A tale of two pandemics: teachers' disproportionate views on student engagement in remote learning

PurposeThis study aims to use culturally responsive pedagogy as a model to examine teachers' views of the equity implications found within virtual instruction.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers used a descriptive methods design based on survey research employing both fixed (quantitative) and open response (qualitative) options to curate teachers' perceptions of their students' abilities to engage in online learning.FindingsTeachers articulated anxiety for student engagement based on access as well as concerns for student engagement and social emotional learning (SEL) connection. Data point to disparate views of students' abilities to engage in remote learning based on demographic markers. Teachers also noted their own limitations in providing engaging online instruction that was culturally responsive and included social emotional learning (SEL) learning.Originality/valueThis study provided a unique opportunity to explore teachers' perceptions of their students in online learning contexts as well as teachers' perceptions of their own abilities to support diverse students in remote learning. Teachers' responses indicated deficit views of their culturally and linguistically diverse students and signaled awareness of their own limitations in providing online instruction that was culturally responsive and student centered. Study findings point to a need to equip teachers with tools to mitigate systemic inequity in online contexts.

A Pandemic Snapshot: Libraries' Digital Shifts and Disparities to Overcome

In the fall and winter of 2020, New America embarked on a snapshot study to gather data on how – or if – people were discovering, accessing, and using their public libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on materials that libraries made available online. A full report on our findings, titled Public Libraries and the Pandemic: Digital Shifts and Disparities to Overcome, was published in March 2021. This article draws heavily from that report and also includes a policy update related to passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the Fall of 2021. Analyzing data from a national survey in Fall 2020 of 2,620 people, we found mixed awareness of the public library's online resources, a shift toward online resources, mostly positive attitudes toward the public library and its online resources, and disparities in access to and use of the public library's online resources. This article also describes one library's creation of a digital navigator program to support digital literacy as an example of how to overcome some of these disparities. We conclude with specific recommendations for improving inclusivity, helping community members gain affordable internet access at home so they can use their library's online materials, and building awareness of library offerings via local organizations and schools. The aim is to leverage the lessons of the pandemic to help libraries launch more equitable ecosystems of learning across communities, providing access to knowledge, resources, and training, online and off. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Public Library Quarterly is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Changes in mobile broadband infrastructure in georgia during the covid-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the digital divide to center stage. This article investigates whether the crisis disrupted mobile broadband infrastructure, taking Georgia as a case study. We hypothesize that the pandemic could have slowed down ongoing infrastructure provision initiatives, as in other segments of the economy, or spurred them by bringing renewed attention and resources to overcoming the digital divide. We find that the per capita antenna gap between rural and micropolitan areas as compared to metropolitan has drastically reduced during the pandemic. Long-Term Evolution expansion was positively associated with the presence of vulnerable populations with variation across areas. © 2022 Penn State University Press. All rights reserved.

"What about special ed?": Barriers and enablers for teaching with technology in special education

Technology integration in school is an increasingly important equity issue, but little is known about how technology is used for teaching the 7 million K-12 special education students in the US (NCES, 2019). Though special education is often overlooked in technology integration research, what does exist suggests that technology use in schools often exacerbates opportunity gaps for students with disabilities (Ciampa, 2017;Dolan, 2016;Shaheen & Watulak, 2019). The rapid shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to better explore enablers and barriers to technology-enabled learning for special education (SPED) because of the widespread reliance on technology for teaching and learning. Using in-depth interviews (N = 20) with special educators during remote learning, the present study seeks to (1) describe important enablers and barriers for SPED teacher use of technology in K-12 before and during remote learning, (2) understand how structural, teacher, and student-level factors influence SPED teachers' opportunities for teaching with technology, and (3) highlight emerging problems for SPED populations in technology-enabled learning. Results suggest that the most prominent enablers and barriers for technology use in special education are structural (e.g., decision-making around teacher training and technology resources, structures for student digital literacy training), but manifest at the teacher and student levels. SPED teachers described significant barriers to providing accessible technology-enabled instruction, largely due to school-based structures for resource allocation, student digital literacy training, teacher training, decision-making for technology, SPED job roles, and home-school communication. Recommendations are made for providing high-quality digital learning for all students, especially students with diverse learning needs. • Special education technology integration is limited by district and school structures. • SPED students lacked access to devices, internet, software and digital literacy skills. • SPED teachers need more technology training and time to use technology. • Special education is often left out of school decision making about technology. • Home-school communication practices should be inclusive of language and device access. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying Challenges, Enabling Practices, and Reviewing Existing Policies Regarding Digital Equity and Digital Divide Toward Smart and Healthy Cities: Protocol for an Integrative Review.

