Digital learning for disadvantaged students during COVID-19

Intersections ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-79
Author(s):  
József Balázs Fejes ◽  
Norbert Szűcs
Keyword(s):  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Disadvantaged Students ◽  
After School ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Psychological Burden

The digital learning instituted in Hungary in the spring of 2020 to halt the spread of the coronavirus there arguably encountered stumbling blocks as regards disadvantaged students. However, we have no information about the details, and mitigating these disadvantages is therefore fraught. The aim of our research is to shed light on the experience of digital learning among disadvantaged students. We analysed responses to an online questionnaire completed by teachers at 48 of Hungary’s after-school programmes (ASPs) who were in contact with over 1000, mostly disadvantaged children. We discussed the questionnaire-based analysis with ten ASP representatives in online workshops. In addition to ICT devices and Internet access, the lack of a learning space is also worth considering in promoting the establishment of objective conditions. In maintaining contact with parents, it is recommended that communication habits that differ from those of the middle class should be taken into account. Developing time management and other skills necessary for independent learning (e.g. reading comprehension, digital literacy) as well as alleviating the psychological burden represent a central task in similar situations. Our recommendations may be of use in the event of future school closures and in terms of facilitating digital learning among disadvantaged students.

scholarly journals Adapting to the situation caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in schools with children mostly from disadvantageous background

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emese K. Nagy
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Disadvantaged Students ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Research Show

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, people’s everyday life, and has also had an impact on schools. The aim of our paper is to show how primary schools have coped with the transition to digital learning where the proportion of disadvantaged and cumulatively disadvantaged students is between 50% and 80%. The schools included in the study are the institutions of the education district of South Borsod, one in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. We anticipate that due to the low number of items in the sample (a total of 6 schools), the survey can be considered representative of the education district and it cannot with regard to the county or the country. The research covers a two-month period from the start of the crisis, i.e. the closure of schools. The research started with an online questionnaire, which provided information on what tools and competencies students and teachers have for the transition to digital learning, and then in a structured interview, we wanted to find out whether it caused difficulties and what they thought the advantages and disadvantages of the coercive solution were. From the answers given by the heads of the institutions in the interviews, we learnt about the level at which they were able to tackle the shift to digital learning in the institutions, how they were able to organize distance learning, and what assistance they provided to their colleagues, students and parents during this crisis. The findings of the research are enriched by the fact that we had the opportunity to conduct unstructured, telephone interviews with students and parents about their experiences of online learning. The findings of the research show that the teachers of disadvantaged schools dealt successfully with this difficulty in these particular circumstances. Their competencies and the equipment available enabled them to implement online teaching of proper quality, but despite their preparedness, it also became clear that they also encountered other problems and factors for which it proved impossible to prepare when the coronavirus began to spread. At the same time, an important part of our finding is that all “participants” (teachers-students-parents) have made significant progress in using digital tools and platforms, which is likely to have an impact on education and hopefully it will launch innovations or reforms.

Developing Elementary Students’ Digital Literacy Through Augmented Reality Creation: Insights From a Longitudinal Analysis of Questionnaires, Interviews, and Projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1400-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Ping Hsu ◽  
Zou Wenting ◽  
Joan E. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
After School ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
After School Program ◽  
The Face

This mixed-method case study investigated digital literacy (DL) development among 32 elementary-level students who created multimodal, contextual, and interactive augmented reality (AR) artifacts in a 20-week after-school program in Northern Taiwan. The instructional design combined situated and spiral learning experiences with AR, implemented through a blended learning environment. Data sources included pre- and post-program digital learning student surveys, student and teacher interviews, classroom observations, and AR artifact assessments. Results indicated statistically significant increases with moderate effect sizes in five areas of students’ DL practices: information management; collaboration; communication and sharing; creation; and evaluation and problem-solving. Students did not increase DL in one area: ethics and responsibility. The situated and spiral learning-by-design approach offered increasingly complex AR creation projects in which students developed and transferred their DL. The face-to-face and online learning settings offered multiple ways to collaborate and facilitated the development of students’ DL. The AR technology enabled students to develop DL through designing AR using three types of representation features: multimodal, interactive, and contextual. Practical and theoretical implications for adapting or enhancing this instructional design in future DL programs and for future research are discussed.

