Giving Compass' Take:

• In order to have successful and effective online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, there needs to be ample effort to push education forward. 

• What are ways that education donors can pivot focus to support and expand opportunities for accessible online learning? 

• Read more about COVID-19's long term impacts on education in 2020. 

School closures in response to the pandemic led educators to make heroic efforts to provide their students with online learning experiences and continued connections with their teachers and classmates. This has placed a spotlight on the critical need for all students to have access at home to the devices and Internet connectivity required for online learning, as advocated by  FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and many others. A related critical issue also needs to be spotlighted: the lack of readiness of many educators to employ online teaching effectively.

Looking past the immediate crisis, there are differing scenarios for how the rapid increase in online learning might influence its future use.  On the optimistic side, we might see an increased recognition of how online learning can extend and enhance students’ education, leading to the widespread implementation of high-quality online courses. Schools could then make further use of online learning to help meet social distancing requirements and provide additional learning opportunities and flexibility for their students.

In order to progress toward the optimistic scenario, we need to recognize that effective online learning involves more than just moving a course syllabus and lectures online, just as a successful movie involves more than just filming a live play.

It involves changing the culture of the school, with new types of responsibilities for teachers, students and families, and new forms of interactions among them. It requires providing professional development, time, and technology resources to enable educators to optimize students’ online learning experiences.

Read the full article about positive online learning experiences by Glenn M. Kleiman at EdSource.