Impact of COVID-19 on ICT Usage by Households

As part of the suite of Government measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, all schools, pre-schools and further and higher education settings were closed in mid-March. In order to minimise the impact on teaching and learning, all schools were asked to continue to plan lessons and, where possible, provide online resources for students or online lessons where schools were equipped to do so, such as the use of online learning platforms (examples of which include Edmodo, Seesaw, Google Classroom, etc.). Physical classes in universities and higher education facilities were cancelled during the closure, with other arrangements for teaching and learning and other activities put in place. Communicating with instructors or students using educational websites/portals almost doubled during this time – 13% of internet users in March compared with 7% in the corresponding survey period in January. See Table 6.1 and Figure 6.1.

Using online learning material other than a complete online course (including audio-visual materials, online learning software, electronic textbooks, etc.) increased during this time also, with 23% of internet users surveyed in March using this online resource, compared with 18% in January. See Table 6.1 and Figure 6.1.

People are also choosing to upskill during this time using online resources. One in every seven (14%) of internet users surveyed in March (following the introduction of the Government COVID-19 emergency measures), reported Doing an online course, compared with 12% of internet users surveyed in January. See Table 6.1 and Figure 6.1.