Every Child Online: A Framework for Inclusive Remote Learning
The pandemic, lockdown and the responses to it have clearly revealed the cracks in the notions around ‘digital natives’ in India. It is a term that loosely denotes a generation born into a digital and connected world, one that is familiar with technology and internet from a young age. The dialogues around ‘digital citizenship’ and ‘online safety’ have especially hinged on the life and lifestyle of the digital native.
But with schools and educational institutions forced to go into prolonged lockdowns, schooling, college and attendant systems & activities are slowly but surely shifting to online platforms. Educational boards have been rolling out digitized curriculum and instituting online examinations. Under these changed real world circumstances there has been a dawning that are a large majority of Indian school going children are in fact ‘digital migrants’. They may have been born into a digital age but their adoption of and migration to digital technology & spaces is still an ongoing & challenging process.
This sudden acceleration towards digitizing of education threatens to inflict ‘digital migrants’ with a callous & invisibilising treatment not dissimilar to the one meted out to the migrant population during lockdown. Whether online or on ground, the demographics of the marginalized populations remain the same. Decisions made without taking into consideration the needs of the most vulnerable children and communities will cascade into yet another crisis that ends up condemning generations. Only this time it will not unfold on the streets but quietly inside people’s homes and in hearts and minds of children.
Several experts and academicians have written valid and urgent criticisms about the sudden moves to digitize education. But just this week there has been news about how French schools that opened under strict physical distancing regulations shut down within a week on account of an as-yet-untraced source of contagion. While the current pandemic maybe a singular event while it lasts, experts predict periodic breakouts of zoonotic pandemics. Climate emergencies are already a regular calendar feature. And through all of which, the internet has proved to be a fairly resilient system.
Put together, this makes for a convincing case towards envisioning, investing in and putting together systems and policies that make high quality remote education possible for all children. It may not be viewed a replacement for the current system but as a supplementary system that students will need to fall back in moments of crisis & chaos.
Towards this we look at the Covid-19 policy brief on Internet Access & Affordability put together by World Wide Web Foundation with Alliance for Affordable Internet along with findings from Aarambh’s soon-to-be-released Ideal Internet Report. (It is no way exhaustive. We welcome all feedback, comments, suggestions & additions to the list.)
If the framework seems like a lot, it is probably because the task-at-hand is, quite frankly, colossal.
Connectivity Infrastructure: There is an urgent need to expand the connectivity infrastructure in the country ranging from broadband cables to 4G and 5G infrastructures to aerial wireless networks. The BharatNet program announced by the government with a view towards bringing high speed broadband connections to rural India is something that needs to be implemented at an expanded scale & at war footing.
Public Wi-Fi: Free and unlimited public wi-fi needs to be available at a community level. Government institutions like post offices, libraries, panchayat offices and public spaces like parks, play grounds and chaupals should provide multiple public point of access. Innovative models like auto-rickshaws that serve as wi-fi hotspots etc may also be used to deepen access. These installations should offer meaningful connectivity and sufficient range so that people do not have to crowd around a point. Along with installation, regular upkeep needs to be a priority.
A Fundamental Right: Internet connectivity in India is a socio-spatial issue. To put it simply, if you live in a rough part of town, chances are the quality of your internet connectivity is bound to be rough. The experience of internet connectivity available in a basti or a Slum Rehabilitation Project in urban India can be comparable to experiences in rural India. Age-old socio-cultural biases and hierarchies apply themselves even to new resources like internet connectivity. To ensure that there is no discrimination, it needs to be acknowledged that quality internet access is the right of every Indian. Discrimination must be actively and affirmatively prohibited. The expansion of access & infrastructure should be done with the specific aim of prioritizing & extending access to marginalized regions and communities.
Meaningful Connectivity: The A4AI describes meaningful connectivity as an internet connection that gives people the power, flexibility, and freedom to engage in the kinds of online activities (including online learning) that can deliver substantial benefits. It focuses on 4 main components- the right speed, an adequate device, enough data & frequent connection. So in current context the following standards are recommended to be adopted as the bare minimum – 1. a 4G mobile broadband connection 2. a smartphone 3. a fixed wired or wireless connection at place of study 4. Access to use the internet every day.
