Saskatoon schools grappling with online learning barriers

A surge in online learning popularity ahead of fall classes is uncovering a little known barrier for students and families looking to stay away from school — access to devices and the internet.

School divisions across the province are attempting to meet the need of students and parents looking to relocate learning from the school setting to the home setting.

John McGettigan, the President of the Saskatoon Teachers’ Association, said access to devices and reliable internet are some of the biggest concerns from staff and parents.

“The pandemic has exposed some of the existing inequities in our system for our kids,” he said. “We now know there’s a lot of kids that don’t have stable internet in their houses and that devices can be an issue.”

“It’s a burgeoning issue, there’s no question about it.”

Parents with multiple school-aged children could have issues when classes begin on Sept. 8 depending on internet service and how many devices are available at any given time.

McGettigan first tackled the issue last spring when COVID-19 first arrived in the province and closed schools. The Saskatoon Teachers’ Association partnered with SaskTel to distribute roughly 500 smartphones to homes to be used as mobile hotspots in homes without internet.

SaskTel did not respond to a request for comment if the program will be extended or repeated for this school year.

Education Minister Gordon Wyant recognizes that online and distant learning will be a challenge in various parts of the province.

“After we suspended in-class learning back in March, a number of school divisions started paying more attention to ensuring that they have the resources available,” Wyant said on Wednesday after announcing an additional $75 million for the province’s education contingency fund.

The availability of devices is another concern. With more money being made available to the 27 school divisions in Saskatchewan, Wyant is expecting the purchase of laptops, tablets and other electronics to be part of funding applications.

“Almost every school division in the province provides some form of distance learning. Part of the application process will be to ensure that we’re supporting those school divisions in being able to provide the resources they need for their students,” Wyant said.

Daryll Bazylak, the superintendent of education with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS), understands no two situations are alike — that’s why all plans are negotiable.

“There are options that parents do have that are more than just distance learning using technology at home that was used from March to June,” he said, pointing to asynchronous learning — accessing homework or assignments at the student’s own time without having a live teacher on the screen in front of the student.

“We do deal with them one-by-one — as one-offs — because every situation is very unique.”

Online learning has no costs at both GSCS and Saskatoon Public Schools.

Veronica Baker, the communications manager for Saskatoon Public Schools said more than 1000 laptops were distributed in the spring. A timely update to supply new computers at every school across the division will also go a long way to ensure there are no learning gaps for online students.

Being one of many jurisdictions across the planet trying to secure reliable devices for online learning, the arrival of any devices remains unknown.

“Part of the issue is actually receiving the technology in a timely fashion,” Bazylak said, noting there are plenty of hurdles to clear in the next two weeks.

“The word confidence in today’s day and age with what we’re dealing with is a tricky word,” he said. “I’m confident that in our planning and working with parents that we’ll be able to find an in-between — something to assist their educational programming. Will it take a little time? Perhaps.”

McGettigan is far more optimistic than Bazylak about finding all of the necessary devices in time, given his previous work with both major school divisions in Saskatoon.

“I’m confident that once we get rolling, what kids need, they’ll get,” he said.