BACKGROUND: Digital equity denotes that all individuals and communities have equitable access to the information technology required to participate in digital life and can fully capitalize on this technology for their individual and community gain and benefits. Recent research highlighted that COVID-19 heightened the existing structural inequities and further exacerbated the technology-related social divide, especially for racialized communities, including new immigrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities. The intersection of challenges associated with racial identity (eg, racial discrimination and cultural differences), socioeconomic marginalization, and age- and gender-related barriers affects their access to health and social services, education, economic activity, and social life owing to digital inequity. OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to understand the current state of knowledge on digital equity and the digital divide (which is often considered a complex social-political challenge) among racialized communities in urban cities of high-income countries and how they impact the social interactions, economic activities, and mental well-being of racialized city dwellers. METHODS: We will conduct an integrative review adapting the Whittemore and Knafl methodology to summarize past empirical or theoretical literature describing digital equity issues pertaining to urban racialized communities. The context will be limited to studies on multicultural cities in high-income countries (eg, Calgary, Alberta) in the last 10 years. We will use a comprehensive search of 8 major databases across multiple disciplines and gray literature (eg, Google Scholar), using appropriate search terms related to digital "in/equity" and "divide." A 2-stage screening will be conducted, including single citation tracking and a hand search of reference lists. Results will be synthesized using thematic analysis guidelines. RESULTS: As of August 25, 2022, we have completed a systematic search of 8 major academic databases from multiple disciplines, gray literature, and citation or hand searching. After duplicate removal, we identified 8647 articles from all sources. Two independent reviewers are expected to complete the 2-step screening (title, abstract, and full-text screening) using Covidence followed by data extraction and analysis in 4 months (by December 2022). Data will be extracted regarding digital equity-related initiatives, programs, activities, research findings, issues, barriers, policies, recommendations, etc. Thematic analysis will reveal how barriers and facilitators of digital equity affect or benefit racialized population groups and what social, material, and systemic issues need to be addressed to establish digital equity for racialized communities in the context of a multicultural city. CONCLUSIONS: This project will inform public policy about digital inequity alongside conventional systemic inequities (eg, education and income levels); promote digital equity by exploring and examining the pattern, extent, and determinants and barriers of digital inequity across sociodemographic variables and groups; and analyze its interconnectedness with spatial dimensions and variations of the urban sphere (geographic differences). INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/40068.

K-12 school leadership perspectives from the COVID-19 pandemic

The 2020 global pandemic ushered in an unparalleled call to dramatically shift the focus of how school administrators responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition needed to ensure the continuity of instruction in a distance learning environment demanded a new level of urgency. The long-term impact of COVID-19 presents new leadership challenges and continues to amplify the need for change during the global health crisis. This study aimed to understand the preparedness of school administrators in the United States of America as they responded to the worldwide pandemic and their perceived opportunities and challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This case study collected data from a survey and interviews to investigate how school leaders rose to the occasion while working through unprecedented challenges. The findings revealed several new opportunities: visionary leadership, resources to address disparities, increased community partnerships, and innovative instructional models. The challenges faced by school leaders encompassed the digital divide, staffing shortages, online instructional practices, communication with families, and staff professional development. This study offers specific implications for school leaders and educational leadership preparation programs.

“What about special ed?“: Barriers and enablers for teaching with technology in special education

Technology integration in school is an increasingly important equity issue, but little is known about how technology is used for teaching the 7 million K-12 special education students in the US (NCES, 2019). Though special education is often overlooked in technology integration research, what does exist suggests that technology use in schools often exacerbates opportunity gaps for students with disabilities (Ciampa, 2017;Dolan, 2016;Shaheen & Watulak, 2019). The rapid shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to better explore enablers and barriers to technology-enabled learning for special education (SPED) because of the widespread reliance on technology for teaching and learning. Using in-depth interviews (N = 20) with special educators during remote learning, the present study seeks to (1) describe important enablers and barriers for SPED teacher use of technology in K-12 before and during remote learning, (2) understand how structural, teacher, and student-level factors influence SPED teachers’ opportunities for teaching with technology, and (3) highlight emerging problems for SPED populations in technology-enabled learning. Results suggest that the most prominent enablers and barriers for technology use in special education are structural (e.g., decision-making around teacher training and technology resources, structures for student digital literacy training), but manifest at the teacher and student levels. SPED teachers described significant barriers to providing accessible technology-enabled instruction, largely due to school-based structures for resource allocation, student digital literacy training, teacher training, decision-making for technology, SPED job roles, and home-school communication. Recommendations are made for providing high-quality digital learning for all students, especially students with diverse learning needs.

