The Need for New Education Platforms that Support Inclusive Social Learning: A Case Study of Online and Hybrid K-12 Learning Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on education in the 2020-2021 school year. Teachers who were educated and trained for teaching in a face-to-face classroom had to learn to teach online or in hybrid environments with little preparation or training. This paper explores the experiences of K-12 teachers who were teaching in online and hybrid classrooms due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The participants in this case study consisted of two groups of teachers. The first group of teachers consisted of 12 teachers in Hawai'i who were taking the professional development course that introduced them to the Authentic Social Learning Model (ASLM). The second group of teachers consisted of 5 teachers in Arizona who have been using the ASLM for a minimum of 3 years. The ASLM is based on social learning which is an application of the theory of connectivism. The purpose of this paper is to explore how teachers used the G Suite for Education (GSE) to implement the ASLM in online and hybrid classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic and to recommend new education platforms that support inclusive social learning. Teachers in the case study indicated that implementing the ASLM resulted in students who were more engaged and motivated. The results indicated that social learning, which is the basis of the ASLM, was the most difficult aspect to implement in online and hybrid classes. Based on the results of this case study, this paper presents recommendations for new technology platforms that would allow teachers to easily implement social learning in K-12 online and hybrid classrooms.