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Sweden says back-to-basics schoolin works on paper

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Sweden says back-to-basics schoolin works on paper

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Since young children went back to school across Sweden recently, many of their teachers have been putting a new emphasis on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice, and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills.

The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to politicians and experts questioning whether Sweden's hyper-digitalised approach to education, including the introduction of tablets in nursery schools, had led to a decline in basic skills.

Sweden's minister for schools, Lotta Edholm, who took office 11 months ago as part of a centre-right coalition government, was one of the biggest critics of the all-out embrace of technology.

"Sweden's students need more textbooks," Edholm said in March. "Physical books are important for student learning."

The minister announced in August that the government wanted to reverse the decision by the national agency for education to make digital devices mandatory in preschools. It plans to go further and to completely end digital learning for children under age six, the ministry has told the Associated Press.

Although Sweden's students score above the European average for reading ability, an international assessment of fourth-grade reading levels, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), highlighted a decline among Sweden's children between 2016 and 2021.

In 2021, Swedish fourth graders averaged 544 points, a drop from the 555 average in 2016. However, their performance still placed the country in a tie with Taiwan for the seventh-highest overall test score.

In comparison, Singapore - which topped the rankings - improved its PIRLS reading scores from 576 to 587 during the same period, and England's average reading achievement score fell only slightly, from 559 in 2016 to 558 in 2021.

Some learning deficits may have resulted from the coronavirus pandemic or reflect a growing number of immigrant students who don't speak Swedish as their first language, but an overuse of screens during school lessons may cause youngsters to fall behind in core subjects, education experts say.

"There's clear scientific evidence that digital tools impair rather than enhance student learning," Sweden's Karolinska Institute, a highly respected medical school focused on research, said in a statement in August on the country's national digitalisation strategy in education.

"We believe the focus should return to acquiring knowledge through printed textbooks and teacher expertise, rather than acquiring knowledge primarily from freely available digital sources that have not been vetted for accuracy."

The rapid adoption of digital learning tools also has drawn concern from the UN education and culture agency. In a report published in August, Unesco issued an "urgent call for appropriate use of technology in education". The report urges countries to speed up internet connections at schools, but at the same time warns that technology in education should be implemented in a way that never replaces in-person, teacher-led instruction and supports the shared objective of quality education for all.

In the Swedish capital, Stockholm, Liveon Palmer, nine, a third grader at Djurgardsskolan elementary school, expressed his approval of spending more school hours offline. "I like writing more in school, like on paper, because it just feels better, you know," he told the Associated Press.

His teacher, Catarina Branelius, said she was selective about asking students to use tablets during her lessons even before the national-level scrutiny.

"I use tablets in math and we are doing some apps, but I don't use tablets for writing text," Branelius said. Students under age 10 "need time and practice and exercise in handwriting ... before you introduce them to write on a tablet".

Online instruction is a hotly debated subject across Europe and other parts of the west. Poland, for instance, just launched a programme to give a government-funded laptop to each student starting in fourth grade in the hope of making the country more technologically competitive.

In the US, the coronavirus pandemic pushed public schools to provide millions of laptops bought with federal pandemic relief money to primary and secondary students. But there is still a digital divide, which is part of the reason why American schools tend to use both print and digital textbooks, said Sean Ryan, president of the US school division at textbook publisher McGraw Hill.

"In places where there is not connectivity at home, educators are loath to lean into digital because they're thinking about their most vulnerable [students] and making sure they have the same access to education as everyone else," Ryan said.

Germany, which is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, has been famously slow in moving government programmes and information of all kinds online, including education. The state of digitalisation in schools also varies among its 16 states, which are in charge of their own curricula.

To counter Sweden's decline in fourth grade reading performance, the Swedish government announced an investment worth kr685m (£50m) in book purchases for schools this year. Another kr500m will be spent annually in 2024 and 2025 to speed up the return of textbooks.

Not all experts are convinced Sweden's back-to-basics push is exclusively about what's best for students.

Criticising the effects of technology is "a popular move with conservative politicians", Neil Selwyn, a professor of education at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, said. "It's a neat way of saying or signalling a commitment to traditional values.

"The Swedish government does have a valid point when saying that there is no evidence for technology improving learning, but I think that's because there is no straightforward evidence of what works with technology," Selwyn said. "Technology is just one part of a really complex network of factors in education."

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Switching off: Sweden says back-to-basics schooling works on paper

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Schools minister Lotta Edholm moves students off digital devices and on to books and handwriting, with teachers and experts debating the pros and cons

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Read the tasks before working with this padlet.

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Segment Transcript

IRA FLATOW: This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flatow. Later in the hour, a conversation about how infrastructure works and how modern life is dependent on a series of interconnected global infrastructure systems. We want to hear from all the infrastructure nerds out there. Do you have a favorite piece of infrastructure, maybe an infrastructure system, your most-

ChatGPT, the generative AI chatbot that generates shockingly convincing text, it was released, well, almost a year ago. And since then, it's become the new center of gravity in the tech world. And software companies have raced to integrate this new tech with their products. It's also sparked concern in the educational world, with teachers and parents fearing how it could be used for cheating and writing essays for students.

So how are schools adjusting to a different world one year later? And who better to talk about this transition than someone who teaches English. I'm joined by Dr. Gwen Tarbox, professor of English at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. She's helping to lead the university's implementation of generative AI in classrooms and teach not just students, but faculty on responsible ways to use it. Dr. Tarbox, welcome to Science Friday.

GWEN TARBOX: Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here.

IRA FLATOW: Let's talk about a lot of schools are banning this technology, right? But many have reversed course on these bans. Why is that?

GWEN TARBOX: Well, I think that whenever a new technology is released, especially one that has so much of an impact, it can be very frightening at first for anyone, especially for humanities faculty, for whom this may have been absolutely new information. Our whole identities as academics are often wrapped up in our ability to write and to teach critical thinking. And to think that a bot who didn't have 30 years of training could come up with some responses that sound a lot like our own can be very, very intimidating.

IRA FLATOW: So what has the reaction been like at your own school among the faculty and students?

GWEN TARBOX: Well, one of the things I'll say is I also, in addition to being a professor of English, I also direct the Office of Faculty Development within WMUx, which is our university's innovation hub. And when OpenAI released ChatGPT, we sat down, and we really started to think about that, Ira, because our job is to make sure that we're supporting our faculty.

And so one of the things that we realized right away was that faculty were going to have very different responses. For some folks in our College of Business, for instance, they welcomed it. They know that industry is going to want it from their graduates. But from folks in other colleges, where that wasn't the case, we wanted to support them, too.

But what we knew was we wanted everyone to be informed so they knew what they were talking about. We wanted an AI-competent campus. And so, of course, there were folks on campus who were immediately concerned, wanted to ban it in their classes. And that's their right. But what we started to do was to offer trainings, which allowed folks to learn about how generative AI works, to get an understanding of how it might actually be helpful to them with teaching and learning, and also to help them meet with our instructional designers to come up with other alternatives.

IRA FLATOW: Did you find that there were a lot of misconceptions about how it worked?

GWEN TARBOX: There are both misconceptions about how it worked, and also people were putting in prompts that weren't particularly well generated and then using the fact that those chatbots perhaps misattributed their work and thinking, well, then this can't be that effective of a technology.

And so part of our job was to show them, well, let's take a look at when it's prompted well and actually what that means. You can see, wait a minute, it is actually really good at tutoring students or other things like that. But what we did was we worked with our English Department and the director of first year writing, Brian Gogan, to come up with a course called AI Writing, Prompt and Response, that we're currently offering. And that's been really exciting because a lot of our students have had the opportunity to work with AI.

Another thing you were talking about academic honesty. And we take that seriously at Western. And we did a series of workshops in August about encouraging faculty to talk to students about their AI policies on the first day of class because as you can imagine, Ira, students were going from classroom to classroom and receiving very different information, depending upon the faculty members. And we wanted to make sure that students were well informed about how their particular faculty members felt. So really, as we work to create an ethical framework for AI on our campus, everyone can participate, whether they are on the AI bandwagon or not.

IRA FLATOW: And how have the students responded to your Prompts and Responses AI class?

GWEN TARBOX: It's been excellent. It's a HyFlex class. So actually, not only have we had students here at Western, but we've had students from around the world taking the course. And they've learned the basics of prompting. And now they are creating a project related to their particular discipline where a chatbot could be useful, either in processing data or teaching information.

And that showcase is actually available for anyone who wants to attend. All of our trainings are open access. We'll tell you, Ira, there's been a lot of interest nationally in this. We've had over 2000 people attend our trainings. And 44% of them are actually outside our own university.

IRA FLATOW: I'm ready to sign up.

GWEN TARBOX: Well, we would love to have you come. It's December 7. Join us. It's from 4:00 to 5:00 PM.

But, I mean, on a really serious note, we have been very proactive because we want our university to be one that students look at and say, hey, this is a place where they're taking this seriously. They know I need to be career ready or that I need to at least encounter this before I go out into the world. And so we're really trying to do that for our students and our faculty.

IRA FLATOW: One of the underlying tensions regarding the use of AI in education is around equity because on one hand, you can use this tool as an extremely flexible learning partner and have it adapt your learning style, no matter your means to hire a tutor. But on the other hand, you can read this as cementing our reliance on big tech and increasing the societal disparities, right, in the long term. What are your thoughts on that?

GWEN TARBOX: Well, I think that the people who are most likely to make changes that will be positive are our current class of students. They will be the people for whom their entire careers will be impacted by this. We have to look at that as a reality.

And my thinking on this is if our students have had a chance to practice this kind of technology and have been exposed to information on bias and ethics, that at least when our students go out into the world, they are prepared to raise those concerns and questions in the jobs that they hold. That's pretty much what a university can do. We can't put our head in the sand. And we're certainly not going to affect policy if we are underinformed. So I believe that those concerns are absolutely serious and top shelf. But also, we want to make sure that our students get to have a voice in what happens next.

IRA FLATOW: Right, right. And how about data privacy, especially with youngsters, because they're inputting, right, potentially sensitive data into these models. And there's not real transparency about how it's used or is connected to the user, is there?

GWEN TARBOX: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, one of the things that's a little bit frustrating is we are lagging behind the EU in terms of those kinds of protections nationally. You can see that some universities are trying to handle this by setting up these closed systems. And just recently, the ability for even individuals to set up a closed AI system has become more accessible.

So I think that's going to be the route that people will want to be taking, is looking at ways to protect individual users within a classroom, but also just helping our students to learn how to read contracts because one of the first things that Dr. Gogan did in his class was have the students review the terms and conditions for these various corporations.

IRA FLATOW: The EULA can be pretty long at the end of these things.

GWEN TARBOX: Yeah.

IRA FLATOW: Science Friday's Education Team has recently hosted a Zoom event about the future of AI in education. And I want to play you this comment from a high school junior, Sebastian Rao, about regulating this in schools.

SEBASTIAN RAO: There needs to be these type of AI regulation policies in place that don't outright ban AI but instead provide guardrails for educators and students. Right now, because that's lacking, a lot of students don't really know what to think about a lot of these technologies. Some are confused about what does AI mean? Is it cheating in certain circumstances?

IRA FLATOW: Yeah, what do you think of that?

GWEN TARBOX: I think he's absolutely right. That's one of the reasons why we have done 20 trainings for our faculty on the various aspects of this, including an entire training on privacy, because we want to make sure that our educators are aware of what they're sharing with their students. But we also need our high school educators, our college educators to understand the really uncanny and strange experience of doing a lot of work with a chatbot. I'm very interested in what this is going to mean for authorship, what it's going to mean for- like so many English professors, their identity is based on having spent 30 years becoming these experts.

And I programmed Claude, which is Anthropic's chatbot that we've been using a lot, to write just like me. And it took me about an hour. And it's shocking. The result of that was I had a little existential crisis. I stepped away from the computer and just called my friend Dave. And I was like, Dave, I'm really, really, really freaking out here.

And even talking to my dissertation students, one of them said to me this week, you are so lucky no one ever questioned that you wrote your dissertation. Now people will wonder, did I really write it? Was it me? And I said to her, well, actually, look at it this way. What it means to write is going to change in your lifetime, and you'll get to be one of the people who decides what that means.

But the thing is, Ira, having that experience allowed me to understand the chatbot far better than I had before if I hadn't spent all those hours sort of prompting it and learning it. And now I'm much better prepared to write a syllabus when I next teach because I know what it can do. And this is a conversation that I want to have, an open conversation with my students so that we can talk about how we'll use it in my class and come up with a joint agreement about what is acceptable and what isn't. Faculty and high school teachers need to feel comfortable opening up with students and having these conversations so that everyone's on the same page.

IRA FLATOW: Do you think that other teachers need to have this existential feeling, this existential experience?

GWEN TARBOX: I think we all do because in order to become active participants in creating the future of what happens with AI and our culture, we need to understand what it can do and what it can't do as well. And also, the only way to have a voice really is to demand it.

IRA FLATOW: Well, Dr. Tarbox, you sound like a very dedicated and driven teacher. And I thank you for the work that you do.

GWEN TARBOX: Well, thank you so much. It's been such a pleasure to talk to you today. And I just hope that everybody takes some time to learn more about this technology because it's going to impact our young people for the rest of their lives.

IRA FLATOW: Dr. Gwen Tarbox, professor of English at Western Michigan University.

Copyright © 2023 Science Friday Initiative. All rights reserved. Science Friday transcripts are produced on a tight deadline by 3Play Media. Fidelity to the original aired/published audio or video file might vary, and text might be updated or amended in the future. For the authoritative record of Science Friday's programming, please visit the original aired/published recording. For terms of use and more information, visit our policies pages at http://www.sciencefriday.com/about/policies/

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How A University Is Adjusting One Year After ChatGPT

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An English professor discusses how AI is transforming education, and how students and faculty alike can use it responsibly.

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AI can disrupt education. Maybe it's not so bad

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AI can disrupt education. Maybe it's not so bad

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Education strikes at the heart of what makes us human. It drives the intellectual capacity and prosperity of nations. It has developed the minds that took us to the moon and eradicated previously incurable diseases. And the special status of education is why generative AI tools such as ChatGPT are likely to profoundly disrupt this sector. This isn't a reflection of their intelligence, but of our failure to build education systems that nurture and value our unique human intelligence.

We are being duped into believing these AI tools are far more intelligent than they really are. A tool like ChatGPT has no understanding or knowledge. It merely collates bits of words together based on statistical probabilities to produce useful texts. It is an incredibly helpful assistant.

But it is not knowledgable, or wise. It has no concept of how any of the words it produces relate to the real world. The fact that it can pass so many forms of assessment merely reflects that those assessments were not designed to test knowledge and understanding but rather to test whether people had collected and memorised information.

AI could be a force for tremendous good within education. It could release teachers from administrative tasks, giving them more opportunities to spend time with students. However, we are woefully equipped to benefit from the AI that is flooding the market. It does not have to be like this. There is still time to prepare, but we must act quickly and wisely.

AI has been used in education for more than a decade. AI-powered systems, such as Carnegie Learning or Aleks, can analyse student responses to questions and adapt learning materials to meet their individual needs. AI tools such as TeachFX and Edthena can also enhance teacher training and support. To reap the benefits of these technologies, we must design effective ways to roll out AI across the education system, and regulate this properly.

Staying ahead of AI will mean radically rethinking what education is for, and what success means. Human intelligence is far more impressive than any AI system we see today. We possess a rich and diverse intelligence, much of which is unrecognised by our current education system.

We are capable of sophisticated, high-level thinking, yet the school curriculum, particularly in England, takes a rigid approach to learning, prioritising the memorising of facts, rather than creative thinking. Students are rewarded for rote learning rather than critical thought. Take the English syllabus, for instance, which requires students to learn quotations and the rules of grammar. This time-consuming work encourages students to marshal facts, rather than interpret texts or think critically about language.

Our education system should recognise the unique aspects of human intelligence. At school, this would mean a focus on teaching high-level thinking capabilities and designing a system to supercharge our intelligence. Literacy and numeracy remain fundamental, but now we must add AI literacy. Traditional subject areas, such as history, science and geography, should become the context through which critical thinking, increased creativity and knowledge mastery are taught. Rather than teaching students only how to collate and memorise information, we should prize their ability to interpret facts and weigh up the evidence to make an original argument.

Failure to change isn't an option. Now these technologies are here, we need humans to excel at what AI cannot do, so any workplace automation complements and enriches our lives and our intelligence.

This should be an amazing opportunity to use AI to become much smarter, but we must ensure that AI serves us, not the other way round. This will mean confronting the profit-driven imperatives of big tech companies and the illusionist tricks played by Silicon Valley. It will also mean carefully considering what types of tasks we're willing to offload to AI.

Some aspects of our intellectual activity may be dispensable, but many are not. While Silicon Valley conjures up its next magic trick, we must prepare ourselves to protect what we hold dear - for ourselves and for future generations.

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Yes, AI could profoundly disrupt education. But maybe that's not a bad thing | Rose Luckin

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Humans need to excel at things AI can't do - and that means more creativity and critical thinking and less memorisation, says academic Rose Luckin

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AI Will Transform Teaching and Learning. Let's Get it Right.

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At the recent AI+Education Summit, Stanford researchers, students, and industry leaders discussed both the potential of AI to transform education for the better and the risks at play.

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Helpful Or Harmful? How AI Shaped Education In 2023

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Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the classroom. Students and educators weigh in on the way forward.

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ChatGPT and Beyond: How to Handle AI in Schools | Common Sense Education

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Here’s what educators can do as this technology evolves.

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In Neal Stephenson's 1995 science fiction novel, The Diamond Age, readers meet Nell, a young girl who comes into possession of a highly advanced book, The Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. The book is not the usual static collection of texts and images but a deeply immersive tool that can converse with the reader, answer questions, and personalize its content, all in service of educating and motivating a young girl to be a strong, independent individual.

Such a device, even after the introduction of the Internet and tablet computers, has remained in the realm of science fiction-until now. Artificial intelligence, or AI, took a giant leap forward with the introduction in November 2022 of ChatGPT, an AI technology capable of producing remarkably creative responses and sophisticated analysis through human-like dialogue. It has triggered a wave of innovation, some of which suggests we might be on the brink of an era of interactive, super-intelligent tools not unlike the book Stephenson dreamed up for Nell.

Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, calls artificial intelligence " more profound than fire or electricity or anything we have done in the past." Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn and current partner at Greylock Partners, says, "The power to make positive change in the world is about to get the biggest boost it's ever had." And Bill Gates has said that "this new wave of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone."

Over the last year, developers have released a dizzying array of AI tools that can generate text, images, music, and video with no need for complicated coding but simply in response to instructions given in natural language. These technologies are rapidly improving, and developers are introducing capabilities that would have been considered science fiction just a few years ago. AI is also raising pressing ethical questions around bias, appropriate use, and plagiarism.

In the realm of education, this technology will influence how students learn, how teachers work, and ultimately how we structure our education system. Some educators and leaders look forward to these changes with great enthusiasm. Sal Kahn, founder of Khan Academy, went so far as to say in a TED talk that AI has the potential to effect "probably the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen." But others warn that AI will enable the spread of misinformation, facilitate cheating in school and college, kill whatever vestiges of individual privacy remain, and cause massive job loss. The challenge is to harness the positive potential while avoiding or mitigating the harm.
What Is Generative AI?
Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that focuses on creating software capable of mimicking behaviors and processes we would consider "intelligent" if exhibited by humans, including reasoning, learning, problem-solving, and exercising creativity. AI systems can be applied to an extensive range of tasks, including language translation, image recognition, navigating autonomous vehicles, detecting and treating cancer, and, in the case of generative AI, producing content and knowledge rather than simply searching for and retrieving it.

" Foundation models " in generative AI are systems trained on a large dataset to learn a broad base of knowledge that can then be adapted to a range of different, more specific purposes. This learning method is self-supervised, meaning the model learns by finding patterns and relationships in the data it is trained on.

Large Language Models (LLMs) are foundation models that have been trained on a vast amount of text data. For example, the training data for OpenAI's GPT model consisted of web content, books, Wikipedia articles, news articles, social media posts, code snippets, and more. OpenAI's GPT-3 models underwent training on a staggering 300 billion "tokens" or word pieces, using more than 175 billion parameters to shape the model's behavior-nearly 100 times more data than the company's GPT-2 model had.

By doing this analysis across billions of sentences, LLM models develop a statistical understanding of language: how words and phrases are usually combined, what topics are typically discussed together, and what tone or style is appropriate in different contexts. That allows it to generate human-like text and perform a wide range of tasks, such as writing articles, answering questions, or analyzing unstructured data.

LLMs include OpenAI's GPT-4, Google's PaLM, and Meta's LLaMA. These LLMs serve as "foundations" for AI applications. ChatGPT is built on GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, while Bard uses Google's Pathways Language Model 2 (PaLM 2) as its foundation.

Some of the best-known applications are:

ChatGPT 3.5. The free version of ChatGPT released by OpenAI in November 2022. It was trained on data only up to 2021, and while it is very fast, it is prone to inaccuracies.

ChatGPT 4.0. The newest version of ChatGPT, which is more powerful and accurate than ChatGPT 3.5 but also slower, and it requires a paid account. It also has extended capabilities through plug-ins that give it the ability to interface with content from websites, perform more sophisticated mathematical functions, and access other services. A new Code Interpreter feature gives ChatGPT the ability to analyze data, create charts, solve math problems, edit files, and even develop hypotheses to explain data trends.