A Need for Digitally Inclusive Health Care Service in the United States: Recommendations for Clinicians and Health Care Systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to digital health service expansion that widened the existing digital divide. Residing in areas of limited broadband internet connectivity, lacking access to smart devices, and/or having low digital health literacy (ease, comfort, and skills to use technology) pose barriers to receiving health care remotely. This unequal access to health care is further exacerbated for older adults, those with lower income and less education, racial and ethnic minorities, and those who do not speak English. Because an individual's digital access (broadband internet connectivity and access to smart devices) and literacy can affect health care quality and outcomes, it is proposed that those 2 factors should be categorized as a key domain of social determinants of health. In this commentary, the authors highlight digital access and literacy barriers in the context of the United States health care service delivery. They underscore the importance of screening every patient during regular clinical visits for digital access and literacy as social determinants of health, using the electronic health record. The authors believe this will enhance digital health care by creating a more person-centered, inclusive method for clinicians and health care systems to digitally connect to patients of all backgrounds.

Challenges and opportunities of telehealth digital equity to manage HIV and comorbidities for older persons living with HIV in New York State.

BACKGROUND: Older persons living with HIV (PLWH) need routine healthcare to manage HIV and other comorbidities. This mixed methods study investigated digital equity, constituted as access, use and quality, of HIV and specialty telehealth services for PLWH > 50 years during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when services transitioned to remote care. METHODS: A survey of closed and open-ended questions was administered to 80 English (N = 63) and Spanish (N = 17) speaking PLWH receiving HIV care at an Academic Medical Center (N = 50) or a Federally Qualified Health Center (N = 30) in New York State. Quantitative analyses examined characteristics predicting telehealth use and visit quality. Qualitative analyses utilized thematic coding to reveal common experiences. Results were integrated to deepen the interpretation. RESULTS: Telehealth access and use were shaped by multiple related and unstable factors including devices and connectivity, technology literacy, and comfort including privacy concerns. Participants demonstrated their substantial effort to achieve the visit. The majority of patients with a telehealth visit perceived it as worse than an in-person visit by describing it as less interpersonal, and resulting in poorer outcomes, particularly participants with less formal education. Technology was not only a barrier to access, but also influenced perceptions of quality. CONCLUSIONS: In the COVID-19 pandemic initial wave, barriers to using telehealth were unequally distributed to those with more significant access and use challenges. Beyond these barriers, examining the components of equity indicate further challenges replicating in-person care using telehealth formats for older PLWH. Work remains to establish telehealth as both equitable and desirable for this population.

Let's Do It Online?! Challenges and Lessons for Inclusive Virtual Participation

Within the broader framework of the EU-H2020 EdiCitNet project-a large-scale collaborative project with a multi-stakeholder approach-there is the opportunity to observe participatory planning approaches to mainstream nature-based, edible solutions to solve specific social urban problems in an international group of six cities-Berlin (Germany), Carthage (Tunisia), Sant Feliu de Llobregat (Spain), Letchworth (United Kingdom), Sempeter pri Gorici (Slovenia), and Lome (Togo). One year after the project started, the COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to transfer most participatory planning processes to online platforms. This new format presented challenges to planning and voluntary stakeholder engagement due to different capacities regarding technical requirements as well as location-specific social circumstances. In this paper, we aim to shed light on the potentials and trade-offs in shifting to online participation and who gets to participate under digital Participatory Action Research (PAR) circumstances. We used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the planning progress and the transition to working online in the six cities during the first wave of the pandemic. The study identifies critical implications of COVID-19 on participatory planning processes, the challenges for online participation, and the effectiveness of measures applied to tackle those challenges. The transition to online participatory planning described in this paper emphasizes organizational rather than technical remedies. While the planning progress in all cities was delayed, some faced significant challenges in the transition to online due to the lack of technical or community capacities. This was fostered through the diverse and new realities of the stakeholders ranging from meeting existential needs to adapting to alternative forms of working and caring. The reflections in this paper offer learnings from the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to better understand how participatory planning processes can be managed online along the lines of equity, access, and participation. The findings demonstrate how participatory processes in the ongoing crisis can be maintained, with relevance to future waves of this and other pandemics.

