Research Spotlights
Research Spotlight pieces are written by various contributing authors and reviewed by two academics in the EdTech field: Dr. Helen Crompton, Associate Professor of Instructional Technology Director of the Virtual Reality Lab and Director of the Technology Enhanced Learning Lab (TELL) at Old Dominion University and John Traxler, FRSA, Professor of Digital Learning in the Institute of Education at the University of Wolverhampton. Both Dr. Crompton and Professor Traxler are members of the mEducation Alliance. If you are interested in submitting a research activity to highlight in a future mEducation Alliance publication, please fill out this form.
Research Initiative by Dr. Khitam Shraim and Dr. Helen Crompton
Written by: Rebecca Tilhou, Old Dominion University
Drs. Khitam Shraim and Helen Crompton are conducting a study to examine the effects of school closures due to Coronavirus outbreaks in Palestine and how technology is being used to continue education online. In early March 2020, the President of Palestine closed all schools in both the West Bank and Gaza, affecting 1.3 million students and 70,500 teachers in 2,885 government run and private schools. Although the education system is frequently interrupted by the ongoing conflict in Palestine, online education has not been widely accepted by many policymakers; however, it is now seen as an essential means to continue the education process. In this study, the researchers investigated how decision-makers and teachers have responded to offer education for all the Palestinian students while they are unable to physically be in school.
This descriptive research has the researchers seeking feedback from parents, teachers and decision-makers in Palestine about the usefulness of technologies being utilized in response to school closures. The study is focused on the use of a) Mobile Technology, b) Social Media, and c) Cloud Computing. Findings from this research will support decision-makers and teachers, especially the innovators and early adopters, as the research addresses the challenges and needs in utilizing technology. The research questions guiding this study are:
- How were technological tools used to mitigate the effect of coronavirus on the Palestinian educational system?
- How important are emerging technologies in responding to the Coronavirus outbreak?
- What are the main challenges in implementing online education during the Coronavirus outbreak?
- Will the Coronavirus emergency lead to change in the education system and a sustained increase in the mainstream adoption of online learning?
The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews for 25-40 minutes with 20 participants (decision-makers, parents, and teachers) from different districts in Palestine. Interviews were held online due to the state of emergency. Participants were asked six major questions related to main concerns regarding schools closure, actions taken, perception of using technology, the type of technologies used during COVID-19 outbreak, major challenges and considerations required to shift to online education. The interviews were audio recorded and manually transcribed. These data were then coded using grounded theory design. The data showed that the Ministry of Education (MoE) is asking schools to use a plethora of technologies based on the needs of the students, which included the following:
- The well-being of students and teachers, who should all be encouraged to use any appropriate technology for psychological support, to raise safety awareness through competitions, and to encourage students and their families to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Palestine.
- Lower schools (preschool to 4th grade) should focus on making learning fun through PowerPoint, animated video presentations, songs, worksheets, drawing, games, and YouTube videos.
- Middle and upper schools (5th to 11th grades) should create Facebook groups and teachers should develop lesson plans according to grade and subject, uploading assignments, worksheets, materials, pictures, and videos.
- For higher secondary (Twajihi; 12th grade) students, each District of Education should create a YouTube channel to upload videos recorded by teachers in different subjects.
Schools, teachers and students are using their own Facebook pages and YouTube channels in addition to the national e-School portal. The MoE has also collaborated with Al-Quds Open University and the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation to launch an Online Secondary initiative, broadcasting live lessons via YouTube, radio, and television to deliver a more rigorous schedule of daily online classes for 12th grade students. Various applications such as Zoom and Google Hangouts are also being deployed to connect students and teachers.
Participants have reported challenges in this move to online learning. Within two weeks, online platforms presented plentiful educational materials, however these materials were found to support teaching rather than learning. Furthermore, the quality of the content was poor because teachers used a variety of sources which had not been evaluated according to online quality criteria, not all students could access the materials, and searching for good resources proved time-consuming for students and parents. The result is that the urgent implementation of online education without the normal planning, training, and support has caused chaos and confusion. As such, these circumstances are widening the digital divide and causing an increasingly negative attitude towards online education. The MoE is working closely with its partners to monitor the situation and take appropriate steps. On 2 April 2020, the MoE decided to cancel all testing for the 2019-2020 school year, except the Tawijhi examination, and that all teachers will cover the essential topics by traditional face-to-face teaching at the beginning of next year.
All participants have signified that technologies such as mobile devices, social media and cloud computing are available in Palestine and would be useful and appropriate for the design and delivery of educational materials. However, given the uncertain and disruptive nature of the conditions in which online education has been planned, designed, and implemented, it would be misleading to conclude that it has provided effective learning opportunities for all school-age children. Nevertheless, this experience highlights future opportunities as well as challenges for decision-makers, who can be expected to introduce further changes as they rethink the usefulness of integrating technology into education reform, not only as a temporary response but also in the long term and on a large scale. The full findings will be published in a special COVID-19 issue of the Asian Journal of Distance Education in November.
For more details contact the researcher:
Researcher name: Khitam Shraim
Researcher email: kh_shraim@hotmail.com