Microsoft Bing Chat. An iteration of Microsoft's Bing search engine that is enhanced with OpenAI's ChatGPT technology. It can browse websites and offers source citations with its results.

Google Bard. Google's AI generates text, translates languages, writes different kinds of creative content, and writes and debugs code in more than 20 different programming languages. The tone and style of Bard's replies can be finetuned to be simple, long, short, professional, or casual. Bard also leverages Google Lens to analyze images uploaded with prompts.

Anthropic Claude 2. A chatbot that can generate text, summarize content, and perform other tasks, Claude 2 can analyze texts of roughly 75,000 words-about the length of The Great Gatsby -and generate responses of more than 3,000 words. The model was built using a set of principles that serve as a sort of "constitution" for AI systems, with the aim of making them more helpful, honest, and harmless.

These AI systems have been improving at a remarkable pace, including in how well they perform on assessments of human knowledge. OpenAI's GPT-3.5, which was released in March 2022, only managed to score in the 10th percentile on the bar exam, but GPT-4.0, introduced a year later, made a significant leap, scoring in the 90th percentile. What makes these feats especially impressive is that OpenAI did not specifically train the system to take these exams; the AI was able to come up with the correct answers on its own. Similarly, Google's medical AI model substantially improved its performance on a U.S. Medical Licensing Examination practice test, with its accuracy rate jumping to 85 percent in March 2021 from 33 percent in December 2020.

These two examples prompt one to ask: if AI continues to improve so rapidly, what will these systems be able to achieve in the next few years? What's more, new studies challenge the assumption that AI-generated responses are stale or sterile. In the case of Google's AI model, physicians preferred the AI's long-form answers to those written by their fellow doctors, and nonmedical study participants rated the AI answers as more helpful. Another study found that participants preferred a medical chatbot's responses over those of a physician and rated them significantly higher, not just for quality but also for empathy. What will happen when "empathetic" AI is used in education?

Other studies have looked at the reasoning capabilities of these models. Microsoft researchers suggest that newer systems "exhibit more general intelligence than previous AI models" and are coming "strikingly close to human-level performance." While some observers question those conclusions, the AI systems display an increasing ability to generate coherent and contextually appropriate responses, make connections between different pieces of information, and engage in reasoning processes such as inference, deduction, and analogy.

Despite their prodigious capabilities, these systems are not without flaws. At times, they churn out information that might sound convincing but is irrelevant, illogical, or entirely false-an anomaly known as "hallucination." The execution of certain mathematical operations presents another area of difficulty for AI. And while these systems can generate well-crafted and realistic text, understanding why the model made specific decisions or predictions can be challenging.
The Importance of Well-Designed Prompts
Using generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude 2 is relatively simple. One has only to type in a request or a task (called a prompt), and the AI generates a response. Properly constructed prompts are essential for getting useful results from generative AI tools. You can ask generative AI to analyze text, find patterns in data, compare opposing arguments, and summarize an article in different ways (see sidebar for examples of AI prompts).

One challenge is that, after using search engines for years, people have been preconditioned to phrase questions in a certain way. A search engine is something like a helpful librarian who takes a specific question and points you to the most relevant sources for possible answers. The search engine (or librarian) doesn't create anything new but efficiently retrieves what's already there.

Generative AI is more akin to a competent intern. You give a generative AI tool instructions through prompts, as you would to an intern, asking it to complete a task and produce a product. The AI interprets your instructions, thinks about the best way to carry them out, and produces something original or performs a task to fulfill your directive. The results aren't pre-made or stored somewhere-they're produced on the fly, based on the information the intern (generative AI) has been trained on. The output often depends on the precision and clarity of the instructions (prompts) you provide. A vague or poorly defined prompt might lead the AI to produce less relevant results. The more context and direction you give it, the better the result will be. What's more, the capabilities of these AI systems are being enhanced through the introduction of versatile plug-ins that equip them to browse websites, analyze data files, or access other services. Think of this as giving your intern access to a group of experts to help accomplish your tasks.

One strategy in using a generative AI tool is first to tell it what kind of expert or persona you want it to "be." Ask it to be an expert management consultant, a skilled teacher, a writing tutor, or a copy editor, and then give it a task.

Prompts can also be constructed to get these AI systems to perform complex and multi-step operations. For example, let's say a teacher wants to create an adaptive tutoring program-for any subject, any grade, in any language-that customizes the examples for students based on their interests. She wants each lesson to culminate in a short-response or multiple-choice quiz. If the student answers the questions correctly, the AI tutor should move on to the next lesson. If the student responds incorrectly, the AI should explain the concept again, but using simpler language.

Previously, designing this kind of interactive system would have required a relatively sophisticated and expensive software program. With ChatGPT, however, just giving those instructions in a prompt delivers a serviceable tutoring system. It isn't perfect, but remember that it was built virtually for free, with just a few lines of English language as a command. And nothing in the education market today has the capability to generate almost limitless examples to connect the lesson concept to students' interests.

Chained prompts can also help focus AI systems. For example, an educator can prompt a generative AI system first to read a practice guide from the What Works Clearinghouse and summarize its recommendations. Then, in a follow-up prompt, the teacher can ask the AI to develop a set of classroom activities based on what it just read. By curating the source material and using the right prompts, the educator can anchor the generated responses in evidence and high-quality research.

However, much like fledgling interns learning the ropes in a new environment, AI does commit occasional errors. Such fallibility, while inevitable, underlines the critical importance of maintaining rigorous oversight of AI's output. Monitoring not only acts as a crucial checkpoint for accuracy but also becomes a vital source of real-time feedback for the system. It's through this iterative refinement process that an AI system, over time, can significantly minimize its error rate and increase its efficacy.
Uses of AI in Education
In May 2023, the U.S. Department of Education released a report titled Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations. The department had conducted listening sessions in 2022 with more than 700 people, including educators and parents, to gauge their views on AI. The report noted that "constituents believe that action is required now in order to get ahead of the expected increase of AI in education technology-and they want to roll up their sleeves and start working together." People expressed anxiety about "future potential risks" with AI but also felt that " AI may enable achieving educational priorities in better ways, at scale, and with lower costs."

AI could serve-or is already serving-in several teaching-and-learning roles:

Instructional assistants. AI's ability to conduct human-like conversations opens up possibilities for adaptive tutoring or instructional assistants that can help explain difficult concepts to students. AI-based feedback systems can offer constructive critiques on student writing, which can help students fine-tune their writing skills. Some research also suggests certain kinds of prompts can help children generate more fruitful questions about learning. AI models might also support customized learning for students with disabilities and provide translation for English language learners.

Teaching assistants. AI might tackle some of the administrative tasks that keep teachers from investing more time with their peers or students. Early uses include automated routine tasks such as drafting lesson plans, creating differentiated materials, designing worksheets, developing quizzes, and exploring ways of explaining complicated academic materials. AI can also provide educators with recommendations to meet student needs and help teachers reflect, plan, and improve their practice.

Parent assistants. Parents can use AI to generate letters requesting individualized education plan (IEP) services or to ask that a child be evaluated for gifted and talented programs. For parents choosing a school for their child, AI could serve as an administrative assistant, mapping out school options within driving distance of home, generating application timelines, compiling contact information, and the like. Generative AI can even create bedtime stories with evolving plots tailored to a child's interests.

Administrator assistants. Using generative AI, school administrators can draft various communications, including materials for parents, newsletters, and other community-engagement documents. AI systems can also help with the difficult tasks of organizing class or bus schedules, and they can analyze complex data to identify patterns or needs. ChatGPT can perform sophisticated sentiment analysis that could be useful for measuring school-climate and other survey data.

Though the potential is great, most teachers have yet to use these tools. A Morning Consult and EdChoice poll found that while 60 percent say they've heard about ChatGPT, only 14 percent have used it in their free time, and just 13 percent have used it at school. It's likely that most teachers and students will engage with generative AI not through the platforms themselves but rather through AI capabilities embedded in software. Instructional providers such as Khan Academy, Varsity Tutors, and DuoLingo are experimenting with GPT-4-powered tutors that are trained on datasets specific to these organizations to provide individualized learning support that has additional guardrails to help protect students and enhance the experience for teachers.

Google's Project Tailwind is experimenting with an AI notebook that can analyze student notes and then develop study questions or provide tutoring support through a chat interface. These features could soon be available on Google Classroom, potentially reaching over half of all U.S. classrooms. Brisk Teaching is one of the first companies to build a portfolio of AI services designed specifically for teachers-differentiating content, drafting lesson plans, providing student feedback, and serving as an AI assistant to streamline workflow among different apps and tools.

Providers of curriculum and instruction materials might also include AI assistants for instant help and tutoring tailored to the companies' products. One example is the edX Xpert, a ChatGPT-based learning assistant on the edX platform. It offers immediate, customized academic and customer support for online learners worldwide.

Regardless of the ways AI is used in classrooms, the fundamental task of policymakers and education leaders is to ensure that the technology is serving sound instructional practice. As Vicki Phillips, CEO of the National Center on Education and the Economy, wrote, "We should not only think about how technology can assist teachers and learners in improving what they're doing now, but what it means for ensuring that new ways of teaching and learning flourish alongside the applications of AI."

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The leap into a new era of machine intelligence carries risks and challenges, but also plenty of promise

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Palma Chillón Garzón, Academic Editor

Abstract

Higher education organizations have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. During school closures, online teaching and learning has become a new routine that may lead to changes in lifestyles and adversely affect university students' health. Therefore, this study was to understand the potential impact of online learning on physical and mental health by investigating the differences in physical activity, psychological distress, and student life stress in Taiwanese university students between the in-class learning and online learning periods. A total of 181 students were recruited from a local university. All participants were requested to complete an online survey and self-report physical activity, psychological distress, and life stress in the in-class learning and online learning periods, respectively. The results indicated a significant reduction in physical activity of various intensities ( p < 0.05). Specifically, male university students showed a greater decrease in vigorous physical activity compared to their female peers. Yet, there was no significant increase in psychological distress and life stress from the in-class learning period to the online learning period. In summary, physical activity drastically reduces during the online learning period in Taiwanese university students. Notably, male students may be at greater risk of insufficient participation in vigorous physical activity.

Keywords: COVID-19, learning, physical activity, psychological distress, student life stress, emerging adults

1. Introduction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become one of the most serious health issues worldwide since the first case was confirmed in 2019 and the global outbreak occurred in 2020 [ 1]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 1 September 2021, there have been more than 218 million confirmed cases, with more than 4 million deaths reported by more than 200 countries [ 2]. In order to effectively control the spread of COVID-19, many policies have been adopted, such as social distancing, border control, and school closures [ 2, 3]. In spite of the fact that vaccinations have been introduced to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic [ 2], the pandemic has undoubtedly, significantly changed our lives and behaviors in a variety of aspects, such as participation in physical activity, social interactions with friends, and teaching and learning at education organizations [ 4, 5, 6, 7]. Consequently, our physical and mental health might be influenced and deteriorated as a result of these unusual changes.

Prior research has identified the adverse effect of COVID-19 on emerging adults' physical and mental health due to social distancing and other measures [ 6, 8]. A large-scale cross-sectional study that analyzed data collected from 18 countries investigated the global changes in exercise behaviors and mood and found that, during the COVID-19 pandemic between March and May 2020, 23.7% of respondents reported a decrease in exercise frequency, and there was a nearly linear relationship between exercise frequency and mood during the pandemic, indicating that individuals who exercised more frequently may have had a better mood [ 4]. Furthermore, a review on the epidemiology of mental illness synthesized the existing evidence and identified greater risks for depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder in the general population, as well as in patients with COVID-19 and health providers [ 9], whereas a systematic review of 12 articles found a higher prevalence of depression or anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents aged between 8 and 18 years [ 8]. Therefore, physical and psychological health in various populations might be inevitably affected during a lockdown or school closure [ 10].

Lockdown and/or school closure may bring significant impacts on higher education, as novel teaching and learning approaches, such as digital online learning or virtual classroom, were introduced during these unprecedented situations [ 3, 5]. Specifically, the adaptation to these novel approaches may further increase university students' anxiety and decrease their motivation and confidence toward personalized learning due to technological barriers during the online learning period [ 11]. In addition, as university students have been found to be at greater risks for insufficient participation in physical activity [ 12], a recent systematic review also found a further reduction in physical activity levels at any intensity in this specific population during lockdown [ 13].

It is evident that there is an intertwined relationship between physical activity and mental health [ 14]. Previous findings have shown that prolonged sitting periods or sedentary lifestyles are strongly associated with increased risks for non-communicable diseases, such as obesity or diabetes, in adults [ 15, 16]. These diseases may commonly coexist with or lead to mental health problems [ 17, 18]. This is also the case during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a previous study identified a positive association between higher exercise frequency and better mood in Taiwanese adults [ 19]. As a result of school closures, university students may be more susceptible to physical inactivity and mental illness during the online learning period [ 10, 11, 13]. Therefore, it is of particular urgency and importance to draw attention to both physical and mental health in this population.

When the first COVID-19 case was confirmed on 21 January 2020, there was an outbreak in Taiwan between January and April with 55 domestic cases [ 20]. By taking strict and effective strategies [ 21], the outbreak was soon subsided, and there was no confirmed domestic case for seven consecutive months from May to November of 2020 [ 20]. Most universities remained open during the first COVID-19 outbreak, even though some courses were simultaneously delivered in the classroom and online; that is, the students could either go to the classroom or stay home to learn online. However, when the second COVID-19 outbreak occurred in May 2021, the Level 3 epidemic alert for the COVID-19 was announced by the Taiwan government to reduce community transmission [ 22]. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education took a much stricter strategy to prevent the pandemic: all public and private education organizations were requested to be shut down. Therefore, since 19 May, all schools and educational institutions have suspended in-person instruction, and courses have been shifted to online [ 23].

Although school closures are a must-do measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this may impose detrimental effects on individuals' physical and mental health along with other regulations, such as social distancing, no public gathering, and no dine-in at restaurants [ 21, 22, 23]. However, limited research has been conducted to evaluate the impact of the change in the teaching and learning approach on physical and mental health in university students, and evidence is scarce regarding the differences in physical and mental health between the in-class and online learning periods. To this end, this study was conducted to better understand the impact of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate the differences in physical activity, psychological distress, and student life stress in university students between the in-class learning period and the online learning period. Specifically, it was hypothesized that, when compared with the in-class learning period, university students would be less likely to engage in physical activity and experience more life stress and psychological distress during the online learning period.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants and Procedures

This was a cross-sectional study approved by the China Medical University and Hospital Research Ethics Committee (CMUH 110-REC3-108). Undergraduate and graduate students at a medical university in central Taiwan were recruited through postings on social media in July 2021. Any potentially eligible participants who saw the recruitment advertisement could access the link of the anonymous web-based survey, which included a consent form, demographic information, and questionnaires concerning physical activity, psychological distress, and student life stress. Nevertheless, they were requested to confirm their eligibility before answering any questions, including: (1) they are currently students at the university, and (2) they are able to read the questions in Mandarin. In addition, students in the final year of their program were excluded from this study, as most of them had to complete an internship at off-campus medical institutes. A total of 742 students accessed and anonymously completed the online survey. However, there were 48 students who were ineligible and 413 students who did not complete all questions. Finally, there were only 181 students (24.4%) who completed all the questions (124 females and 57 males; mean age = 21.82 ± 3.14 years). It took approximately 15 to 20 min to complete the survey. Notably, as this was a cross-sectional study that was conducted after the second outbreak of the COVID-19, all participants completed the online survey only once with careful instructions regarding their answers to health behaviors or status during the in-class learning and online learning periods.

2.2. Measures

2.2.1. Physical Activity

The Taiwanese version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF, available at https://sites.google.com/site/theipaq/ (accessed on 1 July 2021)) was used in this study to collect data on physical activity at various intensities [ 24, 25]. The IPAQ-SF has been validated to show acceptable repeatability (75% of Spearman's ρ > 0.65), reasonable agreement with the Long Form, and fair to moderate criterion validity against accelerometers [ 25], while the Taiwanese version also showed good test-retest reliability (Spearman's ρ = 0.67) and good agreement with the Taiwan version of the Long Form (Spearman's ρ = 0.86) [ 26]. Participants were requested to recall and report their time spent in light physical activity (LPA; i.e., walk), moderate physical activity (MPA), and vigorous physical activity (VPA) in the past 7 days before the day when online learning had begun (i.e., in-class learning period) and in the past 7 days (i.e., online learning period), respectively. The times of total physical activity (TPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were also calculated and recorded for each period. Compliance with WHO recommendations for adults (i.e., at least 150 min per week) was then calculated based on their MVPA [ 27].

2.2.2. Psychological Distress

The Mandarin version of the Kessler-6 (K6) scale (available at https://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/k6_scales.php (accessed on 1 July 2021)) was used to measure psychological distress of undergraduate and graduate students in this study [ 28]. The K6 scale has been validated to show excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.89 to 0.92) and discriminative validity [ 28], and the Mandarin version has also been validated in an international survey study [ 29]. It includes six items measuring different emotional status (e.g., nervous, hopeless, and depressed) during the past 30 days. Participants were asked to answer each question using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (none of the time) to 4 (all of the time) and yielding a total score of 0 to 24, with a higher score indicating a higher level of psychological distress. A score of 12 was usually used as the cut-off for serious mental illness [ 28]. Similarly, they needed to recall their psychological status and complete the questionnaire for the in-class and online learning periods, respectively.

2.2.3. Student Life Stress

The Student Stress Inventory (SSI) was developed to assess stress in university students and was used in this study with permission obtained from the authors. The SSI has been validated to show moderate to good content validity, which was approved by nine experts, and good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.62 to 0.86) [ 30]. In spite of the insufficient sample size, our preliminary analysis showed excellent internal consistency in this study (Cronbach's α = 0.93 for both the in-class and online learning periods). The SSI consisted of 40 questions that were divided into four subscales with 10 items in each subscale, including physical stress, interpersonal relationship, academic stress, and environmental stress. Participants were asked to read each question and report how often they experienced the symptom, situation, or problem using a four-point Likert scale (1 = never, 2 = somewhat frequent, 3 = frequent, and 4 = always). The original version did not require the respondents to answer the questions based on their experience within a specific time frame. However, in order to better help our participants recall their experience, this study asked them to consider their situation in the past 7 days before online learning had begun and in the past 7 days when they responded to the questionnaire. Based on the manual, the total score, ranging between 40 and 160, was calculated by summing the item scores, whereas the subscale scores were calculated by averaging the item scores in each subscale. A higher score indicated a higher level of life stress.

2.3. Data Analysis

Data were first visually inspected to identify any potential outliers. While large variations were specifically found for variables with respect to physical activity, those outliers (∣z∣ score ≥ 3) were further excluded from data analysis [ 31]. SPSS 22.0 for Windows (Armonk, NY, USA: IBM Corp) was used to conduct the statistical analyses. Descriptive statistics were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD) or a percentage to describe the demographic information of our participants. Furthermore, a repeated-measures ANCOVA with sex as the fixed factor was conducted to assess the difference in psychological distress between the in-class and online learning periods, whereas two repeated-measures MANCOVAs with sex as the fixed factor were conducted to assess the differences in physical activity and student life stress, respectively. Taking into account the potential confounding effect [ 9], the school of study, the year of study, and the medical diagnosis regarding physical or mental health were entered as covariates in all analyses. Statistical significance was set at α < 0.05.

3. Results

3.1. Sample Characteristics

A total of 181 university students participated in this study. As shown in Table 1 , the majority of them were second-year undergraduate students ( n = 58, 32.04%) and studied at the School of Health Promotion (e.g., nursing or physical therapy; n = 60, 33.15%). More than 50% of the participants had a normal weight status ( n = 119). In addition, there were 20 participants (11.05%) who reported a medical diagnosis of physical or psychiatric problems that may impact their physical (e.g., physical fitness or physical activity) or mental health (e.g., anxiety or depression).

Table 1

Mean ± SD or n (%)

Range

Age (years) a

21.82 ± 3.14

18.89-39.16

During the in-class period ( Table 2 ), there were 86 participants (55 females, 63.95%) who reported meeting physical activity recommendations, while compliance decreased to 24.31% ( n = 44; 35 females, 79.55%) during the online learning period. In addition, 56 participants (39 females, 69.64%) were identified as having a serious mental illness based on the results of the K6 during the in-class learning period; however, there were 49 participants with a serious mental illness (33 females, 67.35%) during the online learning period.

Table 2

In-Class Learning

Online Learning

Physical activity (min/week) a

Compliance b

86 (47.51%)

44 (24.31%)

3.2. Physical Activity

The results show a statistically significant period effect on physical activity at different intensities ( p < 0.05) and total physical activity ( p < 0.001, Table 3 ), indicating that physical activity levels were lower during the online learning period. No sex effect was found on any physical activity variables; however, a significant interaction of period by sex was found on VPA ( F(1, 157) = 4.83, p < 0.05, = 0.03). The result is graphed in Figure 1 that VPA was found to decrease from the in-class learning period to the online learning period in both male and female students, but the extent to which VPA declined was larger in males than in females.

