Teaching with Technology during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Interview Study with Teachers in Indonesia

Abstract

This paper reports on an interview study with eight secondary school teachers in Indonesia regarding their experiences of teaching with technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing semistructured interview questions and geared under a qualitative research approach, the study probes explicitly into (1) the availability of technology access at home, (2) teachers’ difficulties in teaching online, (3) teachers’ ability to adapt during online teaching, and (4) teachers’ experiences of teaching with technology. Findings from the study suggest insights into the impact of forced changes in teaching that could have implications for the professionalization of teacher education in terms of digitalization. The interview analysis informs that the participating teachers negotiated efforts in online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic using technology vis a vis with the challenges of an ever-changing era. Teachers were baffled with explaining lessons in details during the online teaching and knowing which students have understood or not. The study reveals that learning is mainly dependent on the Internet connection as many teachers suddenly lose their connection when they are teaching.