The Digital Learning Impact During the Pandemic Proposal

Summary

Education institutions worldwide were closed immediately after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. After the suspension of physical learning, various institutions initiated measures to engage their students in remote learning. While online learning was necessary to promote student education while seeking to curb the virus’s spread, it has created specific disparities among the students. According to Auxier and Anderson (2020), some k-12 level children do not have access to the Internet from their homes. The situation is worse for students from lower-income areas across the US. Due to poor networks or lack of Internet services, it is challenging for students to complete and submit their homework on time, creating a ‘homework gap’ between students from low-income minority groups and those from high-income majority groups. Auxier and Anderson (2020) report that internet access and speed issues are more pronounced in Black and Hispanic households with school-going children and low incomes.

Various researchers have reported Internet usage prevalence to support online learning in the pandemic era across countries. However, a gap exists in addressing the multiple ways minority groups in the US have been affected by the institutionalization of instruction-based digital online learning. The purpose of this research is to examine how education technology has influenced Blacks and Latinos during the pandemic. Aspects such as WI-FI usage, completion of school work, students’ mental health, and nutrition about access and use of digital learning technologies will be examined. To guide this study, the paper proposes that Latinos and Blacks were disadvantaged in accessing digital online learning resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Literature Review

Although online learning and teaching had been in use for more than two decades now, the outbreak of coronavirus and the subsequent closure of learning institutions intensified this educational technology’s application to spearhead learning. According to Kusel et al. (2020), online learning and teaching entail:

Innovative learning formats such as blended learning, flipped classroom, social and collaborative learning (e.g., using social media), simulations and game-based learning, synchronous and asynchronous video lectures, polling software, or collaboration authoring tools. (p. 1)

Littenberg-Tobias and Reich (2020) propose the massive open online courses (MOOC) model as a modern approach to online teaching and learning. According to Li and Lalani (2020), online education technology involves the use of “language apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools, or online learning software” (para. 3).

Recent research reveals that online classes give students greater control over learning and experience high levels of interaction with other students and the ability to develop new knowledge (Xhaferi & Xhaferi, 2020). Despite the benefits, some students, more so those at the k-12 level, are not able to access the online resources due to lack of access to high-speed Internet and computing devices at their homes, thus creating a digital divide, according to a report by Chandra et al. (2020). Xhaferi and Xhaferi (2020) found that 25% of students from low-income families lack a computer at home. With data estimates from the United States Census Bureau, Dorn et al. (2020) report that Blacks and Hispanics have low access rates to online learning technology than whites amid efforts by the federal government to ease the problem (see Figure 1).

Alongside the technological factors, online learning has a negative effect on the students’ mental health, as highlighted by Stinger (2020), since they cannot physically access their friends, routines, and teachers in schools. A study by Ali et al. (2019) reveals that between 2012 and 2015, 35% of adolescents received mental health services from their school environments. Ali et al. (2019) observe that students from low-income areas and minority groups are more likely to rely on school settings for mental health services since they lack the financial ability to access health centers’ services. The suspension of physical learning has subjected students to mental health conditions that stem from socialization. Most students, especially the disadvantaged groups, benefit from the healthy balanced diet they receive while in school. When schools were closed, students’ caliber failed to access better nutrition than other learners (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020).

Research Methodology

This is descriptive research that aims to elucidate the effect of online learning and teaching on Blacks and Latinos. It will use interviews and questionnaires to gather information from the target population. The study will engage 200 male and female students aged 10 to 24, some from the k-12 public schools and others from universities and colleges. The target population will comprise Blacks, Latinos, and whites.

With the students’ informed consent above 18 years and that of the parents to students below 18 years, the researcher will engage the two groups in two phases. In the first phase, participants will respond to questionnaire items derived from the literature review. Thereafter, the researcher will conduct physical and telephone interviews using questions relating to the participants’ experience in digital learning regarding Wi-Fi usage, completion of school work, mental health, and nutritional needs. The participants’ opinion on the quantity and quality of learning materials will also be sought through the interviews. Thematic analysis will be used to process participants’ responses, and the results will be visualized using conventional methods such as tables, graphs, and pie charts. Quantitative analysis will be done by entering the questionnaires’ raw scores into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (better known as SPSS) statistical software to show attitudes and perceptions.

References

Ali, M. M., West, K., Teich, J. L., Lynch, S., Mutter, R., & Dubenitz, J. (2019). Utilization of mental health services in an educational setting by adolescents in the United States. Journal of school health, 89(5), 393-401. Web.

Auxier, B. & Anderson, M. (2020). As schools close due to the coronavirus, some U.S. students face a digital ‘homework gap.’ Pew Research Center. Web.

Chandra, S., Chang, A., Day, L., Fazlullah, A., Liu, J., McBride, L.,… & Weiss, D. (2020). Closing the K–12 digital divide in the age of distance learning. Common Sense and Boston Consulting Group: Boston, MA, USA.

Dorn, E., Hancock, B., Sarakatsannis, J., & Viruleg, E. (2020). COVID-19 and learning loss—disparities grow and students need help. McKinsey & Company. Web.

Küsel, J., Martin, F., & Markic, S. (2020). University Students’ Readiness for Using Digital Media and Online Learning—Comparison between Germany and the USA. Education Sciences, 10(11), 313.

Li, C.and Lalani, F. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how. World Economic Forum. Web.

Littenberg-Tobias, J., & Reich, J. (2020). Evaluating access, quality, and equity in online learning: A case study of a MOOC-based blended professional degree program. The Internet and Higher Education, 47, 100759.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on student equity and inclusion: Supporting vulnerable students during school closures and school re-openings. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Web.

United States Census Bureau (2021). Week 23 Household Pulse Survey: January 20 – February 1. Web.

Xhaferi, G., & Xhaferi, B. (2020). Online learning benefits and challenges during the covid 19-pandemic-students’ perspective from SEEU. Seeu Review, 15(1), 86-103.