Table 3

LPA

MVP

VPA

TPA

F(1, 157)

F(1, 157)

F(1, 157)

F(1, 157)

Period

17.73 ***

0.10

10.47 **

0.06

5.40 *

0.03

19.81 ***

0.11

Sex

0.91

0.01

0.38

<0.01

0.13

<0.01

0.23

<0.01

Period by Sex

1.32

0.01

1.54

0.01

4.83 *

0.03

1.86

0.01

3.3. Psychological Distress

The result did not show statistically significant period ( F(1, 176) = 0.01, p > 0.05, < 0.01) and sex effects ( F(1, 176) = 0.28, p > 0.05, < 0.01) on psychological distress. In addition, there was no significant interaction of period by sex on psychological distress ( F(1, 176) = 1.06, p > 0.05, = 0.01).

3.4. Student Life Stress

The same as to the result of psychological distress ( Table 4 ): neither period effect nor sex effect was found on the subdomains of student life stress and overall life stress ( p > 0.05). In addition, there was no significant period by sex interaction on student life stress ( p > 0.05).

Table 4

Physical Stress

Interpersonal Relationship

Academic Stress

Environmental Stress

Student Life Stress

F(1, 176)

F(1, 176)

F(1, 176)

F(1, 176)

F(1, 176)

Period

65

<0.01

0.01

<0.01

0.44

<0.01

3.00

0.02

1.29

0.01

Sex

0.88

0.01

0.02

<0.01

0.03

<0.01

0.02

<0.01

0.13

<0.01

Period by Sex

0.23

<0.01

0.09

<0.01

1.08

0.01

0.10

<0.01

0.53

<0.01

4. Discussion

The present study investigated the potential impact of school closures on physical and mental health in university students by comparing physical activity levels, psychological distress, and student life stress between the in-class learning period and online learning period during the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of our knowledge, this study may be the first to investigate this issue in Taiwanese university students. Our hypotheses were partly supported, showing that university students participated in physical activity significantly less in the online learning period compared with the in-class learning period. Nevertheless, their mental health was not influenced.

As the COVID-19 pandemic may significantly change our health behaviors [ 32], this study specifically identified that university students' physical activity levels were more affected during the online learning period. While previous studies have shown that 64.6-79.6% of university students could maintain a level of health-enhanced physical activity during lockdown [ 33, 34], there were only 24% of Taiwanese students in this study who could accumulate at least 150 min of MVPA per week during the online learning period. Furthermore, consistent with a recent systematic review showing a reduction in physical activity in university students during lockdown [ 13], our participants were significantly physically inactive and only engaged in physical activity for less than 50% of the time that they previously spent during the in-class learning period. As all classroom-based courses had been moved online and accessibility to exercise facilities at universities had become impossible during school closures, this may have hindered university students from maintaining their physical activity routines and regularly participating in exercise or sports [ 3, 35]. Instead, their time spent in physical activity may have been replaced by sedentary behaviors, as online learning may request a large amount of time using electronic devices [ 36, 37]. Furthermore, other measures taken during the online learning period (i.e., the Level 3 Control Stage) could simultaneously and significantly reduce their opportunities to engage in daily physical activities, including closure of all places of entertainment and leisure, social distancing, and domestic travel restrictions [ 38, 39].

While prior research has consistently found a decline in total physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic or school closures, little attention has been drawn to its impact on different intensities of physical activity [ 10, 36, 37, 40]. In line with prior research [ 36, 37, 40, 41], our finding showed that the decline in physical activity was more remarkable in those activities with lower intensity (i.e., walking in this study). Evidence consistently indicates that a decline in physical activity during a lockdown or school closure would enlarge with a decrease in the intensity. This finding may not be surprising, as university students may commute to and from the university by walking or public transportation. Due to the cancellation of in-class courses, this may deprive their walking time [ 37, 40], thereby leading to a drastic decrease in LPA.

It is also worth noting that sex may play an important role in the change in physical activity from the in-class learning period to the online learning period during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 41]. Rodriguez-Larrad and colleagues found that there was a greater reduction in higher intensity physical activity (i.e., MVPA) in male university students during the confinement in 2020. This is also the case in our study. Specifically, a greater decrease was found in VPA in males (74%) compared to their female peers (39%). Furthermore, while males spent more time on VPA during the in-class learning period (male: 150.62 min/week; female: 126.17 min/week), their VPA time became even lower than females during the online learning period (male: 38.46 min/week; female: 77.48 min/week). This finding implies that the types of VPA in which male students choose to participate may be more directly affected by school closures, such as exercising at university gyms or playing intramural sports [ 41]. Therefore, when these activities or facilities may be inaccessible or unavailable during the online learning period, male students are less likely to engage in these vigorous physical activities. On the other hand, female students may participate in different types of VPA that are less affected by school closures, such as computer applications or exergames [ 41]. However, as this study did not investigate the types of physical activity in both periods, further research is warranted to better understand the underlying mechanisms.

On the contrary, while the majority of research has identified higher levels of psychological distress and/or life stress in university students during a lockdown or school closure in a similar cultural context [ 42, 43], this study did not find a difference in psychological distress and student life stress between the in-class learning and online learning periods. We argue that this discrepancy in findings may be due to the timing when the study had been undertaken. The existing evidence showing mental illness in university students during a lockdown or school closure was obtained in studies that were completed in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first occurred and overwhelmingly spread around the world. As this was a new disease that has not been observed in human history, individuals may have felt anxious and depressed toward the huge changes in their lives caused by this uncertain situation and, consequently, suffered from mental health problems. Nevertheless, when this study was conducted during the second outbreak in Taiwan in 2021, students may have been mentally ready for any change in teaching and learning approaches, as they had experienced such changes during the first outbreak in 2020. Therefore, no deterioration in mental health was found in this study. However, as physical inactivity could exert an adverse effect on mental health [ 44, 45, 46], this calls for the need for longitudinal research that could track the long-term impact of insufficient participation in physical activity on mental illness in this population.

One of the limitations of this study is the small sample size due to the low completion rate of the online survey. As this study was conducted during the online learning period, face-to-face recruitment was not possible. This, in turn, limited our ability to ensure the quality of participants' responses. For instance, some students completed part of the survey or only missed a few items of the questionnaire. This led us to exclude some data for further analysis. Another limitation is the representation of our sample. As a majority of the participants were recruited from the School of Health Promotion, there may be difficulty in generalizing the results. A more balanced, stratified sampling is needed for further research. Third, even though we initiated this study soon after school closures (May 2021), we waited for a longer time to receive approval from the Research Ethics Board. This delay may have caused measurement errors due to recall bias when the participants were asked to report their physical activity and the status of mental health. It is strongly recommended that educational institutions should regularly record students' physical and mental health during this unprecedented period. By doing so, we could more accurately evaluate the long-term impact of the COVID-19 on physical and mental health.

5. Conclusions

To sum up, when physical activity significantly reduces during the online learning period in both male and female university students, their mental health is not affected by school closures. Furthermore, much attention should be drawn toward the male population, as their participation in higher intensity physical activity (i.e., VPA) is specifically impacted compared to females. These insights provide health professionals and universities with valuable information for developing preventive strategies targeting improvement in physical activity, specifically for male university students. Taking into account the association between physical inactivity and mental illness, in spite of no difference in both life stress and psychological distress between two learning periods, it is recommended to carefully monitor the over-time change in mental health.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all participants for their time and support.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Y.-H.C. and Y.-C.L.; methodology, Y.-H.C. and Y.-C.L.; software and formal analysis, Y.-C.L.; investigation, Y.-H.C. and Y.-C.L.; data curation, Y.-C.L.; writing-original draft preparation, Y.-H.C.; writing-review and editing, Y.-H.C. and Y.-C.L.; project administration, Y.-C.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board of China Medical University Hospital (CMUH110-REC3-108).

Informed Consent Statement

Online informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The data are available on request from the corresponding author.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Footnotes

Publisher's Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) offer many advantages: greater access to information, cost reduction in the labour sector, greater connectivity between people, etc. However, digitalisation is not happening equally all over the world, because imbalance exists and this is known as the digital divide.

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UNESCO : Building Peace through Education, Science and Culture, communication and information

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Learn more about UNESCO's role, vision and results. UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Our aim is to promote peace and security through international cooperation

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Coronavirus pandemic: German schools lagging behind on digital learning

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Coronavirus pandemic: German schools lagging behind on digital learning

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Coronavirus: German schools develop 'Plan B'

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Coronavirus: German schools develop 'Plan B'

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The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has largely paralyzed public life in Germany. For now, schools remain open - but the effects of the pandemic are apparent in the classroom.

According to the German Teachers' Association, more than 300,000 students have been quarantined. In the country's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, over 550 schools are affected by the isolation measures - about one in ten facilities.

Parents and teachers' associations are concerned about the increasing infection rates in schools. They want to know what will happen when the number of infections increases still further, and whether schools are better equipped than in the spring?

Some schools are already experimenting with different tools for digital learning

Preparations for a potential lockdown

In the Gottfried Kinkel elementary school in Bonn, preparations for a potential lockdown are in full swing. So far only one employee has had to be sent into quarantine. But new ideas to tackle a partial lockdown have already been tested.

Read more: Germany debates how to distribute a coronavirus vaccine

The school is currently experimenting on how to combine digital and analog learning, principal Christian Eberhard explains to DW.

"We had a child at home participate in class through a video call for four hours. That worked quite smoothly," he says. "The children reacted well, exchanging information on the computer and solving tasks together. The child at home was happy because they were part of the class community," adds Eberhard.

But the school soon abandoned this learning model, believing it to be unreasonable to expect young children to work online for long periods of time. The school developed an alternative concept that will be used both in classroom teaching and in the event of a school shutdown.

"We would form so-called learning partnerships. Each child has one or two learning partners with whom they can learn cooperatively," explains Christian Eberhard. "These learning partners are supposed to help each other, talk on the phone and coordinate with each other, so that not everything goes through the teacher."

Read more: Has pandemic fatigue taken hold in India?

Positive experiences in the elementary school

In the event of a lockdown, the Gottfried Kinkel school has prepared weekly plans and divided up roles. The day would begin with a "digital morning circle" - a video conference with teachers and their students. Afterward, classes begin, in which tasks and assignments for the next few days would be worked on.

Christian Eberhard is preparing the Gottfried Kinkel elementary school in Bonn for all coronavirus developments

Between 9 a. m. and midday, the teachers would work with the children one-on-one or in small groups. At lunchtime, there would be digital one-on-one meetings to talk about results and problems. In the afternoon, the students would have the opportunity to take part in joint projects, for example using the digital pinboard app "Padlet."

The afternoon is considered an additional educational opportunity at the elementary school. The school is unusual as an "all-day" school - most schools in Germany run from around 8 a. m. to 1 p. m.

Overall, the school feels "well-prepared" should the coronavirus pandemic return with a vengeance in the winter.

Four scenarios at a secondary school

The Friedrich Ebert secondary school in Bonn is also watching the rising number of infections in Germany with growing concern. Last week nine students had to be sent to quarantine.

"These students are currently receiving teaching, from a distance. They have been sent the weekly schedule and we are setting up video conferences for some subjects," reports principal Frank Langner. Next week, the school management wants to implement a new concept in case of a quarantine which would put distance learning on par with classroom teaching.

But the idea is not to simply replace four hours of mathematics, for example, with online lessons of the same length. Instead, digital lessons in the main subjects would be limited to one-hour-long video lessons, because of the extra stress attached to video learning. Further lessons would be conducted via learning support.

"Learning support would come by e-mail, telephone, or with the help of video sequences, depending on the situation," Frank Langner says.

His school has prepared for four possible infection scenarios: some students are in quarantine; an entire class is in quarantine; individual teachers are in quarantine and finally, the entire school is closed. All the scenarios raise the difficult question of how to evaluate student performance.

Frank Langner plans to implement a new concept, putting distance learning on par with classroom teaching.

"When I receive a paper, I don't know whether the student worked on it himself or whether his big brother or sister might have helped," says Principal Langner, explaining a key problem with digital teaching.

The school has a solution. During a short-term quarantine of 14 days, students will be checked and evaluated on their performance afterward. In the case of a longer-term quarantine, performance "should only be evaluated via video conference after discussion with the respective students," explains Langner.
Read more: Sweden keeps its laid-back COVID-19 strategy
For internal communication, the Friedrich Ebert grammar school has chosen to use the Microsoft Teams app. Alternatively, the video chat app Yitsi was installed, "which is even more flawless in terms of data protection because it runs on our own server," Langner says.

Breaking new ground in digital learning

Digitalization in German schools is making progress, as the two examples show. The Gottfried Kinkel school was anything but tech-savvy before the first lockdown. This also applies to the teachers. Some colleagues were digitally-minded but "some had never touched an iPad or tablet before," says principal Christian Eberhard.

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In the beginning, the school relied on Zoom conferences. "Although data protection is important," says Eberhard, "it is not everything. The children's right to learn and be guided is the most important thing."

In the meantime, Eberhard's teachers have taken part in media training courses and tested a variety of apps, along with the children.

Frank Langner from the Friedrich Ebert grammar school admits that he had an advantage as a computer scientist, which is why his school has made rapid progress with digitalization. Nevertheless, there were obstacles. In Langner's experience, the problems start when the hardware is ordered: delivery times are very long at the moment because of the high demand. In addition, there are bottlenecks in maintenance.

His suggestion is that schools should hire a "digital caretaker." This support technician would "work across three to four schools," estimates Langner. He also wants immediate financial support for the purchase of WiFi routers, cables and other accessories to make the schools ready for digital teaching.
This article was translated from German.
But both Bonn school principals hope to be able to maintain in-person classes, because, according to Christian Eberhard, "nothing can replace it. We need it. We use technology when it adds something - and not just for the sake of it."

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Coronavirus: German schools develop 'Plan B' | DW | 13.11.2020

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The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has largely paralyzed public life in Germany. For now, schools remain open - but the effects of the pandemic are apparent in the classroom. According to the German Teachers' Association, more than 300,000 students have been quarantined.

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Covid-19 - Increased Demand for Digital Learning Solutions

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Covid-19 - Increased Demand for Digital Learning Solutions

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Digital Economy

The corona crisis is making itself felt in the classroom, with schools closed. Digital learning providers are offering innovative solutions to meet changing education requirements.

Video Conferencing for Pre-School Children

It is half past nine in the morning in Germany. The first video conference has just begun. The 12 participants can see the other participant faces and they start talking. Their parents are present, in some cases both mothers and fathers. They sing children's songs, do children's yoga and read a story about the fireman together. This is the kindergarten group of a Berlin daycare center where the educators are making virtual appointments using the same video conferencing tools normally reserved for adult use.

Starting in the last week of March, the virtual meetings have already established themselves. And just like the parents and children in this Berlin day nursery, many in Germany are trying out new digital learning and communication tools as a result of the restrictions on movement put in place to combat the coronavirus disease.

Digital Apps Bringing Children Together

A number of web- and video conferencing tools have become household names overnight as working from home has become the new norm for many millions of people around the world. Similar tools are being used to bring children together during the lockdown - one prominent example being the NemBørn tool that digitally connects children, parents and daycare centers, thereby ensuring that everybody know what is happening and what the little ones and grown-ups are learning with and from each other.

Emergency Digital Pact for Schools Funding

Germany's Federal Government has approved the release of EUR 100 million for primary and secondary schools as part of its existing "Digital Pact for Schools" program ( Digitalpakt Schule in German only) in order to combat the immediate effects of the Covid-19 crisis. The EUR 5 billion initiative, put in place to help schools upgrade their digital infrastructure, is part of the country's broader digital transformation objectives. The emergency funding has been made available to ease the transition to "home learning" using cloud platforms and solutions.

The Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) School Cloud, a learning platform developed exclusively for schools, has also received extra federal funding as part of the new measures. The HPI school cloud will be made available to all schools which cannot use a comparable platform solution provided by the state or school authorities. Working in partnership with Alliance for Free Education members Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. and edu-sharing.net e. V., HPI will oversee the integration of learning content in the learning cloud of the school cloud.

Growing Demand for School Digital Learning Solutions

Demand for school digital learning platforms and solutions is growing. The current situation has only thrown a spotlight on the very real need for a radical overhaul of digital infrastructure in Germany's school education system. The individual federal states are reacting at different speeds to make digital teaching services easily available to all schools. Some states are ahead of the curve in this respect, while others are effectively playing catch-up in terms of digital learning provision.

Remote Learning Solutions Opportunities

Digital learning in schools was a major presence at this year's LEARNTEC trade fair for digital learning in January. Germany's Bitkom digital association has repeatedly highlighted shortcomings in Germany's digital progress to date, hampered in part by the country's federal system which sees educational competences decided on an individual state basis. Nordic countries, as part of a project initiated by education start-ups and "Education Nation" (Estonia), have made a number of remote learning solutions freely available across Europe to support teachers and parents in the current difficult situation. Digital learning solutions providers who make their apps and solutions freely available to schools and educational establishments in Germany may well be permanently integrated into the country's education landscape after successful test phase completion. Similar opportunities also exist for international companies in the college, university and further education environment, as they too address the current situation and the country's changing digital learning requirements.
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Covid-19 - Increased Demand for Digital Learning Solutions | Digital Economy

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Digital Economy The corona crisis is making itself felt in the classroom, with schools closed. Digital learning providers are offering innovative solutions to meet changing education requirements. It is half past nine in the morning in Germany. The first video conference has just begun.

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Against All Odds: Education in Germany Coping with Covid-19

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Against All Odds: Education in Germany Coping with Covid-19

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High-Tech Innovators, Ed-Tech Laggards

Great times for learning technologists, one might think, in times of Covid-19! Out of a sudden, teachers are looking for digital tools to deliver learning materials to their students and organize communication within their classes. No managerial strategies, no teacher training, no debates on technological design or politics, no arguments about the pros and cons-we just do it. Worldwide, the use of technology in all fields of education is at a historical high. In Germany, though, we face a special situation. Germany is a world-leading developer and producer of high-tech products in many domains. And while the medical sector seems relatively well equipped to face the epidemic, educational system seems to be lagging in the use of digital technology for teaching and learning.

Ninety percent of German schools and universities are public institutions (Statistisches Bundesamt 2020), and Germany's educational system heavily relies on autonomy of its 16 states ( Länder). Robust data on the spread of digital infrastructure in education is not available (cf. Eickelmann et al. 2019), yet schools have been struggling with planning and implementing basic digital services for years. Only recently, schools have started to provide teachers with email accounts, web servers, and other learning technologies (News4Teachers 2019). In early 2019, the federal government decided to invest 5 billion euro for proliferating digital technologies in secondary schools (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung 2020). But most school districts have not been able to spend the money so far, due to complex bureaucratic procedures that precede expenditure, and the need to first develop sound and aligned pedagogical concepts for the use of technology.

Given its economic strength, why is Germany so far behind? In Germany, digital technology in education is a highly debated topic. For decades, emotional discussions have been centering around the usefulness of computers in education. A German book written by a physician is receiving high attention in the public debate and explains-with references to brain science-that computers in schools lead to poorer performances, causing addiction and obesity (Spitzer 2012). Some parents have long been protesting, for example, against the installation of wireless LAN in schools, arguing for the negative effects of radio waves on the health of their children. The system of private Steiner Schools is successfully advertising their schools as non-digital for younger children (Freie Hochschule Stuttgart 2019).

Constitutional Freedom of Teaching

German federal regulations restrict the adoption of software that is successfully used in education in other parts of the world. Teachers are strictly banned from using cloud services, social platforms, micro-blogs, or document sharing tools that are hosted outside of the EU, because of these technologies' lack of (full) compliance with EU standards for privacy and data protection, telemetric practices, and the imponderables of data leaving EU territory. Germany proudly has world's possibly strictest privacy and information protection legislation. The general ruling is not based on the aim of 'securing' data access and transport, but on the idea of Datensparsamkeit which could be translated as 'data minimalism' or 'data austerity' (Fowler 2013): the less data you store, the less data can be misused. While in some countries data is perceived as the 'new oil,' as a resource to run new businesses, Datensparsamkeit suggests that the best data is no data at all. Unsurprisingly, ambitious field research in learning analytics, which is often based on the exploitation of private data (Prinsloo and Slade 2014; Williamson 2017), is scarce. The exception that proves the rule is research on 'trusted learning analytics' carried out by Hendrick Drachsler's group ( 2016).

Current school solutions are typically based on open source products, operated by states or regional school boards, on servers situated within national (or EU) boundaries. In order to avoid usage of software applications that could make data openly available to USA or other nations' intelligence agencies, some states provide EU-compliant alternatives for document sharing and repository services. German universities have established a cooperative company, HIS Hochschul Informations System eG, Hannover, to develop administrative software solutions that operate according to EU data protection and privacy regulations. Ironically, in early 2020, a bug was encountered within the jointly developed student information system that was able to reveal personal data of all (!) students from nearly all public universities in Germany (Tremmel 2020). Digital textbooks need approval by state authorities and are hardly available. Due to inferior school infrastructure, book publishers are reluctant to invest in a somewhat unsure future-leaving not just production, but also development of expertise, to others.

Contradictions between Germany's success in producing cutting-edge technology, and German caution when it comes to using digital technology in daily educational routines, are a fascinating research topic in their own right. Very briefly, they could be related to early nineteenth century Romanticism and its skeptical attitude towards technology at large. Furthermore, they could be associated with German more recent experiences of surveillance. Most Germans know (of) a person that has suffered either from the fascist regime 1933-1945 or from the communist regime 1945-1989 (in eastern part of Germany). Both regimes heavily relied on mass surveillance and total control of public opinion, which was especially prominent in broadcasting, newspapers, schools, and universities. For Germans, misuse of information is not an imagined danger at the horizon but a vivid experience reported by older generations. Mass murder of Jewish people was organized using a tabulator machine from German branch of IBM called Dehomag (Black 2012); population census used punch cards, where the infamous 'column 22' indicated a person with Jewish background (Luebke and Milton 1994). Germans' ambivalent relationship to technology cuts across many different aspects of German culture, including philological and educational heritage. Its citizens may be successful engineers, yet it is hoped that they will also become well-rounded persons through Bildung.

