Schools Are More Present on Social Media, but Distance Learning Platforms Are Little Adopted

TIC Education 2019 Survey reveals that social media are one of the main communication channels between school and family

In Brazil, only 28% of schools located in urban areas had an environment or platform for distance learning, according to the TIC Education 2019 Survey, released this Tuesday (June 9) by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br), through the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br). The data show that this type of platform aimed at distance education was present in only 14% of urban public schools and 64% of urban private schools. In 2018, this figure was 17% and 47%, respectively.

The survey also reveals that in 2019 the presence of schools located in urban areas on social media increased: 79% have a profile or page on social networks, with 73% among public and 94% among private schools – numbers that were 67% and 76% in 2018, respectively. According to TIC Education 2019, social media are one of the main interaction channels between school and family: in public networks, 54% of these institutions claim to use them as a means of communication with parents or guardians, while in private networks, this percentage was 79%. On the other hand, institutional e-mail is used by only 16% of public schools and 63% of private schools.

“The presence of elementary and high schools in the virtual environment is extremely important, especially given the distancing measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. With young people away from schools, technologies have become one of the main strategies to maintain the educational connection. These technologies have also been important in providing remote support to families, serving as a means of dialogue between educators, parents or guardians, and students,” points out Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br.

Regarding the use of the Internet for performing educational activities in 2019, 77% of all students in urban schools who are Internet users used the network for group work, and 65% for remote schoolwork. A smaller percentage of students (28%) also stated that they use the network to communicate with teachers. Teachers, in turn, use the Internet to answer students' questions (48%), make content available to students online (51%), and receive work sent via the Internet (35%).

The survey also indicates that a significant percentage of students in urban schools use social media for schoolwork: in 2019, 81% used this resource, with 61% stating they use the instant messaging app (WhatsApp) for this task, a percentage that remained stable since 2018.

Connectivity Challenges
According to TIC Education 2019, a large part of students in urban schools are Internet users (83%), with 88% in the Southeast region, 87% in the South, and 86% in the Midwest. In the North (73%) and Northeast (78%) regions, however, the percentage of students with Internet access is lower.

The mobile phone is used to access the network by 98% of students, being the only access device for 18% of respondents. Exclusive access via mobile phone was higher among students residing in the North (25%) and Northeast (26%) regions and among students of urban public schools (21%), data that highlight inequalities in the conditions and opportunities of technology use among students.

Concerning the presence of other network access devices in households, 29% of students in urban schools have a tablet at home, 35% have a desktop computer, and 41% have a laptop. Additionally, 39% of students in public schools do not have any of these devices at home, which can hinder the ability to carry out educational activities remotely.

“A large part of public policies in the education area focuses on connectivity at school, now the big challenge is to provide young people connectivity at home, to ensure they have access to education. The type of device, for example, becomes a problem, as many children in low-income households only access the Internet via mobile phones. Besides the lack of resources for Internet access at home, the closure of schools generates various other impacts. In the case of rural areas, for example, one quarter of school managers who have computers and Internet state that the institution's technology resources were also available for use by the surrounding community. With schools closed, not only students and teachers but also the community loses access,” explains Barbosa.

Online Classroom
The survey also shows that age group is a determining factor in carrying out some online activities and developing digital skills. The survey shows that 48% of connected students in the 5th grade of Elementary School read a book, summary, or e-book on the Internet, 40% used maps on the Internet, and 63% shared a text, image, or video on the Internet, percentages that are higher among students in the 2nd grade of High School: 65%, 74%, and 82%, respectively.

Among school activities, 93% of all students in urban schools who are Internet users state they access the net for school research. When verifying the more diversified uses of technology in learning activities, the survey records lower percentages: only 24% of students studying in urban schools stated having used the net for tests and simulations and 16% for participating in distance learning courses.

The survey also presents that 76% of 5th-grade students claim to use the Internet for school research, while 55% use the network to study for tests. The most significant growth in network use was for completing tasks and exercises assigned by teachers – from 47% in 2018 to 56% in the latest survey. Among teachers in urban public schools, only 48% said they developed online activities related to music, videos, and photography with the students; 31% conducted research in books and magazines with the students, and 15% created spreadsheets and graphs.

“The data shows that technology-mediated classroom activities were more concentrated on content transmission rather than on students' participation in activities, mainly due to the conditions of access to technology by students and the lack of training opportunities for educators. With a larger number of young people studying at home, measures to provide connectivity and develop capacities for online learning have never been more urgent and necessary,” concludes the manager of Cetic.br.

About the Survey
Conducted between August and December 2019, the TIC Education Survey investigates access, use, and appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Brazilian public and private schools of Elementary and High School, focusing on personal use of these resources by the school community and in management and teaching and learning activities. In urban schools, 11,361 students from the 5th and 9th grades of Elementary School and 2nd grade of High School were interviewed in person; 1,868 teachers of Portuguese Language, Mathematics, and those teaching multiple subjects (initial years of Elementary School); 954 pedagogical coordinators and 1,012 directors. In schools located in rural areas, 1,403 directors or school officials were interviewed.

To access TIC Education 2019 in full, as well as to review the historical series, visit https://cetic.br/.

About Cetic.br
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society, from NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on the development of the network in the country. Cetic.br is a Regional Study Center under the auspices of UNESCO. More information at https://www.cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br
The Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br (https://www.nic.br/) is a civil entity, of private right and non-profit, which in addition to implementing decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, has among its attributions: coordinating the domain name registration – Registro.br (https://www.registro.br/), studying, responding, and dealing with security incidents in Brazil – CERT.br (https://www.cert.br/), studying and researching network technologies and operations – Ceptro.br (https://www.ceptro.br/), producing indicators on information and communication technologies – Cetic.br (https://www.cetic.br/), implementing and operating Traffic Exchange Points – IX.br (https://ix.br/), enabling the Brazilian community to participate in the global Web development and subsidizing the formulation of public policies – Ceweb.br (https://www.ceweb.br), and hosting the W3C office in Brazil (https://www.w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting the technical quality, innovation, and dissemination of the services offered. Based on the principles of multistakeholderism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, internationally praised, in which all sectors of society participate equitably in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://www.cgi.br/principles). More information at https://www.cgi.br/.

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*Text updated on December 9, 2020

This content was automatically translated with the support of artificial intelligence.