scholarly journals Global Skills After COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 213-222
Author(s):  
Dr. Anitha S ◽  
Chaithanya D J ◽  
Aisiri A P ◽  
Ramya B ◽  
Jayanna S S
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Global Skills ◽  
Online Learning Resources ◽  
Changing Economy ◽  
Survival Mode ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19 has profoundly reshaped our world. The disruption to lives and livelihoods has been staggering. The economic devastation has thrown many industries into survival mode. As we begin to revive jobs and economies, it will be important to understand the impact of the crisis on the skills landscape. Universities among the ones adapting to the crisis. Equal access to education and skills is one of them. COVID-19 has further exposed many inequalities with respect to education and employability .Online learning has proven effective in delivering on that promise, now more than ever. From March to July of this year, more than 15 million new learners registered on different courses. School closures have disrupted higher education for millions of students in countries already in need of more accessible learning. Eighty percent of students enrolled in tertiary education are located in countries that have both closed schools due to COVID-19 and are in the bottom half of the world rankings for proficiency in business, technology, and data science skills. To help overcome deepening skill inequities, institutions must work together to democratize access to quality online learning resources and ensure we are all prepared for the rapidly changing economy.

Flipping the Passive Radiology Elective by Including Active Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 084653712095390
Author(s):  
Yuhao Wu ◽  
Christina Theoret ◽  
Brent Edward Burbridge
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Electronic Book ◽  
Clinical Imaging ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Online Learning Resources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Self Learning

Objectives: Exposure to radiology in undergraduate medical education is often restricted by other curriculum demands. Designing an effective radiology elective for medical students who choose to supplement their education can be challenging as it is often a passive observership-style elective. In this study, we examined the impact of incorporating an online learning platform and electronic book into radiology electives to stimulate active learning. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 23 students who pursued a 2-week diagnostic radiology elective at our institution. Their radiology knowledge prior to the elective was assessed using 2 pretests. Students had opportunities to work with radiologists to review clinical imaging, attend academic rounds, and learn from the online learning resources. Their knowledge after the elective was assessed by readministering the 2 tests as “posttests.” Students also ranked their perception of the elective experience and educational resources on a Likert scale from 1 to 5. Results: There were statistically significant increases of 13.4% ( P < .0001) in mean test 1 scores and 6.8% in mean test 2 scores ( P = .001). Students also had favorable perceptions of the radiology elective experience and rated the electronic book (median score: 5 of 5) and online learning platform (4.5 of 5) as valuable educational resources. Conclusion: The implementation of an electronic book and online learning platform improved knowledge in radiology and resulted in positive student perceptions of the elective experience. This supports the use of online resources to facilitate independent self-learning for future radiology electives.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and the Digital Transformation of Education: What We Are Learning in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mhlanga ◽  
Tankiso Moloi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Access

The study sought to gauge the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in unleashing digital transformation in the education sector in South Africa. In order to gauge the impact, the study tracked the rate at which the 4IR tools were used by various institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were obtained from secondary sources, mainly newspaper articles, magazines and peer-reviewed journals. The findings are that, in South Africa, during the lockdown, a variety of 4IR tools were unleashed from primary education to higher and tertiary education where educational activities switched to remote learning (online learning). These observations point to the fact that South Africa generally has, some pockets of excellence to drive the education sector into the 4IR, which has the potential to increase access. Access to education, particularly at a higher education level, has always been a challenge due to a limited number of spaces available. Much as this pandemic has brought with it massive human suffering across the globe, there is an opportunity to assess successes and failures of deployed technologies, costs associated with them, and scaling these to technologies improve access.

scholarly journals Teacher-Student Online Interactions During First and Second COVID-19 Related School Closures: Effects on Students’ Academic Achievement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Spitzer ◽  
Korbinian Moeller ◽  
Sebastian Musslick
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Mathematical Problems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Period

A growing number of studies seek to evaluate the impact of school closures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While most studies reported severe learning losses in students, some studies found positive effects of school closures on academic performance. However, it is still unclear which factors contribute to the differential effects observed in these studies. In this article, we examine the impact of assignment strategies for problem sets on the academic performance of students (n 24,000 from classes 4-10 who calculated 560,000 problem sets) in an online learning environment for mathematics, during the first and second period of pandemic-related school closures in Germany. We observed that, if teachers repeatedly assigned single problem sets (i.e., a small chunk of on average eight mathematical problems) to their class, students’ performance increased significantly during both periods of school closures compared to the same periods in the previous year (without school closures). In contrast, our analyses also indicated that, if teachers assigned bundles of problem sets (i.e., large chunks) or when students self-selected problem sets, students’ performance did not increase significantly. Moreover, students’ performance was generally higher when single problem sets were assigned, compared to the other two assignment types. We conclude that teachers’ way of using the online learning environment in general, and their strategy of assigning problem sets in particular can have a positive effect on students’ performance in mathematics.

