If There Was Ever a Time for Open Education and E-Learning It is Now

March 29, 2020 – When Demetrius Harrison, who has provided this site with five previous postings that included informative infographics, proposed to me that he tackle the subject of e-learning, I immediately said yes.

Why?

Because in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the globe were shutting down, and children and their parents were being asked to isolate themselves in their homes. One cannot imagine a better moment in time to expand the ability to learn online. 

Since 2007 I have been interested in using the online world to help children learn.

• With my work at Children’s Technology Workshop, an after-school and summer camp enrichment program that taught children among its many programs, to build and create code for robots, and develop scripts and produce online animation.
• And later with Recess, a program developed here in Toronto to create virtual classrooms and schools through an independent and secure social networking platform.

And in my most recent volunteer work with the Liberal Party of Canada for the riding in which I reside, I head up a committee focused on policy with one of the proposals we are drafting focused on this subject. In the preamble of our policy resolution, it states “Canada and its people are vulnerable to potential environmental disruptions such as pandemics and extreme weather events that can negatively impact formal learning in bricks and mortar institutions.” It goes further to propose the development of a comprehensive online resource for free open education to allow learning from anywhere, everywhere.

In Demetrius’ posting, he addresses the need for accessibility to learning resources and the development of digital online educational assets. I will be interested in receiving comments from readers about this content and the accompanying infographic, and encourage you to add your ideas to this conversation.

With so many of you, my readers, in different states of lockdown and social isolation, a medium like 21st Century Tech Blog can be a great way to reach out to others over the Internet. More important, sharing information and education about COVID-19 that helps our children to understand what is going on through this traumatic time, will serve them well.

For all my readers and subscribers, practice social distancing, wash your hands, try not to touch your face and be well.

Here is Demetrius’ contribution. 

Learning should be accessible to all, regardless of a student’s ability to attend school. That’s something we have been taking for granted, that is until COVID-19 changed everything. As of March 18, 2020, at the time of this writing, more than 862 million students were affected by the virus as 119 countries shuttered schools.

Although the concept of open education is still relatively new, it is right now the only thing bridging the educational gap. Online learning, also known as distance learning, however, presents some challenges. What are these?

• 44% of students whose parents earn less than $30,000 USD ( $43,400 CAD) don’t have a home computer.
• 18% of school-age children lack Internet access at home.

During a state of quarantine, both of the children represented in these two statistics are, therefore, shut out from using open education or e-learning software.

What can be done?

In the United States where 30 million children rely on school lunches subsidized by government, the money currently not being used, could be repurposed to provide funding for inexpensive laptop computers and Internet access.

What’s good about e-learning?

1. Right now it is the only learning available to millions of children across the world.
2. In using it children get exposure to the technology to develop new skills.
3. In the e-learning environment, 98% of educators describe their interest in using all of the online technology tools available to them from augmented and virtual reality to 360-degree video. These educators see interactive video as essential to the learning and retention process.

What’s the e-learning feedback so far?

Students are loving the opportunity to learn from home with  60% reporting that online education is helping them improve soft skills like time management, critical thinking, and writing ability.

The COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t in the e-learning playbook when the market forecasted growth in the industry to reach $300 billion US by 2025. My guess is that number will be far higher because of the current global experience.

To learn more check out the accompanying infographic which outlines the future of open education and distance learning.

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