The Effectiveness of Implementing “Digital Tool” for the Reading and Writing Skills during Endemicity: Students’ Perceptions
Thinusha Selvaraj1*
1 Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Sg. Long Campus, Selangor, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author: [email protected] Accepted: 15 February 2023 | Published: 1 March 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.55057/ajress.2023.5.1.10
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Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic which began in early 2020 has brought a big change in the Malaysian education system and around the globe. In Malaysia, all the students from pre- school until the postgraduate level had to learn to manage with the Emergency Remote Lessons (ERL). Also, many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) around the world had to survive with the rapid shift to ERL with lesser time for preparation. In Malaysia, it was a requirement for students to equip themselves with digital technological devices such as tablets, lap tops, I-pads, mobile phones, computers and other suitable gadgets with appropriate internet to continue their studies. Nevertheless, as Malaysia moved to the endemic phase from the beginning of April 2022, online learning is still something that can be considered relevant in higher education institutions (HEIs). As technology has become ubiquitous, the teaching methodology has also undergone a radical change. The use of digital tools has enhanced learners’
engagement and true interactivity within the classrooms. Hence, the aim of this research is to find out students’ perceptions on the effectiveness of implementing “digital tool” for the reading and writing skills during the endemic phase in a private university using the convenience sampling, quantitative research method. This study demonstrates that students highlighted positive consequences when digital tool and digital learning devices with sufficient internet connection are implemented for the reading and writing skills in the classroom. The benefits of using digital tool in the reading and writing skills are discussed in the study. It can be suggested that in the near future, activities using technological devices such as mobile phones and digital learning tools could be used to boost and motivate students’ capability to incorporate technology in their learning.
Keywords: endemic phase, online learning, digital devices, digital tool, reading and writing skills
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1. Introduction
Online learning and the emergency remote learning which took place during the Covid-19 period brought a significant change in the education system in Malaysia. As Malaysia entered the endemic phase in April 2022, online learning, blended learning and the implementation of digital tools in the education field are somethings that can be considered to enhance digital literacy in the education field. According to Chhabra (2012), we are currently living in a world where technology is universal. Hence, the emergence of new technologies like “Internet, YouTube, Skype, tweeter, blogs, mobile phones, interactive boards and many more have added not only stimulus but also learners’ engagement and true interactivity within the classroom”.
Digital tools can be defined as sites, software or learning platforms that connect the educators
and learners have proven to be a good way to monitor and evaluate students in online teaching during the pandemic in HEi (Pavic et al., 2022). The use of mobile devices such as mobile phones, tablets and laptop computers with sufficient internet connection had provided access to information effortlessly to users who possess such devices. In addition to that, the changes in technology in terms of the approach used for the information flow have caused to what is currently known as the digital environment - an atmosphere in where most learners face great challenges to easily operate at their convenience (Ojobor et al., 2021). Incorporating digital tools to support and improve writing skills is a growing area of research as teachers search for new and better ways to increase student engagement and improve student learning (Lint, 2017).
Statement of Problem
Different learners possess different learning abilities. Hence, according to (Pek et al., 2019), the writing skills has always been a challenging task for most of the students in the higher learning institutions. One of the reasons is that the inability to generate and organise their ideas for writing. In addition, researches have also mentioned that a good piece of writing is a valuable tool in collaborating one’s views or opinions to another. On the other hand, Romly et al., (2018) further added that reading skills has been quite tough because students may face issues in attaining the general gist of the text and recognising the words from the text.
Based on an individual action research conducted prior to this research, most of the students own at least a gadget and become quite attached to gadgets during physical classes. Thus, to overcome this, the implementation of digital tool, Microsoft Teams was selected as a classroom tool in teaching the reading and writing skills in the action research because digital technologies have an important influence on pedagogical practices. It can also be noted that many higher education institutions are starting to increase the usage of tools in their classroom instructions.
As Microsoft Teams was implemented in the individual action research, the perceptions on the effectiveness of this tool (Microsoft Teams) used for the reading and writing skills were collected from half of the participants who were involved in the individual action research who is also the author of this paper.
