Key stakeholders in the education sector, including policy makers, EdTech entrepreneurs, teachers and parents have harped on the use of technology to drive effective teaching and learning.
It was at a roundtable discussion during EdTech Monday platform, an initiative of Mastercard Foundation in partnership with ccHub that monitors digital learning for secondary school students, which has become more challenging to most parents.
No fewer than three panelists that took part in the EdTech Monday edition, ventilated their views on the subject of how receptive parents are to EdTech learning in the country.
Speaking on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on online learning, Bayo Oshinaga, EdTech Entrepreneur and Founder of Schools Compass, an online platform with over 4,000 schools, noted that the pandemic had brought about accelerated use of technology in the classroom.
According to him, parents have come to see the new value of homeschooling by being more involved in their children’s education. Meanwhile, on her part, Jadesola Adedeji, a social Entrepreneur and Founder of STEM METS, a programme targeted at bridging the skill-gap among Nigerian graduates, and the skills-set needed for the future workplace, who spoke on the product and packages in which parents have shown the most interest, also pointed out that parents were now more aware of alternative methods of education and are more curious in exploring international learning platforms.
“Parents are now savvier at assessing the quality of teachers and teaching delivery. Also, it is a process of relearning for parents where team building tools are being appreciated to enhance social skills,” she added.
But, to encourage more parents to embrace EduTech, Helen Oshikoya, an advanced autism specialist and special education needs consultant, who runs an online platform for the training of teachers on all-inclusive practices, further hinted that embracing EduTech would prove to be a challenge for special needs children.
According to her, special needs children, and children living with autism cannot engage with online learning because most parents are not professionally trained, and they seldom stay long enough with their children to help them in achieving meaningful learning.
She said: “While this is a herculean task for special needs children, it is not insurmountable but will require that parents painstakingly work with their children ahead of class.
Though the harsh economic realities may result in parents having reduced time to spend with kids, the more involved parents are; the more effective they will be in encouraging children with special needs to learn.