As a student myself, online learning is a platform that I have been using for a few weeks and without doubt, this new and strange concept poses great challenges.
Cutting straight to the point, many disadvantages that have been a result of these exigent times of learning are; children without access to internet or wifi pose great disadvantage in impact to their learning, also, the struggles of finding a quiet space in a family home with everyone in the household working from home is difficult, especially when considering the dynamic of a family home. Additionally, the reliability of a laptop and getting used to online learning platforms can make things more stressful, the dependency of technology can be very unreliable! The lack of support from teachers face to face also creates communication and understanding of the lesson more difficult.
What is the government doing to support those without internet access?
On the 12th January the Education Secretary Gavin Robinson promised an extra 300,000 laptops to help disadvantaged children in England learn at home. The department says the additional 300,000 laptops and tablets lifts government investment by another £100m, meaning over £400m will have been invested in supporting disadvantaged children who need help with access to technology during the pandemic. However, can we rely on this imposition? And how long will disadvantaged children be waiting for support for remote learning? With already two weeks of remote learning imposed, times are already challenging.
On a positive note, The Department for Education says schools are “well-prepared to deliver remote education”, with 560,000 laptops and tablets given to schools already last year, and a further 100,000 this week.
The circumstances also propose the opportunity of learning more about the platforms schools are using to present classes online. Platforms like Google Meet and Zoom have excelled in their usage causing many people to be educated about their successful purpose in online face to face experiences, and having the ability to deliver lessons and communication between students and teachers.
With the expectation of pupils returning back to school after the February half-term, hopefully on the behalf of students and teachers, this is the last time remote learning will need to be utilised.