1.1 Research Objectives
Hence, this study examines students’ perceptions on the implementation of the digital tool, Microsoft Teams, for the English reading and writing skills in the Malaysian non-profit higher education institution, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, UTAR, during the endemic phase.
Besides that, this study aims to survey the benefits of implementing digital tool for the reading and writing skills for ESP students.
Microsoft Teams has been chosen as the digital tool in this study due to its free access and availability to all the students. As all UTAR students were provided with a Microsoft Teams account since the beginning of Covid-19 period, as a researcher, this tool was found suitable for this research as both the researcher and students had access to the tool. Hence, this paper aims to study students’ perceptions and the benefits of digital tool when it is implemented in the reading and writing skills mainly during physical classes.
2. Literature Review
The “internet” is not only a basis of reliable materials in English; but it is also a source of information in different forms such as symposiums, courses, articles, conferences and many more. The advancements of technology are defining a new approach to human lifestyles in the education field.
2.1 Covid-19 and transition to the endemic phase in Malaysia
The Covid-19 which started in early 2020 had affected the education system around the globe where there was an immediate change from the physical and face-to-face classes to remote learning. Technology plays a critical role in the educational system, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, from video conferencing to online meetings. In the 21st century, education technology is improving, especially in countries like Malaysia, which are both developed and developing. There are numerous interesting ways that technology is being used in today's educational system. Thus, the sudden switch to online learning and ERL to keep teaching and learning going during the pandemic revealed many problems for students and gave researchers a chance to study these areas. According to The Star (2022), as Malaysia started moving to the endemic phase from April 1st,2022, activities started resuming with lesser restrictions. The Star (2022) further added that the Prime Minister back then, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob mentioned that “the transition to endemicity phase is an exit strategy that will allow us all to return to normalcy after almost two years of battling Covid-19”. This allowed the schools and education institution to operate as usual with fewer restrictions but mandatory usage of face masks. Hence, the Covid-19 has created opportunities to researchers to study these challenges (Looi, et al., 2022). They further added that each higher education institutions (HEIs) leadership should learn from these crises to modify how it is taught and learned and develop a more resilient higher education model for the future (Clum et al., 2022).
2.2 Online learning
The online learning which is also known as e-learning has become a fundamental of learning method during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Singh and Thurman (2019) the asynchronous or synchronous method via the web-based learning environment and sufficient internet connection where learners engage with educators, among peers, and with the convenient time and place can be well-defined as online learning. In this era, the higher education system can be considered as a constant process of change where the universities will have to keep pace with the requirements, desires, and needs of the students. Hence, e-learning systems and information technologies are seen as a significant factor in carrying out the university activities where these institutions are supporting and contributing more devices and online systems (Coman et al., 2020). However, one of the main challenges the universities face is the incorporation of innovative e-learning systems in order to support teaching and learning.
In addition to that, the usage of electronic mediated synchronous and asynchronous learning communication for the purpose of collaborative thinking and learning can be defined as e- learning (Garrison, 2017). The main differences between the online learning and the conventional learning may be acknowledged in terms of quality of education, assessment and the principal sources of information. In the traditional method, teachers who are students’
primary source of information evaluate students and the quality of education depends on the teacher’s skills and knowledge. On the other hand, when it comes to online learning, students can obtain information from countless documents uploaded on the platform, the assessment may be done with the assistance of system and tools, and the value and worth of education may be influenced by the level of training that teachers have in implementing technology, and their unique teaching styles and ways.
2.3 Digital devices and digital tools
As stated in the introduction, digital devices can be defined as devices such as laptops, computers, smart phones and mobile phones while digital tools are defined as platforms, sites or software that can be used via digital devices that one possesses. According to Chabbra (2012), “the traditional methods which are mainly based on lecturing and rote learning reduce English language learning to mechanical memorization and miserably fail in developing
English language as a skill among the learners”. She further added that the new technologies such as YouTube, Kahoot, Tweeter, Google, blogs, interactive boards and many others have not only added stimulus but also learners’ participation and active interactivity within the classroom. In addition to that, as we are currently in the 21st century and technology is being developed and upgraded continuously based on the needs of the time, the recent style in teaching English is the implementation of modern technological tools due to the accessibility, readiness and convenience of these tools. This is because the e-learning tools are altering the current world we live in and the new digital tools are not only influencing and supporting what is being learned in learning institutions but it is also supporting changes to the way students are learning.
