The health emergency derived from the spread of COVID-19 led to the declaration of confinement for the protection of the population. During this temporary period, the educational centers of the Spanish state were forced to suspend face-to-face classes at all educational levels. To safeguard the teaching processes, educational centers and teachers relied on social media to continue their work. The objective of this study is to understand the possibilities and limitations of social media as the only means of communication in the educational and socialization processes of students from the perspective of teachers. The methodology used is based on the collection of data through a questionnaire distributed in the secondary education centers of the autonomous regions of the Basque Country and Navarra. The questionnaire was distributed electronically, respecting the anonymity of the teaching staf and the center in which they practice. The results reveal that the digital media the possibilities and limitations of these media in the teaching processes, showing that some of these are surmountable and others are not.
The 2019-2020 academic year was disrupted due to the arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that
afected global health. Consequently, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the
COVID-19 disease a pandemic [
Teachers and students were afected by the closure of educational centers and the interruption of face-to-face training. In such a situation, to safeguard the training and socialization processes of the students, the use of digital media and other channels that belong to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) was chosen [11, 12]. The current customs of the population and the constant use of social media in the lives of citizens of all ages facilitated making this decision [13]. Teachers and students used these tools to be able to maintain a link of interaction and continue with the training and socialization processes [6, 10, 14]. In this line, the students connected to virtual classes on the center’s own platform, mail or another channel.
Experts from diferent disciplines recognize in various studies the benefits and advantages
of a virtual education even before the pandemic [15]. However, the sudden transformation of
educational processes from face-to-face to virtual altered group and learning dynamics. The
main problems that teachers faced were the digital divide between students, establishing an
approach focused on experiences and not on theoretical content, and stimulating a relationship
of trust and sincerity between students and teachers [
Despite the presence of social media in the daily life of the population, these tools are still
not adjusted to the needs of a fully distance secondary education [
During the confinement, not all those involved in the education processes had the same
practical possibilities. Most of the practical limitations of those involved were related to the lack
of technological devices, high-speed Internet access, suitable sites for teleworking and material
adapted to new needs [
Added to these limitations is the dificulty for teachers to quickly adapt to new technological
demands and the lack of prior training in teaching distance learning [
Along the same lines, part of the students and teachers do not have adequate devices and
neither do they have high-speed Internet. These limitations made the transfer process from
faceto-face to virtual education dificult and showed the situation of educational centers, teachers,
students and the same social media. In addition, these limitations increased the working hours
of the teaching staf [
To cover the urgent need for technological devices during confinement, educational centers, local and state authorities and private companies made free devices and Internet access available to those who needed it to enable everyone involved to access classes. However, time was a key element in this situation. The devices did not always arrive on time and in many cases did not arrive; while the collapse of the lines made connections dificult.
Apart from practical limitations and possibilities, social media presented limitations and
possibilities for socialization. Such limitations made educational processes dificult [
This limitation of social media hinders the socialization processes of students [
That said, this article attempts to understand the possibilities and limitations of using social media as the only contact channels for compulsory secondary education in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country and the Foral Community of Navarra during confinement from the perspective of the teaching staf Considering as social media all online communication platforms where the content is created by users, in this case by teachers, and facilitate the exchange of information.
The objective of this study is to understand the possibilities and limitations of social media in teaching processes as the only communication channels in compulsory secondary education. During the months of confinement, compulsory secondary education was fully based on the possibilities of digital social media in order to continue with the teaching and socialization processes of the students. Therefore, this time period is significant to understand the current situation and the possibilities and limitations of these tools. For this, in the present work, the experience during the closure of educational centers is studied from the educational and social perspective, carrying out a bibliographic review that will be accompanied by the support of a questionnaire carried out in the teaching staf.
The last three months of the 2020-2021 academic year, a questionnaire was carried out to the teachers of compulsory secondary education, without specifying the courses. The author sent the survey to the educational centers by email and the reception department sent the survey to the participants. The survey was sent to all the educational centers of compulsory secondary education without making a distinction between public, private or subsidized. Specifically, contact was made with 332 centers of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country present at ikasgunea.euskadi.eus and the 105 centers of the Foral Community of Navarra present at educacion.navarra.eses. Acceptance responses were received from these centers from 150 centers in the Basque Country and 63 centers in Navarra, which in turn facilitated the survey for teachers. The initial purpose of the study was to make a distinction between public, private and subsidized centers. However, the results of the surveys showed that there is no interesting distinction in the possibilities and limitations of the social media used. The problems and advantages mentioned by the teaching staf of the centers were similar.
The questionnaire provided to the centers consists of 30 questions, all of which require a mandatory response, which are divided into two blocks. The first block contains questions related to the practicality of social media and the availability of resources (quality Internet, devices and adequate teaching material). The second block is made up of questions about the impact of the lack of face-to-face classes, the exclusive use of these media and the confinement in social and emotional aspects of the students. All questions are closed in order to obtain accurate data and make it easier for participants to complete the survey, since open questions require more time to answer. However, to safeguard the quality of the study and give the faculty the opportunity to specify an answer or add something relevant, the battery of questions is accompanied by a section for observations. The analysis of the responses to the questionnaire is carried out in table format. Two tables are presented and each table corresponds to a block of questions.
