Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1324024
NEWS 9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 JANUARY 2021 described the school as "very supportive in providing tools" which may be used while not restricting teachers to use those tools only. "They check in on us to see how we are do- ing and how we are coping and whether we need any more help or support, they are gen- uinely interested in knowing which parents are being active- ly involved in their child's edu- cation in this situation and fol- low-up on parents who are not living up to this expectation." But other teachers were less i m p r e s s e d by the support they found. "I am proud of my achievements and of learning these new skills and am happy to be able to communicate with students directly… but am very disappointed by the lack of support and communication by higher ups who are tasked with directing us and examining our work," a secondary school teacher reported. Closer to parents One of the upsides of the pandemic was that remote teaching brought closer collab- oration between teachers and parents. "In truth, I feel I became clos- er to the parents but am miss- ing my students, even though their parents send me clips and photos of them reading and working on their school work," a primary school teacher reported. But the study also exposed a lack of collaboration between teachers. Only 45.5% collabo- rated with other teachers when creating resources for online teaching. The reasons for not collaborating included; being the only teacher teaching a particular year group or subject area, lack of time for collabora- tion, different pedagogical ap- proaches or views and unsup- portive environments. The study also exposes a problem of absenteeism dur- ing online sessions, with 64.9% of teachers noting that not every student was able to join real-time sessions due to tech- nical issues on the students' end. These technical issues in- cluded problems with internet connectivity and unavailability of digital technologies and de- vices. Microsoft Teams most used tool Overall, 72.7% of all partic- ipating teachers stated they used online real-time commu- nication tools with students, with the rest opting for record- ing their lessons. The most popular tool or plat- form used in schools is Micro- soft Teams (40.5%), followed by Zoom (11.1%). Other tools used included Skype, Google Hangouts, Facebook private groups, Class Dojo, Messenger, Myschool, Klikks or a platform or portal developed specifically by a school. The diversity in digital solu- tions adopted by different teachers and schools highlight- ed the need for a more strategic and consistent approach with- in and across schools. Moreo- ver, investment in information technology-must be matched by "adequate and high-level training that is needs and in- terest-based, giving teachers and educators a voice and a say in determining what kind and mode of training to attend". Still since not all students have their own PC or tablet, some teachers believe that re- corded lessons may be more accessible. "Since we're living in a sit- uation where everyone needs a device to work, two devices in a family of four will not be enough. I prefer recording les- sons and children can follow them at their computers in their own time," a secondary school teacher said. In fact, a considerable num- ber of teachers (41.6%) record- ed their online sessions for those who could not join the real-time slot, increasing the chance for more students to access learning. Some teachers believe that a minimum amount of daily or weekly hours of face-to-face online interaction should be- come the norm if the current situation is prolonged or if it recurs again. "It is very im- portant that the students meet their teachers regularly in re- al time as well – they need to see their teacher and have di- rect communication with her. However, I also think that we cannot expect our students to sit in front of the computer for a long period of time, especially the very young ones," a primary school teacher replied. Preparing for the new normal Significantly teachers also un- derstand that online education will be part of the new normal even if the pandemic recedes. "Things will never return as they were before… We need to encourage a mix of teaching at school and teaching online in order to be prepared for fu- ture emergencies," a secondary school teacher said. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt One of the most surprising aspects of the study is that the tablets once hailed as the tool ushering the IT revolution in schools, were not used as a teaching tool by more than a third of teachers in the two final years of primary school