Running head: CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS AMIDST COVID 1

Challenges Faced by Students Amidst 2020 Covid Crisis

Angela Truesdale

Loyola Marymount University

School of Education: Urban Education

EDUR 6328: Digital Technology in Urban Education

Professor Shannon Tabaldo

May 3, 2020
CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS AMIDST COVID 2

March 13, 2020 was the day that many students and teachers bid farewell for what we

were told would be a two week quarantine. It quickly developed into an indefinite distance

learning experience that will last through summer 2020 at least. Very few schools were prepared

for this transition; several students and teachers lacked the appropriate tools to deliver and access

remote learning capabilities. With limited methods of student accountability due to the remote

nature of learning, struggling students fall through the cracks of a shattered educational system.

Despite the clearly negative effects of Covid-19 on education and numerous international

communities, it is important to shed light on the resilience of people in adapting to ever-changing

times. While there were several significant challenges to learning that became evident this

spring, the three most critical challenges that affected my students were limited access to content,

providing accountability in an online environment, and teacher efficacy in remote learning.

While most of my students made the transition to online learning relatively seamlessly,

there were a few who were challenged by access to content. We are a 1-1 iPad school, which

means that all students have access to an iPad, which is provided by the school (after some sort

of safety deposit). About half of the iPads have unlimited mobile data, providing not only a

device, but also internet access to several struggling students. While the idea of one-to-one

devices with built-in data connection is fantastic, some limitations quickly became evident.

Options to take pictures and screenshots were also disabled to minimize cheating.

Unfortunately, screenshots and pictures make it much easier for teachers and tech advisors to

troubleshoot problems that arise. If I had a dollar for every time my students said “the website is

broken”, I would be a very rich woman. When I ask about error codes, or to describe what about

it is broken, they have a very difficult time describing the problem. The mobile data on the iPads
CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS AMIDST COVID 3

is better in some geographic locations than others. Some students were unable to connect from

their homes, or were confined to the small area that received service. Spectrum internet

company stepped up to the challenge, offering free internet services up to 100 Mbps for homes

with students or teachers until July 30 (Spectrum Support, 2020). This helped several of my

students, but for many, it wasn’t enough. Most student households have 4-6 people working/

learning from home between parents, siblings, and extended family. In order to minimize

student temptation, several websites and apps are blocked on the school-owned iPads. This

means when I give assignments to students through Nearpod, Khan Academy, PearDeck, and

EdPuzzle, they are forced to complete it in the web browser instead of the streamlined app with

deadline notifications. Many of my freshmen lack the organizational tools to effectively juggle

numerous programs and assignments across various platforms.

Several things about the 1-1 iPad program could be improved in order to improve student

learning. This generation of high schoolers has had access to the internet their entire life. They

are fantastic technological problem-solvers when motivated. I am amazed when they claim they

can’t figure out how to send an email or view assignments on Khan Academy, considering they

Snapchat, TikToc, and watch Netflix around the clock. I think many of the digital problems our

school faced in this transition could be solved by implementing a digital learning unit into

freshmen orientation (a 4 week, half-day summer school to remediate basic skills for incoming

freshmen). This unit would focus on digital problem solving, navigating the school website,

checking their grades and missing assignments, sending and receiving emails, using digital

organizational tools, and assistive technology.

CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS AMIDST COVID 4

This leads us to the second HUGE challenge faced by my school in this transition to

online learning. Not only did students struggle to learn online from home, but teachers struggled

to teach online from home. Several of the teachers were not raised in the digital era; they are

bound within the confines of their digital knowledge (which is very limited). Most were familiar

with programs like Kahoot for review and GoogleClassroom for sharing documents. While a lot

can be done using those programs to supplement in-person teaching, they are not sufficient to

deliver a fully online curriculum. I spent the first two weeks of quarantine teaching my

coworkers how to screen record, upload videos to GoogleDrive, check for understanding using

EdPuzzle, and develop methods to present material in a way that is both engaging and accessible

to students. It was very draining for me to transition all of my curriculum to fully online for my

5 classes, provide professional development for my coworkers, and complete coursework for my

Master’s all at the same time.

Sometimes, when problems arise, it is good to look across disciplines to see how they

approach the issue of generational gaps between coworkers. Many hospitals require their nurses

to take a certain number of hours every year in continuing education courses (they can choose

from a long list of options to pursue things that interest them) in order to stay current. I think

educators should also meet this requirement, engaging in a mandatory 3-5 hours yearly of

professional development focused on various digital educational tools to prevent stagnancy and

promote collaboration between schools, districts, and departments. There should be online and

in-person options that focus on a variety of topics including digital assessment, digital

engagement, flipped classrooms, and remediation for struggling students. These resources are

currently available, but must be actively sought out by innovative teachers.

CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS AMIDST COVID 5

The final challenge we faced as a school was the lack of student and parent

accountability. Unfortunately, this is not an issue that I have a solution for. Inevitably, some

students will fall through the cracks of our education system. Sometimes they are

undermotivated, other times their strengths are found in areas other than academics. When the

students are legally required to attend a physical school building, it is easier to provide

intervention. Frequently, I give mandatory tutoring hours (another way to say detention) to

students who do not complete homework or classwork. Without a physical school to attend,

some of the students have completely dropped off the face of the planet. Emails to the student,

calls home, and discussions with administration have resulted in nothing. When I assign online

mandatory tutoring hours, students claim “technical difficulties” and don’t show up. Other than

that, I don’t have good ways to motivate my students to succeed or help them turn around. I

know that I am a good classroom educator; I frequently break through to difficult students who

need serious remediation and/or attitude changes, but all of my rewards and punishments are

only possible in person. They are not conducive to online learning. The biggest consequence I

have online is giving students a 0%, which doesn’t help them learn nor does it encourage them to

be more involved in their education.

CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS AMIDST COVID 6

References

Spectrum Support (2020). COVID-19 remote education credit ​https://www.spectrum.net/support/

internet/covid-19-internet-offer-students/