Learning During the Pandemic: What Was Missing

LEARNING DURING THE PANDEMIC: WHAT WAS MISSING

Alexander Latsis is an entrepreneur with a background in tech, publishing, media, and licensing

Learning During the Pandemic: What Was Missing When the pandemic took hold in March 2020, many countries in Europe and beyond entered a state of lockdown and most have yo-yoed in and out of lockdown since.

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hile emergence from these lockdowns looked and continues to look different in each country, one of the major sectors that has experienced acute disruption is education, particularly children and young people of school and university age. From the outset of the pandemic, adjusting to and building expertise and confidence in learning digitally was challenging for many learners and educators.

Learner Preparedness As we entered initial lockdowns, substantial differences emerged between how well students were able to keep learning. Some students were able to near seamlessly shift to learning remotely, while others found it difficult to access learning materials and to engage with their teachers.

While some countries had prioritised providing every student with access to devices and the Internet (a monumental distribution challenge and so it proved in many countries), many students in lower income countries simply weren’t

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While some countries had prioritised providing every student with access to devices and the Internet many students in lower income countries simply weren’t able to access any materials digitally.

able to access any materials digitally. Instead, they relied on government support to distribute hard resources. In higher income countries promising device distribution, the promised devices didn’t reach students until several months after they were initially promised, leading to significant periods of lost learning.

Educator Preparedness Like students, most educators were not primed to deliver digital content confidently as lockdowns began. Some of the more experienced, typically older educators, didn’t adapt to the new environment as quickly as typically younger teachers, more personally au

fait with devices and having themselves learned with some digital technology.

Educators faced the acute challenges of designing and delivering content to students with varying levels of device and internet access and with limited communication.

This made it difficult for educators to track engagement with their materials and therefore to monitor student progress.

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