At the end of March, 2020, 185 countries had closed their schools, affecting 90 percent of the world’s students. The speed of these closures and the rapid move to distance learning, according to the Brookings Institute, has allowed little time for planning or reflection on both the potential risks to safeguard against and the potential opportunities to leverage.
In this post they identify some of the risks and opportunities, including:
- Educators will be overwhelmed and unsupported to do their jobs well.
- School closures will widen the equity gaps.
- Poor experiences with ed-tech during the pandemic will make it harder to get buy-in later for good use of ed-tech.
- Teachers and schools will receive more respect, appreciation, and support for their important role in society.
- Teacher collaboration will grow and help improve learning.
- This crisis will help us come together across boundaries.