A Thematic Analysis Of Incivility In Online Classroom: A Study In Indian Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (09) ◽  
pp. 65-84
Author(s):  
Aditi Gupta ◽  
◽  
Anshika Sharma ◽  
Prof. Patiraj Kumari ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Online Classroom ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Academic Activities ◽  
Almost All

The current situation of COVID 19 not only involves global health crisis but also economic and social crises. It has brought about a change in the system of education by conducting all academic activities online. Acc. to ILO, a world of universal distance education (as nearly 94% of learners have faced school closures) is created. Online education is a new concept for most Indians, creates room for incivility. Incivility is defined as a lack of manners, courteousness, and respect which deteriorates the decorum leading to disturbance in teaching and learning of the class. This study is focused on incivility in online teaching and learning. A total of 130 college students from around the country were asked to fill an open-ended online questionnaire to know their views on incivility in the online classroom. The overall thematic analysis resulted in the identification of three themes i.e. reported incidents, possible causes, and measures to reduce incivility in the online classrooms. In the time of pandemic where almost all the dissemination of education is done online to minimize the effect of the pandemic on the education system, incivility is a stumbling block. Therefore, it is important to bring incivility in online education in limelight as tackling incivility is the need of the hour.

scholarly journals Epilogue: Rethinking digital literacy: Media education in the age of digital capitalism

2020 ◽  
pp. 230-239
Author(s):  
David Buckingham
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Media Education ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
Digital Capitalism ◽  
The Media ◽  
Digital Media Literacy

Advocates of digital education have increasingly recognized the need for young people to acquire digital media literacy. However, this idea is often seen in instrumental terms, and is rarely implemented in any coherent or comprehensive way. This paper suggests that we need to move beyond a binary view of digital media as offering risks and opportunities for young people, and the narrow ideas of digital skills and internet safety to which it gives rise. The article propose that we should take a broader and more critical approach to the rise of ‘digital capitalism’, and to the ubiquity of digital media in everyday life. In this sense, the paper argue that the well-established conceptual framework and pedagogical strategies of media education can and should be extended to meet the new challenges posed by digital and social media.This article presents some reflections as an epigraph of the special issue "Digital learning: distraction or default for the future", whose final result has allowed us to group a set of critical research and analysis on the inclusion of digital technologies in educational contexts. The points of view presented in this epigraph is also developed in more detail in the book "The Media Education Manifesto" (Buckingham, 2019).

scholarly journals Impact of Google Classroom as an Online Learning Delivery during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of a Secondary School in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Oyarinde, Oluremi Noah ◽  
Komolafe, Olaide Gbemisola
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Structure Interview ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Achievement Attitudes

The teaching and learning process is rapidly becoming technology driven with the integration of digital learning using of online learning platforms to facilitate instructional delivery. Google classroom learning platform is one of the effective ways of enhancing student active engagement in an online learning environment. The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of Google classroom as an online learning delivery platform in secondary school during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. A mixed method approach was used in the study. Online questionnaire on Google Classroom Attitude Scale (GCAS) was used and online Semi-Structure Interview Guide (SSIG) developed by the researcher for data collection on the students’ perceptions on Google classroom. The researcher used Statistical Package of Social Science programme to calculate and analyse arithmetic mean, standard deviation and t-test. Content analysis was used for analysis of qualitative data. The participants were 140. The results showed that Google classroom platform as an online learning delivery positively affected students' academic achievement, attitudes and their perception during the pandemic in Nigeria’s secondary school. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that education stakeholders should effectively prepare students for the use of this platform for their learning activities during the pandemic. The platform is capable of assisting both students and teachers to connect, work together, create assignments, grade students and post learning materials. Likewise, students can also ask questions about the areas they do not understand. Hence, the advantages of the platform can be brought into usage for achieving quality in the teaching and learning process at all levels of education during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Promoting Metacognitive and Linguistic Skills: Digital Learning Logs in Pre-Service Teacher Training

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 117-126
Author(s):  
Ana Otto ◽  
Beatriz López-Medina
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Linguistic Skills ◽  
Learning Logs ◽  
Pre Service Teacher ◽  
Learning Log

This paper reports on the implementation of digital learning logs in the context of pre-service teacher training in a distance university in Madrid. The learning log, which had been previously implemented in the subject as a learning tool, has proven to be especially useful in Covid-19 times since the students had to work more independently and could use it to reflect upon their learning without the conventional teaching they were used to. The paper has a two-fold aim: first, to analyze whether the learning logs helped in promoting students’ autonomy and self-reflection, and second, to observe whether they contribute to the development of their linguistic competence in English as a foreign language. Participants of the study (n= 47) are students of the Primary and Infant Education degrees, specializing in English teaching, whose L2 level ranges between B1 and C2. At the end of half term, they were given the possibility of completing a learning log to record their learning process, review concepts and be aware of potential learning gaps and needs, and act accordingly. For this purpose, and to encourage participation, L1 or L2 could be chosen as vehicular languages. Participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire on their experience using the logs, answering questions regarding the suitability of this tool to enhance their language skills and promote effective strategies to become independent learners. The data drawn from the questionnaires submitted (n=29) were later analyzed through SPSS. In addition, individual semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect information on those participants who had not completed the learning log (n=11). The findings of the study show that the vast majority of participants agree on the potential of learning logs as a useful tool to keep track of their learning process and to develop metacognitive awareness and linguistic skills.  

