The impact of covid-19 on online teaching in relation to the use of ICT according to primary teachers’ perceptions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chapter One

Introduction

The emergence of COVID-19 brings numerous challenges for people across the world. Along with challenges in other fields such as economy and industry, the crisis in the education field is also severe.

I. Statement of the Problem

More than 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom because of school closure. Education modes are changed, and the sudden shift from physical to online systems posed unexpected challenges for both students and teachers. Some students face problems while making adjustments in an online setting because of different reasons such as unavailability of internet resources, poor connections, lack of concentration, lack of understanding, and access to digital equipment (Baker, Peeley, & Danials, 2019). Closure of schools worldwide puts planned curriculum back and impacts their span of concentration and interest towards education. However, technology and innovation have been intervening in the educational field and a sudden shift towards technology challenged institutions that had not intervened in technology and digital education yet. Some educational institutions fail to follow up with the left curriculum that brings huge challenges for students.

II. Purpose of the Study

This paper aims to introduce who these challenges could be addressed by implementing ICT effectively. ICT use in learning and teaching on online platforms would be helpful to maintain equality and also draws the attention of policymakers and legal decision-makers to think about solutions that could better address these challenges.

III. Significance of Study

Baker & Peeley (2019) state that students' challenges are obvious, but teachers are also at risk because of the challenges and limitations posed by COVID-19. One of the most severe challenges teachers faced was increased school burden (Baker, Peeley, & Danials, 2019). Teachers reported that instead of teaching for 8 hours as they are supposed to do in physical school settings, they must continuously work for 12 hours to ensure that students stay connected with schools. Salaries were late and sometimes skipped in the starting months of the virus spread. Some teachers reported that they experience mental health issues because of the burden from schools and the panic created by the virus. Pandemic is still here and there are no estimations about when the pandemic will end thus it is important to evaluate technologies that could embrace change and enhance teacher’s experience in online teaching. Based on research and literature, we cannot say that teachers in middle or developing nations only face stress and challenges. Still, the pandemic brings universal difficulties for everyone. Teachers in the United States (developed and advanced countries) also faced similar problems and challenges like those in developing countries (Baker, Peeley, & Danials, 2019). Online teaching was also challenging, similar to online learning. This research will pave path for new researchers and contribute in finding solution for the problem.

Interaction and communication between teachers and students are not direct, nor face-to-face that cause complications and queries of students are putting teachers in complex and doubts. In most cases, teachers fail to satisfy students, creating problems for both students and teachers. Several kinds of research reveal that since the closure of schools and change in learning and teaching methods, numerous students and teachers have reported mental illness such as anxiety and depression. Teachers fail to maintain balance in their lives and face challenges to manage time for their families. Numerous teachers and students who were not adaptive to technology and innovation had to learn new skills that put a financial burden and stress on them (Lei & Medwell, 2021). These challenges show that online learning and teaching are not all about benefits but also challenges for students and teachers.

IV. Research Questions

1. What is the impact of COVID -19 on online teaching in relation to the use of ICT according to teachers` perceptions?

2. How can the use of ICT contribute to reducing the challenges that teachers face in online teaching?

3. How effective is the online teaching by using ICT tools due to COVID-19?

V. Reference list

Baker, C. N., Peeley, H., & Danials, M. (2019). The Experience of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Teachers’ Mental Health, Coping, and Teaching. Taylor and Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2020.1855473.

Lei, M., & Medwell, J. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student teachers: how the shift to online collaborative learning affects student teachers’ learning and future teaching in a Chinese context. Asia Pacific Education Review volume, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12564-021-09686-w.

Chapter 2

LITERATURE REVIEW CHAPTER

The impact of covid-19 on online teaching in relation to the use of ICT according to primary teachers’ perceptions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chapter 2

Literature Review

The emergence of COVID-19 brings huge challenges for individuals at every level. Mental, physical, emotional, and psychological difficulties resulting from COVID-19 left a deep influence on children and teachers when discussing the education system. The purpose of this literature review is to evaluate existing researches about the problem and use these researches to shape a perspective regarding the problem under discussion. Different research articles, case studies and reports are evaluated to show different perceptions towards shifting trends towards online learning and challenges for students and teachers.