3. Research Procedures
3.1 Study area
This research took place in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), a non-profit organisation located in Sg. Long, Selangor. This study was done with a purpose to find out students’
perceptions and the benefits on the effectiveness of implementing digital tool for the English language reading and writing skills. Hence, the selected respondents were all English for Specific Purpose (ESP)students from English from Professional Communications course, October 2022 semester, UTAR who were involved in an individual action research prior to this research.
3.2 Selection of participants
Prior to this research, an “individual action research” was conducted on the implementation of digital tool in two different Malaysian private universities. The “individual action research”
which was conducted involved another co-researcher from Segi University. In this individual action research, one set of participants from Segi University and one more set of students from UTAR had used Microsoft Teams as the digital tool for the reading and writing skills classroom activities besides the primary learning management system (LMS), WBLE that the universities used. The implementation of the Microsoft Teams was used as a digital tool in both the universities for the reading and writing skills because the university had chosen and given access and availability to use this platform for all the students since the Covid-19 pandemic.
After having a deep discussion regarding the action research plan, students were then guided on the topics related to thesis statement, topic sentence, supporting details, concluding sentence and conclusion in both the universities.
In this study, the participants who participated in the individual action research from UTAR were also selected to answer the google survey form which was given to them during their usual English class. The selection of participants was done using the convenience sampling method, where the UTAR, English for Professional Communications course, October 2022 semester students were selected as the researcher had easier access to these students. Hence, 29 out of 40 students participated in this research which was held during the endemic period in November 2022.
3.3 Research method and instrument
The convenience sampling via quantitative method was used in this study where the participations of respondents were not made mandatory but voluntary. A constructed questionnaire was adopted and adapted from past research papers related to students’
perceptions on the effectiveness of digital tools and according to the objective of this research respectively. The questionnaire consists of 3 main parts which were Part A, B and C besides 2
demographic questions. Part A had 4 yes/no questions related to opinions regarding the preference of English language skills and types of learning methods. On the other hand, Part B had 16 likert scale questions related to the benefits and the implementation of digital tool for the reading and writing skills respectively. Lastly, Part C had an open-ended question on the suggestions to improve the lessons and course. In order to validate the survey design, this questionnaire also went through a peer-review process. The questionnaire was circulated to all the students involved in the action research via a link.
Figure 1: Extracted front page of the questionnaire distributed to participants.
3.4 Research questions
1) What are students’ perceptions on the implementation of digital tool in the reading and writing skills during the endemic period?
2) How does the implementation of digital tool in reading and writing skills benefit students?
4. Findings
Figure 2: Numbers of males and females involved in this study.
In general, the demographic question revealed that 22 females and 7 males answered the survey form. Based on the questions regarding the preference of English language skills and types of learning methods, majority of the respondents preferred physical or face-to-face classes compared ERL which was done during the Covid-19 period. This is because 82.8% of the respondents mentioned that physical classes help them to understand the lessons better. Also, more than half of the respondents agreed that they loved the reading and writing skills when it comes to English subject.
4.1 Perceptions on the implementation of digital tool
Figure 3: Responses related to the benefit of implementing digital tool in physical classroom - question i
Figure 4: Responses related to the benefit of implementing digital tool in physical classroom - question iii
When discussing the students’ perceptions on the implementation of Microsoft Teams for the reading and writing skills, it is significant to understand how student engagements were enhanced when digital tool is implemented in reading and writing classroom activities. As Olebara (2022) states that “students are addicted to mobile phone”, this research supports that the implementation of digital tool in classrooms help students to enhance their learning and collaborative skills among peers. About 24 of the respondents agreed that the implementation of digital tool enhanced their learning for the subject (figure 1) while 21 of them stated that it helped them to collaborate with their peers (figure 4). Ojobor (p.10, 2021) added that collaborative learning skills help students boost their self-esteem and confidence besides developing their thinking skills. In addition, when students get themselves engage in a small group learning setting, they individually have the opportunity to express their ideas.
