The nationwide lock-down has seen some higher education institutions and students quickly adapt to a new ways of learning - remotely. Students are expected to be online and access online educational tools. While others have celebrated the opportunity to continue to learn outside of the classroom, the feeling has not been mutual. There is a lot of chatter on social media, where students have expressed their mixed feelings with regards to remote learning.
South Africa has, for the longest time, been a country of inequalities which remain unbridged in a number of aspects; socially, economically and in educational spheres. This inequality continues to make it difficult for one size fits all solutions to problems that arise, and in current case, access to remote learning. The question to address here is; Are there enough resources and sustainable strategies currently being implemented to support inclusive remote learning? The answer to this question is not a positive one.
In higher education, the truth is that, the majority of students do not own digital resources such as laptop or desktops. However, the only smart devices they have at their disposal are their mobile phones. Therefore, one can easily see how the process of remote learning is not one that is going to be smoothless for this kind of student. Highly likely these students are also working on limited access to data, considering that South Africa has some of the highest data costs on the continent. It is going to be problematic to roll-out remote learning in a uniform fashion for these students the same way you would with those coming from households that have access to digital resources – laptops, WIFI and without even having to talk about technological resources, a viable and conducive study area.
The Covid19 pandemic has exposed that most public higher education institutions (HEIs) have failed to bridge the inequality gap in education. HEIs were not prepared to implement a sustainable remote learning strategy. It is no secret that the socio-economic backgrounds of students affect their access to remote learning resources. As highlighted previously, the environments that some of the students live in are not conducive either socially, economically and or infrastructure-wise.
Though, some HEIs are entering into agreement for zero data rated access to learning platforms with some network service providers’. However, these partial measures put in place to assist in bridging these divide forces students to register with those service providers. The government as well as municipalities have over the last few years installed fibre in communities and in schools to allow for free access to the internet. While these are certainly useful, they remain limited if you consider the demand placed on them. The use of zero rated data platforms means that the moment a learner has to access other online sources that are not available on this platform they will require data. The access to free Wi-Fi in communities is also not uncapped there are restrictions on those, and there have always been issues of reliability of connectivity, which will only increase now with more people working and learning from home increasing the demand on the infrastructure.
To offer up some viable solutions that may be useful in the meantime to ensure equal access. It is important to take an approach of gradual movement from traditional four walls towards remote learning to ensure that no student gets left behind. Educators need to be creative and considerate of how they deliver lessons or lesson exercises, without compromising learning output. Think about how best to deliver a lesson in a way that every student has equal opportunity. Think of the various ways in which a single concept can be taught or learnt. To do this successfully, consider the resources the student currently have, for example, mobile devices (mid-range to low end) with limited access to internet. Lesson design therefore, needs to allow for the student to still be able to get the right level of engagement on such a limited platform.
The writer is currently running a web based radio station on a platform called Mixlr. The web radio station was initiated by our church as a way to interact and reach out to church members. A little bit of traditional communication, there is a chat section visible to all those who have connected, whereby people can engage with the broadcaster and those tuned in. This platform is not requiring lots of data and people staying close to each other can share the digital resources. The cost of hosting sessions is very low and has no limitations on participants who can join the live sessions. Another interesting aspect of Mixlr is that it serves recordings in MP3 format which can be shared on other platforms. Additionally, one can broadcast other platforms such as YouTube, Facebook etc.
Educators may have to consider platforms similar to the mixlr platform that was popular a while ago, which are closed platforms, not everyone has access unless they are following or given access. Educators can also utilise WhatsApp to communicate and share digital resources with students. These platforms are useful for remote learning as they have a wide reach however they retain the traditional element in that it still gives the student access to and engagement with the educator via chat rooms. These are all platforms that can be accessed by students from low end devices as well as on limited access to data as they are not data intensive. It is also important to note that Mixlr allows the presenter to use other platforms at the same broadcasting on radio, In this case, students can choose platforms that works for them without being disadvantaged. The cost of hosting a 24/7 radio stations costs as little as R9000 per month. This could run an entire faculty courses and students will not need to be exposed to the dangers contracting or spreading the COVID-19.
In the meantime, it is important for governments as well as educational institutions to be redirecting existing funding towards e-learning resources, to achieve objectives such as creating and improving on existing hot spots to provide access to unlimited data as well as sourcing devices for students. To avoid the red tape that usually comes with the decision making around resource allocation, it is imperative to consider decentralization of decision-making around learning solutions during crisis. This will allow for prompt and informed responses by people on the grounds that they are fully informed of students and educators challenges.