The COVID-19 pandemic has been a big moment for education technology. As schools worldwide began to close their doors from February 2020 to contain the coronavirus, students of all ages were forced to study at home — creating a short-notice experiment for distance learning at a greater scale than any ed tech provider could have imagined.
What was learned? First, the rush to digital left many students behind. Reaching everyone necessitated a range of options. Second, no matter how classes were delivered, the key takeaway for many experts was that distance learning initiatives must include elements of direct interaction with a teacher, alongside parental or caregiver support, to be effective.
In May, UNESCO said 152 governments had introduced distance learning initiatives. Of those, nearly two-thirds relied exclusively on online platforms. Yet almost half of primary and secondary students targeted with national online-only options — or around 465 million children — had no internet access at home.