EDFD459 Article 3: The Online Learning Space

The Online Learning Space

Digital technology has transformed learning in a number of ways over time. Firstly it has increased the communication and networking within the teaching community, as it has allowed teachers from all over the world to communicate different ideas and perspectives so that they can promote higher quality educative practices globally. Examples of these include many different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and even blog forums which are being utilised to create communicative spaces for educators to build a community (Britt and Paulus, 2016). However, this too has brought its challenges in particular in light of the global pandemic, as there is a large proportion of members of the teaching community who do not have access certain technologies due to reasons such as poverty and as a result they are unfortunately are unable to participate in the online community (Smith and Judd, 2020). This is problematic as it highlights how technology is once again a privileged amenity which not all people have access to, which unfortunately causes disparities among the community as there are many people in a way being left behind due to the constant developments of technology.

Figure 1: Digital Disconnect (Goudie, 2020).

With reference to the pandemic the use of technology, particularly in the context of Australia and other fortunate countries has created a unique experience, which is home learning. Due to the risks of the pandemic and nationwide lockdowns schools have modified many school procedures to ensure that children are still learning and being educated, except through a screen and in their own homes. Because of these changes technology has been heavily relied on. There are many positive outcomes from home learning that have occurred due to the influx of technology, some of which include the development of amazing apps such as seesaw and zoom which I believe will become more permanent within schools post-pandemic. However, as stated earlier, digital technology has also compromised things such as children’s attention spans. Adedoyin and Soykan (2020), research suggests that due to longer amounts of screen time and constants distractions children are being less able to concentrate for extended periods on and offline.

Figure 2: Technology Affecting Children's attention spans (Park, 2019).

References

Adedoyin, O. B., & Soykan, E. (2020). Covid-19 pandemic and online learning: the challenges and opportunities. Interactive Learning Environments, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1813180

Britt, V. & Paulus, T. (2016). "Beyond the four walls of my building": A case study of #Edchat as a community of practice. American Journal of Distance Education, 30(1), 48-59. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/10.1080/08923647.2016.1119609

Goudie, Z. (2020). Digital disconnect: How poor people are isolated because they don't have online access [Video File]. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nl-digital-divide-low-income-1.5519009

Smith, J. A., & Judd, J. (2020). COVID - 19: Vulnerability and the power of privilege in a pandemic. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 31 (2), 158 - 160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.333

Parks, A. (2019). Too Much Screen Time Can Have Lasting Consequences for Young Children’s Brains. https://time.com/5514539/screen-time-children-brain/