The survey was completed by 186 participants, all of whom were teachers in educational centers in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country and the Foral Community of Navarra who exercised during the months of confinement. The selection of the teaching staf was carried out by non-probabilistic sampling for the convenience of the centers that were willing to participate. The teachers contributed by contributing their experience and reflecting the reality of the months of confinement. The participants had a time period of 45 days to answer the questions. In order to safeguard the anonymity of educational centers, students and teachers, the questionnaire was based on the guidelines of Organic Law 3/2018. Following this line, the questionnaire was built with the help of the Google Forms application that does not reveal the information of the participants. The implementation of a self-administrative methodology, such as the present one, has several disadvantages. However, we opted for this format that maintains anonymity.
The sudden transformation of the educational system from face-to-face to virtual created numerous challenges for schools, students and teachers. Without prior notice and without a specific date for the end of the confinement, the face-to-face classes were interrupted, initially for a period of 15 days, although it ended up lasting until the end of the quarter. This event caused the acceleration of the digital transformation in which until then the educational centers were adapting at diferent speeds.
In order to better understand the results of the survey, the data is presented in two tables. The table 1 deals with the possibilities and limitations of the practical aspects.
The suspension of face-to-face classes forced the search for other forms of training. In this regard, the majority of teachers, when answering the question “Sociodigital media were your main tool to communicate with the center, the teachers, the students, the students’ legal guardians, etc. and carry out your duties as a teacher during the pandemic” confirms that he used social media to continue teaching and communicating with the students, the educational center and the rest of the teaching staf. The tools used were social media from the center itself, public or in common use. The selection of the medium used does not show any connection with whether the educational center is private, public or concerted. In this sense, it is understood that the centers had the same possibilities.
The educational processes of the autonomies studied are located in face-to-face environments with certain notions, in some centers, digital. In this aspect, a distinction between private, public and concentrated centers is not perceived either. Each center presents its own speed in the digitization processes, prior to the pandemic. Therefore, the material used in the centers may have certain digital parts, but it is mostly suitable for face-to-face classes. Specifically, 52.9% of teachers afirm that the material used regularly in their classes is not suitable for virtual classes. In this regard, with the sudden interruption of educational processes and the full introduction into the digital environment, teachers faced the shortage of adequate teaching material, creating the need to quickly adapt the material used to the new demands. Despite the eforts of teachers, educational centers and public administrations, in many cases it was not possible to adapt the available material in the required time. To the question about whether the material provided was adequate for online teaching, 53.2% of the teachers were satisfied with the material provided to carry out their teaching work, while almost the other half (46.8%) were not. The times and limitations of many centers and social media made it dificult to share the material. In these cases, teachers had to adapt the material on their own and create material from scratch, excluding content and increasing working hours.
Likewise, the technological devices to continue with the training processes were not adequate in all cases. The sudden suspension of face-to-face education did not make it possible for educational centers and students to have the appropriate devices. In addition, the confinement situation afected sectors other than education, as a consequence many mothers and fathers were teleworking at home. Therefore, the devices were not always enough for all family members trying to best manage their resources. Answering the question “Did all your students have the appropriate devices to attend classes and tutorials during confinement and distance learning?” only 76.4% of the students had these. This means that 23.6% of the students did not have devices to access the material and join the virtual classes. Along the same lines, mass teleworking on an unprepared system caused more problems than organizing devices. Teleworking from diferent sectors loaded Internet lines, complicating the continuation of work with an adequate connection. In this regard, 87.4% of the students did not have high-speed Internet at home, making it dificult for them to connect in virtual classes and to hand in their homework. In addition, due to the sudden teleworking of various family members, not all students had an adequate study environment. 53.8% say they did, but the rest either did not have a friendly environment or the teachers were unaware of it.
However, despite the practical limitations, most of the students made an efort to attend class and hand in their homework, although in many cases with setbacks. Specifically, 76.4% of teachers say they are satisfied with the attendance of students in virtual classrooms and the delivery of homework.
Next, the table 2 is presented, which includes the possibilities and social and emotional limitations of students and teachers due to the exclusive use of digital social media for communication. These aspects afect the emotional and social development of students. Tutor activities and tasks Increased stress Coordination between teachers Fluid communication between teachers Dificulty perceiving problems and emotions Decreased socialization Increase in working hours Decreased performance Commitment
Percentage
The period of confinement afected the social life and emotional state of students and teachers. Without prior notice, both had to isolate themselves in their homes and limit human contact, while they continued with the training processes in a new and unknown system. The lack of face-to-face contact and the constant stay at home increased isolation, making it dificult for the school to contribute to the emotional and social development of the students. During this temporary period, digital social media were the only means of contact and socialization, clearly showing the possibilities and social limitations of these tools as the only means of education.
