WHAT WE LEARNED FROM MEDIA COVERAGE OF CANADA\u2019S MASSIVE, RAPID SHIFT TO ONLINE LEARNING DUE TO COVID-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the pandemic hit in March 2020, opinion pieces and editorials occasionally leaned heavily to one side or the other, but the Canadian media have generally presented a balanced, neutral stance on the current state and long-term outlook of online learning<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analyzing the \u201cnew normal\u201d<\/strong> Analysis of what has been described as the \u201cnew normal\u201d at all levels of learning \u2014 from elementary and high school to post-secondary education \u2014 is based on a review of 146 articles published between mid-March and late August 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These pages provide a snapshot of experiences from a wide cross-section of society: from teachers and students to parents, experts in online learning, school administrators and government officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Early days: Confusion and anxiety reign<\/strong> The massive and unprecedented move to online learning prompted a flood of confusion, anxiety, mixed messages and mixed results. As Zoom meetings became prevalent, concerns about privacy and electronic security escalated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Provincial governments pushed different initiatives and priorities. Parents, many of whom were no longer working or were trying to work from home, struggled to provide learning support as they navigated the improvised e-learning experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students, deprived of the social interactions that are so pivotal to their intellectual and personal development, experienced new stresses that would hamper their learning experience for the remainder of the term and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not an easy switch to flip<\/strong> \u201cIt’s scary for faculty and it’s scary for students because it’s new, and it’s new at a time when everything has changed,\u201d said Clare Brett, an online education expert at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnline teaching takes preparation and planning,\u201d added Michael K. Barbour, co-author of The State of Online Learning in Canada,<\/em> which focuses on secondary schools. \u201cThe situation we currently find ourselves in is one of triage. It isn\u2019t online teaching; it is remote teaching in an emergency situation.\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Several experts spoke to the unique circumstances in which online learning was taking place \u2014 as an emergency response to a pandemic \u2014 and encouraged educators and parents to cut themselves some slack on strict guidelines and curricula. They also said the mental and physical health of children and families had to be central to any response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goalposts shift, but expectations stay the same<\/strong> Despite all these obstacles, students also learned that the expectations for their academic progress remained unchanged. They would be expected to keep focusing on their studies and grades, deliver the same results and meet the same expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo be honest, it is a bit overwhelming,\u201d said Nicole Mensour, an education student at Mount Saint Vincent University.[4]<\/sup><\/a> \u201cIn my experience, it\u2019s been a little \u2018here or there\u2019,\u201d said Rebecca Gao, a student at University of Toronto. \u201cVarying Internet connections, the loss of a lot of class discussion, and the general weirdness of the situation have made it kind of difficult to really learn.\u201d[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Karl Butler, a Grade 8 student in Guelph, Ontario, said, \u201cSeveral of my teachers have emailed me saying they haven\u2019t been told what\u2019s happening. So they don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening as much as we don\u2019t.\u201d[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents battered from all sides<\/strong> \u201cYou think things are going to be one way, but then they\u2019re not,\u201d said Cherelle Payne, a parent to five children in Alberta\u2019s Rocky View Schools Division. \u201cTeachers seem a little panicked themselves about how they\u2019re going to do this, and that anxiety is now being passed on to me.\u201d[7]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents were also rightly concerned for the health and safety of their children who would be expected to resume in-person classes in the fall, but many had no other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey probably are quite scared and anxious to send their kids to school,\u201d said Alec Couros, a professor and expert in online learning at the University of Regina, \u201cbut at the same time, they have to pay their bills.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s just added to the stress level,\u201d said Rajni Siperco, a parent in Oakville, Ontario. \u201cWe don\u2019t always have the same patience with them that the teachers would. We don\u2019t have the same capability \u2013 because you\u2019re not a teacher… The kids are very different with their parents versus being in a school environment.\u201d[8]<\/sup><\/a> Cora Burnette, a parent in Vancouver, said, \u201cIt\u2019s adding more stress in an already stressful situation… I\u2019m trying to fulfill all these roles, and it feels like failure.\u201d[9]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Couros was concerned that \u201ca number of parents and students who for the first time are considering online education\u201d are being forced into it. \u201cI\u2019m worried that people will try this experiment, see that perhaps teachers weren\u2019t prepared to provide instruction in this particular way and that they see this as a failing of online learning as a model.\u201d[10]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Costs stay the same, but does the value match the price tag?