E-learning in covid19 era

TTUTA

THERE IS much excitement about the e-learning possibilities available to the nation’s children during this period of unscheduled school closure and this is good. The imperatives of 21st century education demands an increased infusion of modern methods of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into the delivery of curriculum and assessment for school graduates to find their rightful place in a digitally driven world.

The authorities, in their quest to meet this challenge, have been, albeit slowly, putting in place the requisite infrastructure and training to enable students in the nation’s schools to engage in various forms of e-learning. This is a huge undertaking by the Ministry of Education that is not only costly but time-consuming.

The advent of the covid19 pandemic forced schools to close prematurely for an indeterminate period, prompting calls from various quarters for the switch to e-learning as a means of compensating for the lost classroom time.

Lest we all get carried away in naivete and excitement with all the fantastic possibilities this learning approach promises, there is need for some sobriety.

E-learning should not be seen as a panacea for the challenge we currently face, for while promising it also has its inherent disadvantages. While the technology is being infused in the classroom, such introduction is not a fait accompli and thus switching to e-learning is not so easy as it seems.

The infusion of ICTs was always meant to complement what was being done in the classroom and not replace it. The provision of all relevant infrastructure such as computers, internet bandwidth and speed along with a cadre of teachers capable of delivering curriculum using suitable e-learning modalities has been recognised as imperatives of 21st century learning opportunities.

It is therefore quite presumptuous to contemplate that the provision of a plethora of online learning platforms purporting to cater to all learning levels and needs will magically compensate for the loss of face-to-face teacher-student interaction in the classroom. Creators of such technology would have us believe otherwise.

We must resist the temptation to wave the e-learning magic wand to solve our current emergency, for we may inadvertently create a bigger challenge when the emergency is over.

The digital market is very competitive, with providers offering a range of “free” learning tools that usually come with a strong sting in the proverbial tail. Many “free” platforms are designed to bait unsuspecting users and will not hesitate to blackmail consumers of “free” trials later on.

Free is not necessarily best and school officials/parents must have a certain level of competence to evaluate the appropriateness/advantages/disadvantages of each option to avoid subsequent entrapment.

The use of digital learning assumes that all students and teachers have access to devices and internet. What of those students who do not have such facilities? By the estimates of the Ministry of Education this can be as much as 30 per cent of the student population.

Their inability to access any of these learning platforms would place them at a greater disadvantage, widening the inequity gap and further marginalising vulnerable groups when school resumes. These are students who come from among the most vulnerable households, whose trauma includes having to deal with loss of meagre incomes.

In this e-learning frenzy, where priority is supposedly being placed on the preservation of life, these questions must be asked: Who will ultimately benefit from this accelerated switch? What long-term impact will it have on our education system? What assumptions are we making about the mass use of online learning platforms?

Unfortunately, panic about the loss of three-four months of classroom instruction is the natural outcome of an education system that is driven by high-stakes examinations. This extended time-out from school has inadvertently but fortunately given children time to enable their psychomotor and affective learning domains to catch up with their cognitive – an imbalance in our education system that has been repeatedly identified as a major deficiency.

Moreover, the misplaced anxiety and even panic being expressed by many is showing that reflection about our state of existence is not taking place. The continued speculation over a situation that no one could have predicted in its manifestation and outcome diminishes our capacity to truly learn from this whole experience.

Loosing a few months of school will not the end of the world bring to students. There are various ways in which lost instruction time can be compensated, for it has been done many times before courtesy of the commitment and dedication of the vast majority of teachers.