A Realistic Segue?

Magklase na kuno online? The Department of Education announced May 5, 2020 that the new school year will open in August 24 this year as the country continues to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Education Secretary Leonor Briones said school year 2020-2021 will formally open on August 24, either through physical or virtual classes.

The Philippine Star reported that DepEd is looking into implementing alternative delivery modes such as online learning that do not require face-to-face interactions among students and teachers.

Some of the divisions of the department are already conducting capacity building on virtual learning and how to use online media platforms to be used by teachers and learners when schools are going to open. These online platforms can be considered as ideal since the students and teachers can interact without the physical presence hence the social distancing scheme can be followed well.

By studying online, students choose their own learning environment that works best for their needs: be it the bedroom, the study, listening to the instructor’s lecture podcast as the learner runs on the treadmill. Taking an online course also means that the learner don’t have to commute to class, which means less time spent on the public utility transports and more study time sitting on the couch (Heap, 2017).

Online modes of study have been found to be equivalent to on-campus environments with respect to key outcomes such as student academic performance (Magagula and Ngwenya, 2004; McPhee and Söderström, 2012) and student satisfaction (Palmer, 2012).

This is the foundation of the so-called online platforms. The idea can be very ideal. But does idealism true to all?

Idealism is the metaphysical and epistemological doctrine that ideas or thoughts make up fundamental reality. Essentially it is any philosophy which argues that the only thing actually knowable is consciousness whereas we never can be sure that matter or anything in the outside world really exists thus the only the real things are mental entities not physical things which exist only in the sense that they are perceived.

In reality, internet connection and gadgets such as laptops, computers and mobile phones remain unreachable luxuries for many learners. “There are students without access to technology that’s why we’re preparing our printed instructional packets or self-learning kits,” DepEd Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said.

REALISM IS THE REFINEMENT OF OUR COMMON ACCEPTANCE OF THE WORLD AS BEING JUST WHAT IT APPEARS TO BE. Realism is interested in objects and facts. In general, realists believe in the independent existence of the experiential universe.

Being a realist, one can ask these questions: What will happen to the poor learners who do not have gadgets? If we consider the online platform as the sole learning avenue, will the internet signal of TELCOs become strong enough to accommodate the millions who will be using it? Free internet cards will be provided?

Rachel Tustin, PhD mentions that the digital divide refers to the inequality in access to technology that exists between communities due to regional and demographic differences, particularly socio-economic groups. One of our goals as teachers is to help bridge the digital divide so that students can acquire the technological skills they will need to be successful as adults. While some students are considered digital natives, having grown up immersed in technology, other students, for a variety of reasons, have not reached this level of technological skill.

In most cases, we may have students whose only exposure to technology is at school, and many students probably fall somewhere in between. The digital divide refers to the inequality in access to technology that exists between communities due to regional and demographic differences, particularly socio-economic groups.

That is the first reality that we need to face: how do we bridge the digital divide and how do we train both the teachers and learners to become at ease with digital learning?

Printed instructional packets or self-learning kits are the best things to prepare as the school year is going to be kicked-off on August. These things are viable in the sense that it won’t leave any learner behind.

The problem comes when the validity of these materials will also be questioned and fall to become another set of exercises in futility. Still, the need to be realistic must prevail especially that we are now going to segue to the so-called new normal.