<\/strong> Many students expressed dissatisfaction that universities and colleges were not reducing tuition or other fees, as they felt they should not be paying the same amount for a lesser experience. In fact, students across the United States and Canada were increasingly signing petitions and demanding lower tuition fees.[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Student unions and associations spoke up consistently. \u201cIn addition to all of this and all of the trauma and turmoil that students have been coping with,\u201d said Jelynn Dela Cruz, President of the University of Manitoba\u2019s Student Union, \u201cwe\u2019re also seeing an increase in tuition and course fees, lab fees, continuing education fees.\u201d[13]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe feel it’s unfair that they are charging the same tuition and still going through with their annual tuition increase,\u201d added Katja Nell, a student at UBC. \u201cThe education is now online, which we feel is sub-par.\u201d[14]<\/sup><\/a> Alexandre Denis, a student at Concordia University, said, \u201cIt\u2019s definitely making me reconsider how many classes I want to take at once… I definitely don\u2019t think that online learning at its current state is a proper replacement.\u201d[15]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel it\u2019s a little unfair to pay full tuition without getting the full experience,\u201d said Lexi Marstom, a student at Carleton University.[16]<\/sup><\/a> \u201cMany professors are uncomfortable with or untrained on using online systems and in some cases are unwilling to use them,\u201d said UNBC student, Kieran Konst, adding: \u201cThe reality is that educational institutions are going to have to find ways to ensure that the online value matches the price tag.\u201d[17]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI should not be paying $8,000 to be their guinea pig for online learning,\u201d said Hope Mahood, a student at Western University. \u201cWe\u2019re being ripped off, not just by the universities, but I think also just by the state of this pandemic.\u201d[18]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Debt mounts as job prospects look grim<\/strong> An Angus Reid poll commissioned by Athabasca University was conducted among Angus Reid Forum members across Canada on the subject of online learning. The results, released in early August, showed that 60 percent of people would consider going back to school full-time if they couldn\u2019t find a job as a result of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, 60 percent also said that uncertainty about online learning might prevent them from pursuing higher education, while 70 percent felt that universities weren\u2019t doing enough to keep up with innovations in technology.[22]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Digital deficits laid bare<\/strong> David Fowler, Vice-President of Marketing and Communications at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), wrote in CBC News Opinion<\/em>, \u201c11 percent of Canadian households still do not have Internet access at home,\u201d and \u201cthere are massive disparities between the speeds that rural and urban households receive.\u201d[23]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fowler emphasized economic and technological inequalities that hinder access to online learning. The Ottawa Catholic School Board \u201ctold students to hunker down in school parking lots to access free Wi-Fi,\u201d while in Manitoba, the northern Garden Hill First Nation had to cancel the rest of its school year due to lack of accessibility. The Winnipeg School Division estimated that roughly 40 percent of its students didn\u2019t have access to Internet-connected devices in their homes.[24]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n There were, however, efforts to meet some of these challenges, as \u201cschools, school districts, charitable organizations, and various levels of government [were] stepping up to deliver laptops, tablets, and other devices to students in need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In London, Ontario, for example, more than 10,000 iPads and Chromebooks were distributed to students after the school shutdown. In 2020, wrote Fowler, \u201cit\u2019s clear that the Internet is the key infrastructure holding our education system, economy, and social lives together… Our children have never needed the Internet more to succeed.[25]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Infrastructure deficits all too clear<\/strong> Derek Chica, a guidance counsellor, parent and education advocate and activist, wrote in the Toronto Star<\/em> in late July that, \u201cDistance learning is disproportionately affecting Black and racialized students, students, students from low-income neighbourhoods, and students from other already marginalized communities.\u201d[26]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAccess to online learning is a Canada-wide issue,\u201d wrote journalist Nadine Yousif in Maclean\u2019s<\/em>. \u201cThe pandemic caused a disruption in education \u2014 and by extension, the lives of Canadian families \u2014 unlike anything in modern history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teachers referred to \u201ca gap in learning\u201d for students struggling to adapt, as well as \u201ca decline in mental well-being\u201d for many young people. The magazine spoke with more than a dozen families across Canada, many of whom feared \u201cthat quitting their jobs may be their only option if a safe, practical solution to the schooling question [wasn\u2019t] reached by September.\u201d[27]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This disproportionately affected women, as they abandoned careers to care for and help educate their children. Many parents expressed frustration at provincial governments that \u201care seen as more driven to get bars and restaurants open than to devise safe and realistic means to get kids back in class.\u201d[28]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of children are not able to get all the benefits of online learning,\u201d warned Caroline Schaal, cofounder of an online education program offered in Windsor.