scholarly journals PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN ON RURAL SECONDARY SCHOOL FEMALE LEARNERS IN MATOBO DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lwazi Sibanda ◽  
Joyce Mathwasa
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Online Learning Resources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Perceptions Of Teachers

The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of teachers and learners on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on rural secondary school female learners in Matobo District. The study was qualitative in nature, entrenched on interpretivist paradigm and adopted a case study design. Data was collected using open-ended questionnaire and online focus group discussions from six teachers and eighteen learners who formed three focus group discussions. The participants were purposively sampled from three schools. The study found that a few teachers were able to conduct online lessons using WhatsApp platform during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the selected schools though there was no consistence as teaching was not programmed and participation of female learners was low. The findings revealed that most of the parents could not afford to provide online learning resources for their children because of economic hardships. The study further established that rural female learners were at risk during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as some of them were exposed to sexual abuse when they try to have access to smartphones and data bundles from some male adults. It was found that female learners have lost much of their learning time whilst on lockdown and many cases of pregnancy have emerged leading to dropping out of school. The study concluded that most of the rural secondary school female learners were excluded from education during lockdown due to poverty, unavailability of network or poor network coverage, lack of broadcast transmission services to enable them to access online lessons through the radio, lack of electricity, poor attendance due to lack of smartphones and data bundles, performance of all household chores including herding of cattle and lack of cooperation from some parents. The study recommended that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should collaborate with stakeholders to provide necessary resources to enable all learners to access online learning despite geographical location. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0721/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

scholarly journals Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Inequality of Access to Education

Federalism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 188-206
Author(s):  
M. L. Agranovich ◽  
Ju. V. Ermachkova ◽  
M. A. Livenets
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Online Format ◽  
Equity Of Access ◽  
The Impact

The urgent worldwide shift of school education to online format resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic raised a number of problems of a technical, organizational, methodological, and psychological nature. These problems are surveyed by both the international community and national researchers. Equally important is the assessment of the consequences of education in a remote format for the quality of education and equal access to education. The article considers how the transition to remote education will affect the equity of access to quality education, differentiation of students’ educational results on a territorial and socio-economic basis. Analysis and evaluation were carried out using data collected before the mass transition to online learning: the results of the international survey of the quality of education PISA, surveys of the Federal State Statistics Service, and regular educational statistics. Differentiation of learning conditions, interregional variation, and differences in the ability of households to use ICT to participate in online learning are examined. Preliminary assessments of the impact of the transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic on strengthening differentiation of access to quality education and learning outcomes are made.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and the Digital Transformation of Education: What Are We Learning on 4IR in South Africa?

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mhlanga ◽  
Tankiso Moloi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Access

The study sought to assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in motivating digital transformation in the education sector in South Africa. The study was premised on the fact that learning in South Africa and the rest of the world came to a standstill due to the lockdown necessitated by COVID-19. To assess the impact, the study tracked the rate at which the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) tools were used by various institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were obtained from secondary sources. The findings are that, in South Africa, during the lockdown, a variety of 4IR tools were unleashed from primary education to higher and tertiary education where educational activities switched to remote (online) learning. These observations reflect that South Africa generally has some pockets of excellence to drive the education sector into the 4IR, which has the potential to increase access. Access to education, particularly at a higher education level, has always been a challenge due to a limited number of spaces available. Much as this pandemic has brought with it massive human suffering across the globe, it has presented an opportunity to assess successes and failures of deployed technologies, costs associated with them, and scaling these technologies to improve access.

scholarly journals 674 Changes in Objectively-Measured Adolescent Sleep and Light Exposure During the COVID-19 Pandemic

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A263-A264
Author(s):  
Stacey Simon ◽  
Celine Vetter ◽  
Larissa Hunt ◽  
Anne Bowen ◽  
Corey Rynders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
School Students ◽  
Start Time ◽  
School Closures ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