A Pandemic Snapshot: Libraries’ Digital Shifts and Disparities to Overcome

In the fall and winter of 2020, New America embarked on a snapshot study to gather data on how – or if – people were discovering, accessing, and using their public libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on materials that libraries made available online. A full report on our findings, titled Public Libraries and the Pandemic: Digital Shifts and Disparities to Overcome, was published in March 2021. This article draws heavily from that report and also includes a policy update related to passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the Fall of 2021. Analyzing data from a national survey in Fall 2020 of 2,620 people, we found mixed awareness of the public library’s online resources, a shift toward online resources, mostly positive attitudes toward the public library and its online resources, and disparities in access to and use of the public library’s online resources. This article also describes one library’s creation of a digital navigator program to support digital literacy as an example of how to overcome some of these disparities. We conclude with specific recommendations for improving inclusivity, helping community members gain affordable internet access at home so they can use their library’s online materials, and building awareness of library offerings via local organizations and schools. The aim is to leverage the lessons of the pandemic to help libraries launch more equitable ecosystems of learning across communities, providing access to knowledge, resources, and training, online and off. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Public Library Quarterly is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Use and Perception of Digital Health Technologies by Surgical Patients in Germany in the Pre-COVID-19 Era: Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: This survey study investigates surgical patients' use and perception of digital health technologies in Germany in the pre-COVID-19 era. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to relate surgical patients' characteristics to the use and perception of several digital health technologies. METHODS: In this single-center, cross-sectional survey study in the outpatient department of a university hospital in Germany, 406 patients completed a questionnaire with the following three domains: general information and use of the internet, smartphones, and general digital health aspects. Analyses were stratified by age group and highest education level achieved. RESULTS: We found significant age-based differences in most of the evaluated aspects. Younger patients were more open to using new technologies in private and medical settings but had more security concerns. Although searching for information on illnesses on the web was common, the overall acceptance of and trust in web-based consultations were rather low, with <50% of patients in each age group reporting acceptance and trust. More people with academic qualifications than without academic qualifications searched for information on the web before visiting physicians (73/121, 60.3% and 100/240, 41.7%, respectively). Patients with academic degrees were also more engaged in health-related information and communication technology use. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the need for eHealth literacy, health literacy, and available digital devices and internet access to support the active, meaningful use of information and communication technologies in health care. Uncertainties and a lack of knowledge exist, especially regarding telemedicine and the use of medical and health apps. This is especially pronounced among older patients and patients with a low education status.

Investigating digital equity in distance education in saudi arabia during the covid-19 pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there was a sudden shift from face-to-face to distance education in all schools and universities in Saudi Arabia (SA) starting March 2020. Many instructors and students were not technically prepared for this abrupt transition as some did not have devices and Internet access. On the other hand, some households have high-speed Internet and even a device for each child. This study investigates the digital equity in accessing online courses by students in low-income families, orphanages, and remote areas. A sample of school and university teachers and students from different regions in SA was interviewed. The subjects reported that lack of devices/Internet access was overcome by: (i) Governorates donating thousands of tablets to disadvantaged students;(ii) charity organizations and affluent individuals donate tablets/laptops and financial aid;(iii) some school teachers collect money to buy tablets for needy students;(iv) students who do not have devices and/or Internet go to school few times a week and meet with teachers face-to-face to teach them and help them with homework;(v) needy college students are allowed to use devices and Internet at their college computer laps or library;(vi) some underprivileged students reported borrowing a smart phone/laptop from relatives or neighbours and/or use relatives and neighbours’ Internet;(vii) Saudi mobile companies offer special Internet packages for students and teachers. Sample regions, types of disadvantaged students and help provided to bridge the digital and distance education gap in SA during COVID-19 are given in detail. © 2021, National Defence University - Carol I Printing House. All rights reserved.

Collaborative Zoom Coding—A Novel Approach to Qualitative Analysis

During the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, web conferencing became a staple in professional communication, with new and evolving applications amidst unique social distancing measures mandated across the globe. In this article, we describe Collaborative Zoom Coding (CZC) as an adaptive approach to qualitative data analysis that our research team developed in light of social distancing measures imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CZC uses the web conferencing platform Zoom, to help analyze data. Our team used CZC to develop a code book for the community-based research (CBR) project, Sexual Health and Diasporic Experiences of Shadeism (SHADES). CZC enabled all team members to participate in data analysis by providing opportunities for group training and real-time collaborative data analysis, irrespective of team members’ location and level of experience with research. This article describes our specific processes for CZC and outlines its advantages as well as challenges. We conclude with a discussion of how researchers can conduct collaborative coding using Zoom and other conferencing technologies to further democratize the research process, particularly for community-based research endeavors. © The Author(s) 2022.

