Lack of digital and computer literacy can be trouble during E-learning
Karachi, April 29, 2021: Shazia was having trouble connecting the class on zoom for her daughter who is a 4th grader at a very reputable school of Karachi, and because of this her daughter got late for her class. This is not for the first time her daughter got late for her classes since schooling went completely online.
“I lack the basic technological know-how to help my children with their schooling since e-learning went from optional to mandatory,” said Shazia
Shazia, a home-maker and a mother of three used to think homeschooling and online learning wasn’t the bad idea as long as her kids are safe and closed to her. But after a year of remote learning she has realized that the task is much more difficult than what she thought.
Due to the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus, many countries implemented measures to avoid gatherings of large crowd. Many countries have now implemented partial closure of schools, but while schools were temporarily closed because of covid-19, schooling continued. It’s just that it is a new and a different kind of teaching. Students are being taught remotely using technology, and through different software.
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the country, more and more school and educational institutes continue to remote learning. Even those who re-opened the schools are now planning to close again because the third wave of the virus just hit the country.
Lack of computer literacy in third world countries:
In Third World Countries like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and African countries like Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania etc, the biggest obstacle facing e-learning is computer literacy, or rather computer illiteracy.
Countries with low rate of computer literacy
Computer literacy in these Third World countries means having little and no basic computer knowledge. According to UNESCO, computer literacy in spoken countries is about 7%, which is alarming to say the least. In today’s world, where everything is digital, such low numbers of computer literacy is a major obstacle to the progress of any country.
The closure of schools in the country to stop the spread of virus caused an enormous impact on education. Schools and families had to react rapidly to a new teaching style without having the proper knowledge of computer.
Computer illiteracy in parents and its impact on children during the lockdown:
When Little Folks School went online, the response from students and parents were not that great. Students missed their classes as they and their parents don’t have the knowledge of computer. Many parents don’t know computer sufficiently to be able to help their children.
“We have sent detailed letters to the parents about online learning guidelines for students because parents were not able to manage remote learning,” said Sunhema Mashkoor, Principal of Little Folks School.
In total, Pakistan has 8,636,383 students enrolled in primary schools, while the number of students enrolled in primary and secondary schools is 22,931,305 and 13,357,618 respectively (UNESCO).
According to Sunhema, students of primary standard missed out their classes the most as their mothers were not able to accommodate online sessions.
“Mostly mothers are simple house wives and they don’t have the adequate knowledge about the computers and that’s why they could not help their children,” said Sunhema
With majority of students experiencing remote learning, the outcomes were very concerning and schools needs to provide resources to help students catch up.
Marzia, whose daughter is a 5th grader at Shaheen Public School, said, “Whenever my daughter asks for help for her assignment I helped her, but helping her during online classes wasn’t my thing.”
According to Marzia she lack basic knowledge of computer and she only knows how to open and shut the computer.
Students and their parents lacked the skills to join applications like ZOOM, Google Meet and collaborate in shared document.
Children and parents are great at consuming technology, but not great at making with technology. Children know how to play on computer, parents know how to use YouTube and Whatsapp on their smart phones but it is shocking that most of people find trouble while switching between tabs. In this digital time college and university going students have trouble using such simple tools like Microsoft Office.
Not only students but office goers also don’t have the proper knowledge about computer and it causes hindrance at work.
Muhammad Moiz who work at the reputable company in Karachi said that he still feel nervous when his boss ask him to make power point presentations. He also said that work from home becomes very difficult as he does not know how to connect to applications like ZOOM and Goggle Meet.
“At the initials days I took help from my fellow workers and friends about how to join Zoom. I usually get late for online meetings because I was not able to join the meetings and have zero idea about it,” said Moiz
Moiz shared that, one day he asked his younger cousin to teach him about ZOOM. His cousin taught him how to share screen and how to send in-call messages.
“It was all so easy, I don’t know why I couldn’t do it by my own at first,” Moiz added
At the time like this lack of computer literacy is not only unfortunate but unacceptable. How can we hope to use remote learning effectively without having basic computer knowledge? It is obvious that without having basic knowledge about how to operate basic programs, people will have a hard time taking online sessions.
According to The Inclusive Internet Index 2020, Pakistan fell in those nations that have a low level of digital literacy and poor quality networks, Internet access in Pakistan stands at around 35 percent, with 78 million broadband and 76 million mobile internets (3/4G) connections.
About 65 percent of Pakistanis live in rural areas. From Balochistan to Sindh and from the former FATA to Gilgit, students living in rural areas complain about the lack of internet and the difficulties during online classes.
Muhammad Hadi shared his story about how difficult it is for him to accept the new normal. Hadi is a resident of Lyari and poor internet connectivity in his area becomes the hurdle between his online sessions.
There is clear evidence that remote learning is detrimental for students across the country, but for students with low computer and digital literacy, it could be disastrous.
Even among the families who do have access, many may not have digital literacy to accomplish much more than watching videos on YouTube or browsing social media. Parents don’t have enough knowledge about the internet to help their children.
While Covid-19 and distant learning has made computer literacy a considerably much more major issue, it is one that isn’t probably going to disappear with the pandemic. As technology turns out to be more common in the educational world and society, we should ensure that all students have fair access and training, not only so they can learn and finish their assignments, but also so they are ready for an environment in which they will be comfortable with technology and its growing necessity.
