We are living in a very unusual time. Never before have most of the world's educational institutions been shut down. Status is changing every day, and online teaching initiatives are becoming more and more comprehensive.
UNESCO has created a website where you see a visualization of school closures over time. The status of school closures in all countries in the world is updated daily. Articles are also uploaded with inspirational solutions, and links to lots of software.
On the Internet you may already find articles and videos in which teachers share their experiences with online teaching in this very special situation where all students have been sent home.
Here is an article that highlights the experience of some teachers in China:
Laurel Schwartz (2020): What Teachers in China Have Learned in the Past Month
Here are two new articles in English with reflections on the challenges of online teaching in this period of school closures:
Chinyamurindi, W. (2020): Five ways academics can manage COVID-19 shutdowns
Chinyamurindi, W. (2020): Five ways academics can manage COVID-19 shutdowns
Kyungmee Lee (2020): Coronavirus: 14 simple tips for better online teaching
Here are some tips that online educators may use in the process of developing distance education. The advice is formulated by the Danish eVidenCenter (The National Knowledge Center for e-learning):
“Good advice for distance teachers from the Danish “eVidenCenter”:
1. State clearly when you are available to the learners in a course.
2. Work with clear goals in a process. In distance education, in the same way as in live education, it is not possible to correct and adjust continuously, for example, through oral dialogue and ongoing conversations with the learners. Therefore, it is important that the learning goals and objectives of the course are clear to the learner throughout the course.
3. Align expectations with both your role and the role of the learners in the process.
4. Set activities and courses so that it is clear to the learner what is expected.
5. Provide a thorough introduction to the virtual learning environment (interior design, navigation, etc.).
6. Learners should have easy access to technical support (However, it does not have to be the supervisor who is responsible for this part himself/herself).
7. Remember to present yourself(e.g., in a welcome message or short video).
8. It is usually necessary to do explicit tasks and activities to support both communication and activity in online learning.
9. As a tutor, it is an advantage that you yourself are active in the learning environment and contribute, for example, with contributions, perspectives and professional quality assurance.
10. Consider what the purpose of the tutoring is and what tools can best support this - not the other way around!
11. Evaluate the process.” (My translation)
The advice can be found in this 18-page document “Pædagogiske greb i fjernundervisningen. En praktisk guide til fjernundervisere” (Educational approaches in distance education. A practical guide for distance education teachers). The source in Danish: http://evidencenterinfo.dk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/PaedagogiskGreb.pdf
Articles have already begun to be published on what has changed in distance education following the Corona quarantine:
Perotta, Carlo (March 2020): Coronavirus quarantine could spark an online learning boom
Perotta, Carlo (March 2020): Coronavirus quarantine could spark an online learning boom
It is also worth noting, moreover, that online schooling has not been without problems to date,
and these experiences must be considered. Here is a link to a 2019 US report on online education for students of compulsory school age (12 years in the US). In this report, it was recommended “to stop the growth in the number of virtual and blended schools … until the reasons for their relatively poor performance have been identified and addressed”. The report came out before all the world's schools started distance learning!
Molnar, Alex (2019): Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2019 (120 pages, pdf)
Final Words
We live in unprecedented times, and no one knows the future. At most, one can investigate alternative scenarios; four are shown below:
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Undoubtedly, new initiatives in distance teaching and learning will be developed even as the consequences of the pandemic remain unknown. We can speculate, however, that those living in poverty and with limited internet access will be hurt most.
Right now, the UN's 2030 Sustainability Goals are an almost unattainable dream. Achieving them will require even more effort, and probably more time than planned.
Many of our legal rights have been put on hold, and, in some cases, it will require a great deal of effort to prevent temporary restrictions from becoming permanent.
All in all, we are a in a new situation that requires new solutions. The most depressing I heard on the radio during this time were Danish politicians who discussed the future from exactly the same positions they have held so far. For example, solutions in the form of more state or more market. As Joshua Cooper Ramo writes in "The Age of the Unthinkable," the problems of the future will not be solved by the solutions of the past.
Take care wherever you are!
References & recommended deepening sources:
Kleczkowsky, A & Kao, R.R. (March 2020): Four graphs that show how the coronavirus pandemic could now unfold, Source: https://theconversation.com/four-graphs-that-show-how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-could-now-unfold-133979
Kleczkowsky, A & Kao, R.R. (March 2020): Four graphs that show how the coronavirus pandemic could now unfold, Source: https://theconversation.com/four-graphs-that-show-how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-could-now-unfold-133979
Ramo, Joshua Cooper (2009): The Age of the Unthinkable. Why the new world disorder constantly surprises us and what we can do about it.
Harari, Yuval Noah (March 2020): The world after Coronavirus, Financial Times
Naomi Klein´s Case for Transformative Change Amid Coronavirus Pandemic (March 2020, video, 10 min.) https://freespeech.org/stories/change-coronavirus-outbreak/
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Kilde: http://www.todd-finley.com
Here follows a comment from one of my former colleagues:
Being in close contact with my Chinese friends and watching the news from China more closely than the typical American, I saw this coming. Unfortunately the people who make the big decisions in this country did not. We are paying the price now. Here in Frostburg, Maryland, we have been somewhat sheltered--so far. The first diagnosed cases emerged about a week ago. We are, like most everyone else (the extent as show by your graphic is staggering!), teaching from home now and staying as safe as possible. ...
Fondly,
Sally
Teach GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP Newsletter no. 37
Everyone, who is engaged in developing global citizenship, is welcome to receive these thematic introductions & curated learning possibilities.
April 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark
Egon Hedegaard
In Danish: Uddannelsesreformer verden rundt
