School-Based Agricultural Education Teachers Competence of Synchronous Online Instruction Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic forced educators to move course delivery to online learning with little or no advanced training. One of the immediate concerns of the online course delivery was readiness in using the synchronous learning tools available to school districts. Additionally, moving all students to online learning environments presented a challenge for those teachers who knew little about accessibility tools. The purpose of this study was to assess the awareness and self-perceived competence levels of SBAE teachers in South Carolina related to synchronous online instruction and application of accessibility tools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the teachers indicated they used Google Meet as the institution's synchronous delivery platform. Of those using Google Meet, their ability to use the mobile application to start meetings and use virtual backgrounds was low. The second most used synchronous delivery platform was Zoom. Some of the skill gaps SBAE teachers listed while using Zoom included breakout rooms, the polling feature, and removing unwanted participants. SBAE teachers reported very low competence in using accessibility features provided in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint applications. Recommendations included future in-service training for SBAE teachers in using advanced levels of Zoom, Google Meet, and WebEx features. Also, training for SBAE teachers on the importance of accessibility and the tools provided is warranted. Faculty teaching educational technologies in pre-service programs for SBAE teachers are also encouraged to adapt curricula to support these skills.