Perspectives

Applications

The bold policies e-education needs

by Marcel Belingue

Aggregate indicators such as the Network Readiness Index and the ICT Development Index suggest that countries with higher scores are able to make more use of technology than those with lower scores, including when responding to emergencies. However, when it comes to education, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown otherwise; in many advanced countries, very few schools and even education authorities had emergency online or distance learning plans.

In most countries, only a few schools were able to switch over to full online learning within a week of closure, laying bare significant disparities in readiness among schools, systemic unpreparedness in national education systems, and the need to actualize technology’s place in education.

Address inequalities

However, in practice, significant in-country gaps persist in access and affordability, and these gaps reflect in education where the more socioeconomically disadvantaged have less opportunities to learn through technology both in and out-of-school. Addressing these inequalities more holistically will prepare education better for emergencies.

In the early 2000s, countries around the world embraced a shared commitment to universal access to the internet. One common goal was the use of the internet to improve learning and help achieve universal education. Since then, network infrastructure and services have evolved, online learning has emerged, and the cost of access to the internet has dropped considerably.

Online learning makes a difference

Online pedagogical methods are evolving rapidly, just like online education solutions such as learning management systems, educational software and web-conferencing platforms. Online learning is commonplace in higher education and the workplace; in schools it is used to supplement in-person learning and nurture e-skills. Even though online learning is not as effective as in-person learning, the current COVID-19 pandemic shows it that can go a long way to mitigate the impact of an unplanned and prolonged school closure.

Adopt national frameworks and standards

In the USA, proximity to Silicon Valley’s world leading universities and technology giants has been of no particular advantage to local schools’ preparedness to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just like in the rest of the country and other parts of the world, the country lacked national frameworks and standards for online learning. However, the risk of a prolonged closure is a permanent one for any school, and adopting national frameworks and standards for online learning will reduce disruption not only for schools, teachers and disadvantaged students, but for education more generally.

Put technology at the center of learning continuity planning

When moving learning online, inequalities in access and affordability leave many more students at a disadvantage. Yet, these inequalities alone do not explain the unpreparedness among so many schools in countries with such high levels of access to technology. Today, learning continuity planning, with technology playing a far more central role, is a necessity for all schools.

Beyond e-learning in schools is the wider question of what the purpose of 21st century education should be as we transit to digital economies and the ever growing need for advanced digital skills. In this regard, education policies in most countries remain largely out of step.

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Aggregate indicators such as the Network Readiness Index and the ICT Development Index suggest that countries with higher scores are able to make more use of technology than those with lower scores, including when responding to emergencies. However, when it comes to education, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown otherwise; in many advanced countries, very few schools and even education authorities had emergency online or distance learning plans.

In most countries, only a few schools were able to switch over to full online learning within a week of closure, laying bare significant disparities in readiness among schools, systemic unpreparedness in national education systems, and the need to actualize technology’s place in education.

Address inequalities

However, in practice, significant in-country gaps persist in access and affordability, and these gaps reflect in education where the more socioeconomically disadvantaged have less opportunities to learn through technology both in and out-of-school. Addressing these inequalities more holistically will prepare education better for emergencies.

In the early 2000s, countries around the world embraced a shared commitment to universal access to the internet. One common goal was the use of the internet to improve learning and help achieve universal education. Since then, network infrastructure and services have evolved, online learning has emerged, and the cost of access to the internet has dropped considerably.

Online learning makes a difference

Online pedagogical methods are evolving rapidly, just like online education solutions such as learning management systems, educational software and web-conferencing platforms. Online learning is commonplace in higher education and the workplace; in schools it is used to supplement in-person learning and nurture e-skills. Even though online learning is not as effective as in-person learning, the current COVID-19 pandemic shows it that can go a long way to mitigate the impact of an unplanned and prolonged school closure.

Adopt national frameworks and standards

In the USA, proximity to Silicon Valley’s world leading universities and technology giants has been of no particular advantage to local schools’ preparedness to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just like in the rest of the country and other parts of the world, the country lacked national frameworks and standards for online learning. However, the risk of a prolonged closure is a permanent one for any school, and adopting national frameworks and standards for online learning will reduce disruption not only for schools, teachers and disadvantaged students, but for education more generally.

Put technology at the center of learning continuity planning

When moving learning online, inequalities in access and affordability leave many more students at a disadvantage. Yet, these inequalities alone do not explain the unpreparedness among so many schools in countries with such high levels of access to technology. Today, learning continuity planning, with technology playing a far more central role, is a necessity for all schools.

Beyond e-learning in schools is the wider question of what the purpose of 21st century education should be as we transit to digital economies and the ever growing need for advanced digital skills. In this regard, education policies in most countries remain largely out of step.