet access. In some countries, international donor-funded initiatives have facilitated connectivity, whilst in others, use has been made of Universal Service Funds, which in many countries is managed by the telecoms regulator.
However, although a school might have Internet access, it does not automatically mean that there is Internet access in the classroom, which can be leveraged in the learning process. Frequently, connectivity might end at the principal and/or vice-principal’s office, and no provision has been made to extend access for pedagogical purposes, such as via Wi-Fi- hotspots on the school premises. Hence, although students may have tablet computers, they are unable to use them at school.
3. Connectivity at school, but not at home
In schools where classrooms have access to the Internet, students can enjoy the broad range of tools and resources available. However, and cognisant that we are still trying to manage COVID-19 infections, it is likely that students will also need to engage in some form of remote learning. Further, even if they are attending school, students might need to complete their homework, or conduct research, at home on their tablet computers.
It is thus being assumed that all households have Internet access – be it fixed-line or wireless connectivity. However, many households still cannot afford Internet access, and in some instances, service coverage might be spotty or even non-existent, although individuals are prepared to pay for the service. As a result, and although a student might have a tablet computer, he/she might not be able to use it at home, or in his/her community.
4. High Internet access costs
Across the region, a key desired outcome is ‘one tablet per child/student’, which points to the elimination of computer labs in schools. Traditionally, computer labs were the only place the entire cohort of students could access a computing device,. Now, an environment is being envisaged in which every student in every classroom has, and can use his/her own, computing device.
However, it also means that the entire student body could all be using their tablet computer at the same time to access the Internet! In a school of 300, 500, 800, or even a 1,000-plus students, the Internet bandwidth requirements could be high, and consequently, expensive – even prohibitively expensive for the school and/or the Ministry of Education. On the other hand, if the bandwidth is inadequate, it can be frustrating to access the Internet on the school compound from the computing device, and more importantly, the learning experience could suffer.
5. Teachers not equipped to effectively deliver classes electronically
In the Caribbean region, the degree to which countries have sought integrate digital tools and e-learning varies. Many still view e-learning as a modest add-on to the traditional in-person teaching. Hence, during the school closures earlier in the year, teachers may have just shifted their teaching style and method – chalk and blackboard – from the physical to the digital space. However, that approach is unlikely to be as effective in an electronic classroom, as it is in-person.
In truly embracing e-learning, the teaching/lesson plans would most likely need to be rebuilt from the ground up. It would also require digital tools and resources to be identified, and integrated into the teaching and learning processes. However, many teachers have not been equipped with the skills or the knowledge to do so effectively. Students will thus continue to suffer, and not have the optimal learning experience.
Image credit: Omar Sanou (Pixabay)
Spot on with all the issues identified Michele. All are evident in the Jamaican education space with mitigations coming along in fits and starts. Perhaps the most challenging for the system are the activities that that will enable the shift from the concept of remote teaching originally promoted to the e-learning paradigm the policy makers would wish to instantiate. Adaptation of content, lesson planning and delivery to advanced learning remain mired in lack of capacity and capabilities. But the policy layer in the Jamaican system is aware and working assiduously to gain traction in these areas. They soldier on.
That might be so in some countries, but many have recognised the gaps and are assiduously training teachers in online paedagogy (some since March), utilising tried-and -tested alternative (to online) ways to implement remote learning, creating covid-safe internet zones around the country (outdoor “internet patios”), and more.
Additionally, to move to online learning, the lesson plans will absolutely not need to be rebuilt from the ground up. Apart from the problems with accreditation and validation of courses with changed objectives in a ground up rebuilding, most well-designed lessons can be transformed by mapping the current learning strategies and activities to digital versions. For example, coallaborative activities such as “Think-Pair-Share”, group projects, discovery learning activities, and more are very easily done using electronic media. The learning theories haven’t changed, the strategies coming out from the theories haven’t changed, only the tools and actvities used to implement them wil change.