The Role of Internet use in Education During the COVID-19 Era
It is striking that in 2021, there are around 4.66 billion active internet users around the world (“Digital 2021: Global Overview Report — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights”, 2021). With a growth rate of 7.3%, active internet users are growing seven times faster than the global population. In other words, more than half of the population worldwide (59.5%) are active internet users. An important finding is that 92.6% of this population (4.32 billion people) accessed the Internet via their mobile devices. The figure below presents the global digital population at the beginning of 2021.
Figure 1.
Active Internet users as of January 2021
According to the latest findings, 65.6% of the entire world's population has internet access, with Asia keeping the reins of internet users (see Table 1). On the other hand, Africa has the fastest growing online population (“World Internet Users Statistics and 2021 World Population Stats”, 2021).
Table 1. World internet usage and population statistics (2021 year-q1 estimates)
| World Regions | Population
% of world | Internet Users
Penetration
Rate
(% of the population) | Growth
2000-2021 | Internet
World
% |
| Asia | 54.9% | 63.8% | 2,316.5% | 53.4% |
| Europe | 10.6% | 88.2% | 601,3% | 14.3% |
| Africa | 17.4% | 43.2% | 13,058% | 11.5% |
| Latin America / Carib. | 8.4% | 75.6% | 2,658.5% | 9.6% |
| North America | 4.7% | 93.9% | 221.9% | 6.7% |
| Middle East | 3.4% | 74.9% | 5,953.6% | 3.9% |
| Oceania / Australia | 0.6% | 69.9% | 298.7% | 0.6% |
| World Total | 100.0% | 65.6% | 1,331.9% | 100.0% |
Nowadays, users are using their mobile phones to access the Internet. That is translated to 50.2% of overall web traffic coming from mobile phones. This number is higher even from the traffic coming from laptops/computers (47.1%) and tablets (2.6%). The Internet is a wealth of prospects, with so many internet users being distributed over the globe. Education is one of the most critical domains affected by the spread of the Internet.
The coronavirus pandemic changed Internet statistics a lot. The virus pushed people to their devices for work, connect, play and learn. On the other hand, students were disproportionately affected by covid-related school closures, as not all children had the opportunities, equipment, or access to continue learning during the pandemic. According to Human Rights Watch (“Years Don't Wait for Them”, 2021), the significant dependence on online learning exacerbated the existing unequal distribution of educational support. Many governments lacked the regulations, funding, and infrastructure needed to implement online learning in a way that assured that all children had an equitable opportunity to participate. Following the pandemic, most experts now think that the education sector will adopt some blended learning in the following years. Teachers will be able to use the digital insights provided by virtual learning while still providing the formative learning that is best transmitted through in-person instruction. The “new normal” has brought Internet infrastructure under enormous pressure, increasing global peak traffic by 47%. Internet capacity and reliability were highly tested. Governments and service providers undertook a slew of emergency steps to keep the Internet running smoothly. Flexible spectrum use, additional spectrum release, enhanced international and domestic capacity, subsidized broadband services, and free access to online resources were some of the measures taken by the key players. People suddenly became reliant on services that allow them to work and learning from home. The Internet, in general, proved to be durable enough to handle the traffic surges. However, because countries have various levels of digital readiness, it is evident that this resilience has not been consistent over the world.
Due to the pandemic, several technologies that had been on the verge of becoming popular have been catapulted into the spotlight. 5G connection, the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain are all beginning to play significant roles in education. Unified Communication (UC) software, like Zoom, MS Teams, and others, will play an ever-increasing role in delivering educational materials and assessments. Fast upload and download speeds are necessary to introduce new learning mediums such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Thus, 5G technologies are becoming a must to overcome the limits placed on devices. In conclusion, in 2021, technological advancements are expected to transform educational environments.
According to a recent study (“Student Experiences with Connectivity and Technology in the Pandemic”, 2021), undergraduate students were highly affected by the available technology and connectivity during the pandemic. Some general vital findings are presented below:
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Students with precarious housing arrangements struggle the most with reliable internet access.
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Students have few options for internet access when they are not at home, and even then, they may have to be resourceful.
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Although most students have a laptop, not all devices can handle the rigors of remote learning.
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Most students opt to troubleshoot device issues on their own.