Giving Compass' Take:

• Hillary Hoffower, writing for Business Insider, discusses both the upsides and downsides of virtual learning and the future of education due to COVID-19.

• What are the most significant barriers for educators during this time? How are school districts moving forward?

• Read more on how school districts can prepare for coronavirus. 

Education may be forever changed for Gen Z after the coronavirus pandemic.

"We'll have reverberations with this generation that we won't even begin to understand for a few years," Charles Thornburgh, a veteran education technology CEO, told Business Insider.

Thornburgh has spent 25 years building ed-tech businesses, from creating K12 study skills software to founding Civitas Learning, a data company that works with hundreds of universities to improve graduation rates.

While both cohorts are seeing their schooling upended, it's more of an adjustment for the older half who already have a codified view on how learning happens. Consider the concerns voiced by a dozen Gen Zers Business Insider spoke with, who expressed dissatisfaction with the "technical cluster" of virtual classroom learning: Students stop offering their opinions in video call discussions to avoid talking over each other, some instructors are struggling to adapt to technology, and non-verbal communication cues are easy to miss on camera.

The younger half, Thornburgh said, are experiencing a smoother transition because they're even more native to the technology being used in a remote classroom. It's less disruptive for them in the short-term, but more change inducing in the long-term — Gen Z's expectations for these tools will persist in the future, he said.

But regardless of age group, Thornburgh is envisioning changes in the K12 landscape across the board. While he sees more upsides than downsides, the negative effects could have steeper ramifications.

Thornburgh said he anticipates positive prolonged effects on education for Gen Z.

He said that Gen Z, the first digitally native generation, is now expecting even more virtual connectivity with friends and learning materials. Most socialization happens at school and students are trying to fill that void. The pandemic has partially amplified an already strong demand and desire to connect with peers, which Thornburgh said he thinks will lead to more peer-to-peer mentoring and tutoring in the future.

Read the full article about coronavirus education by Hillary Hoffower at Business Insider.