Collaborative learning can help introverts and shy students to express themselves. Being able to do it in small group, it helps them improve their self-esteem and their academic attainment.
Figure 5 : Responses related to the benefit of implementing digital tool in physical classroom – question v
Figure 6: Responses related to the benefit of implementing digital tool in physical classroom - question iv and vi
Next, in terms of participation and feedback (figure 5), 24 of the respondents mentioned that the implementation of digital tool helped them to participate actively in classroom activities and aid them in providing and receiving constructive feedback from peers respectively.
Chabbra, (2012) supports by mentioning that the conventional teaching and learning styles and method have been affected with the incorporation of e-learning tools. Lastly, a total of 23 respondents stated that the implementation of digital tool in classroom activities help them to share the outcomes with their peers and it also allows them to keep track of the activities that are done during the physical class respectively (figure 6).
In general, based on the responses, there were no respondents who marked the “poor” category scale when the questions regarding “the implementation of digital tool” were asked (see appendix). Almost all the respondents strongly agreed, agreed and were satisfied with the implementation of digital tool in the reading and writing skills as it helped them in terms of learning, collaboration, participation and feedback.
4.2 Benefits of implementing digital tool
Figure 7: Preference on the implementation of Microsoft Teams in classroom
Figure 8: Preference of using the tool for the reading and writing skills
This research highlighted many benefits when Microsoft Teams was implemented in the reading and writing skills. Firstly, 21 of the respondents loved the English lessons when digital tool was implemented in the classroom activities (figure 7). In addition, 18 of the respondents stated that they enjoy having digital tool for the classroom activities (figure 8). The use of proper digital tools in the classroom enabled and gained students’ participation in classroom (Dassanayake & Senevirathne, 2018). Next, 21of the respondents respectively agreed that the use of Microsoft Teams as an additional tool in classroom benefits their learning in the classroom and benefits them for their revision, at home after their physical classes (question v). A total of 21 students agreed that although not all the students possess a digital device such as tablets and laptops and computers for learning, mobile phones still aid them for all their classroom activities and participations (question ix).
Furthermore, more than half of the total respondents mentioned that the implementation of digital tool in the classroom helps them to enhance their information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge in education, particularly in the English reading and writing lessons (question i). Hence, they further agreed that the implementation of digital tool enhanced an active learning environment among peers. Although there are downsides mentioned in researches, based on the data which was collected, almost all the respondents had a more positive view regarding the benefits of implementing Microsoft Teams in the reading and writing skills during the physical classes conducted during the endemic period.
Figure 9: Sample picture of students collaborating in small groups using digital tool
It benefitted them in terms of learning experiences, participation in classes, revisions and ICT knowledge. However, it cannot be denied that both, the educators and learners should learn and know the ways to incorporate digital tool in the classroom for an active and successful learning environment (Coman et al., 2020).
5. Conclusion
As the objective of this study to find out students’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of implementing digital tool and the benefits of it in the reading and writing skills for the English lessons, this study highlights a more positive findings and advantages. In general, majority of the respondents felt that the implementation of digital tool for the reading and writing skills was effective and it benefitted them in quite a number of ways as described in the findings.
This study also led to an implication where both the educators and learner should play an important role to have a healthy and good learning environment. Although the reading and writing skills can be quite challenging to some students, a proper guidance with relevant digital tool, teaching methods, knowledge and relationship among the educators and learners are some of the important elements that can be considered to make the reading and writing skills interesting and enhance an active and lively classroom environment. As a researcher, with this study, a suggestion to implement suitable digital tools as an addition to the primary LMS used by the university, for lecturers who are lecturing English courses in HEIs could be encouraged for a better and active learning environment.
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Appendices
Interpretation of data for Section B Part 1
Appendix a
Interpretation of data for Section B Part 2
Appendix b