For educators and educational (technology) researchers, the Covid-19 crisis rapidly opens new questions and develops new perspectives. Suddenly, and against earlier resistance against digital teaching and learning, teachers experience a steep learning curve while they implement all sorts of digital tools and materials in their work. They are caught by surprise when they find out that their university does not have a conference tool to communicate with more than 25 students at the same time, or that their university has limited student access licenses to online library materials. Their hectic attempts at compensation are aggravated by the 'no-use' policy for software hosted outside the EU or non-compliant with the European data protection regulations (GDPR). A solid video conferencing software serving, for example, 30,000 students at a larger university, does not seem easily available from an EU-compliant supplier. To stress that these rushed activities should not be equated with e-learning, distance education, or another form of carefully planned and administered online learning experience, Germany has quickly picked up the term 'remote teaching' (Hodges et al. 2020).

In response to its recent history, Germany is one the few world's nations where freedom of research and teaching is codified in the constitution (Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz 2020: Art 5). Amongst other things, this constitutional right implies that teachers can freely choose whether they want to use digital technology. During the Covid-19 crisis, discussions have emerged about the consequence of 'remote teaching' pointing to access inequities. While many teachers have heavily invested in remote teaching with digital tools, some teachers have demanded the immediate stop of the promotion of digital tools. For instance, a group of scholars from the well-respected Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, with the support of many other professors from other universities, demanded the cancelation of studies for the summer semester (#nichtsemester 2020).

Educational Leadership and Digital Change Under Pressure

Besides anecdotical reports, we do not have reliable data about numbers of (university) teachers who have been using technology for 'remote teaching' during the crises and about their success. It seems that we probably will not have this data in the near future, because planned or approved projects on the topic do not seem to be in sight. Many teachers have now quickly, even if non-systematically, developed their digital competencies. After the Covid-19 crisis is gone, will they immediately return to earlier strong preference for face-to-face teaching or will they start moving towards online education? (see Weller 2020) Answers to this question will depend on teacher and student experiences during the crises. Will they perceive the remote learning experience as an ambivalent but feasible alternative? Will they remember remote teaching as a traumatic episode that needs to be quickly left behind? These questions will probably inspire a lot of postdigital research after the crisis. As Jandrić ( 2020) has pointed out, this historical moment challenges many common positions in research and education and calls for a lot of rethinking in and for the future.

At the learning lab of University Duisburg-Essen, we are studying practices of change in educational institutions (Kerres and Waffner 2019). Confronted with the crisis where teachers have turned to digital technology with little or no organizational support, we are now seriously rethinking our models of 'digital change.' We are questioning previous measures: digital strategies, policies, projects, incentives, and support. Will current changes, experienced by individual teachers, affect their organizations at large? Before the Covid-19 crisis, research on educational leadership and digital change has not paid much attention to reactions of educational organizations under extreme external pressure (e.g., Davis 2017). All organizations react to external conditions such as market shifts, but how will they integrate personal and collective experiences of this state of emergency? Answers to these questions will depend, amongst other factors, on social constructions and meaning-making of various stakeholders. And then, for postdigital research, it will be important to understand these developments against the backdrop of cultural conditions and its historical foundations.

Funding Information

Open Access funding provided by Projekt DEAL.

References

#nichtsemester. (2020). Das Sommersemester 2020 muss ein „Nichtsemester' werden - Ein offener Brief aus Forschung und Lehre. https://www.nichtsemester.de/cbxpetition/offener-brief/. Accessed 17 April 2020.

Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz. (2020). Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Art 5. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_5.html. Accessed 17 April 2020.

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. (2020). Der DigitalPakt Schule kommt. https://www.bildung-forschung.digital/de/der-digitalpakt-schule-kommt-2330.html. Accessed 17 April 2020.

Drachsler, H., & Greller, W. (2016). Privacy and analytics: it's a DELICATE issue a checklist for trusted learning analytics. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge, 89-98. 10.1145/2883851.2883893.

Eickelmann, B., Bos, W., Gerick, J., Goldhammer, F., Schaumburg, H., Schwippert, K., Senkbeil, M., & Vahrenhold, J. (2019). ICILS 2018 #Deutschland: Computer- und informationsbezogene Kompetenzen von Schülerinnen und Schülern im zweiten internationalen Vergleich und Kompetenzen im Bereich Computational Thinking. Münster: Waxmann Verlag.

Fowler, M. (2013). Datensparsamkeit. https://martinfowler.com/bliki/Datensparsamkeit.html. Accessed 17 April 2020.

Freie Hochschule Stuttgart. (2019). Medienpädagogik an Waldorfschulen: Curriculum - Ausstattung. Stuttgart: Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen and von Tessin-Lehrstuhl für Medienpädagogik an der Freien Hochschule Stuttgart. https://www.waldorfschule.de/fileadmin/bilder/Allgemeines/BdFW_Medienpaed_an_WS.pdf. Accessed 17 April 2020.

Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. Educausereview, 27 March. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning. Accessed 15 April 2020.

Jandrić P. Postdigital research in the time of Covid-19. Postdigital Science and Education. 2020;2(2):233-238. doi: 10.1007/s42438-020-00113-8. [[CrossRef] Google Scholar]

Luebke DM, Milton S. Locating the victim: an overview of census-taking, tabulation technology, and persecution in Nazi Germany. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 1994;3:25-39. doi: 10.1109/MAHC.1994.298418. [[CrossRef] Google Scholar]

News4Teachers. (2019). NRW stellt Schulcloud „Logineo' vor - Lehrerverband rät von Nutzung ab. News4Teachers, 26 November. https://www.news4teachers.de/2019/11/nach-pleiten-und-pannen-nrw-stellt-endlich-seine-schulcloud-logineo-vor/. Accessed 17 April 2020.

Tremmel, S. (2020). c't deckt auf: Datenleck an Hochschulen. Heise online, 17 March. https://www.heise.de/news/c-t-deckt-auf-Datenleck-an-Hochschulen-4683940.html. Accessed 17 April 2020.

Weller, M. (2020). 25 Years of Ed Tech. Edmonton, Canada: Athabasca University Press. 10.15215/aupress/9781771993050.01.

Williamson, B. (2017). Big data in education: the digital future of learning, policy and practice. London: SAGE.

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Against All Odds: Education in Germany Coping with Covid-19

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Great times for learning technologists, one might think, in times of Covid-19! Out of a sudden, teachers are looking for digital tools to deliver learning materials to their students and organize communication within their classes. No managerial strategies, no teacher training, no debates on technological design or politics, no arguments about the pros and cons-we just do it.

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GDPR, data protection and remote learning

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GDPR, data protection and remote learning

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In recent months, schools have had to adapt rapidly to the new normal of remote learning. There is no doubt that teachers, parents and pupils alike have demonstrated great resilience and dedication during this period, but distance learning has also brought increasing challenges and dangers.

Online platforms have been instrumental in enabling students to continue learning, but there will unfortunately always be dangerous individuals who are willing to exploit such situations to steal from or harm young and vulnerable people. Data protection has never been more important and in certain cases is the first line of defence in safeguarding.

It is vital that the importance of data protection procedure is recommunicated to teachers during this time, whether they are currently working from school or remotely. This is especially true for teachers who are working from home, as the risks are even higher. With students communicating on a range of unknown and "unmanaged" devices, the dangers escalate.

Using devices securely

It may feel like it goes without saying, but when using any device, schools must ensure school staff are taking great care over what websites they visit. Users should only visit trusted sites, and avoid downloading or opening any attachments from sources they do not recognise.

Teachers should also be aware that they must avoid sharing a device at home, unless there is the appropriate access control to the areas they use for work. This is also true for their family members. While school staff should already have been trained in data protection and therefore should know what is safe to access and what is not, other family members may be less vigilant.

It is essential that all teachers are reminded to check that their devices have the latest security installation updates and that they have appropriate and updated anti-virus and malware. Additionally, there should be a school IT security team available at all times to advise teachers and staff.

Utilising free resources

A wealth of free resources and support have been created in recent months to support schools, teachers and parents to help with remote learning. Many are superb and the authors must be congratulated. If a system can be used which involves no data to be entered, no registration and no file downloads, and is within a secure website which displays "https", then it should be safe to use.

However, no website should be used which asks teachers or students to enter personal data without thinking it through. The website's privacy policy must be checked and simple due diligence should be carried out. Somewhere on the website or in the privacy policy will normally be details of who they are and how to contact them. If the information is not there, either this organisation genuinely wants to help but does not have the process in place to keep data safe, or they are not what they seem. In either case do not expose students to the website.

Reporting concerns

This is a stressful time, meaning things can easily be forgotten or side-lined, which is why it is important to remind teachers and staff that if they believe their device or emails have been compromised then this should be immediately reported.

Keeping communications safe

When contacting and receiving messages from students, teachers should be instructed to assume that every student device may be compromised. Of course this is unlikely, but it is imperative to be as cautious as possible in these circumstances. There is a great website you can use to check if your email address has been compromised: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Conclusion

One simple way to help safeguard students and teachers alike, is by ensuring that no personal information is shared through these channels. If personal information is requested from a student, they should be instructed to pass this message on to a member of school staff.

Finally, while video-conferencing has been wonderful, all students and staff should be properly briefed on the fact that they must never turn on their video for a person they do not know. Equally, no one should make a recording unless express consent has been obtained before the recording takes place.

Lynne Taylor is the founder and co-CEO of GDPR in Schools (GDPRiS) and founder of ParentPay. Visit www.gdpr.school

Further information & resources

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GDPR, data protection and remote learning

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In recent months, schools have had to adapt rapidly to the new normal of remote learning. There is no doubt that teachers, parents and pupils alike have demonstrated great resilience and dedication during this period, but distance learning has also brought increasing challenges and dangers.

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How could intelligent technologies help during the pandemic?

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How could intelligent technologies help during the pandemic?

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In the face of the ongoing pandemic, thousands of schools, teachers and learners all over the world had to switch to remote teaching and learning almost overnight. While some of them could successfully continue education with the help of educational technologies and online learning, many still question the effectiveness and level of engagement of the latest.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been on the radars of the education agenda since some time. AI applications have promised to spark innovation in education and to make it more personalized and thus more effective. It seems however that AI was not yet implemented at scale in the current crisis.

In this interview, Dr Inge Molenaar, Chair of the 2019 edition of the ICT Prize, tells us more about the difference between intelligent and non-intelligent technologies, existing AI applications in education, and risks and opportunities these applications could create. Dr Molenaar is Assistant Professor at Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands), specializing in artificial intelligence and education.
Could you tell us more the difference between adaptive intelligent and non-intelligent digital technologies?
Although we all shifted to online learning and the use of digital materials, many teachers and learners were not prepared for this sudden switch to full online learning. Distance learning does not always allow teachers to make adjustments and support students, as they would do in the classroom. As a result, students may find the digital learning materials either too simple or too complex, which could lead to disengagement and a reduction in learning outcomes. Adaptive intelligent learning technologies may help to overcome these problems.

This type of technologies uses algorithms to adapt digital learning materials to students' needs by monitoring students' performance, estimating their skills, tracking their progress and predicting their development. This enables students to learn at their own pace and reduces the need for constant teachers' supervision, feedback or adjustments to the materials.

In contrast to the adaptive learning technologies, a wide range of non-intelligent digital learning technologies are available. While these technologies do not make intelligent adjustments, they do often provide students with direct feedback and teachers with dashboards to follow students' progress. Yet, they are designed to be used as a supplement to teachers' instructions, and children may face difficulties in working with them independently.
Could you give us some examples of AI in education applications during the pandemic?
In the Netherlands, we are using adaptive learning technologies at scale in primary and secondary education. These technologies adjust materials to the needs of students and provide teachers with extensive insights into their students' progress via dashboards. During the pandemic, a number of new functions have been added to these adaptive learning technologies for home schooling. For example, integrated communication modules enable teachers to talk directly to their students. Another option includes the possibility to have 'live' virtual lessons. In the live lessons, teachers give instructions via the communication modules, for example adaptive learning technology Gynzy integrated Microsoft teams. Thus, students connect via their laptops and follow lessons at a distance, and teachers can provide additional instruction and feedback directly to individual students. This allows for social presence and a sense of community, albeit students do not see each other physically.
Could the current learning crisis scale up the use of intelligent platforms and AI in education in general?
Today many countries are scaling up their digital technologies, yet I am not sure whether all governments and schools agents are aware of the difference between digital non-intelligent and adaptive intelligent technologies. They would require additional help and explanations of what AI can do in this particular situation. Many good digital materials for schools already exist, but when AI is used properly, we can improve home schooling even more.

At the same time, different types of AI applications exist. We know that adaptive learning technologies for assessment and instruction have been especially popular. However, currently we also see a new development, including in the Prize applications, namely detection technologies. While these technologies have not been used at large scale, they have lots of potential. Take for example this year's Prize winners. The diagnosis of dyslexia can be done based on the type of mistakes a student makes on a specific problem-set (Dytective) and can then be used to select games that help dyslectic students advance reading skills. And based on students writings - the functional writing skills of students can be measured (Letrus) and further supported with adjusted practice opportunities.

While AI has the potential to improve home schooling during the Covid-19 crisis, this crisis can also help to improve AI. With the help of the online adaptive learning technologies, teachers follow students' progress via dashboards, make the adjustments and give feedback that the technology was not able to do. As this happens via the technology, teachers help their students, while providing valuable traces to improve the AI.
Do you think AI could increase inequalities?
AI applications in education can be both a risk and an opportunity for inequalities. On the one hand, these technologies may only become available for children in wealthier countries. On the other hand, intelligent adaptive learning technologies are more helpful when children learn at home, as they are adjusted to learners' needs. This is likely to improve education success even for children from less supportive home environments. In addition, this presents a great opportunity for those who have special education needs or require personalized learning. Hence, it is important to see the comparative advantage of adaptive learning technologies and ensure they are available at scale, so that they become sustainable and can support home schooling during crisis in future.

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How could intelligent technologies help during the pandemic?

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In the face of the ongoing pandemic, thousands of schools, teachers and learners all over the world had to switch to remote teaching and learning almost overnight. While some of them could successfully continue education with the help of educational technologies and online learning, many still question the effectiveness and level of engagement of the latest.

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More on UNESCO's COVID-19 Education Response

AFRICA

Angola

Tele aulas(link is external) - Transmission of tele classes with didactic content broadcasted by the Tele Aulas channel, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Public Television of Angola.

Benin

École au Bénin (link is external)- Online platform with educational resources.

École au Bénin - TV(link is external) - Educational video lessons produced by the Ministry of Education.

INFRE Bénin(link is external) - Online platform with educational resources for teachers and students.

Radio Scolaire et Éducative (RSE)(link is external) - Radio station aiming to provide education for young people and to promote ethical, moral and civic values ​​within society.

Botswana

Botswana Educational Television - The Ministry of Education and Skills Development confirmed the launch of the educational television mid-April, broadcasting classes through TV to assist distance learning.

E-Thuto - Digital learning platform implemented in the north-eastern region of Botswana by the national government.

Radio Lesson Programmes - Educational content broadcast on RB1.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Info -  The TV channel Burkina Info is broadcasting educational programs during school closures, with special emphasis on mathematics, physics, chemistry, French and philosophy.

Faso e-Educ@tion(link is external) - Online platform created in collaboration with UNICEF with educational resources for teachers and students.

RNB, Ouaga FM, Savane FM, Watt FM, Oméga FM and national radio - Private and public radios broadcast educational contents focusing on pupils in grades ahead of examinations.

Cabo Verde

Aprender e Estudar em Casa - Radio(link is external) - Educational program broadcasted on television, radio and available on Youtube.

Aprender e Estudar em Casa - Television(link is external) - Educational program broadcasted on Television and available on Youtube.

Novos horizontes de aprendizagem(link is external) - Moodle platform on which the Ministry of Education provides learning resources.

Cameroon

L'école à la radio(link is external) - CRTV educational program also broadcasted by the national radio.

L'école à la télé(link is external) - Daily educational programs broadcasted on CRTV since April 6 both in English and French to assist learning from home, with a special focus on exam preparation.

Online platform(link is external) - A platform created by the Ministry of Education providing lessons to students in secondary education.

Central African republic

Radio Ndeke Luka - The Central African Ministry of Education, UNICEF and Radio Ndeke Luka created and supported by Fondation Hirondelle in CAR, launched radio-based education programmes.  Every day, at 5:05 p.m. Bangui time, numeracy and reading lessons in French and Sango, the national language, are broadcast to support the Ministry of Education's action for the affected children.

Chad

EduTchad (link is external)- Official e-learning platform of Chad contanaining online courses and material for secondary school students, launched mid-April to facilitate learning from home. The platform includes classes both in Arabic and in French.

GoClass(link is external) - E-learning platform for primary and secondary school students in Chad, created in April to assist continuity of learning during the COVID crisis.

Téle-Tchad Ecole(link is external) - Lessons broadcasted through television.

Comoros

Classera Comores - In collaboration with Classera, the Ministry of Education developed an online platform in which teachers can share resources with students.

Congo

École à domicile - A platform provided by the Ministry of Education to facilitate the interaction between teachers and students, as well as offer educational resources to students and their parents to ensure continuous learning.

École à domicile - Radio - Educational programs developed by École à Domicile TV and broadcasted on the radio.

École à domicile - TV(link is external) - Educational programs broadcasted on the Tele Congo TV channel to support continuity of learning.

Cote d'Ivoire

Mon Ecole à la Maison(link is external) - A platform of pedagogical resources created by the Ministry of Education intended for preschool, elementary, middle and high school students.

Mon Ecole à la Maison - Radio(link is external) - Educational program broadcasted by Radio Côte d'Ivoire.

Mon Ecole à la Maison - Television(link is external) - Educational program set up by the Ministry of National Education, Technical Education and Vocational Training and broadcasted by RTI.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

EDUC TV(link is external) - Educational television broadcasting classes for primary and secondary school students.

Ma Classe(link is external) - Online learning platform of the Ministry of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education of the DRC in partnership with UNICEF, with courses and lessons available in different formats: video, audio and pdf.

Okapi Ecole(link is external) - The educational program "Okapi School" is broadcasted on Radio Okapi - the radio station of the United Nations Mission in the DRC.

Djibouti

Cours Télévisés - TV and radio classes are transmited by the Radio Télévision Djibouti, according to a specific shedule since the 1st of April.

E-learning platform Menfop(link is external) - Official e-learning platform introduced by the Ministry of Education.

Equatorial Guinea

Escuela en casa(link is external) - Online platform created by the Ministry of Education, University Teaching and Sports for distance learning, containing a variety of online lessons.

Escuela en mi casa - Radio - An educational program broadcasted on national radio.

Escuela en mi casa - TV - An educational program broadcasted on national TV channels to assist learners during school closures.

Eswatini

Home Study(link is external) - The Ministry of Education along with with Eswatini TV broadcasts the educational program "Home Study".

Ethiopia

E-textbooks(link is external) - Textbooks for teachers and students in electronic format provided by the Ministry of Education.

Ethiosat TV - Nine educational channels named according to the region they serve.

Radio - Lessons focusing on 6 core subjects broadcasted on radio to students.

Gabon

Apprendre à la maison - Radio(link is external) - Educational program developed by the Ministry of National Education and broadcasted in Radio Gabon.

Apprendre à la maison - TV(link is external) - Educational program developed by the Ministry of National Education and broadcasted on the TV channel G1ère.

XGEST (link is external)- Platform created by the Ministry of National Education to facilitate distance learning for various grades.

Gambia

QTV and GRTS, Gambia Education TV (GETV)(link is external) - Education programs broadcasted daily on QTV and GRTS channels and at the same time on various radio stations.

Ghana

Edmodo Ghana(link is external) - A Ministry of Education digital learning initiative designed to connect Ghanaian learners to their teachers and ensure continuity in their education.

Ghana Learning TV (link is external)- The Ministry of Education broadcasts educational programs through GLTV, a free-to-air National Television Channel and GBC radio stations.

Guinea

M'booré (link is external)- "Online courses in different subject areas for grade levels facing national examinations.

Ma réussite entre mes mains - A platform for online classes, podcasts, e-books and self-assessment excercices for students.

Startime - Radio - Classes broadcasted on the radio for the grades preparing for national examinations.

Startime - TV(link is external) - Classes broadcasted on the television for the grades preparing for national examinations.

Kenya

Edu Channel TV(link is external) - Educational programs broadcasted by the Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development Edu TV Channel

Kenya Education Cloud(link is external) - Portal created by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development offering a library of digital resources for pre-primary, primary and secondary school students.

Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development (KICD)(link is external) - Distance learning content provided by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.

KICD Radio(link is external) - Radio broadcast for out of school learners.

Lesoto

LNBS -  Educational programs broadcasted through the Lesotho National Broadcasting Service.

Liberia

MoE distance learning project(link is external) - Educational programs provide continuity of instruction and engage students meaningfully at home utilizing national and community TV and radio stations for all learners at home from early childhood education to secondary education during the coronavirus crisis.

