Latin American and Caribbean Teachers’ Transition to Online Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges, Changes and Lessons Learned

The forced transition to online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic has fast-tracked the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by teachers across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Given the slow adoption of ICT by LAC teachers before the pandemic, it is useful to inves...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hordatt Gentles, Carol, Haynes Brown, Tashane
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/145297
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/145297
https://doi.org/10.12795/pixelbit.88054
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:ICT integration
Teachers
Teaching in a pandemic
Levels of technology use
COVID-19
Integración de las TIC
Profesorado
Enseñanza en una pandemia
Niveles de uso de la tecnología
Descripción
Sumario:The forced transition to online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic has fast-tracked the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by teachers across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Given the slow adoption of ICT by LAC teachers before the pandemic, it is useful to investigate how, why and in what ways LAC teachers overcame their prior reluctance and resistance to learn and practice digital literacy. Using qualitative interview data from a global report on teachers’ experiences during Covid-19, this paper analyses how the pandemic changed the ways in which 53 teachers from 15 LAC countries think about and use ICT. It suggests their concern for students’ loss of learning due to school closures empowered them to overcome barriers that normally impede ICT use by teachers. At the same time, initial acceptance of ICT use has wavered due to ongoing widespread challenges with internet connectivity and access. This has implications for what we know about supporting professional development in the use of ICT after Covid-19 and beyond.