Micro classes as a primary school-level mathematics education response to COVID-19 pandemic in China: students' degree of approval and perception of digital equity.

The article introduces a mathematics education measure in response to the COVID-19 epidemic in China and explores students' degree of approval and perception of digital equity towards the response. After the outbreak of the COVID-19, the Chinese New Century Primary School Mathematics Textbook (NCPM) committee had developed a series of micro classes (abbreviated as NCPM micro classes), and more than 25 million teachers and students in China watched the NCPM micro classes during the 3 months social isolation. Then, students' degree of approval towards the NCPM micro classes and perception of digital equity were examined after social isolation. A total of 132,740 pieces of data were collected from Chinese primary school students. Quantitative analysis of student's degree of approval towards different parts of NCPM micro classes indicated that the introduction, interaction, summary and consolidation, curriculum characteristics, and goal achievement parts of the NCPM micro classes have received high approval from students, and students with higher former achievement perceived a higher degree of approval towards the NCPM micro classes. Furthermore, we found that gender, socioeconomic status, school location, and learning location had no significant impact on students' degree of approval, indicating a digital equity exists. This study helps researchers or educators understand the mathematics education response to the COVID-19 outbreak in China and extends our understanding of primary students' degree of approval and perception of digital equity with these online classes.

Looking for "us": power reimagined in mathematics learning for Black communities in the pandemic.

In this reflective essay, a BlackCrit lens is used to explore new and evolving possibilities for Black teachers, families, leaders, and students in ways that highlight and honor parents' agency, expand notions of digital equity in mathematics, and preview new and re-prioritized approaches which aid liberatory mathematics, teaching, and learning spaces that resurfaced in the pandemic. Several actions reimagine the work of mathematics as building blocks for engaging the flourishing for Black communities: (1) expanding and amplifying direct networks for Black parents to share, communicate, and advocate for their own needs and spaces around mathematics; (2) making visible and amplifying our advocacy for racial justice in the content creation and representation found in current digital platforms for meeting the needs of Black communities; and the need to (3) invest in, prioritize usage of, and illuminate mathematics commercial and academic entities focused solely on creating content and centering Black (and other people's) knowledge and experiences in mathematics for Black families.

Impact of Social Determinants and Digital Literacy on Telehealth Acceptance for Pediatric Cardiology Care Delivery during the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether telehealth acceptance by parents of children with heart disease is predicted by sociodemographic and/or by parental digital literacy, and to assess parental perceptions of telehealth usability and reliability. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a single center study comparing telehealth acceptance versus visit cancellation/rescheduling for pediatric cardiology visits during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. All parent/guardians who consented to survey completion received a validated survey assessing their digital literacy. Consenting parents who accepted telehealth received an additional validated survey assessing their perceptions of telehealth usability and reliability. RESULTS: A total of 849 patients originally were scheduled for in-person visits between March 30 and May 8, 2020. Telehealth acceptance was highest among younger, publicly insured, Hispanic patients with primary diagnoses of arrhythmia/palpitations, chest pain, dysautonomia, dyslipidemia and acquired heart disease. Among parents who completed surveys, a determinant of telehealth acceptance was digital literacy. Telehealth was determined to be a usable and reliable means for health care delivery. CONCLUSION: Although the potential for inequitable selection of telehealth due to sociodemographic factors exists, we found that such factors were not a major determinant for pediatric cardiology care within a large, diverse, free-standing pediatric hospital.

Digital Disenfranchisement and COVID-19: Broadband Internet Access as a Social Determinant of Health.

According to the Pew Research Center, approximately one quarter of American adults do not have access to broadband internet. This number does not account for the millions of people who are underconnected or lacking a stable internet connection. Although digital disparity in America is not new, the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has increased our societal dependence on the internet and widened the digital divide. Access to broadband internet has become a basic need in this connected society, linking people to vital resources, such as jobs, education, health care, food, and information. However, it is still an overlooked and understudied issue in public health. In this article, we highlight five key points for why advocating for the expansion of affordable and accessible internet for all should be a priority issue for public health and health promotion. Recent studies offer evidence that digital disenfranchisement contributes to negative health outcomes, economic oppression, and racial injustice. Now more than ever, health advocacy to promote digital equity and inclusion is critical to our meaningful progress toward health equity.