Madagascar

Izaho koa mba te hahay(link is external) - Educational radio program broadcasted on RNM.

Kilasi pour tous (link is external)- The Ministry of National Education and Technical and Vocational Education (MENETP) has designed a programme called "Kilasi" to help students during this period of confinement. 'Kilasi pour tous' has been broadcast on the national channels RNM and TVM since Wednesday, April 8.

Malawi

Notesmaster(link is external) -  Online platform for distance learning developped in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

MCDE - Lessons broadcasted through radio channels in collaboration with the Malawi College of Distance Education covering primary school grades.

Mali

ORTM - The national television of Mali broadcasts educational content starting from 14 April for primary and secondary levels.

Radios communautaires - Learning content broadcasted through community radios.

So Kalan: ma classe à la maison(link is external) - Educational Program broadcasted on Africable Télévision.

Sokalan(link is external) - Moodle platform on which the Ministry of Education provides digitalized resources.

Mauritania

Elearning platform(link is external) -  A platform allowing students graduating from secondary school to continue the remaining courses online with the help of video lessons and e-books.

Radio Mauritanie and TVM - The Ministry of Fundamental Education and National Education Reform created an experimental program for distance training through public media for the benefit of students in 6th grade.

Mauritius

eResources(link is external) - Educational resources for students up to grade 9.

Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)(link is external) - Educational lessons are broadcasted by MBC on four different channels for students from Grade 1 to Grade 9. The lessons have been prepared with the collaboration of the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), the Open University of Mauritius, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute and individual teachers.

Mozambique

Instituto de Educaçao Aberta e à Distância(link is external) - Learning resources available in the Student Space of the Institute of Open and Distance Education.

RadioEscola - Classes in different subject areas broadcasted by the Radio Moçambique and Televisão de Moçambique for primary, secondary and TVET students.

TeleEscola (link is external)- Classes in different subject areas broadcasted by the Radio Moçambique and Televisão de Moçambique for primary, secondary and TVET students.

Namibia

#LearnOnOne(link is external) - Recorded lessons and other educational programmes ranging from early childhood development to adult education broadcasted by One Africa TV.

Namibia Reads - Namibia Reads is an application promoted by the Ministry of Education consisting e-books, activities and quizzes for children aged from 3 to 12  years.

Niger

Radio classes - Educational content broadcasted through various radio stations (Prestige FM Minna, Zuma FM Suleja, Landmark Kontagora, Crystal FM Minna and Power FM Bida) since mid-April for secondary school students.

Nigeria

Ministry of Education(link is external) - A platform developed by the Task Team responsible for Coordinated Education response to COVID-19 pandemic to provide information, guidance, and resources for the continuing education and individualized learning of children at home.

Mobile Classroom(link is external) - Online platform created by the Ministry of Education where students have access to a pool of video contents.

Television and Radio Lessons - Educational television and programs broadcasted on different channels, depending on the state.

Rwanda

Radio Learning Program(link is external) - Educational radio program broadcasted on Radio Rwanda, Radio 10, Radio Maria, KT Radio, and Radio Inkoramutima.

Rwanda Education Board repository(link is external) - Online platform with all courses as per the national curriculum for pre-primary, primary and secondary schools.

São Tomé and Príncipe

Escola em Casa - Radio - Radio classes developed by the Ministry of Education and broadcasted  through National Radio.

Escola em Casa - TV(link is external) - TV classes broadcasted by the Ministry of Education through the Santomean Television channel.

Senegal

Apprendre à la maison(link is external) - Resources provided by the Ministry of National Education for pre-school, primary school and secondary school aged students

Canal Education(link is external) - Platform offering educational videos.

Télé-école (link is external)- An educational and school television station, transmitting daily lessons to pupils approved by the Ministry of National Education.

Seychelles

E-learning center(link is external) - A portal providing to primary and secondary students learning material and videos.

MoE Televised Programme(link is external) - The Ministry of Education developed a televised programme which broadcasts lessons for different levels on different topics such as French, Mathematics and Geography.

Radio lessons(link is external) - Pre-recorded lessons for primary and secondary schools were aired by the National Radio Broadcasting Station.

Sierra Leone

Radio Teaching programme 95.3 FM - Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Basic and Senior School Education (MBSSE) and the Teaching Service Commission have launched a radio teaching programme for children and adolescents. The programme covers the core curriculum subjects for primary to senior secondary level education.

South Africa

Department of Basic Education TV(link is external) - The Department of Basic Education broadcasts educational support for learners and teachers on the Openview HD (OVHD) platform – channel 122.

ePortal(link is external) - E-learning portal of the Western Cape Government, containing different types of resources available in English and Afrikaans for use by students and teachers.

Ministry of Education(link is external) - A number of online courses and reading material made available on the site of the Ministry of Education for different grade levels to facilitate learning from home during school closures.

Radio Program(link is external) - The series provides curriculum support lessons to learners in Grades 10, 11 & 12 and Early Childhood Development (ECD), broadcast across three SABC TV Channels and 13 Radio stations with online support.

TV Program(link is external) - The series provides curriculum support lessons to learners in Grades 10, 11 & 12 and Early Childhood Development (ECD), broadcast across three SABC TV Channels and 13 Radio stations with online support.

South Sudan

Radio Miraya and SSBC Monday - The educational programs broadcasted on Radio Miraya and SSBC cover English language, mathematics and science subjects.

Tanzania

Azam TV - The Ministry of Education in Tanzania in collaboration with the Tanzania Institute for Education has prepared educational programs for primary and secondary level students to continue learning during school closures, aired through TBC Radio,  Azam TV, Chaneli Ten, and ZBC Radio.

TBC Radio,  Azam TV, Chaneli Ten, and ZBC Radio - The Ministry of Education in Tanzania in collaboration with the Tanzania Institute for Education has prepared educational programs for primary and secondary level students to continue learning during school closures, aired through TBC Radio,  Azam TV, Chaneli Ten, and ZBC Radio.

Uganda

Kolibri Uganda(link is external): The National Information Technology Authority partnered with UNICEF to introduce Kolibri countrywide, a free e-Learning platform to assist children during the school shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform is available online and offline, with education content approved by the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC).

UBC TV, CBS Radio, Star FM - The Ministry of Education and Sports arranged for broadcasting of lessons via TV and radio channels regularly during school closures.

Zambia

Educating our Future(link is external) - The Zambian National Broadcasting Channel (ZNBC) opened an educational program dedicated to the provision of classes during the closure of schools and beyond.

Radio LessonsThe Ministry of Education has collaborated with local radio stations to provide lessons to children.

Zimbabwe

ZBC Radio Lessons Programme(link is external) - Lessons in different subjects for ECD to grade 7 are broadcasted on multiple radio stations. .

ARAB STATES

Algeria

Mafatih En-najah’ - Educational program for students in examination classes in primary, middle and secondary school broadcasted through the channels of national television.

ONEFD (link is external)– The National Bureau for Distance Education and Training (Office national d’éducation et de formation à distance) of the Ministry of Education provides online learning platforms in different subjects for all academic levels.

TV Web ONEFD(link is external) - Youtube channels with educational content for different levels.

Bahrain

EduNET(link is external) – Provides various educational services for all school levels and enables communication between faculty members, students and parents.

Egypt

Education Egypt Live(link is external) - Lessons in different broadcasted on TV.

Elearning(link is external) - Another platform provided by the government for e-learning targeting kindergarten, primary and secondary school students.

Live broadcast platform(link is external) - Official platform offered by the Ministry of Education to enable direct communication between teachers and students.

MOE E-Learning (link is external)- Official E-Learning portal of the Ministry of Education, including interactive programs, virtual lessons, electronic books.

Iraq

Educational channel on YouTube(link is external) - Lectures by the educational television for all levels provided by professors and the General Directorate of Curricula and produced by the Educational TV Directorate.

Iraq educational platform(link is external) - Online educational platform with resources for students.

Newton(link is external) - Online platform created by the Ministry of Education with educational resources and a live broadcast of educational satellite programs.

Jordan

Darsak(link is external) - Official e-learning portal of Jordan, including video lessons for primary and secondary school students.

Noorspace(link is external) - A unified electronic system for all schools to communicate and organize work between schools, teachers, students and parents through an electronic portal fed by the School Information Management System of Jordan in cooperation with the educational resource repository for teachers.

Teachers platform(link is external) - A site provided by the ministry for teachers to prepare them for distance education, containing online courses and other materials.

TV Lessons Program - Lessons are broadcasted on the Sports Channel of Jordan TV.

Kuwait

E-learning portal(link is external) - Official e-learning portal provided by the Ministry of Education for students, teachers, parents and school administators.

MOE video channel(link is external) – A dedicated YouTube channel featuring video lessons and conferences from teachers.

Lebanon

Tele Liban E-learning(link is external) - Lessons in different subject areas broadcasted on TV.

MEHE(link is external) - Official learning application of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education with information for teachers and other education personnel.

Libya

Libya Al-Ahrar Channel - The Ministry of Education broadcasts lessons via the Al-Ahrar TV channel for different grades.

School-ly(link is external) - Libyan portal for e-learning, including an electronic library of lessons corresponding to the national curriculum.

Mauritania

Elearning platform(link is external) - The platform allows students graduating from secondary school to continue the remaining courses online with the help of video lessons and e-books.

Radio Mauritanie and TVM - The Ministry of Fundamental Education and National Education Reform created an experimental program for distance training through public media for the benefit of students in 6th grade.

Morocco

ABHATOO(link is external) - A platform launched by the National Documentation Centre providing educational content by subject area addressing different grade levels in accordance with the national curricula.

BacTV(link is external) - An online platform with video lessons and educational programs.

TaalimTice(link is external) - A collection of videos by subject area provided by the Ministry of Education.

TelmidTice(link is external) - A collection of videos by subject area provided by the Ministry of Education.

TV channels - Lessons broadcasted on three TV channels covering different levels from kindergarten to baccalaureate.

Oman

Oman Mubasher Live TV and Oman Culture Satellite Channels - TV channels diffusing distance education lessons for grade 11 and 12 students, according to a specific schedule for all subjects.

Mawred - Youtube Channel(link is external) - A YouTube channel created by the Ministry of Education to provide educational resources and materials in order to support teachers and students through video clips that include diverse knowledge, skills and experiences relating to the school curriculum.

MoE platforms(link is external) - The digital education platform of the Ministry of Education allows students to access interactive educational content and interact with their teachers during school closures.

Palestine

It-Mohae(link is external) - Official portal provided by the Ministry of Education, including learning materials by grade and subject area based on the national curriculum.

Palestine TV and Al Quds Educational Channel - Educational contents broadcasted to cover all grades.

Rawafid educational portal(link is external) - A platform provided by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Gaza offers educational contents, school curricula, technological and e-learning tools to teachers and students.

Voice of Education Radio(link is external) - Lessons broadcasted via radio for all grades.

Qatar

Ministry of Education channel(link is external) - A compilation of 1700 online lessons uploaded continuously to the Youtube channel of the Ministry allowing students to follow their classes at a distance.

Siraj(link is external) - Educational program to help children from 2 to 8  to explore the Arabic language, and build their literacy and numeracy skills.

Qatar TV - Qatar Media Corporation (QMC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education launched two TV channels named Education 1 and Education 2 to broadcast educational programmes to students.

Saudi Arabia

Future Gate - Interactive platform providing interactive digital content, virtual classrooms, as well as syllabi for teachers.

Ien National e-portal(link is external) - Official online learning portal of the Ministry of Education with course material for grades from pre-primary up to secondary education.

IEN TV Channels(link is external) - 20 satellite TV channels providing live broadcasting of curriculum explanations, lessons, and educational activities.

Vschool(link is external) - E-learning platform created by the Ministry of Education containing resources by grade level and subject area.

Syrian Arab Republic

ECE Platform(link is external) - Educational platform for early childhood education with video lessons and other materials.

Syrian Educational Platform(link is external) - Official platform of the Ministry of Education containing interactive educational video and audio materials for primary and secondary school students.

Youtube channel(link is external) - Youtube channel of the Ministry of Education with a repository of online classes.

Tunisia

CNTE(link is external) - Portal of the National Center for Technologies in Education, containing a virtual library and other useful resources.

Edunet(link is external) - Official online learning platform of the Ministry of Education, displaying information on examinations, digital school related projects, events and containing resources for learning.

Watania Educative(link is external) - Lessons for different education levels broadcasted on the TV Channel 'Watania 2'.

United Arab Emirates

Alef Education(link is external) - Online resources for students, parents and teachers provided in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

EduShare(link is external) - An electronic depository of rich content and videos, easily accessible to teachers from the Learning Management System.

Learning Management System(link is external) - The official Learning Management System of the Ministry of Education allowing students to access content for learning and communicate with the teachers.

Learning Curve(link is external) - A professional development platform which allows all teachers to attend training courses online.

MOE Library(link is external) – A platform established by The Ministry of Education allowing teachers and students to view and interact with the learning curriculum electronically and to download electronic copies of books.

Swift Assess(link is external) - The Ministry of Education's comprehensive assessment management platform.

Yemen

TV Channel - Educational lessons broadcasted live on TV.  Students can communicate directly with the course providers to ask questions and inquiries during the broadcast through the studio numbers.

ASIA & THE PACIFIC

Australia

ABC TV Education(link is external) - ABC Education offers educational resources including videos, games and programs for primary and secondary students

Scootle(link is external) - Platform providing educational resources to students, parents and teachers covering many subjects from Arts, Languages, Geography, Math, Science to Technologies for students from level 1 to 12.

Bangladesh

Digital Content(link is external) - A platform containg interactive multimedia content to teach Bengali, English, Mathematics, Science and other core subjects in alignment with the primary curriculum (first-fifth class) prepared by National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB).

Ghore bose shikhi - Lessons for primary education students broadcasted through multiple radio channels. Contents cover Bangla, English, Math and Social Sciences, in line with the national curriculum.

My School at My Home(link is external) - Television lessons for students in grades six to ten broadcasted in the Bangladesh Television.

Bhutan

BBS TV Channel - TV channel broadcasting lessons for students from pre-primary  to secondary levels.

Bhutan e-Learning program(link is external) - Platform providing a collection of digital resources including text, visuals, videos, audio resources targeting primary and secondary school students.

Brunei

MoE platforms(link is external) - A platform introduced by the Ministry of Education providing guidelines and resources to schools, teachers and parents.

Program Pembelajaran Di Rumah(link is external) - Home learning program focusing on English, Mathematics and Science, broadcasted by Radio Television Brunei.

Cambodia

MoEYS E-learning(link is external) - Video lessons streamed by the Ministry of Education for different grade levels and subject areas broadcasted on Facebook.

Think! Think!(link is external) - The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency launched the platform to provide classes with over 15,000 types of puzzle games to young pupils.

TVK-Education(link is external) - Educational programme supporting learning for students in kindergarten, primary and secondary schools broadcasted on the National Television of Kampuchea and other cable TV networks throughout the country.

China

China Education Network Television(link is external) - Lessons for different education levels broadcasted on television.

National Network Cloud-Platform for Educational Resources and Public Service(link is external) - Provides free teaching and learning resources for primary and secondary school students.

Fiji

FEMIS LIVE Version(link is external) - The Ministry of Education's official education management system, including information and resources for schools, teachers and students.

RF One and RF Two radio channels(link is external) - A set of planned supplementary programmes are shared daily by the the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts through the Schools Broadcasting Unit and Fiji Broadcasting Corporation on two radio channels, RF One and RF Two radio stations.

India

MHRD(link is external) - A collection of different platforms suggested by the Ministry of Human Resource Development for online learning during the health crisis.

National Digital Library of India(link is external) - An online library created by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, providing academic content by subject area for different levels of education, including lifelong learning.

Swayam Prabha(link is external) - Channels devoted to telecasting of educational programs accessible across the country.  The channels air courses for school education (class 9-12), higher education (undergraduate, postgraduate) as well as for out-of-school children, vocational education and teacher training.

Indonesia

Radio Edukasi(link is external) - Educational programs broadcasted on the radio.

Rumah Belajar(link is external) - A platform providing learning content, learning management system for digital classroom and other resources that enable its users to interact, communicate online and organize distance learning activities.

SPADA(link is external) - An e-learning platform provided for free at the moment for students of tertiary education.

TV Edukasi(link is external) - TV Edukasi has two channels airing live education programs, one for students and another for teachers.

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Network Education(link is external) - Educational TV programs broadcasted daily for all grades

Shadweb.iranlms.ir(link is external) - An application designed by the Ministry of Education to establish a social network for students, giving them a sense of the classroom in a virtual environment.

Together for One Another - The Physical Education Department of the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting has designed various programs for students for well-being and mental health, called 'Together for One Another.

Japan

Future Classroom(link is external) – A collection of platforms pointing users to a variety of useful sites for teaching and learning.

MEXT(link is external) – Platform to support e-learning by age, level of education and subject.

NHK education(link is external) - A national broadcasting company dedicated to provide supplementary educational lessons to all students via TV and radio across the country.

Kiribati

Kiribati School e-Resources(link is external) - Electronic resources of Kiribati provided by the Ministry of Education for students in grades 1 to 13.

Lao

MOE E-Learning(link is external) - A platform introduced by the Ministry of Education providing guidelines and resources to students and teachers from kindergarden, primary to secondary level students.

Television & Radio - The Ministry of Education and Sports and the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism offer educational programmes covering primary and secondary education aired on satellite TV, national TV and radio channels

Malaysia

MoE-DL(link is external) - Online learning platform provided by the Ministry of Education, containing digital textbooks, videos, online teaching applications and other useful resources.

Eduweb TV(link is external) - Collection of online classes, videos and materials for teachers provided by the government.

TV Okey - TV Okey launched by the public broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) delivers education television programs to students.

Maldives

Filaa(link is external) - Educational platform developed by Maldives government providing online learning material for students and supports teachers

TelekilaasA(link is external) - TV program delivering lessons focusing on grade 10 and 11 students in preparation for upcoming examinations. The program is aired on 'Public Service Media' and Yes TV.

Mauritius

Student Support Programme(link is external) - A large amount of resources  available for grades 7 to 9 organized by subject area.

MBC TV channel - Online lessons aired on MBC channel to support at home learning.

Myanmar

Education Channel(link is external) - Lessons broadcasted on MRTV and radio and available on Youtube.

Nepal

Learning Portal(link is external) - Online platform with educational resources for students.

NCED Virtual (link is external)- The National Center for Education Development (NCED) provides educational content to students grade 1 to 10.

Radio Jingle - The Ministry of Education Science & Technology in collaboration with other partners introduced radio programs with potential learning activities for children during lockdown. (Radio Annaapurna Kaski 93.4)

New Zealand

Learning from home(link is external) - Official platform of the Ministry of Education for distance learning, offering different resources by subject area in English.

Ki te Ao Mārama(link is external) - Learning resources in Maori from pre-primary up to secondary levels.

Papa Kāinga TV (link is external)- The Ministry of Education in collaboration with TVNZ delivers entertaining educational programming for students from preeschool to secondary school levels.

Pakistan

Open Courseware(link is external) - Portal of the Virtual University of Pakistan with a repository of course materials organized by subject area.

RadioSchool - Educational content broadcasted in Radio Pakistan.

Taleem Ghar(link is external) - An educational TV programme launched by the Punjab province’s School Education Department to broadcast educational contents to students from grade 1 to grade 10, covering Science-based subjects, Mathematics, General Knowledge, and Languages to all students across the province of Punjab.

TeleSchool(link is external) - Educational programmes broadcasted on television across the country to support distance learning for students from grade 1 to grade 12, focusing on Mathematics, English, Urdu and Science subjects.

Philippines

DepEd Commons(link is external) - An online platform for public school teachers to support distance learning modalities to continue the delivery of basic education.

DepEd Radio - Educational programmes broadcasted on 162 radio stations nationwide to provide lessons to all students.

DepEd TV Channel(link is external) - Lessons broadcasted on 207 television channels to all students across the country.

Republic of Korea

Educational Broadcasting system (EBS)(link is external) – Provides advanced educational service by offering various multimedia content.

KERIS(link is external) - A collection of different platforms are available at the site of the Korea Education and Research Information Service for online learning and OER.

Onschool (link is external)– a portal providing learning materials for students and teachers for K12 levels.

Samoa

2AP Radio Station - Radio lessons for different subjects broadcasted on 2AP radio station.

MESC website(link is external) - On-line resources on the website of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture for Early for Childhood Education, Primary Education and Secondary Education.

TV1 & National Channel - The “LA OSO O AOAOGA FOU” TV program broadcasts relevant content for ECE and primary school levels.

Seychelles

E-learning center(link is external) - A portal providing to primary and secondary students learning material and videos.

Singapore

Singapore Student Learning Space(link is external) -  E-learning portal from the Ministry that provides online learning material for students and supports teachers.

Solomon islands

SIBC radio(link is external) - Radio lessons produced since end of April by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development broadcasted on SIBC radio station.

Solomon Islands iResource (link is external)- An online platform with educational resources created by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development.

Sri Lanka

Channel Eye and Nethra TV - State-run TV channels broadcasting educational content during the time of school closures.

E-thaksalava(link is external) - The national e-learning portal of the Ministry of Education offering learning materials to facilitate learning from home for grade 1-12.

Thailand

Digital Learning Centre(link is external) - an online learning platform developed by the Office of Private Education Commission (OPEC) to provide education via internet connection to the general public and all elementary and secondary students nationwide during the coronavirus outbreak.