Researchers say that disruptions caused because of COVID-19 are major in human history. Since the outbreak of the virus and the closure of schools worldwide, the education of 1.6 billion learners is at risk in more than 200 countries. 94% of students fail to continue their education as they were in the physical school system. Research says that a huge drop in performance and concentration is recorded even among topper students (Maatuk, Elberkawi, Rashaideh, & Alharbi, 2021).

Analysis of available literature reveals that in the second week of 2020, the closure of schools and sudden shift towards online systems through different applications has been announced (Li & Lalani, 2020). Because of the lack of digital devices and internet connections in a hurry, some students and teachers missed their classes, indicating the week's online education infrastructure. Schools, colleges, and university personnel accept that they face many challenges in bringing students to an online learning platform and convincing them that everything is for their good. Still, sitting continuously in front of a screen damages their interest and concentration on learning. Similarly, sticking with a screen for 12 hours more challenges their work-life balance and puts them under stress and depression (Obeidat, Obeidat, & Al-Shalab, 2021).

Research says that although ICT is the best solution to combat challenges occurring while online learning and teaching, it depends on teachers' and students' expertise and exposure to information and communication technology (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021). One of the most commonly used communication and interaction platforms by schools is Microsoft Teams because of its features and flexibility. Information and Communication Technology is a solution to address challenges faced by teachers by making interfaces interactive and limiting their time to be present online with students. But literature also suggests that e-learning and different other technologies could bring expected results only when they can utilize those technologies efficiently. Through the implementation of ICT, simultaneous teaching would be promoted, and despite differences, everyone will be able to communicate with each other without any disruption or challenges (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021).

A case study analysis reveals that online learning and teaching is the only option left to secure a quarter of a billion full-time learners. As crises are still here and there are no estimations regarding the end of COVID-19 thus, educational institutions are researching strategies to make students and teachers comfortable with technology. As the Vice President of Tencent Education says, “I believe that the integration of information technology in education will be further accelerated and that online education will eventually become an integral component of school education.” (Li & Lalani, 2020) This shows that ICT will become an inseparable part of the education system in coming times, and students and teachers will be used to it. Research over the efficient and comfortable use of technology is in process that will make it a positive experience because, in such circumstances where closing schools become crucial, it is important to have effective strategies in place (Li & Lalani, 2020).

To summarize, the evaluation of existing literature reveals that the sudden shifts from physical to online teaching and learning procedures posed unprecedented challenges for both teachers and students. Studies also demonstrate the importance of integrating advanced learning technologies to avoid inconvenience for teachers while teaching and students while learning. Researches also state limitations and gaps that exist and challenging the experience of teachers at online platforms. These findings are important to utilize for the study and to shape arguments throughout the paper.

Reference List

Li, C., & Lalani, F. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/.

Maatuk, A. M., Elberkawi, E. K., Rashaideh, H., & Alharbi, H. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic and E-learning: challenges and opportunities from the perspective of students and instructors. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12528-021-09274-2.

Obeidat, A., Obeidat, R., & Al-Shalab, M. (2021). The Effectiveness of Adopting e-Learning during COVID-19 at Hashemite University. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, Vol. 11, No. 12, 1-16.

Pokhrel, S., & Chhetri, R. (2021). A Literature Review on Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Teaching and Learning. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2347631120983481.

Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CHAPTER

The impact of covid-19 on online teaching in relation to the use of ICT according to primary teachers’ perceptions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chapter 3 Research Problem/Questions

The emergence of COVID-19 as a public health crisis has changed the way of life of people all over the world (López & Rodó, 2020). It has led to huge educational challenges, with numerous colleges, universities, and other lower schools closing during the earlier period of the pandemic and later transferring education to online education. However, e-learning has been largely underutilized in many developing counties. This research paper aims to investigate the perceptions of teachers towards the impact of covid-19 on online teaching, and how ICT is helping in reducing the challenges faced when partaking in online teaching. Additionally, this study will investigate the effectiveness of online teaching with regards to the available ICT tools during the covid-19 pandemic. ICT use in learning and teaching on online platforms would be helpful to maintain equality and also draws the attention of policymakers and legal decision-makers to think about solutions that could better address these challenges (Baker, Peeley, & Danials, 2019).

Research questions that this paper will answer are as follows;

1. What is the impact of COVID -19 on online teaching in relation to the use of ICT according to teachers` perceptions?

1. How can the use of ICT contribute to reducing the challenges that teachers face in online teaching?

1. How effective is the online teaching by using ICT tools due to COVID-19?