Free or Subsidized Devices & Data: Free or subsidized devices & data must be provided to girls (considering gender gap in internet use), children with special needs and students belonging to marginalized communities & low income households. The quotas available on data plans must be expanded. Child with special needs will need specialized devices which must be developed/procured and provided free-of-cost.
Cultural Solutions: Promoting access for girls, children with special needs & students belonging to marginalized communities and low income households and motivating their families to allow them to pursue education especially in strained times will require effective cultural solutions & widespread awareness of remote education to be developed.
Planning & Curation: Content must not just be digitized & dumped. Rather it needs to be carefully curated by a panel of experts and effectively rolled out and distributed.
Re-imagining Content & Experience: Content must be re-imaged for the online space in a way that the advantages that online classrooms can provide to students must be harnessed. Even though they do not share the same physical space, children need to have a sense of working together. Instead of being stuck in static circumstances, children may be allowed to exercise some degree of choice & interactivity offered by the online space. Maybe they can choose between classrooms. Maybe one class can be held within the platform of a game. Maybe instead of being taught by just one teacher, two teachers can hold a conversation. Children can be allowed rewind, download, remix & reupload the content. Not all of it may work, but it is all worth trying in an attempt to engage the child and their critical faculties.
Languages & Dialects: Content must be available and interaction must be possible in multiple languages and dialects. This will entail the creation and distribution of local language keyboards and other input devices as well as fonts for the system.
Updated Curriculum: The curriculum must take into effect the larger shifts under which it is operating and must be updated to encompass current issues and skillsets required such as digital literacy, disaster preparation, identifying fake news, online safety, comprehensive sexuality education etc.
No Unnecessary Specifications: Platforms must support as well as be enabled to accept submissions of content from the students in a wide range of common formats. Unnecessary specifications & standardization must not limit the child’s ability to participate. To illustrate with an example, if one has ever filled & submitted an online government form there is often a litany of specifications to adhere to from file size, file format, sometimes even the browser being used. Such impositions are prohibitive and can be easily avoided.
Monitoring Progress: Mechanisms must be created where teachers can effectively monitor and record progress that do not result in unnecessary surveillance of the child.
Audio Content: Video seems to be key component of remote learning. And while it must be available in a range of definitions from high to low, content must also be available in audio format. This is not just to cater to kids in communities with weak access and connectivity but also considering that staring fixedly at a screen for hours at a stretch may cause a strain to the child’s eyesight as well as posture.
Hard Copies & a Hybrid Approach: Online content must be supplemented by hard copies which may be mailed to child’s place of residence. This is to ensure that if there is any disruption to internet connection or conditions of the devices, the child can still engage with learning. TV & Radio must also be engaged as mediums of learning.
A Call-Centre for Learning: A toll free call-center must be created where children who require individual corrective lessons and further explanations can reach out to experts with their questions and receive answers and further tutorials if need be.
Suspend Copyright in Education: Suspend all copyright laws if the material/content in question is being used for broadly educational purposes. Companies must be incentivized to contribute quality educational material and tools in the public domain. Torrenting websites and other P2P sharing platforms must remain unblocked so children using these platforms are not put at risk.
Data Privacy for Students: Pass a data privacy law in line with global standards to ensure that child’s data and privacy remain protected and secure. Only essential and anonymized data may be collected which should not be sold or used to target them.
Security of Platforms: Ensure that above platforms created for children mandatorily institute & implement basic cyber security measures such as ensuring usage of up-to-date software, encryption of any log-in pages, strong password policies (if required), provision for data back up and strong protection against any possible attacks.
Internet shutdowns: must be stopped.
The mid-day meal program: must continue and be delivered to the children’s house.
Remote learning must never be implemented in a discriminatory or sudden manner that installs a quick fix and then leaves it to the children & families to cope & find a way around. In fact it needs to be carefully planned, piloted, tested with children and phased in, in a manner that is meticulous and ensures that no school child is left outside its purview.
Not only must it be ensured that all school going children are enabled to successfully adopt and adapt to remote learning, efforts should be to harness the advantages of remote learning to reach out to children not in school and bridge the gap between them and the education system.
Read More:
Indian education can’t go online – only 8% of homes with young members have computer with net link– Protiva Kundu, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability
Students and teachers struggle with e-learning amid lockdown in Kashmir– Anees Zargar, NewsClick.com
The Other Side of the Divide – Dr. Pravin Patkar & Azra Quaisar, FightTrafficking.com
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