Digital justice: online learning beyond COVID-19

I recently had a conversation with a teacher that had me on the verge of tears. 

I was calling to see how the tutoring program I run at her school could adapt to the current digital learning environment we have been thrust into by the COVID-19 crisis. For context, my team runs the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion’s school outreach to 20 high schools in south-west Sydney, building aspiration and encouraging students from a low-SES background to attend university.  

The normally positive and upbeat teacher was flat, overwhelmed by the circumstances surrounding her and her school community. She apologised for not responding to my emails; her priority had been finding digital devices and internet connectivity for most of her students so they could do their schoolwork.  

Every day since NSW school students were advised to stay home her experience has been one of scrambling not only to get course content online but also attempting to support students and their families access digital devices and the internet. While she, and other teachers across the state, have worked incredibly hard to adapt to online teaching in a short space of time – ensuring their students have adequate access to devices and data has proved much more challenging.     

The teacher reported situations where 10+ people are sharing two-bedroom apartments; siblings sharing a parent’s phone for schoolwork; students travelling to relatives’ homes to connect to the internet; and parents coming into school to pick up hard copies of the work.

“$30 may not sound like a lot to spend on data each month, but our families are spending that on food,” she said. 

Digital access is changing the way we educate young people, but unequal distribution of that access has exposed a crushing divide in our education system. A global pandemic has magnified the impact of the disparity. 

Low-SES students already face immense barriers and disadvantage when it comes to academic attainment. A staggering 33% of the lowest income households do not have internet access (compared with only 3% for high-income households). Families in the lowest income bracket have 1.4 devices on average, compared to an average of 2.1 in higher income households.  

With libraries and public facilities closed, and parents advised to keep their children at home wherever possible, accessing devices equipped for remote digital learning has become almost impossible for low income households, and more difficult still for households with more than one school-aged child at home. 

We urge government agencies and corporate Australia to work with schools and universities to prioritise at-risk students and equip them to improve their academic attainment. These students deserve the same learning outcomes as any other school student in NSW.  

The benefits of access to digital learning are well documented and cannot be overstated. Digital learning increases engagement, enhances learning outcomes and improves overall academic attainment. Opportunities for increased engagement are particularly important in low-income communities, where disengagement from school is a known barrier to success. 

Technology is also important during times like these to allow students to maintain social connection with their peers and teachers. 

Access to the internet and digital devices can’t be taken for granted when planning educational outcomes. Acknowledging that not everyone has the same access must be the starting point of any scheme to support students access to online learning. 

We must not let the existing digital divide become entrenched. If we don’t act now, many of our future leaders will be left behind.