[29]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education, stressed that the digital divide would likely accelerate for some kids. \u201cOnline learning, especially for younger kids, really does involve parents and not all parents have the same capacity to support their kids in doing that.\u201d[30]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Clare Brett of Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) emphasized the relationship between disparities in education to that of healthcare. \u201cThe equity and diversity and inclusion aspect of the online space are very worrying,\u201d Brett told The Globe & Mail<\/em>, \u201cbecause they parallel what we see in health outcomes.\u201d In particular, lower-income areas, \u201ccommunities of colour, immigrant communities… don\u2019t necessarily have the same level of access to technology.\u201d[31]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In early May, People for Education released the results of a survey collecting data from 1,159 Ontario schools. Only 66 percent of Ontario schools had wall-to-wall Wi-Fi access, 56 percent of schools had designated staff members to support students in e-learning, and only 43 percent of schools had laptops or computers available for students to use after hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In responding to the survey results, People for Education said the pandemic \u201cexposes critical and long-standing inequities in the education system and also provided an opportunity to examine much more deeply how we are currently using technology in our schools and what the potential for online learning could be.\u201d Kidder added that COVID-19 \u201chas shone a light on the inequality issues many knew were there before but it\u2019s really exposed them.\u201d[32]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Three faculty members of the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University noted that, \u201cthe digital divide that separates one family from another is significantly affecting the quality of children\u2019s educational experience and their opportunities for success.\u201d Private schools, with better funding and with students from wealthier families, were able to meet the challenges in education posed by the pandemic more efficiently and effectively than many public school boards, where disparities were more apparent.[33]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bronwen Low, Lisa Starr and Joseph Levitan of McGill University noted that, \u201cTechnology and Internet access are no longer privileges but necessary conditions for learning.\u201d What would be required, they wrote, was \u201ca sustainable, flexible strategy to ensure all students have access to meaningful, age-appropriate and engaging online education as soon as possible.\u201d This means that all students need access to the right technology and infrastructure, while teachers need proper training.[34]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In mid-July, a survey of 17,000 educators across Canada revealed that 92 percent of teachers believed access to learning materials and technology was a \u201cbarrier to equitable quality public education.\u201d In addition, 74 percent of respondents were concerned about students\u2019 mental health, and 73 percent were concerned about being able to get students the tools they needed.[35]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n From huge challenges to massive potential<\/strong> Caroline Alphonso, the Globe & Mail<\/em>\u2019s education reporter, noted in late March that, \u201cOnline learning is poised to transform public education across the country\u201d and could mark \u201ca paradigm shift that could reshape education long after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.\u201d[36]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gary Hepburn, the Dean of the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University, wrote in Medium<\/em> that this period is \u201cthe single greatest disruption that instruction in higher education has ever seen,\u201d adding: \u201cLearning will be forever changed.\u201d Hepburn wrote that, \u201cwe should embrace the opportunity this disruption presents us… to redefine how we do education.\u201d[37]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe education world has been turned upside down,\u201d said Paul Bennett, an education consultant. He commented that e-learning had long been viewed as supplemental to the regular learning process, \u201cand there was no real focus in Canada on the possibility that e-learning would be the spine of the system.\u201d Regardless of one\u2019s views, however, \u201ca hybrid is coming out of this crisis.\u201d[38]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most experts agree that online learning will become more prevalent and integral to the learning process even after the pandemic passes. Marina Milner-Bolotin, an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia said she expected \u201ca steep increase in online learning that will continue\u201d past the pandemic. \u201cPeople now will pay much more attention to it as they will experience its power,\u201d she said.[39]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reason to be optimistic<\/strong> Robert Wright, a professor of history at Trent University Durham, told the Ottawa Citizen<\/em> that, \u201cUniversity administrators, deans and faculty are not merely \u2018muddling through\u2019,\u201d but rather, \u201care studying best practices, carefully calibrating competing needs within their communities, and adapting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wright stressed the context of online learning in the midst of the pandemic: \u201cUniversity students are adults,\u201d he said. \u201cThey understand that living under the pandemic and adapting to conditions of physical distancing means labouring under inconvenient and sometimes intrusive levels of social obligation.\u201d People don\u2019t have to like the context in which online learning takes place, but they do have to live with it: \u201cthis is life in 2020. No one asked for this. It\u2019s the hand we have all been dealt.