While learning in a time of crisis has led to a mobile learning environment that leaves many preferring the convenience that mobile learning offers, there are certain noted challenges that make it hard for mobile learning to fully replace a traditional learning environment.
The sudden shift to online learning due to crisis has made it difficult to adapt to every student’s learning needs, and many teachers have had to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and delivering information. This one-size-fits-all approach has made learning difficult, and much more so for students with learning disabilities.
Reports have noted that the sudden closure of libraries and other learning resource centers has made it challenging for students to get access to materials in accessible formats, such as Braille. A lack of compatibility between commonly used learning platforms and assistive technologies has also been a cause for concern.
Special education teachers have reported that different functions of learning platforms have been difficult for students with learning disabilities to navigate: “I think Zoom is great, but for students with disabilities, it may be a little challenging because if I want them to have remote control access, they have to be able to accept that or send me a request.”
Students with learning disabilities that include executive function issues, such as a severe lack of focus seen in students with ADHD, may find it extremely difficult to learn through online means. The following CBC report shows the difficulties these students may face:
With much of daily life moving online, the coronavirus pandemic dramatically exposed the digital divide.
What is the digital divide?
The digital divide is a gap in internet and technology access that prohibits people from participating in vital parts of society.
A study from Common Sense Media and the Boston Consulting Group looked at the extent of the digital divide among K-12 students in public schools. During the pandemic, it found 16 million students were living in the digital divide. The problem is most prevalent among Black, Latinx, and Native American students and rural communities.
The pandemic has helped folks to realize it's not just an availability issue and that mobile phones are insufficient. Living in the digital divide is not merely lacking access to the internet, but also lacking a healthy learning environment, stable Wi-Fi, and other electronic tools needed to be able to keep up with the new demands of mobile learning.
Traditionally, schools would provide technological resources at school that a student is free to use; the shift to being completely remote means that many of these students no longer have access to these tools. Though many schools have made attempts to alleviate the digital divide with their students, such as offering laptops for students to borrow, many schools are still underfunded and lack the resources needed to help their students.
Issues with cheating and integrity misconduct are nothing new in the academic world. But in the quick shift to the era of online learning, there are new concerns for how much more accessible resources to be used for cheating suddenly are.
A recent study from Imperial College London found that the number of questions and answers posted to Chegg—a website students can subscribe to that gives access to professionals who will answer STEM questions step-by-step for them—saw an increase of 196% between April to August 2020, comparing to the same time period a year before.
Students have justified an increase in cheating due to struggles to adapt to their new learning environment: “Unlike in-person work where you have to show your work, where you actually learn something, online is just ‘get to the answer, that’s all we want.’”
A number of integrity-monitoring companies, like Honourlock, Respondus, and ProctorU, have emerged with tools that aim to restraint cheating attempts, such as camera and screen monitoring. However, students have quickly learned and shared ways around these tools, with some popular methods shown in these Tiktoks.
Some questions for your consideration:
What are some possible ways to address and help alleviate the challenges of mobile learning?
Are these challenges significant enough to make mobile learning an insufficient replacement of traditional learning?
Who is responsible for addressing and trying to accomodate for these challenges? The teacher or the learner?