Abstract Introduction U.S. adolescents have high rates of insufficient sleep. School closures and stay-at-home orders were implemented to mitigate disease spread during the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Without the restriction of imposed early school start times, we hypothesized that adolescents would have longer, later, and less variable sleep compared to pre-COVID-19. We further hypothesized these changes would be associated with increased and later light exposure. Methods High school students age 14–19 years with &lt;7h sleep on school nights completed two weeks of at-home monitoring. The Pre-COVID-19 week took place between October 2018-February 2020 and the COVID-19 week occurred in May 2020 during state-wide stay-at-home orders. Participants wore an accelerometer to assess sleep and light exposure while completing a concurrent sleep log. Paired-samples t-tests examined differences in sleep and light between Pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19. Pearson correlations assessed associations between change in sleep and change in light. Results Participants (N=16) were 16.5 ±1.2-years-old at Pre-COVID-19, 70.6% female, 68.8% White, and 25.1% Hispanic. Youth were participating in online learning due to in-person school closures and only 2 participants (14.3%) had a set start time, while the remainder reported learning per their own schedule. Youth obtained approximately one hour more weekday sleep per night during the COVID-19 week compared to Pre-COVID-19 (p&lt;0.001). Bed and waketimes were significantly delayed on weekdays and weekends during COVID-19 compared to Pre-COVID-19 (p&lt; 0.01). The greatest change was a delay in weekday waketime of 2.9□0.9h (p&lt;0.001). Social jetlag during COVID-19 was reduced by 1/3 compared to Pre-COVID-19 (p=0.02). Average 24h lux levels were 2.5x higher during the COVID-19 week compared to Pre- COVID-19 (p=0.008). Change in average lux and timing of light were not significantly associated with change in sleep duration or timing. Conclusion An unintended effect of the switch to online learning may have been affording adolescents the opportunity to obtain longer and more regular sleep. Understanding the impact of these changed sleep behaviors on daytime functioning, academic performance, and health outcomes is particularly urgent as schools plan for the remainder of the academic year and eventual return to in-person learning. Support (if any) K23DK117021 to SLS

Ensuring Optimal Accessibility of Online Learning Resources

2003 ◽  
pp. 371-386
Author(s):  
David Sloan ◽  
Lorna Gibson ◽  
Scott Milne ◽  
Peter Gregor
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Accessibility Barriers ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Online Educational Resources ◽  
Online Learning Resources

Online educational resources have the potential of providing enhanced access to education for everyone. To achieve this, these resources must be accessible both to the increasingly diverse range of potential users and via the diverse browsing environments now available. Legal and moral obligations also exist to ensure that disabled people are not unjustifiably denied access to education. Established accessible design guidelines and techniques exist which, if followed, help to ensure a more usable, portable and effective learning resource for all users. However, due to a lack of awareness of these amongst educational resource providers and shortcomings in courseware authoring tools, many current online learning resources may contain significant accessibility barriers. This chapter outlines arguments for accessible design and provides a brief overview of accessible design techniques. Also discussed are strategies for ensuring accessibility of e-learning, which should include provision of appropriate support to resource providers in terms of training and guidance in accessible courseware design, as well as provision of technologies which promote creation of and access to accessible online learning resources.

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on Educational Services in Canadian Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasmia Hai ◽  
Rose Swansburg ◽  
Frank P. MacMaster ◽  
Jean-François Lemay
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic led to school closures and a rapid transition to online classes. However, little is known about the impact of online learning in Canadian children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An online survey created on Qualtrics was distributed to families across Canada. Data collection was conducted over a total of five weeks in May and June 2020. We reviewed 587 surveys (4% margin of error using a 95% confidence interval) completed by caregivers/parents of children with ADHD (mean child age 10.14 years, SD = 3.06). Survey questions focused on hours of schoolwork completed and whether the learning needs of children with ADHD were met during school closures. Results indicated 90% of children with ADHD received web-based learning during the pandemic. Parents (41%) reported &lt; 5 h of schoolwork per week, and 35% indicated between 5 to 10 h. Of the parents who said their child with ADHD had a modified curriculum (68%), 40% reported receiving educational materials that met their learning expectations during online classes. Parents (59%) reported that their child found it “very challenging” adjusting to online classes. The results indicated that children with ADHD faced significant challenges in adapting to online learning during the pandemic. Binary logistic regression indicated significant associations between depression severity, difficulties with starting and managing tasks and challenges adjusting to online learning. Long-term consequences of these challenges will need to be determined to ensure children with ADHD are able to meet their academic expectations.

scholarly journals A global assessment of the impact of school closure in reducing COVID-19 spread

2021 ◽  
Vol 380 (2214) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph T. Wu ◽  
Shujiang Mei ◽  
Sihui Luo ◽  
Kathy Leung ◽  
Di Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Children ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Data Science ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Clinical Severity ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Infectious Disease Surveillance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Year

Prolonged school closure has been adopted worldwide to control COVID-19. Indeed, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization figures show that two-thirds of an academic year was lost on average worldwide due to COVID-19 school closures. Such pre-emptive implementation was predicated on the premise that school children are a core group for COVID-19 transmission. Using surveillance data from the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Anqing together, we inferred that compared with the elderly aged 60 and over, children aged 18 and under and adults aged 19–59 were 75% and 32% less susceptible to infection, respectively. Using transmission models parametrized with synthetic contact matrices for 177 jurisdictions around the world, we showed that the lower susceptibility of school children substantially limited the effectiveness of school closure in reducing COVID-19 transmissibility. Our results, together with recent findings that clinical severity of COVID-19 in children is lower, suggest that school closure may not be ideal as a sustained, primary intervention for controlling COVID-19. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Data science approach to infectious disease surveillance’.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document