In this aspect, the teachers were present and accompanied the students in the transition. During this process, the teachers assure that social media made it possible to maintain contact, reducing isolation, but the lack of attendance had negative efects on emotional and social development. The new demands and the need to help students to adapt to this new system increased the working hours of the teaching staf. In this line, in order to minimize social damage and events of social exclusion during virtual classes, teachers continued and, in many cases increased, group and individual tutorials. 58.1% of the teaching staf indicated that it was possible to continue with their tutoring tasks without much dificulty, but that they required more hours of attention. In order to compensate for the lack of attendance, 39.5% of teachers confess that they interacted more than five times, 15.3% five times, 10.2% four times, while 21.7% three times a week. In this aspect, social media made it possible to maintain contact with students, but its limitations increased the working hours of teachers without being able to match the results of social development with face-to-face classes. Specifically, 98.1% of teachers say they had to work more hours than before and increase contact with students.
In order to achieve good coordination, maintain a common line of teaching and deal with emotional and social aspects of students, teachers, and especially tutors, need suitable communication. In order to coordinate, the teachers used social media, since, like the students, they were teleworking. Specifically, 67.3% of the teachers were satisfied with the communication devices and ensure that they had fluid communication with the rest of the teachers. To respond to practical demands and social and emotional needs, teachers had to achieve greater coordination with their peers. Specifically, 84.1% of teachers confirm that it was possible to coordinate with their peers through social media, although this increased working hours even more.
Despite the communication and coordination of the teaching staf and the possibilities ofered by social media, virtual classes could not provide the social and emotional contributions that faceto-face classes ofer. The students showed a certain commitment by attending class and handing in their homework. Specifically, 56.4% of the teaching staf are satisfied with the commitment shown by the students, especially taking into account that academic performance during confinement would not be taken into account to pass the course. However, the commitment shown by the students was not enough to maintain the desired academic level. 80.3% of the teaching staf observe a decrease in the academic performance of the students that can be perceived even at the beginning of the following academic year. In addition, 93.7% of the teachers afirm that they saw the participation of the students decrease and perceived greater dificulty in ensuring the social inclusion of all the students.
The lack of participation on the part of the students and the physical distance made it dificult for the teachers to prevent emotional discomfort and socialization problems. Specifically, 68.6% of teachers say they had dificulties perceiving tense situations and emotional problems in class.
These dificulties and limitations presented by the exclusive use of social media increased stress in both students and teachers. The hours of dedication to classes and the study of students and teachers increased. The adaptation and work with a new material, the communication dificulties due to the collapse of the lines and the lack of devices, the need for coordination, etc., were just a few of the aspects that increased the stress experienced. In addition, the confinement situation made it dificult for the students to relieve themselves, generating problems with sleep, concentration, eating, etc. Specifically, 80.3% of teachers claim to feel more stress than usual.
The educational centers provide students with practical knowledge and social and emotional skills that help them function in society. Based on this premise, the health emergency afected the teaching and socialization processes of students at all educational levels. Specifically, an educational crisis was generated that afected the academic and social development of the students. However, social media helped mitigate the impact by ofering opportunities to maintain contact, albeit limited, between students and teachers.
In this sense, despite the dificulties, the situation generated by the confinement was an opportunity to identify the possibilities and limitations of social media in the teaching and socialization processes of compulsory secondary education students. Starting with the possibilities, these means present practical, emotional and social facilities. The main contribution was the possibility of establishing contact at a distance, which, although limited, was able to reduce the feeling of isolation and made it possible to continue the training of the students.
The students were able to maintain contact with their classmates and teachers by participating in video calls. In this way, the emotional impact could be reduced. In addition, the continuation of the classes made possible the minimum continuation of the teaching processes, which, although the students could not participate and acquire knowledge as in the face-to-face classes, did maintain a certain contact. Similarly, the ability of students with technology increased.
Regarding the limitations of social media as unique tools for student socialization and education, many of these come from the tools themselves and others from preparing the environment for this change. In order to continue with the teaching processes, it is necessary to have a quality Internet connection, suitable devices and adequate material for distance learning. On many occasions it was not possible to provide adequate resources to continue with the teaching processes in this format, increasing inequalities between diferent centers, students and teachers.
The lack of a fast and quality Internet connection, of suficient devices and of material adapted to the needs of a fully distance education are limitations presented by the selection of social media as the main educational tool. As a result, part of the students attended class with inadequate devices, a poor quality connection and inadequate material. This had a negative impact on the education and socialization processes, since practical dificulties limited access to video calls. In addition, these digital barriers increased inequality among students.
Added to the practical limitations are the emotional and social problems derived from distance education. The impact and reduction of the socialization of the students during the months of confinement was perceived by the teachers. On the one hand, most of the students decreased their intervention in the classroom. On the other hand, it was a challenge for the teachers to detect the dificulties and emotions of the students during this time, a fact that if it lasts for a long period of time, it can have negative consequences on the development of the students. In addition, the teachers perceived an increase in stress in both students and teachers. The demands of a fully virtual system without prior preparation, apart from increasing working hours, had important consequences on stress levels and the emotional state of students and teachers.
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