\u201d[40]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe swift shift to online learning demonstrates the amazing capacity of our post-secondary institutions to transform,\u201d said Andrew Schrumm, the author of a Royal Bank of Canada report on online learning, which was published in early June. \u201cStudents, faculty and administrators have gained new experiences and preferences, which are unlikely to subside, even as the health crisis does. This space is ripe for innovation.\u201d[41]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyle Hiebert, a strategy and research advisor to the University of Manitoba Students\u2019 Union, told National Post that the adoption of open educational resources (OER) could significantly reduce \u201cthe cost of receiving a post-secondary education.\u201d In this context, \u201conline learning must be seen as part of a new era of post-secondary education, not a short-term fix.\u201d[42]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul W. Bennett, the research director of Schoolhouse Institute in Halifax, noted in CBC News Opinion<\/em> that one of the positive effects of the move to online learning is that it would result in education being \u201cfar more attuned to what works and what doesn\u2019t when it comes to improving student learning.\u201d[43]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe future of learning arrived in March,\u201d noted Neil Fassina, president of Athabasca University in August. \u201cWe just weren\u2019t ready for it en masse.\u201d However, he added, \u201cInstitutions around the world are going to be pushing as hard as they can to create the best quality learning experience possible \u2014 whether it be face to face or online now \u2014 because the world has woken up to the possibilities of online.\u201d[44]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have to think of this as a national issue, not just everybody thinking about it individually by province… Let’s get all the smart people together in rooms across the country and think of this as a problem we can solve… I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say all of our futures are relying on these generations.\u201d[45]<\/strong><\/sup><\/a><\/em> \u2014 Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [1]<\/sup><\/a> Michael Tutton, \u201cShift to online learning due to COVID-19 requires rethink of teaching: experts,\u201d Global News, 16 March 2020: [2]<\/sup><\/a> Paul W. Bennett, \u201cPaul W. Bennett: Lessons on e-learning from the front lines of the pandemic,\u201d The National Post, 17 March 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/opinion\/paul-w-bennett-lessons-on-e-learning-from-the-front-lines-of-the-pandemic(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/sup><\/a> Paul W. Bennett, \u201cPaul W. Bennett: Lessons on e-learning from the front lines of the pandemic,\u201d The National Post, 17 March 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/opinion\/paul-w-bennett-lessons-on-e-learning-from-the-front-lines-of-the-pandemic(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [4]<\/sup><\/a> Michael Tutton, \u201cShift to online learning due to COVID-19 requires rethink of teaching: experts,\u201d Global News, 16 March 2020: [5]<\/sup><\/a> Liza Agrba, \u201cHow Canadian universities are evaluating students during the coronavirus pandemic,\u201d Maclean\u2019s, 27 March 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/education\/how-canadian-universities-are-evaluating-students-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic\/(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [6]<\/sup><\/a> Camille Bains, \u201cCanadians homes transform in workplaces and classrooms as teachers look for online learning tools,\u201d National Post, 29 March 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/home-becomes-school-and-workplace-as-students-switch-to-online-learning(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [7]<\/sup><\/a> Eva Ferguson, \u201cSchools, families grapple with enormous challenge of remote learning,\u201d Calgary Herald, 21 March 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/calgaryherald.com\/news\/local-news\/schools-struggle-with-enormous-challenge-of-remote-teaching-for-k-12-students(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [8]<\/sup><\/a> Gregory Strong, \u201c\u2018The math ain\u2019t working:\u2019 Online schooling not a smooth transition for parents during COVID-19,\u201d Global News, 16 April 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6826070\/online-schooling-learning-ontario-parents-coronavirus-covid19\/(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [9]<\/sup><\/a> Caroline Alphonso, \u201cSome overwhelmed parents are giving up on distance learning and abandoning at-home schooling,\u201d The Globe & Mail, 28 April 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/canada\/article-growing-cohort-of-overwhelmed-parents-unengaged-children-drop\/(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [10]<\/sup><\/a> Roberta Bell, \u201cOnline learning expert worries sudden demand is leaving teachers, families unprepared,\u201d Global News, 21 August 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/7291656\/online-learning-expert-sudden-demand-coronavirus\/(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [11]<\/sup><\/a> Douglas Todd, \u201cStudents grapple with COVID-19’s narrowing of higher education,\u201d Vancouver Sun, 27 June 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/vancouversun.com\/opinion\/columnists\/douglas-todd-students-grapple-with-covid-19s-narrowing-of-higher-education(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [8]<\/sup><\/a> Joanne Laucius, \u201c’Not what they signed up for’: Students want tuition cut for online courses,\u201d Ottawa Citizen, 26 June 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/ottawacitizen.com\/news\/local-news\/not-what-they-signed-up-for-students-want-tuition-cut-for-online-courses(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [13]<\/sup><\/a> Maggie