scholarly journals Importance of Digital Literacy in the Process of Confronting the Stress During COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daša Bosanac ◽  
Ljerka Luic
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Everyday Functioning ◽  
Related Information ◽  
The Media ◽  
Search For Information ◽  
And Coping

COVID-19 pandemic is a global problem that raised the perception of stress to a completely new level, unseen so far in peace conditions. To reduce the level of stress and deal with its accumulated consequences, people enforce different strategies and coping mechanisms. In the vast amount of information available, imposed by the media, and often filled with falsehoods and catastrophizing related topics, it can be very challenging to distinguish the truth from falsehoods. The existence of an adequate level of digital literacy and e-Health literacy can help society to deal with that problem. Digital and e-Health literacy enables society to search for information efficiently, while remaining critical and open-minded, and use the newly adopted knowledge to improve our mental health. The aim of the paper was to present the frequency of news searches and trusting the COVID-19 related information in the group of medical professionals in Croatia. The survey was conducted using an online questionnaire, containing psychological questionnaires and relevant questions about everyday functioning. Based on the results that show a significant correlation between the frequency of information search and the lack of trust in the search results, we discuss the importance of digital and e-Health literacy, primarily within medical professionals.

The Psychological Burden of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Traits on Medical Workers Under the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Questionnaire Survey (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentaro Matsui ◽  
Takuya Yoshiike ◽  
Ayumi Tsuru ◽  
Rei Otsuki ◽  
Kentaro Nagao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Psychological Burden ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Developmental Characteristics

BACKGROUND There are numerous reports on the psychological burden of medical workers after the COVID-19 outbreak; however, no study has examined the influence of developmental characteristics on the mental health of medical workers. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine whether the developmental characteristics of medical workers are associated with anxiety and depression after the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS An online questionnaire survey was conducted in October 2020. The questionnaire included items on sociodemographic data, changes in their life after the COVID-19 outbreak, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits, and autism spectrum disorder traits. We performed hierarchical multiple regression analyses. RESULTS The data of 640 medical workers were analyzed. Increases in physical and psychological burden were observed in 49.1% and 78.3% of the subjects, respectively. The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that ADHD traits were significantly associated with both depression (β=0.390, P<.001) and anxiety (β=0.426, P<.001). Autistic traits were significantly associated with depression (β=0.069, P<.05) but not anxiety. Increased physical and psychological burden, being female, medical workers other than physicians and nurses, fear of COVID-19, and experience of discrimination were also significantly associated with both depression and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Globally, the burden on medical workers increased. This study suggested that medical workers with higher ADHD traits may need special attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Technology Integration in Digital Learning Environments

2018 ◽  
pp. 165-184
Author(s):  
Irene Mwingirwa Mukiri ◽  
Bonface Ngari Ireri
Keyword(s):  
Technology Integration ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Girls In Science ◽  
Learning Mathematics ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Digital Learning Environments

Digital literacy indisputably plays a momentous role in our future lives (Allen, 2007). This chapter considers technology integration at various levels of school, ranging from primary to tertiary levels. It further shows results of a practical quasi experimental study done in Kenyan secondary schools showing how scores of students learning mathematics in a technology-based environment compared with those learning using conventional methods of teaching. The students' scores in examinations showed that the students learning using the selected application known as GeoGebra performed better and girls performed equally as well as boys when taught mathematics in a technology environment. The chapter underscores the importance of technology to improve teaching and learning process and it has promise to bridge the gap in performance between boys and girls in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Digital Literacy and Motivation

2020 ◽  
pp. 268-288
Author(s):  
Jane Vinther ◽  
Jørgen T. Lauridsen
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Affective Factors ◽  
Learning Anxiety ◽  
Digital Classroom

The contribution of this chapter to the knowledge of motivation in relation to the learning of a foreign language lies in the extensive examination of student attitudes to a detailed field of involved factors. This chapter gives an account of affective factors in the digital classroom on the basis of the level of the digital literacy of the participating students. The digital learning of an L2 is correlated to the level of language learning anxiety, willingness to communicate in the L2, attitude to feedback, and preference for teaching methods. The results show that the level of digital literacy is so high that it should not in itself negatively impact attitude to other factors. The central finding of the investigation is that intrinsic motivation is the strongest motivational drive when compared to other motivational factors.

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