The Absurdity of Online-Classes Response
by Ronald Michael Quijano, LPT
We human beings have specialized ourselves in inventing tools that can perform our task more efficient and convenient. Since the dawn of civilizations, we have designed tools that made our jobs easier. Although technology can be considered as a handy and practical companion for business owners, the workforce is under threat. Since industrial technology, routine jobs have been superseded by machines. Also, as technology progress, more individuals are losing jobs. For instance, a person making stone tools will be replaced with those who are making copper tools. Over time, those who are making copper tools will be replaced with those who offer iron tools.
This is the reality where everyone must prepare themselves. The problem is that it's happening faster. Self-driving AI cars are now intimidating to taxi and delivery drivers. Newer medical machines that can read diagnoses and detect such efficiently are a threat to doctors. Automated machines that cook dishes with pre-programmed recipes endanger cooks. And due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions are now eyeing to replace teachers with computers. Teachers and learners are about to face these difficult transitions.
The COVID-19 pandemic debilitates the economy of every country affected by it. In the Philippines, the authorities have imposed a lockdown last March 10, 2020, leaving the rest of the academic year hiatus. There has been a string of cries from various student organizations from different schools about the refund of unused fees, mass promotion, and other school-related matters. As the community quarantine in the different regions extends, the call for academic freeze challenged the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to reevaluate and reconsider their plan. The developed strategy is to transform the delivery into online learning or distance learning. Despite the pandemic, the DepEd and the CHED insisted to start the classes with this new type of delivery. The majority of parents and students are outraged with this new setup, seeing it as inconsiderate to the less privileged. Not just to the learners, but also to the teachers.
Some universities and colleges have planned to convert the traditional F2F classes to virtual classes, where the students will meet their teachers thru a virtual meeting. This plan of action frustrated those students ad teachers who have no stable access to the internet and have no equipment to accommodate such a learning platform. "Anti-Poor" as to how they labeled it. Seeing the new educational set up catering only to the privileged.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on Friday, June 5, that the data gathered last April 2020 showed that unemployment soared to 17.7%, equivalent to around 7.3 million jobless Filipinos amid the coronavirus pandemic. The National Statistician Dennis Mapa said this is the highest unemployment rate on record. Unemployment was only at 5.3% in January 2020, or 2.4 million people, and 5.1% in April 2019, or 2.3 million people. After January 2020, an additional 4.9 million people became jobless. The Department of Labor and Employment earlier expected 5 million jobs would be lost due to the pandemic.
With this data, are we expecting students to prioritize gadgets over necessities? As the private school owners expedite this type of setup, are we supposed to believe them when they say they care more about our safety and education? Some colleges and universities chose the full-online setup over the virtual class. What's the difference? In the virtual class, teachers and students are expected to meet online, while in full-online class, the students are thrown into the abyss of self-learning with no teachers to interact with, only with tons of uploaded materials and standardized assessments- worse, the same rate of fees. Worst, higher fees - hence, leaving the teachers unemployed. Do we really expect the parents and guardians - who sacrifice their own education to provide one for their children - of these students to assist them in their self-learning full-time? Without even knowing where they will get the next budget for their meal and school fees?
last June 24, VinCentiments uploaded the 2nd episode of their "Bunganay" series. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/5SGCzsAs0e8 The short film projects the rant of the lower middle class to the struggles to be produced by the new learning setup. Although the film delivers the message indecently, the message of the video is clear. Personally, upon watching the short film, I can only think of those schools that offer Senior High School, engulfing the funds from the vouchers of the students, raised miscellaneous fees, and still left their teachers unemployed.
Except for the economic impact on learners and consequences on teachers, are we expecting that such an online class will be effective? Can Technology solve our educational problems amid the COVID-19 pandemic?
In 2012, the USC Rossier School of Education founded the USC Hybrid High College Prep. They worked on an experiment with the new charter school and decided to put the students on devices 90% of the day, simulating the full-online classroom setup. Upon admission, the students have no proficiency in languages, maths, sciences, and arts. At the end of the experiment, 50% were credit deficient, meaning they were even worse than the one they first came in. It seems that the charter school has been in the same situation with the Los Angeles Unified School District when they reallocated billions of fundings to give iPads to all. Every single student in the district received an iPad. But there was a bit of an issue with this very little teacher input went into this decision-making. And very little professional development was provided to the teachers to help them understand how to incorporate the devices into the classroom.
Approximately a year after, the superintendent of LAUSD - John Deasy - resigned because of the ultimate loss that the iPad initiative had been. Upon evaluation, the LAUSD found out that there is one thing missing in this setup; the teacher factor. Teachers have been the best facilitators, able to engage the best questions and relationships with the learners. After that incident, the LAUSD invested in training their teachers and giving them an allowance so teachers can buy licensed software that might help them to facilitate learning effectively. And the result? Last 2016, the first freshmen class of Hybrid High graduated and made it to Senior year. 100% of them graduated and 100% of them were accepted to colleges and universities.
Technology is a wonderful thing when used effectively. We must not think of it as an end, but as an accessory - an effective one actually. The problem with the leaders of our nation is that they loved to act - but never think. From the very start of this pandemic, almost all decisions are like temporary patches. Legislators are short-sighted. Capitalists are taking advantage. We must consider that the family's income is a huge determinant of the student's academic success. And the teachers' professional growth comes with investment. If we really care about the students' education and our economy, we must reconsider such a setup. Studies have shown that small tweaks in education can affect the economy on a large scale. Personally, I can't imagine students facing their computers and evaluating their learning objectively. It's like we are training them to become factory workers. The 21st century is supposed to be triangular in nature, composed of three important factors; the students, the teachers, and the technology. Teachers can never be replaced with technology, we must rethink where we are investing. The relationship between students and teachers is sacred.
- - -
Sources;
"Bunganay 2" VinCentiments,
"Leadership Changes at LAUSD: What’s Next for Its iPad Initiative?" Richardson, Will
"No Silver Bullets: Hybrid High Learns a Tough Edtech Lesson." Madda, Mary Jo
"PH unemployment at all-time high with 7.3 million jobless in April 2020." Rivas, Ralph
"The LAUSD iPad Initiative: 5 Critical Technology Integration Lessons" Gliksman, Sam
"What Schools Must Learn From LA's iPad Debacle"
"What Went Wrong with L.A. Unified's iPad Program?" Newcombe, Tod
Comments
Post a Comment