Macintosh, \u201cU of M will hike tuition while delivering online classes,\u201d Winnipeg Free Press, 20 May 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/special\/coronavirus\/u-of-m-will-hike-tuition-while-delivering-online-classes-570641132.html(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [14]<\/sup><\/a> Maryse Zeidler, \u201cUniversity students demand lower tuition, fees as classes move online,\u201d CBC News, 25 April 2020: [15]<\/sup><\/a> Paola Loriggio, \u201cSome Canadian universities say fall classes will be offered primarily online,\u201d National Post, 8 May 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/pmn\/news-pmn\/canada-news-pmn\/some-canadian-universities-say-fall-classes-will-be-offered-primarily-online(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [16]<\/sup><\/a> Joanne Laucius, \u201c’Not what they signed up for’: Students want tuition cut for online courses,\u201d Ottawa Citizen, 26 June 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/ottawacitizen.com\/news\/local-news\/not-what-they-signed-up-for-students-want-tuition-cut-for-online-courses(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [17]<\/sup><\/a> Douglas Todd, \u201cStudents grapple with COVID-19’s narrowing of higher education,\u201d Vancouver Sun, 27 June 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/vancouversun.com\/opinion\/columnists\/douglas-todd-students-grapple-with-covid-19s-narrowing-of-higher-education(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [18]<\/sup><\/a> Jenna Moon, \u201cUniversity students want some of their tuition back due to unused services and online learning,\u201d Toronto Star, 22 July 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news\/gta\/2020\/07\/21\/university-students-want-some-of-their-tuition-back-due-to-unused-services-and-online-learning.html(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [19]<\/sup><\/a> Saira Peesker, \u201cStudents graduating with debt say recent budget changes amount to \u2018a tiny band-aid\u2019 on a \u2018gushing wound\u2019,\u201d The Globe & Mail, 11 April 2019:
In light of the unprecedented global changes wrought by COVID-19, this is an examination of how the national media represented Canada\u2019s shift from in-person education to online learning in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 virus a pandemic. Within days, governments around the world began imposing lockdowns, issuing stay-at-home orders, closing businesses and schools and imposing social distancing guidelines and other restrictions to address this global health crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laurentian University was the first post-secondary institution to suspend in-person classes. Other universities and colleges followed suit within days, and by March 16, 2020, the collective move to online learning had begun.[1]<\/sup><\/a> As it became clear that schools would remain closed into the spring,educators moved their courses online for the rest of the term \u2014 a task few seemed prepared to meet.[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
When COVID-19 hit, students were forced to reckon with chaos from all sides. As they tried to cope with fears about their health and long-term future, they also had to face the closure of their schools, community lockdowns, a suspended social life and the added tensions of being confined with families, many with parents who were no longer working and increasingly worried about their long-term economic future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parents faced many immediate challenges. Many had to start working from home, while others lost their jobs entirely. And as children were sent home from schools, they were left to manage their kids\u2019 education, learning software and curriculum and provide support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lockdowns and the rapid growth in unemployment left few students with the option to work to help cover their costs. Even as students argued for reduced costs, some schools actually increased tuition and other fees, with the loss of international students forcing them to pass on the costs to Canadian students.[11]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the pandemic, student debt was already a growing problem for Canadian graduates.[19]<\/sup><\/a> Now, debt has been exacerbated by COVID-19, with the constricted job market leaving students less able to pay off debts and more likely to go further into debt, according to Stats Canada.[20]<\/sup><\/a> The pandemic also led to an increase in average Canadian household debt, which rose to 177 percent of disposable income.[21]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the issue of digital deficits \u2014 or inequality of access to educational technology and infrastructure \u2014 is perhaps the most consistent and prominent challenge facing the development of online learning in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For poorer, rural and distant communities and families, the challenges of online learning have been greater, which may have a lasting negative effect on learning and social mobility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many voices in the media initially described the massive move to online learning as a game-changer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many in the media emphasized that despite all the challenges of online learning, there was reason to be optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6685848\/shift-to-online-learning-due-to-covid-19-requires-rethink-of-teaching-experts\/(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6685848\/shift-to-online-learning-due-to-covid-19-requires-rethink-of-teaching-experts\/(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/british-columbia\/university-students-demand-lower-tuition-fees-as-classes-move-online-1.5543239(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/investing\/personal-finance\/gen-y-money\/article-recent-federal-budget-will-help-indebted-students-but-experts-say-its\/(link is external)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n