Educational TV Channel(link is external) - Educational content broadcasted on 17 TV chanels to students aged kindergarden to high school across the country.

Timor-Leste

ESKOLA BA UMA(link is external) - Educational videos broadcasted on the Facebook site of the Ministry of Education for different grade levels.

Timorleste Learningpassport(link is external) - E-learning portal of Timor-Leste containing various resources facilitating distance learning.

Vanuatu

Homskul Givhan(link is external) - Radio program to support parents and students with home schooling up to primary school levels.

Moodle - The Ministry of Education has put in place a Moodle platform to faciliate continuity of learning during school closures.

MOE E-Learning(link is external) - The Ministry of Education provides the list of websites supporting distance learning.

Viet Nam

Elearning(link is external) - Official platform of the Ministry of Education for distance learning, offering Learning resources from pre-primary up to secondary levels divided by subject area.

National and local TV channels(link is external) - Local and national television stations broadcasting lessons to ensure continuity of learning for students from grades 1 - 12.

EASTERN EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA

Albania

Akademi.al (link is external)- Platform endorsed by the Ministry of Education containing over 5000 instructional videos and live lessons.

RTSH Shkolla(link is external) - TV broadcast of educational programs for all levels of primary and secondary education.

Radio RTSH(link is external) - Lessons broadcasted through the Albanian National Radio for students across the country.

Afghanistan

Education Television, RTA and private TVs - Educational programs are broadcasted in different channels in agrement with the Ministry of Education: Education Television for Kabul province, Radio Television of Afghanistan in 32 provinces and private TVs cover teacher training programs.

Maarif(link is external) - Online platform containing courses for primary and secondary school students.

Armenia

Dasaran(link is external) - Provides free access to online encyclopedia on school subjects, e-books, contests and games to primary and secondary school students.  The system was created by the joint efforts of the Ministries of Education, Science and Culture of the Republic of Armenia.

E-school Armenia(link is external) - Classes broadcasted by the public television for grades 1 to 9. The videos are also available on the ArmEduChannel on Youtube.

Heravar(link is external)  - a comprehensive distance education resources website containing a number of online resources and tools that are constantly updated.

Azerbaijan

ARB TV Gunesh(link is external) -  Learning time' program broadcasted on two TV channels 'Madaniyyat' and 'ARB Gunesh'.

E-resurs(link is external) - A repository of free e-textbooks, e-tests, video lessons, and e-learning, created by the government.

Elektron Dərslik Portalı(link is external) - Electronic Textbook Portal – An e-books portal linked on the Azerbaijani Ministry of Education website.

Video.edu.az (link is external)- A collection of video lessons on all school subjects and grades. The video lessons are prepared in accordance with the general education curriculum and are recommended by the Ministry of Education to be used by learners during temporal school closure.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

e-Nastava(link is external) - Online learning platform deployed in the Republika Srpska region of the country, providing students and teachers with useful materials and online classes.

TV channels - Seven education authorities prepared online classes through TV broadcasts targeting lower primary school grades.

Bulgaria

National Electronic Library for Teachers(link is external) - "Electronic library to support teachers with pedagogical materials for online learning".

With BNT2 at school(link is external) -  Educational TV program launched by the BNT2 channel and the Ministry of Education.

Croatia

Skola za zivot(link is external) - A platform for distance learning and teaching with materials divided by grade and subject area.

Skola za zivot(link is external) - Television - The Ministry of Science and Education in cooperation with the Croatian Radio and Television offers classes for students of primary school. The video lessons are available both online and on TV.

Czech Republic

Ucitelka(link is external) - A television broadcast programme called UčíTelka (Teachers) providing first grade elementary school TV lessons. Broadcasted in Česká Televize

Nadalku(link is external) - A site launched by the Ministry of Education supporting distance education, containing links to online education tools, updated information and examples of good practices, as well as experiences regarding distance education.

Estonia

Education-nation(link is external) – There is no official platform created by the Ministry of Education, however, the Ministry recommends to use a collection of digital solutions compiled by the Estonian initiative, Education Nation.

Georgia

EL.GE(link is external) - A platform supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, for teachers and students with thematic resources based on the national curriculum.

Email.mes(link is external) - Instructive site of the government for public schools dedicated to the Covid crisis.

Feedc Edu(link is external) - A national platform for online learning with the possibility for sharing tasks, uploading/downloading files, and conducting group lessons.

Teleskola - A TV programme that provides engaging lessons in various subjects to students of all ages.

Hungary

Oktatas(link is external) – A collection of resources published by the Ministry of Education for online teaching and learning.

Digitalis oktatas(link is external) - The main public TV channel of Hungary (MTV) broadcasts online classes in different subject areas targeting primary and secondary school students. The recordings are also available online.

Israel

MoE platform(link is external) - The platform provided by MoE to offer all educational resources and tools to all students and teachers for distance learning.

National broadcasting system(link is external) - Live and recorded broadcasts of educational lessons to all students in various subjects.

Kazakhstan

Balapan(link is external) - Lessons broadcasted on the TV channel 'Balapan'.

Kazakhstan national open education platform(link is external) - An educational platform established by leading universities of Kazakhstan. Offers online courses in the basic undergraduate disciplines studied in Kazakh and Russian.

Kundelik(link is external) - A digital learning platform with tools and materials for representatives of educational institutions, as well as teachers, students, parents and administrators of educational institutions.

Uztaz(link is external) - A portal for educators, provides access to free lesson plans and online courses.

Kyrgzystan

Balastan TV channel (link is external)- TV lessons for schoolchildren broadcasted on TV channels KTRK Balastan and ElTR Ilim Bilim.

Bilim Bulagy(link is external) - An open educational portal endorsed by the Ministry of Education of Kyrgyzstan with free access to online lessons with videos for secondary school students (grades 5-9) in mathematics, biology, history, physics, chemistry, geography,  English language, Kyrgyz and world literature in Kyrgyz and Russian.

"Digital lessons" education portal (link is external)- Online platform created by the Ministry of Education with educational resources for students.

Ibilim(link is external) - An open educational portal endorsed by the Ministry of Education of Kyrgyzstan with free access to online video and audio lessons for primary school students on mathematics, Kyrgyz, Russian, English languages, music and arts.

Kitep(link is external) - Open e-library of the Ministry of Education of Kyrgyzstan.

Lib(link is external) - Open library of materials (including textbooks and guides for teachers) distributed under open license.

Latvia

LTV7 program(link is external) - Educational programs broadcasted for primary and secondary level students in different subject areas.

Skola2030(link is external) - Online platform targeting primary and secondary school aged students including special education, containing resources in different subject areas.

Tavaklase(link is external) - An educational TV channel called 'Your Classroom', created by the Ministry of Education and Science and its partners.

Lithuania

Naujienos(link is external) - a digital teaching platform with learning environments, methodological materials, teaching aids and other school-relevant information.

Domiosios Pamokos(link is external) - The Lithuanian National Radio and Television offers programs featuring educational contents and interactive elements in different subject areas.

Mongolia

Econtent(link is external) - Over 3020 tele-lessons  and 206 e-textbooks available for learners of K12 education.

Mongolian Television Association - 16 television channels of the Mongolian Television Association are  broadcasting TV lessons to students, parents and public in mongolian, kazakh, tuva and sign languages.

Montenegro

Uci.me (link is external)- An online platform offering over 450 interactive and multimedia contents for students, including digital textbooks.

Skolskiportal(link is external) - Teaching and leanring materials for primary and secondary school aged students.

UciDoma(link is external) - Classes broadcasted on two chanels TV BOIN and TV TEUTA, covering various subjects targeting primary and secondary school students.

North Macedonia

TV-Classroom(link is external) - Educational programs broadcasted on the Macedonian Radio and Television channels, providing content for K12 students.

Eduino(link is external) - Online classes targeting lower primary, primary and lower-secondary education for all children aged 6 to 14.

Republic of Moldova

Educatie Online(link is external) - The platform provided by MoE, Culture and Research in partnership with the Chisinau City Hall offers video lessons and educational resources to all students from grade 1 to 12 including those who are preparing for their exams. The platform also provides educational support to parents as well as psychological advices to students.

TV Moldova 1 - A TV channel providing educational content for students of grades 9 and 12 to prepare them for the national examinations.

Romania

Educred(link is external) - An online platform launched by the Ministry of Education and Research which centralizes different types of free digital resources and useful information in view of supporting teachers in using the new technologies during the learning activities with pupils.

Manuale(link is external) - The digital version of all school textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education and Research can be accessed and downloaded for free on this dedicated platform.

Telescoala(link is external) - A partnership between the Ministry of Education and Research and the Romanian National Television TVR, which offers courses to students of the VIIIth and XIIth grades, in order to prepare them for the upcoming national exams. The courses are available on TV and online (on Youtube, on the program's Facebook page, and on the websites of the TV channels).

Russian Federation

Edu portal(link is external) - The Ministry of Education's official portal providing information on distance learning for different levels, including a compilation of different resources.

Russian e-school(link is external) - An open educational platform supported by the Ministry of Education of Russia aimed at teachers, learners and parents providing free access to high-quality interactive lessons, practice and tests on all subjects from grade 1 to 11.

TV channels - Educational programs broadcasted on various national and regional channels in different subject areas, including preparation for secondary school graduation exams.

Worldskills(link is external) - A platform for digital skills development recommended by the Ministry of Education.

Serbia

Nastava na daljinu(link is external) - Distance learning in Bosnian language broadcasted by the Sandzak TV channel.

Portal of MoE for online teaching(link is external) - A platform provided by the Ministry of Education to give additional support to students, such as tests and additional materials.

RTS and RTS Planet channels(link is external) - Classes aligned to the national curriculum are screened on two channels of the Serbian Broadcast Company focusing on selected subjects.

Slovakia

ucimenadialku.sk(link is external) - a website created by the Ministry of Education, containing webinars, online lessons, recommendations for teachers, professional staff and parents.

Školský klub - TV lessons for grades 1 to 4 broadcasted on the RTVS channel.

Viki(link is external) - a portal of educational contents divided by subject area launched by the Ministry of Education.

Slovenia

Izodrom(link is external) - Educational content in different subjects for students in all grades is broadcasted on RTV SLO.

SIO(link is external) – National portal for up-to-date information services, a training catalogue, an e-material repository and technical content support for primary and secondary level students and teachers.

Tajikistan

Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan(link is external) - Website of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan. It provides access to free educational materials.

Bahoriston TV channel - Television lessons broadcasted on the 'Bahoriston' TV channel.

OER Portal(link is external) - Portal of open educational resources and scientific materials.

Turkey

Remote Educational System(link is external) - The Ministry of National Education will launch a “remote educational system” free of charge on March 23 2020 with a television and internet-based curriculum on a national scale. Some online resources and applications are already available on the Ministry’s website.

TRT EBA TV(link is external) - Classes for grades 1 to 12 broadcasted on TV. The recorded lessons are also available in an online platform containing other educational resources.

Ukraine

All-Ukrainian(link is external) - Lessons are broadcasted for students on Ukraine TV and accessible later on the 'All-Ukrainian School Online' website.

E-school(link is external) - A platform providing educational contents including video tutorials, tests and materials for independent work in 18 subjects to students in grades 5-11 as well as offering teachers with methodological support.

Youtube of the Ministry of Education(link is external)– The Ministry of Education of Ukraine provides a selection of online classes during the coronavirus crisis.

Uzbekistan

Eduportal.uz(link is external) - The official portal of the Ministry of Public Education of Uzbekistan which provides free access to teachers and learners to electronic textbooks, video lessons, tests, virtual laboratories, audio lessons, educational games, lesson plans, exit examination tests and other teaching and learning materials for all grades of primary and secondary school in Uzbek and Russian.

TV channels - Three national TV channels broadcast educational programs for primary school students, initiated by the Ministry of Public Education. The programs are being aired during all days of the week in three languages – Uzbek, Russian and English along with sign language translation.

UZEDU(link is external) – A collection of resources by the Ministry of Public Education to facilitate learning during school closures.

WESTERN EUROPE & NORTH AMERICA

Austria

BMBWF(link is external) – Website of the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Research dedicated to assist students and teachers with links, resources and information in support of distance learning.

Eduthek.at(link is external) – Resource portal of the Ministry with teaching materials for primary and secondary schools, sorted by subjects.

ORF-1-Freistunde - The public TV station ORF 1 broadcasts a special education program for students at all school levels including documentaries, explanatory videos, as well as a news, specifically designed for the target audience.

Belgium

Enseignement.be(link is external) – Online platform with pedagogical resources for teachers and students from the Wallonia Brussels Federation.

e-classe.be(link is external) - Online platform with pedagogical and educational resources for teachers from Wallonia-Brussels Federation

Klascement(link is external) - National OER platform of Belgium containing a variety of resources from pre-primary to adult education.

Y'a pas école, on revise!(link is external) - Educational program targeting students from 6 to 12 years old to fill their gaps in Mathematics, French and Science.

Canada

Alberta_Engaging all learners(link is external)! - A collection of learning supports, including videos and documents.

Alberta_My Child’s Learning: A Parent Resource/L'apprentissage de mon enfant : Ressource pour les parents(link is external) - A website that provides parents with information specific to each grade level.

Alberta Distance Learning Centre(link is external) - Official platform of Alberta containing resources for students and teachers.

Curriculum Nova Scotia(link is external) - Official platform of Nova Scotia containing resources aligned with the curriculum in English and in French for K12, organized by level and subject area.

LearnAlberta.ca(link is external) - More than 4,000 digital resources in English and French aligned with Alberta’s K-12 curriculum.

Manitoba_My learning at home/Mon apprentissage chez moi(link is external) - A collection of resources provided by the Manitoba Ministry of Education to support distance learning.

Newfoundland and Labrador_Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI) (link is external)-  A website dedicated to development and delivery of senior high school distance education programming, development and delivery of online teacher professional development, and oversight of K-12 technology integration initiatives.

New Brunswick_Learning at Home: Resources for families(link is external)  - A collection of online resources provided targeting primary and secondary school students and families during isolation.

New Brunswick_Je m’éduque(link is external) - Directory of educational activities for students, teachers and parents of French-speaking school districts in New Brunswick.

Nova Scotia_Learning at home(link is external) - Nova Scotia’s Learning Plan offers both e-learning and at-home educational options for students.  The site contains information and resources for parents, and e-learning supports for teachers.

Nunavut_Angirrami Illinniarniq(link is external) - Learn-at-home website that offers free access to some of the same educational resources used in schools. With a current focus on getting Inuit language resources out to families.

Ontario Learn at home/Apprendre à la maison (link is external)- A compilation of online resources in English (also available in French) for facilitating learning at home in the state of Ontario.

Open School British Columbia Keep Learning Resources(link is external) - A website dedicated to parents and caregivers to assist them with homeschooling during school closures, including resources, advice and ideas for learning activities

Prince Edward Island Home Learning Resources(link is external) - Resources for learning from home in both English and in French for K12 education.

Quebec Open school/L'école ouverte(link is external) - Quebec state's official online learning platform for K12 education levels, including resources in English and in French divided by subject area.

Saskatchewan(link is external) - A website dedicated to students and teachers in both English and French, with teaching tools and student learning and well-being supports.

Télé-Québec en classe(link is external) - Télé-Québec, in collaboration with Quebec's Education Ministry, created educational content for broadcasting on TV.

Cyprus

Learn From Television(link is external) - Educational television programs broadcasted on the TV channel RIK2.

Photodentro(link is external) - Online platform with resources for distance learning offering materials in different subject areas.

Schools.ac.cy (link is external)- A site supporting teachers in web development and brings access to educational material for all levels of education.

Denmark

emu.dk(link is external) - Learning portal by the MInistry of Education supporting teachers with digital resources for online teaching and learning.

Finland

OPH.fi(link is external) – The new site of the Finnish National Agency for Education to answer the needs of students, teachers and families during the coronavirus outbreak.

OPH resources(link is external) - A collection of resources and materials to support distance learning, provided by the Finnish National Agency for Education.

Yleisradio - Learning programs broadcasted by the national public broadcaster.

France

Ma classe à la maison(link is external) – The Centre national d'enseignement à distance provides a virtual classroom system accessible via smartphones and computers, enabling teachers to facilitate the organization of distance learning.

Maison Lumni(link is external) - A 52-minute daily program dedicated to students aged 8 to 12, produced in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, broadcasted on France 4, France 2 and France 5.

Germany

Bayerischer Rundfunk: Schule daheim -Online lernen(link is external) - Database with educational videos, sorted by subjects and aligned with the Bavarian curriculum. Initiative of the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian broadcasting service).

Bildungsserver Berlin-Brandenburg(link is external) - Website with recommended online tools and materials in support of distance learning.

Bildungsserver Mecklenburg-Vorpommern(link is external) - Secured online database for teachers with materials in support of distance learning.

Hamburger Bildungsserver(link is external) - Database with online tools and materials in support of distance learning, sorted by subject.

Hessischer Bildungsserver(link is external) - Database with online tools and materials in support of distance learning, sorted by grade and subject.

Landesbildungsserver Baden-Württemberg(link is external) - Regularly updated database with materials and guidance for distance learning, sorted by subjects.

Landesmedienzentrum Baden-Württemberg(link is external) - Website with online materials, webinars and tools in support of distance learning, including online consultations for teachers and parents.

Mebis- Landesmedienzentrum Bayern(link is external) - Online platform with educational videos and online tools in support of distance learning.

Niedersächsischer Bildungsserver(link is external) -  Website with recommended online tools and materials in support of distance learning.

Online Schule Saarland(link is external) - Secured online platform for teachers and learners, including video conferencing tools, online materials, possibility to upload, share and exchange documents, integrated e-mail etc.

Thüringer Schulportal(link is external) - Online platform for educators, including online tools and materials in support of distance learning.

Unterstützung für das Lehren und Lernen in der Corona-Krise(link is external) - Overview of online tools and materials in support of distance learning in Sachsen-Anhalt.

Unterstützungsangebot für Lehrerinnen und Lehrer in Phasen des Distanzlernens(link is external) - Guide for teachers in support of distance learning, including collection of tools and materials.

weBBcloud (link is external)- Secured online platform for teachers and learners to upload, store and share learning materials in Brandenburg.

Gibraltar

Home Learning Programme(link is external) - Primary/Secondary schools have access to an online programme which provides children and their parents with a structured learning routine.

Greece

Digital Educational Material (link is external)- A platform launched by the Ministry of Education containing resources by grade and subject area.

Interactive School Books (link is external)- Online book repository for students and teachers.

Mathainoumestospiti(link is external) - Online platform created by the Ministry of Education to facilitate distance learning.

We learn at home - A TV program broadcasted at the national television aimed at primary school students.

Greenland

Iserasuaat(link is external) - A repository of contents for students and teachers in primary, secondary and vocational education.

Iceland

Ministry of Education webpage(link is external) - A page dedicated to school closures because of COVID-19 on the site of the Ministry of Education, informing and advising parents on learning from home and how to ensure continuity of learning.

Ireland

edTV - TV(link is external) - programmes with a learning focus are broadcasted on different TV channels..

PDST(link is external) -  A distance learning platform and collection of resources for teachers in order to provide continuity to pupils/students during the health crisis.

Scoilnet(link is external) - The official portal for Irish education offering online resources to support schools, teachers, students and parents.

Italy

INDIRE webinars(link is external) – National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research (INDIRE)  platform providing webinars for teachers to support them in the adoption of distance learning methodologies and tools.

RAI Scuola (link is external)- The nation’s public broadcaster RAI in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Education provided programs with educational content, including animated series and shows on art, music, history and science.

Luxembourg

Education Portal(link is external) - Platform with learning resources for students in different subject areas.

Kanner Doheem (link is external)- Platform with ideas for extra-curricular activities to do at home

Schouldoheem.lu(link is external) - Platform with learning content, available to schools, teachers and students.

Malta

Curriculum.gov.mt(link is external) - Digital resources from the Ministry of Education for students from early years to secondary school.

TeleskolaAn(link is external) - initiative by the Ministry for Education and Employment for parents and students alike to find appropriate lessons presented in an easy user-friendly manner so that all students can continue their studies at home.

Netherlands

Lesopafstand(link is external) - Website developed by Kennisnet in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science providing resources to ensure continuity of learning during school closures.

Norway

NRK Skole(link is external) - Educational content broadcasted via the public TV channel.

Poland

epodreczniki.pl(link is external) - Learning portal by the MInistry of Education with online learning resources.

Szkoła z(link is external) - TVPEducational content broadcasted on the TVP channel.

Portugal

Apoio à Escolas(link is external) – Set of resources to support schools in the use of distance learning methodologies to enable them to continue teaching and learning processes.

Estudo em Casa(link is external) - TV classes are broadcasted starting from 20 April for basic education (1 to 9 grade) to complement  the use of online tools.

Spain

Aprendemos en Casa (link is external)- TV programs available through the channel ClanTV, aimed at students from 6 to 16 years old.

Aprendo en Casa Online(link is external) - platform with educational resources, tools and applications available for teachers, students and their families.

Educlan(link is external) – An online channel supported by the Ministry of Education that presents educational resources during the period of suspension of classes because of the coronavirus.

INTEF(link is external) – Ministry of Education pedagogical resources to support distance learning.

Procomún(link is external) – A collection of close to a 100,000 educational resources and learning objects in different formats created by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science with contributors of the educational community.

