Coronavirus is now a pandemic. States and countries are taking swift and decisive actions to control its spread. Millions of children worldwide are affected due to closure of schools. The education system around the world will also be affected by COVID-19. The following 3 trends could be the future transformations.
- Education – nudged and pushed to change – could lead to surprising innovations
Learning at home via interactive apps and live television broadcasts can see a rising trend. Concept of digital education in a range of formats will provide ‘learning anywhere, anytime’. Traditional in-person classroom learning will see integration of new learning modalities like live broadcast to virtual reality experiences. Learning may become a habit in our lifestyle.
- Public-private educational partnerships could grow in importance
The COVID-19 threat has seen the learning consortiums and coalitions taking shape. Digital platforms are being considered as a solution to the present crisis by the governments, publishers, education professionals, technology providers and telecom network operators. This could become a trend in the future where education is predominantly provided by the government. A new cloud based online learning and broadcasting platform is also being developed by the Ministry of Education in China.
- The digital divide could widen
The quality of learning with the aid of technology is mainly dependent on the level and quality of digital access. While virtual classes could be a norm in one country, the students of lesser developed places would depend on lessons and assignments sent through WhatsApp or email. At times children of less affluent and digitally savvy families also lose out due to the cost of digital devices and data plans. Access costs will have to be decreased and its quality increased in all countries else the gap in the quality of education will widen. It will further worsen if the digital divide becomes more extreme.
Source: World Economic Forum
