Following the ban on public gathering in March as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, various schools have been forced to migrate teaching and learning onto online platforms.

On the Kids Paradise show on Joy Prime Saturday, some kids shared their experiences with the various online platforms their schools were using and whether it has proven beneficial as they stay at home.

Talking about how their various platforms operate, these were their responses;

Juanita Boaitey

My school uses google platform. They give us work though. They give us notes, but for me I’m not a person who is into gadgets and devices and stuff, so sometimes, I don’t see the work. Then my friend will call me that ‘Juanita we’re actually having a zoom online class’ and when I pick my phone and decide to do the work, that’s when one particular friend of mine will text me and be like ‘Juanita what’s up? What’s happening?’ like seriously? The day I want to do my work you’re coming to distract me?

Daniel Mensah

We use whatsapp. They’ve been posting assignments for us to do and they give us a time to submit it. I found out that that won’t be enough for me so I decided to tell my parents to get me a teacher for me to be home schooled.

Gabriella Oppong

As for my school as I said earlier, the teachers do tutorials and we learn but like seriously. When I’m downloading it, data is too much.  And also there are many assignments that we do so I’m busy nowadays because of those assignments.

In assessing how these platforms have been accessible to them and their friends while at home, they all agreed that though personally they are fortunate to have smart phones to be able to access the online platforms, several of their friends are unable to.

And the high data consumption associated with downloading school documents and engaging in video chats have taken a strain on the pockets of their parents;

Juanita Boaitey

Not everybody can access the online platforms because not everybody has a phone, and even though they might say we should use our parents phones for these things, our parents go to work, so then do you think that they will leave their phone for you so that you can do the work? And even if they leave their phone for you, what would they use to conduct business? And what if a work is posted and it’s due at nine and your parents come at ten, what do you do?

Daniel Mensah

Not everyone in my school has access to phones because it is not every parent that has the money to afford those kinds of gadgets.

Gabriella Oppong

Well, I think it’s not beneficial for everyone because it is not everyone who has the gadget, and sometimes even though you have the gadget, you don’t know how to use it. I had a call from a friend and he was like so how do I access the Google classroom? You see some of them don’t know how to access it so it’s a problem for them.

Finally, when asked about how beneficial it has been to them, they were conflicted, opting to argue both sides.

According to them, despite the needed migration of studies online to keep their minds active while they wait out the pandemic at home, the mere fact that it also disadvantages most of their colleagues irks them;

Juanita Boaitey

I think it’s both beneficial and not beneficial because first and foremost if you stay at home and we decide that we won’t do anything, we won’t get anywhere. It will become someway, we’ll not learn anything, we’ll go crazy. We’ll just watch TV, stay at home and also when they decide to give us work and you don’t have credit, that feeling.  One friend called me yesterday to ask me to send her credit in order for her to submit her work I was like, I also don’t have some. And when I tell my dad I don’t have credit, he’s like ‘every week you’re asking for credit, why do you run a phone company?’

Daniel Mensah

I also think it’s both beneficial and not beneficial. With the e-learning, you can’t have a physical interaction with the teacher but when you’re in the classroom, you can have that opportunity to ask questions and interact with mates, but sitting at home is really boring.

Gabriella Oppong

I also think same, because even though it has kept us active at home, I miss interacting with friends at schools.

Meanwhile, government is yet to address the nation on the consensus arrived at from its meeting with education stakeholders and health experts on the most appropriate time to reopen schools.