Sweden

Skolahemma(link is external) - A site supported by the Swedish National Agency for Education, offering materials for students and teachers to facilitate distance learning during the coronavirus crisis.

Switzerland

Eduport.ch(link is external) - Joint website of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation and the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education with information, links and resources in support of distance learning.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

BBC Bitesize(link is external) - BBC provides multiple educational resources to support learning at home.

DfE Online Education Resources(link is external) - The UK government has brought together an initial list of online educational resources to help children to learn at home, offering a wide range of support and resources for pupils of all ages.

United States of America

Resources for Learning at Home (link is external)- List of resources available on the websites of multiple federal agencies.

TV programs - Departments of Education in certain states developed partnerships with TV broadcasters in order to provide instructional series to help students learn remotely.

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

National responses collected by UNESCO Santiago

Antigua and Barbuda

Home School 101(link is external) - Educational TV program broadcasted on ABS Television/Radio, focusing on English, Math and Sciences.

Argentina

Biblioteca Digital(link is external) – A portal for students and teachers for all schools in the country to access more than a hundred classical books and novels.

Seguimos educando (link is external)- Video lessons by subject for primary/secondary levels and materials for teachers to prepare them for online teaching.

Seguimos Educando - Radio (link is external)- As part of 'Seguimos Educando', the radio broadcasts two blocks of programs daily, developed jointly by the Ministry of Media and Public Communication and the Ministry of Education of the Nation.

Seguimos Educando - TV(link is external) - TV programs designed for different curricular levels: initial level, first, second, third, fourth and fifth grade.

Aruba

Material Educativo(link is external) - Platform with different learning resources for early, basic and secondary education.

Bahamas

Bahamas Virtual Learning Portal(link is external) - A virtual learning portal by the Ministry of Education providing pedagogical resources for all students in the context of the current Covid-19 crisis.

Barbados

E-learning portal(link is external) - A virtual portal by the Ministry of Education providing access to free and useful contents and e-learning tools for everyone including students, parents and teachers.

Belize

CXC Learning Hub(link is external) - The Caribbean Examinations Council provides learners and instructors a platform with a single access point to multiple resources and a space for learners, educators, parents and employers to access multiple high-quality resources supporting teaching, learning and assessment.

In it together(link is external) - A TV program created in cooperation with the Ministry of Education Youth, Sports and Culture, UNICEF, and national partners, offering contents ranging from cooking, communication and gardening to reading, maths, and science to kids.

Ministry of Education Radio Programs(link is external) - The Ministry of Education offering a series of short lessons to students via FM radio discussing languages, mathematics and general topics.

Student Resources(link is external) - The Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture has made educational resources available on its website for young learners (4-12 years) and teachers to encourage learning during the school closures.

Bolivia

Aula virtual para la educación en Bolivia(link is external) - The Ministry of Education presents the educational portal "Virtual classroom for education in Bolivia" so that teachers and students have the possibility to continue teaching and learning in times of the health emergency.

TV Culturas, Educación y Deportes(link is external) - TV programs focusing on education targeting students as well as teachers, assisting them in lesson planning and content creation.

Brazil

Banco Internacional de Objetos Educacionais(link is external) – An initiative of the Brazilian government that covers open educational content from preschool to university education.

Seguimos Conectados - 1000 hours of free educational content for basic education broadcasted in TV Escola

Chile

Aprendo en línea(link is external) – Online platform providing pedagogical resources for students from 1st grade of primary education to 4th year of secondary school.

Aprendo FM(link is external) - Educational radio space to reinforce the learning of students in languages, Science, Mathematics, History and Well-being.

Aprendo TV (link is external)- Educational TV program broadcasted on TV Educa Chile, focusing on a different topic every day.

Colombia

Aprender digital(link is external) - Educational resources, guides and applications collected to assist teachers to create content and conduct classes at distance.

Prof en Casa - Radio - Educational content broadcasted on the radio.

Profe en Casa - TV(link is external) - Educational content broadcasted on TV.

Costa Rica

Aventura Bikëtsö(link is external) - Radio programs for students aged 5 to 9 and 10 to 12. Each program lasts 26 minutes and develops educational content for learning and entertainment.

Aprendo en casa (link is external)- A new strategy and platform created by the Ministry of Education that provides different digital resources in education from early childhood up to secondary schools.

Aprendo en casa - TV(link is external) - The Ministry of Public Education created a television program with contents for primary and secondary students.

Caja de herramientas(link is external) – Digital ‘toolbox’ for teachers for conducting distance learning classes created by the Ministry of Education.

Cuba

Canal Educativo(link is external) - The television programming of Canal Educativo (Educational Channel) for the National Education System includes a total of 49 programs for all education levels, transmitted during fifteen days, with alternating schedules for primary education and retransmissions for the rest of the educational levels.

CubaEduca(link is external) - CubaEduca constitutes a virtual space and integrating platform, which provides a whole set of contents and services related to Cuban education.  It is an interactive, systemic, dynamic communication channel linked to the Cuban school curriculum.

Dominica

Class Support Materials(link is external) - The Ministry of Education of Dominica made available support materials on its website including English, Maths and Science videos and interactive simulations.

Dominican Republic

Enlinea Minerd(link is external) - A central portal containing curated content, classified by grade. Resources include a content repository, solutions for students and teachers, and a separate platform for secondary education.

Ecuador

Aprender la Tele(link is external) - The program 'Aprender la Tele' proposes educational contents that are directly linked to the national learning objectives. It is broadcasted in 160 tv channels and also available online at the site 'Educa contigo'.

Radios Rurales Comunitarias - Educational content broadcasted on rural community radios.

Recursos educativos digitales(link is external) – Ministry of Education platform for students and teachers to support home learning.

El Salvador

Aprendamos en casa(link is external) - Educational content transmitted through TV Channel 10.

Material para la continuidad educativa(link is external) – A platform by the Ministry of Education providing pedagogical resources for all students in the context of the current Covid-19 crisis.

Radio El Salvador(link is external) -  Educational program focusing on early childhood education called 'Growing Reading'.

Haiti

PRATIC(link is external) - A platform of educational resources and digital learning solutions was introduced mid-April containing resources available for students, parents and teachers who are forced to stay at home during the COVID-19 crisis.

Télé Ecole - In collaboration with the National Television of Haiti and the Ministry of Education, an educational program with different subjects is broadcasted every day targeting primary and secondary school students.

Grenada

M-Star Learning Support Platform(link is external) - An intuitive educational platform for all public schools in Grenada, supporting traditional face-to-face classroom instruction, all models of blended learning and fully virtual online course delivery.

Guatemala

Aprendo en casa - TV(link is external) - Educational content broadcasted on TV.

Aprendo en casa - Radio(link is external) - The radio program offers learning sessions in Mathematics, Communication, Languages and Natural Sciences and a 'Let's Live Together in Harmony' session containing lessons about values ​​and psychosocial support.

DIGECADE -(link is external) Learning portal by the MInistry of Education with online learning resources for secondary school teachers.

Mineduc Digita(link is external)l - Online learning resources for primary levels of education.

Guyana

Guyana Learning Channel (link is external)- Television channel broadcasting educational programs.

Interactive Radio Instruction(link is external) - Radio lessons for Grades 1-3 of primary school.

Ministry of Education(link is external) - Resources, articles and collection of online platforms are displayed on the site of the Ministry of Education assisting families, students and teachers in distance learning during the crisis.

Haiti

PRATIC(link is external) - A platform of educational resources and digital learning solutions  containing resources available for students, parents and teachers who are forced to stay at home during the COVID-19 crisis.

Honduras

Educatrachos(link is external) -  Provides content, activities, tools and educational resources in different formats, designed to be used by teachers and students.

Radio Educativa SRE(link is external) - Educational radio programs for grades 1 to 6 on the following subjects: Spanish, Mathematics, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences.

STVE TELEBÁSICA(link is external) - A program of the Ministry of Education of Honduras that promotes learning with the support of audiovisual resources.

Jamaica

Education Television(link is external) - The program provides learners with lessons of the core subjects based on the national curriculum so that pupils can learn at home at their own pace.

National Library of Jamaica(link is external) - The National Library of Jamaica (NLJ) is helping secondary-school students to prepare their School-Based Assessments (SBAs) via its online resources.

Mexico

Aprende 2.0(link is external) - Resources of the Ministry of Public Education that seeks to promote the use of ICT to foster the development of digital skills.

Aprende en casa (link is external)- Online resources that support the TV lessons.

Aprende en casa - Radio(link is external) - Educational content aligned with the program 'Aprende en Casa' transmitted through radio IPN targeting students and youth.

Aprende en casa - TV(link is external) - A program launched by the Ministry of Public Education of Mexico that provides TV lessons to support learning a home, transmitting preschool, primary, secondary and high school education content based on the national curricula.

TELEsecundaria(link is external) – Previously existing system of distance education programs for high school students in rural areas of the country.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua Educa(link is external) - Educational content and pedagogical resources for students and teachers.

TV Educa Nicaragua(link is external) - Educational content for all grades broadcasted on TV and available on the website of the Ministry of Education.

Panama

Conéctate con la Estrella - A program that provides TV and radio lessons to support learning at home, broadcasted in SERTV and different radio frequences.

Educapanama(link is external) – Online courses by the Ministry of Education for pre-, primary and secondary school students to follow classes from a distance.

Paraguay

Biblioteca Digital(link is external) - Provides a set of resources to support schools and teachers with educational materials and the possibility to design lessons directly in the platform.

Tu escuela en casa (link is external)- A site providing content, activities, tools and educational resources proposed by the Ministry of Education designed to be used by teachers and students.

Tu escuela en casa - Radio - A radio program that provides lessons to support learning at home in line with the online platform provided by the Ministry of Education.

Tu escuela en casa - TV(link is external) - A TV program that provides lessons to support learning at home in line with the online platform provided by the Ministry of Education.

Peru

Aprendo en casa(link is external) - An online platform by the Ministry of Education, offering content for K12 levels and special education.

Aprendo en Casa - Radio(link is external) - A radio program to support learning at home, aligned with the online platform of Peru.

Aprendo en Casa - TV (link is external)- A TV program to support learning at home, aligned with the online platform of Peru.

PerúEduca(link is external) – A digital platform provided by the Ministry of Education offering services to the education community.

Saint Lucia

Moodle Platform(link is external) - A platform provided by the Ministry of Education offering courses and resources for teachers and students.

Radio - The program is targeted at primary and secondary students and includes readings of narratives and informational texts by educators.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Education Alive(link is external) - A platform dedicated to students from pre-primary schools to secondary schools as well as teachers providing educational resources.

Surinam

Television programs - TV programs aligned to the national curriculum in Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Math for all levels.

Trinidad and Tobago

DEIE Learning Management System (link is external)- ECCE - Platform provided by the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, providing resources covering all subjetcs for all students from pre-primary levels to tertiary schools.

Division of Education's Broadcast (link is external)- A TV programme series on different subjects broadcasted on channel 5 and TTT channel.

Ministry of Education Online Learning Platform(link is external) - Platform provided by the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, providing online classes, e-learning materials, assessments and other resources for K12 education.

Uruguay

Plan Ceibal(link is external) – Resources for teachers and students that are accessible from any device, as well as remote programs, which help mitigate the effects of the suspension of educational activities due to temporary closure of educational centers.

TA, Tiempo de Aprender and C+(link is external) - The National Public Education Administration, Televisión Nacional Uruguay (Channel 5) and Plan Ceibal offers a television series for primary and middle school students and their families.

Venezuela

Cada Familia Una Escuela(link is external) - Online platform with educational resources and study plans for different levels.

Cada Familia Una Escuela - Radio    Educational content broadcasted on Radio Educativa.

Cada Familia Una Escuela - TV(link is external) - A newly created TV program by the Ministry of Education, broadcasting educational and health related content..

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How are you learning during the COVID-19 pandemic?

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How are you learning during the COVID-19 pandemic?

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"I thank the authorities for taking such actions to ensure the safety of learners and educators and to control the spread of the virus. In Zimbabwe, the situation is normal but messages are regularly posted in the media to inform members of public on the spread of the virus and precautionary measures to be taken.

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Six months into a crisis: Reflections on international efforts to harness technology to maintain the continuity of learning

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Six months into a crisis: Reflections on international efforts to harness technology to maintain the continuity of learning

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Virtual learning brings advantages and drawbacks for students with disabilities 

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Virtual learning brings advantages and drawbacks for students with disabilities 

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The Disability Services and Programs at USC now integrate assistive technology training, captionists and large font settings into their services to break down disability-related barriers to distance learning. However, students with auditory impairments face particular challenges in engaging with recorded lectures with limited transcription accuracy. (Celine Vazquez | Daily Trojan)

During a typical on-campus semester, students with disabilities can face numerous learning barriers such as commutes between classes, medically and psychologically related absences and lack of accommodations outside the classroom.

The virtual setting of online classes has helped with some of these issues as students find many learning barriers eliminated.

"People with disabilities may miss a lecture due to [personal] reasons," said Kimi Zamora, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering and assistant director of the Student Assembly for Accessibility. "Now they can watch [class recordings] and get the same content that they would normally miss with an in-person semester. So, I've honestly heard a lot of great feedback about the online semester from people with disabilities."

Some students with disabilities said remote learning has allowed them to attend class in a more comfortable environment. Alternatively, other students with disabilities have found that online instruction has led to auditory, visual and kinesthetic difficulties. Despite the helpful effects the switch to remote learning has created for some students, others may encounter newfound troubles.

While the mission of Disability Services and Programs is to eliminate disability-related obstacles, this department within USC has begun to offer online services for students who have a wide range of medical conditions, injuries and learning disabilities. Some of these services include online proctoring in a small personal group, exam practice sessions, assistive technology training, reading scribes, large font settings, extended testing time, interpreters and live captionists.

Another component DSP has recently added is a "best practice" resource, which details how students could partake in good ergonomics while adjusting to remote learning. DSP's services are also open to students who find themselves struggling under certain circumstances in class and seek a higher level of support, even if they have not been formally diagnosed with a disability.

"Ultimately, we're working to ensure that the students get their accommodations and that they're going through the most similar experience as their peers in the class," said Lisa Toft, director of DSP.

Through many committees, discussions and collaborations with different departments ranging from technological support and housing to external service providers, DSP has been working to ensure that remote learning will not pose a barrier to those with disabilities. After a thorough analysis over the summer, DSP found that they were able to provide a larger quantity of services on a broader, faster and more flexible scale to students online without concerns of social distancing or a limited schedule.

"We have a great team of problem-solvers who put a plan together very quickly," Toft said. "There's been very little impact on students. There's been some uncertainty because everything changed ... but we've gotten great feedback on the services we've been able to provide students."

Despite its efforts, DSP cannot physically assist students with some aspects of learning. While they can provide resources, an online setting may leave students with disabilities to navigate accommodations, such as acquiring a private room or concentration methods, on their own.

"I feel like there's a lot that's on the students for us to do instead - we have to provide [accomodations] for ourselves because there's really not much that they can do," said an anonymous transfer student who wanted to keep her learning disability private. "One accommodation I have for testing is having a private room and having natural lighting and [DSP] usually does that, but now I have to figure it out myself. I feel they're doing the best that they can, but not as much as they usually can just given the circumstances."

In lieu of face-to-face assistance, DSP specialists have begun to provide individual Zoom meetings so that students can connect and share their troubles and triumphs.

Some students with disabilities seem to be supported at a higher level as most classes are recorded, mute and video off options are available and students can message their professors confidentially. Like students, professors must adapt to the online format and search for new ways to make their learning approaches accessible to all students online.

In addition to the new components of remote learning, Julie Van Dam, an associate professor of French who teaches a class on global narratives of disability, promotes accessible learning for all students since there may be instances where students face difficulty documenting their disability.

Van Dam believes that through virtual learning, professors are able to more clearly see and address what needs their students have and provide support accordingly.

"I feel that professors are definitely more able to see why accessibility matters," Van Dam said. "I think that there can be an assumption that a student is trying to get away with something, and now, it's been a very clear reminder or just an awakening to the broad kinds of accessible learning modalities that we have to embrace."

For some students with disabilities, remote learning may be preferable to taking courses on campus. According to the Student Accessibility Assembly, students with disabilities have pushed for the option of online courses during in-person semesters. Student representatives in the assembly work with DSP and the greater Undergraduate Student Government to create more resources, policies and community for students with disabilities on campus.

"If you think about having to miss class for health reasons, like having to go to doctor's appointments or doing lab blood work, [those are] usually some things that I have to do where I have to miss class," said Lana Bridi, a co-director of SAA. "I'm no longer worried about missing something because classes are recorded. I can have that be online as a resource. So I think in some ways, this virtual learning environment is like an opportunity to reevaluate how we usually do things especially in terms of accessibility for students like the learning environment."

Javin D'Souza, a co-director of SAA, said that for some students with disabilities, this semester has been the first time they can attend class without feeling like their disability may be perceived as a distraction. Now, students who have verbal tics, physical illnesses or other disabilities that would cause them to draw back from participation can mute themselves while still present in class. Some students cannot be mentally or physically present in class, and remote learning still allows them to listen to a lecture in real time.

"If I'm ill that day of class and I can't come in," D'Souza said, "There's a lot of power to being able to mute your microphone and turn off your video while still being able to listen in because otherwise, I just lose that educational time."

Still, other students with disabilities have found that the transition to remote learning has been challenging. People with auditory disabilities, for instance, may have difficulty hearing through their computer speakers.

"Students can't really hear with the online platform," Zamora said. "They will have to look at transcripts, but the transcripts on Zoom don't necessarily transcribe as well as they can or as accurately as they should."

An anonymous junior who has an auditory disability does not wish to be identified due to her claim about DSP's frequent instances of miscommunication, including one when DSP misscheduled her captioner on her first week of school because they were understaffed at the time. According to the student, the process of communicating and getting accommodations could be very disheartening.

"I think it's such a large university, so all of the departments in schools are removed from each other," the student said. "There's kind of a mix of synchronization that can make it very difficult to get accommodation."

While Toft wrote in an email that they could not confirm the incident without knowing who the student was, she said DSP services are considered to be a partnership between the University, student, vendor and the department itself with reliance on students to get in touch regarding any changes to their class schedule.

"The University has supported the growth and expansion of DSP resources, including staff, to reflect the growing number of students registering with our office," Toft wrote. "We are certainly very busy at the start of a semester, as all offices at the University are. However, I don't see understaffing as a root concern."

The anonymous junior also says that students with disabilities and their accommodations should be met with decency, preparation, communication and respect.

"People are constantly typing, which is nice for deaf and hard of hearing people," the student said. "But also I wouldn't say it's preferable because the online experience is super taxing, and it's difficult to communicate regardless of whether you're disabled."

On the other hand, Zamora said remote learning has helped her and other students with physical or mobile disabilities.

"I'm able to just hop into an online meeting and say 'hi' and don't have to worry about it being in a non-accessible classroom," Zamora said. "I can interact with whoever I want to because it's not like lecture style seating where everybody sits in the middle, and if you're in a wheelchair, you're off to the side ... I don't have to worry about my disability for the first time in education."

While the University takes multiple measures to provide accessibility for all students, there are still a number of accessibility issues on campus that pose as a barrier for students with disabilities. Zamora said that most public transportation available aside from the bus is not wheelchair accessible. While the Disabled Access to Road Transportation Program was created to serve as transportation for students with disabilities, a wheelchair-accessible vehicle is only provided given a request ahead of time. Also, Ubers, taxis and friends' cars are also often wheelchair inaccessible, and Zamora said some students with disabilities could be left out of pre-coronavirus social gatherings and extracurricular activities.

There are some students that find online learning challenging, as it is a new territory all USC students must endeavor. Remote learning may bring about technological difficulties and lack of social interaction; however, for students with physical disabilities, it may bring the ease of not having to worry about class commutes and navigating poorly accessible classrooms.

"Technical difficulties can be solved through learning, but people with disabilities can't be solved independently and it's a systemic issue," Zamora said. "Technical difficulties can be solved with a day, a week rate if proper research is done, however, with a disability, this is lifelong. This affects as long as it takes to graduate. This isn't like a one time short issue. This is people's lives and their lifestyles that are non optional."

As SAA remains strong and knowledgeable of their Americans with Disabilities Act rights, they have also demonstrated that they will continue to hold the University accountable to make sure its needs are met.

"My parents told me from a young age that if I don't learn to speak up, nobody will look down to talk to me," Zamora said. "As shocking as that may seem to say to a 6-year-old, I did have to really speak up and learn how to talk to people. I had to yell, I'm usually very soft spoken - I used to not really talk to anyone. For the sake of my career and for the sake of my education and for the sake of my social interaction, I have learned to be outspoken and independent, and that is something I fight for every day."

One in five college students across the nation has some type of disability, whether all students with disabilities at USC are registered with DSP or not. Many students that learn they have a disability find out later in their education.

Students who have benefitted from online learning so far hope the platform remains as an option to help make USC classes more accessible for everyone on campus.

"I hope that there's more training on that too, for professors to understand that these accommodations also aren't ... dropping your standards," D'Souza said. "It's just that people need more time to do things or they need basically more access to resources to be on the same playing field as everybody else."

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Virtual learning brings advantages and drawbacks for students with disabilities | Daily Trojan

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During a typical on-campus semester, students with disabilities can face numerous learning barriers such as commutes between classes, medically and psychologically related absences and lack of accommodations outside the classroom. The virtual setting of online classes has helped with some of these issues as students find many learning barriers eliminated.

