ADVERTORIAL | Lack of Internet access poses challenge to online learning

On Monday, October 5, the new school term reopened for thousands of students at the primary and secondary levels. However, it was under a blended approach, which included online learning, lessons broadcast on free-to-air television and cable channels; as well as the distribution of learning kits.

While educators and parents are welcoming this new approach, which was implemented by the Government due to the spike in coronavirus cases; as the country goes through the community spread phase of the pandemic, they have cited challenges that will affect thousands of students.

“The big technological challenge is Internet provision,” Jasford Gabriel, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), said. “The fact that we are away from the physical plant, shifts the focus again in terms of connectivity across the country. We would have seen from recent studies that it is roughly a third of the student population across the country who had regular and consistent connectivity during the period between March and July 2020.”

Mr Gabriel noted that while students may have the devices, they may not be able to access the lessons due to connectivity. He pointed out that there will also be challenges with the other approaches, such as televised lessons and learning kits.

“This will not go a far way in terms of bridging the gaps that exist, because students are at home at different levels across the system. Therefore, if it is not live teaching, they are still going to be falling further behind. Hence, the biggest challenge that we face right now is one of connectivity, and we must move at full speed to address this problem and cover the rural areas across the system,” he pointed out.

Another challenge, which the JTA president highlighted, was the provision of electronic gadgets to students to access online classes.

“We have more than 600,000 students up to the high-school level in the system; and based on the Caribbean Policy Research Institute’s studies, only approximately 200,000 of them have gadgets which can access online learning. Therefore, although the ministry is supporting 40,000 tablets for the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) students in primary schools and another 25,000 in high schools, plus giving to an additional 20,000 students to support purchase of laptops and so on, it is still a small percentage in terms of those who require equipment to be able to properly connect with online teaching. Hence, this again is something that we will need to address over time,” he explained.

Weighing in on some of the challenges, Kathryn Chin See, lead research analyst in innovation at MC Systems, stated that there has been some improvement in connectivity during the last six months, with ISPs bolstering broadband services; and investment being made by the private and public sectors, in laptops and tablets to start the new school year.

“However, it is not enough, and many children are still disconnected from their classrooms. Access to devices and data are vital. The Government of Jamaica has put the wheels in motion for the relevant agencies to lay the foundation for increased accessibility to broadband Internet across Jamaica, but this is only one piece of the puzzle. Laptops/tablets are needed to access content; and these devices need to be easy, and affordable, to acquire for all Jamaicans,” she pointed out.

We need corporate partners to assist

However, Mr Gabriel maintains that the Government cannot do it alone. He said corporate Jamaica should also assist.

“One ready way right now is to provide technological support to schools. The Government will never be able to provide all students with technological resources,” he maintained.

One such school and community which believes in establishing these partnerships to address the challenges is the Woodford Primary School and the Woodford Community Action Group (WCAG), located in the hills of the Blue Mountains in East Rural St Andrew.

Recognising that students at the small rural school could potentially be disadvantaged with the new form of teaching, the WCAG and the school sought the assistance of the JN Foundation to provide 15 tablets to assist the students, who are from humble backgrounds, in the upcoming school year.

“What we received from the JN Foundation is a good kick-start, which has laid the platform and given us the impetus to move forward, and I’m sure more parents will come on board,” Cedric Pascoe, president of the WCAG, informed.

“It might seem like a drop in the bucket, but trust me, a great seed has been planted,” he said, noting that the organisation plans to do other fundraising activities to acquire more resources for the school.

He also informed that tablets will be shared among the students, on a rotation basis, so most of the students benefit.

Onyka Barrett, general manager at the JN Foundation, said that the Foundation was happy to assist the school with the needed resources.

“The challenges being faced by our schools and students at this time are great, but I believe that through partnership and using innovative ideas, we can jointly surmount the challenge. Using the rotation model, it is our hope that the gift will enable the students to participate in online classes. One of the priority areas of the JN Foundation is education. We believe in providing the necessary support to our students, to give them the opportunity to excel,” she affirmed.

Teachers are prepared for online teaching

JTA President Gabriel noted that one of the positives of the reopening of the new school term is that teachers are more prepared to deliver classes online. He said there has been extensive training in terms of teachers manipulating the learning-management systems to deliver the classes online.

“In excess of 20,000 teachers would have been trained by the Ministry of Education and the Jamaica Teaching Council. And, I am positive that the teachers are as prepared as possible, hence this development approach should be continued over time,” he maintained.

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