Post-COVID effect: Majority of respondents admit that they are comfortable with online learning

A recent Kaspersky survey represented the attitude of adults, including teachers, to digital education during the pandemic.

According to the data, only 28% of those surveyed from South Africa don’t want the format of online learning to continue in post-pandemic times. 44% would prefer a hybrid format of learning (some days at school and some days online), while 28% would rather stick to entirely online learning. As for the teachers, 36% from South Africa admitted that they became more comfortable when teaching online rather than offline.

However, not all the respondents treat distance education as a more viable format of learning. The results of the survey showed: only 12% of adults surveyed in South Africa are sure that educational materials are processed the same way no matter if it’s online learning or the traditional offline educational process. The rest still think that the online learning process is less effective in general, or at least worse for some of the subjects.

The majority of schools in South Africa coped with the adoption of online learning. Just under half of the respondents (48%) noted that the program was adapted completely, 36% agreed with the option “partly”. Among the new elements that were introduced in the educational process the most popular were video presentations (86%), chats (67%) and digital tests (62%). Interactive games were used less frequently than other tools – 19%.

“Remote learning during the pandemic has turned out to be stressful for everyone involved: children, parents and teachers. However, adults didn’t always make the right decisions to help simplify their children’s lives because they too were adapting to the new format. So, the role of teachers became even more important during those challenging times as they had to master new teaching skills for remote learning using various digital tools in combination with offline learning,” comments Andrey Sidenko, Head of Kaspersky's Online Child Safety Department.

While there remain many benefits for children to learn online, there are also risks. For this reason, Kaspersky offers the Kaspersky Safe Kids solution. It lets parents know exactly how long their child spends online and also protects them from inappropriate content.