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The Benefits of Remote Learning For Hearing-Impaired Faculty

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The Benefits of Remote Learning For Hearing-Impaired Faculty

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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The Silver Lining to Distance Learning

But it's working, sort of. I'm not as tech savvy as I once was. Dare I say that many of my students are quicker at picking all this up than I am? I'm still trying to figure out how they text so fast with two thumbs. I use only one, and my texts are rife with typos.

Yet I am, surprisingly, starting to enjoy teaching online. Though I've been hearing impaired most of my life, I function quite well with hearing aids. Still, my hearing is far from what would be considered normal.

It can sometimes be a challenge in the classroom when students speak low or sit too far away from me, but I've learned to deal with it. I often run around the classroom, for instance, to get closer to a student during a discussion or workshop session.

For me, teaching online with videoconferencing has been an eye-opener (or, rather, an ear-opener).I use normal headphones, placed over my hearing aids, while in Zoom sessions. Since the students are sitting in front of their computers, close to the microphone, I can actually hear better than in a traditional classroom setting. A light went on when I realized this: Being able to hear better in an online environment could be a real game changer for me.
MORE ON EDTECH: Here are 5 videoconferencing tools for student group projects in 2020.
I've had some fantastic help in feeling my way through the new normal of distance learning. Vanguard's dean of teaching and learning and the Institute for Faculty Development have provided several online training sessions for faculty. Professors have learned the ins and outs of Zoom, more advanced features of Canvas (which many were already using) and general pointers for online teaching and learning.

The amount of information and training has been great, though initially it was a lot for me to take in. It reminds me of something a friend said when describing being overwhelmed with too much information: It's like trying to catch a tidal wave with a bucket.

I have not yet taken advantage of all the things remote learning technology can do, but my goal for the students (and myself) is to make things as simple as possible and to ensure that I am still teaching the most important objectives for my classes. After that, I am willing to learn more, delve deeper and explore the details of this new pedagogy.

The world is changing. Our first focus should be on the health and safety of everyone. But educating people doesn't stop, and I am doing my best
to march forward into the future of academia, whether it takes place in a physical classroom or online.

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The Benefits of Remote Learning For Hearing-Impaired Faculty

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But it's working, sort of. I'm not as tech savvy as I once was. Dare I say that many of my students are quicker at picking all this up than I am? I'm still trying to figure out how they text so fast with two thumbs.

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Trends In Education Technology For The Modern Society

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Trends In Education Technology For The Modern Society

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Some Of The Major Trends In Education Technology For The Modern Society

Education is an indispensable part of any modern society, and edTech can unfold a lot of 'not-realized' dreams of education institutes, education, and management. The education field is undergoing drastic changes because of different factors such as emerging technology innovation, student mobility, and government regulations. Suppliers to this industry are facing stiff pressure because of the high cost of books, low cost interactive web-based courses, and surge in the use of personal devices.

With easy internet access, the popularity of smartphone use, and social networking, the field of education has to grab opportunities for content delivery of educational material in the form of eLearning. Organizations should realize the need for virtual colleges and classrooms. The never-stopping tech evolution necessitates easily accessible as well as reliable web-based education. Companies need to realize the potential with a new school of thought, best-in-class technology, and the right growth strategy.

Software development companies with years of experience could provide custom software development for the education industry. Such companies have years of experience working with educational institutes and publishers, and are well placed to help customers in the field to achieve their objectives and goals. Customers can achieve benefits such as:

Online education

Parents' collaboration

Better student assessment

Simplified and paperless administration with eLearning information systems.

6 Key Trends In The Education Technology

The following are some of the major trends in tech adoption in education:

1. Coding As A Literacy

The future of the digital economy can be driven by those with programming skills and an understanding of how computers work. It's becoming more relevant for students to interact with technology, and so they can control programs, devices, and apps they interact with.

2. Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning models prove to be more and more successful. Collaboration mirrors how humans solve problems, and digital tools help students connect with each other. Synchronous and asynchronous workspaces are created in tools such as Google Apps for Education and Microsoft Classroom, and remove space, time, and demographic barriers among students.

3. Supporting Students As Creators

Learners are starting to explore subjects via active creation rather than passive consumption of content. Fabrication laboratories, maker spaces, intuitive creative suites of desktop programs, media centers, and applications provide hands-on opportunities for students to channel their creativity into solutions, inventions, and expressions.

4. Rethinking How Schools Work

Adaptive learning tools, as well as open educational courses, are personalizing as well as democratizing the way students learn. Combine these with a mobile tech such as a network-connected smartphone or tablet, and students will have a powerful anytime, anyplace, anywhere learning environment.

5. Redesigning Learning Spaces

Flexible learning spaces enable students to create as many groups as needed for lessons. Network-enabled classrooms enable students to connect and collaborate in familiar mobile and social modalities, which are part of their day-to-day digital habits outside of the classroom.

6. Deeper Learning Approaches

For students to stay motivated, they need to have a sense of how their skills and knowledge have an impact. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Snapchat, and WeChat keep students connected to local and global issues. When folded into pedagogy and combined with content creation tools such as WeVideo and YouTube, the same outlets can be used to contribute solutions or insights in meaningful ways.

The Importance Of Technology In Today's Education

There are numerous reasons why technology is a major aspect of learning in schools. For students to survive in today's tough competition, they need to understand technology. These are the reasons why technology is very important in education:

1. Students demand it.
Students today are constantly engaging with technology outside the classroom. Kids like to be interactive, and technology-based learning has now become a part of their lifestyle.

2. New teachers demand it.
Technology has been implemented in post-secondary education and other professional areas. For new teachers, technology is considered a necessity for learning.

3. Kids can learn at their own pace.
Kids want to learn at their own pace, but at times traditional classrooms make it hard to do so. With technology integration in education, children can slow down and go back over concepts and lessons, and more advanced kids can go ahead. Also, technology allows teachers to help children on a more one-on-one level.

4. Kids are digital natives.
Children know technology better than most adults. It's become the easiest way they learn since it is an integral part of their life. Technology engagement in the classroom helps children not only learn better but also acquire multi-tasking skills.

5. There are no limitations with technology.
Having access to other information outside of school material provides students with various ways of learning a concept. Teachers can come up with creative ways of teaching their students, which keep them engaged. Technology has changed the learning space, so learning is now more hands-on.

Technology can definitely help teachers do a better job, not replace them. Thus, teachers don't have to worry about the way technology is revolutionizing the field of education. As schools and teachers continue adopting a growing number of tech solutions and software development tools, it's important to consider new trends in education and how students learn. Like other sectors in today's society, the field of education should be updated with the latest technologies to meet student's needs.

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Trends In Education Technology For The Modern Society - eLearning Industry

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Education is an indispensable part of any modern society, and edTech can unfold a lot of 'not-realized' dreams of education institutes, education, and management. The education field is undergoing drastic changes because of different factors such as emerging technology innovation, student mobility, and government regulations.

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Top Educational Technology Trends In 2020-2021

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Top Educational Technology Trends In 2020-2021

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Educational Technology Trends In 2020-2021

Big Data, Machine Learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT) were the biggest educational technology trends of 2019. However, distance learning has become the one trend that rules them all. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way we teach and learn. Students now have to get used to distance learning via digital platforms due to social distancing. Even though some schools are reopening, this trend may continue until 2021. The latest EdTech trends in 2020, and further into 2021 are being revolutionized with a strong focus on connectivity, versatility, and student-centered learning. Let's take a look at the latest top 10 trends in educational technology.

What Is Educational Technology And Why Should It Matter?

Many people can recognize that EdTech is devoting technology to promote education. It's true, but not sufficient. The Association for Educational Communications and Technology ( AECT) has defined EdTech as "facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." On the other hand, educators who actually use EdTech have a much simpler definition of the term. They say that it is a concept of transforming traditional book teaching and learning to digital form. For them, the main difference lies in the way knowledge is delivered (thanks to technology innovation) to make teaching more effective.

In short, EdTech is simply the is a process of integrating technology into education to build better teaching/learning experiences that result in higher learning outcomes.

For example, several hospitals are training their new nurses with online safety courses by using animation.

Why Should It Matter?

There are lots of reasons why educators shifted to EdTech, replacing the traditional paper-and-pen teaching method. Particularly, we list some common advantages of EdTech that you can easily see here:

Innovative Teaching Methods

Technology is an innovation of humans, so when an educator can apply technology to teaching, it is also innovative. EdTech allows teachers to provide multimedia to address diverse learning styles, such as animation, live video, etc. Besides, EdTech enables teachers to create online courses where students can learn in their own space and at their own pace.

Improve Collaborative Teaching

Technology has made it possible for everyone to stay connected. Students and teachers connect, discuss, share their opinions, and act upon situations collaboratively.

For example, eLearning is an educational tool that features collaboration by enabling students to share and discuss. Instead of being in a classroom and listening to teachers speak for 30 minutes, eLearning students can join an online group/platform and learn together by interacting with their peers. In this case, teachers are more accessible and act as mentors to help students develop themselves. This collaborative learning approach has bridged the gap between teachers and students and also helps students strengthen their interpersonal skills.

Teaching And Learning Process

Firstly, EdTech benefits how teachers teach, both online and offline. Not always having to go to a specific class at a specific time, students can learn whenever and wherever. Secondly, EdTech changes the way students approach learning. EdTech makes learning more fun and exciting for students. When we feel engaged in learning, we learn better, remember better, and also apply knowledge better to real life. Lastly, technology makes education smarter, more effective, thus, satisfying learners' needs more. True educators bring valuable knowledge to learners, both in theory and in real life. But smart educators are those who can create teaching from what learners want to learn.

To sum up, EdTech doesn't mean teachers have to become IT experts. But it's true that teachers can do these fascinating things only with technology, and that's why we need EdTech in life.

Top 10 Current Educational Technology Trends In 2020/2021

If you are an innovative educator, following the trends in education is probably not something new but rather essential. Even with this list, however, it is still up to you to choose the most suitable "trendy" aid for your teaching and training. Here we select the 10 latest educational technology trends that are must-know when diving into this industry.

1. eLearning

Distance learning became the top 2020 educational technology trend overnight because of the rapid spread of COVID-19 and school closures. This led to a rising demand for online educational platforms. eLearning is education or training delivered electronically. It can be slide-based online activities, or it can also be an online course that helps a business train employees in necessary skills.

With eLearning, educational content is delivered to learners through computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. Not only saving time but opening many doors for interactive learning. Rather than being in a passive experience, learners can choose what they need to learn quickly and easily, wherever they are. They also learn through interacting directly with on-screen information through, for instance, dragging content from one place to the next. Moreover, the decision-making scenarios in eLearning also encourage learners to make their own choices on what they will learn next.

In eLearning, learners just soak in knowledge through reading or viewing content, it changes the way education is delivered. Also, many eLearning courses include animation, podcasts, and videos that create a multimodal and practical learning experience.

The last point is, although eLearning has been around for a long time, it is staying green and continuously developing. Educators are using the advantages of technology to make learning more effective. That's why more and more online and blended learning courses are produced nowadays.

Variety is the outstanding feature of online learning platforms. You can teach your students in real time (synchronous) via live stream or group meetings using Zoom or Microsoft Teams, or you can use recorded (asynchronous) methodologies with a wide range of media and digital functions available to enrich lessons. A good online learning platform can also be combined with a Learning Management System (LMS) so you can keep track of your students' learning outcomes.

2. Video-Assisted Learning

In recent years, video-assisted learning has become more and more popular as classroom displays. The "video day" is no longer a television on a trolley being wheeled into a class. With the internet and digital devices, every day can be a "video day."

This trend is also booming in distance learning conditions, which students learn through computer screens. Videos, especially animated videos, are extremely beneficial to enrich lessons and make content comprehensible. It improves students' outcomes and reduces teachers' workload.

3. Blockchain Technology

The Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) from blockchain brings so many benefits to education, especially data storage. Every time new data is added, it adds another "block" to the system, so the storage is technically limitless. Simultaneously, the data will be encrypted and distributed across multiple computers in the system. It makes transacting data decentralized and transparent.

Blockchain technology is used in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and ePortfolios to verify skills and knowledge. The DLT systems will answer the problems of authentication, scale, and cost for eLearning agencies. Moreover, it can help student applicants publish their accomplishments during the job-seeking phase.

4. Big Data Will Get Bigger

To cater to learners' needs, the learning experience needs to be personalized. And with COVID-19 and online learning booming, we now have bigger data than ever before. Instructional Designers have relevant information about learners' experiences to customize and present the course in a suitable format. Some information you should look for is the course's topic, learner enrollment, learner performance (time per course, completion, test result), and learner feedback (rating, survey).

5. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI now is the "in thing" in the US EdTech market. People have predicted that through 2021, AI could become the primary trend and grow by more than 45%. So why is the trend booming in one of the world's largest markets for EdTech? First and foremost, AI can automate basic activities in education, like grading. It's now possible for teachers to automate grading of the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Thus, automated grading of students' writing may not be far behind.

Furthermore, both learners and educators could benefit from AI. For example, students could get help from AI tutors when teachers are too busy to take care of everyone. Also, AI-driven programs can give both learners and educators helpful feedback. That's why some schools use AI systems to monitor student progress and to alert teachers when there might be an issue with students' performances. Therefore, it's not too far fetched that AI is a powerful assistant for in-class teaching. Meanwhile, why don't you help your learners get more out of the educational experience via AI?

6. Learning Analytics

The current landscape of learning analytics has dramatically expanded, especially for higher education. Learning analytics allows educators to measure and report student learning just by the web. From that, it's possible for them to better understand and optimize learning.

When teachers read insights from students' learning processes, they can improve the knowledge and skill acquisition of their students accordingly. For instance, teachers are able to see what type of information (text, images, infographics, or videos) that students enjoy most and use it more in their following lessons. Also, teachers are able to notice what pieces of knowledge weren't effectively delivered and enhance them next time. Moreover, learning analytics helps educators identify blocks of students who may have academic or behavioral challenges. From that, teachers could develop a way to help students reach their full potential.

7. Gamification

If you are looking for a way to turn learning into a more fun and engaging process, gamification is the most suitable educational technology trend. There is no reason for students not to be actively involved in classroom games. Students can learn and practice while they are joining in on exciting game activities. Gaming elements help create a funny and positive learning environment for learners.

The adoption of gamification is most popular in the K-12 education sector. It's because kids are quickly engaged in gaming videos or getting higher scores in a game. However, it doesn't mean that higher education or corporate training doesn't need fun elements to improve the engagement level of learners.

8. Immersive Learning With VR And AR

The class learning experience has undergone a tremendous change since Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) came to education. The rise in demand for experiential learning pushes forward the development of learning with VR and AR.

Learning has become much more interactive than traditional methods. While VR provides a constructed reality, AR gives an enhanced view of a real image. Thus, they help explain complex concepts that plain images or even a lab's hands-on experiments couldn't show students. For example, VR is pretty helpful when you are attending a medical training course. In detail, VR creates a chance for students to experience real-world surgeries in a low-risk environment.

9. STEAM

STEAM-based programs are the new EdTech improvement over the STEM programs. This new trend of EdTech applies meaningful Science, Technology, Engineering, Art (the new element), and Math content to solve real-world problems through hands-on learning activities and creative design.

Concerning the advantages of STEAM, the first thing is that it helps students become increasingly curious about the world around them. Moreover, it also creates a safe environment for the learners to express and experience their ideas while thinking outside the box. The comfort of hands-on learning also helps students collaborate better with others.

10. Social Media In Learning

Have you ever thought that social media would be a part of the learning process? When every student, both young and mature, spends so much time on social media, why don't we turn it into a powerful tool to enhance learning?

It's how the idea to use social media for teaching came about. Many educational institutes have started using social media as a communication tool in which students can interact with others easily. Students can share study materials, discuss with others in a group, or easily comment on someone else's post. Even an animated learning video could go viral on social media. And TedEd is the typical example of this trend! This organization creates lessons worth sharing and posts them on YouTube where people can easily access, find, and share the educational videos with their friends.

Social media is here to stay and build a culture of collaboration and sharing, leading to an improved learning experience.

Conclusion

In the end, we know that there is a lot to digest when we talk about educational technology trends. However, keep in mind that technology has seeped into education and renewed its whole teaching and learning process. Especially eLearning, an educational tool that not only increases the accessibility and convenience of education but also changes the learning behaviors and learners' desires for learning.

But here is good news, you don't need to go alone on this EdTech ship because you have us who will join you in bringing forth the true value of learning, inspiring learners, and making education more relevant and empowering.

Originally published at www.flearningstudio.com.

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Top Educational Technology Trends In 2020-2021

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Big Data, Machine Learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT) were the biggest educational technology trends of 2019. However, distance learning has become the one trend that rules them all. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way we teach and learn. Students now have to get used to distance learning via digital platforms due to social distancing.

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Using Technology as a Learning Tool, Not Just the Cool New Thing

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Using Technology as a Learning Tool, Not Just the Cool New Thing

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Ben McNeely
North Carolina State University

© Ben McNeely

I fully realized the digital age when I first spoke to my grandparents over the "talk" feature on AOL Instant Messenger. How cool is it, I thought, to have grandparents that not only have a computer, but know how to use it? What was more striking was that my grandfather, a man who never had much formal technical education, built not one, but two, computers from parts-motherboard, disk drives, hard drives, and so forth-with the help of my cousin. He has high-speed Internet access, sends and receives e-mail, burns CDs, and chats online using IM. He even built a computer for my grandmother, who uses it to check the obituaries daily on the Winston-Salem Journal Web site and does online jigsaw puzzles. She can no longer do real ones, as the pieces are too small for her to see and grasp.

Growing Up with Technology

In kindergarten, I was introduced to the Apple II computer. We were herded into the library and seated in front of a big-screen television. There, the librarian demonstrated the computer and its uses. She even showed us a game: The Oregon Trail-arguably the most popular computer game of our generation. It was simple, informative, and interactive. I can't tell you how many times I got my wagon stuck in the mud or how many teammates I killed off with cholera or malaria.

For my classmates and me, computers were just tools to get things done. Mastery of technological skills was a way to show we were advancing further than our classmates. In middle school, my family bought our first home computer. We also were hooked up to the Internet for the first time. It was a dial-up connection, slow compared to the instantaneous broadband speeds nowadays, but nonetheless, we were surfing the Net.

As a Boy Scout, my troop would participate in scout shows at the local mall. While other troops demonstrated traditional scouting skills, like pitching tents and lashing up towers, my troop set up a computer cluster and took digital pictures of people in the mall. Using Photoshop, we cut their images out of the pictures, placed them on backgrounds of their choosing, and gave them printouts.

My brother, a senior in high school, now uses WebAssign to complete homework problems for chemistry class. A Web-based learning application developed at North Carolina State University (NCSU), WebAssign is used across disciplines as a way for teachers to assess their students and offer supplemental information outside the lecture. He even applied to college using an online application.

As a member of the Net Generation, I have been surrounded by advances in digital technology, almost to the point where I cannot do my work as a journalist without it. In university, I have used assessment tools such as WebAssign and WebCT in classes as supplements to lecture and textbook. But now technology is advancing at such a rate that traditional ways of teaching and learning are not pushing students and teachers to their full potential. By using IT properly in the classroom, teaching and learning are enhanced and given a new dimension. Before curricula can be created to challenge the Net Generation, though, faculty must know how Net Geners learn and interact with each other, with technology, and with life in general. Remember that word- interact.

How the Net Gen Learns

Are you interested in knowing how Net Geners learn? Let me illustrate using my friends, me, and my grandfather.

Learning by Doing

Patrick Clarke, graphics editor for a student newspaper, sits down at a computer and launches Adobe InDesign. He opens a template for the news page and pulls in graphics, pictures, and text. He manipulates the blocks on the virtual newspaper page, moving back and forth between two other Adobe products, Photoshop and Illustrator. By the time the page is sent to the printer for printing, the elements on the page would have been manipulated, edited, and reedited at least a dozen times. Patrick is a creative and dynamic designer, but he is not a design major-he's in computer engineering.

Chris Reynolds is a business major and wants to open a music store when he graduates. In his spare time, he is a DJ musician. He spins and mixes his own beats, using a computer, sound-editing software, turntables, and a keyboard. He teamed up with a friend to make a how-to video on spinning. They used digital video and professional editing software to create the video. Because he is a DJ, he worries about court cases involving the music industry. A recent case where the use of "sampling" was ruled illegal hit him hard, as sampling is widely used by DJs when they create their music.

Jake Seaton is a big arts and entertainment fan. He lives and breathes for music, movies, and anything Hollywood. He can tell you about film and music history and can quote even the most obscure lines from zombie movies (his favorite). He also is up-to-date on the latest in computer and console gaming. He chose a multidisciplinary degree in music journalism and has taken distance-education courses. In high school he won a state architecture award and has taught himself to use Photoshop and InDesign.

These are representatives of the Net Generation. They all use computers in their class work and in their hobbies. They have a wide range of interests, outside their chosen area of study. They are not locked into one thing, although all are highly motivated and pursue their interests with passion. They use the latest in technology, whether cell phones, computers, PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras. They expect things to work properly and work fast. They get bored if not challenged properly, but when challenged, they excel in creative and innovative ways. They learn by doing, not by reading the instruction manual or listening to lectures. These are the learners that faculty must reach.

When I first came to NCSU in 2000, I came to a public university dedicated to technology. There were numerous computer labs all over campus, and professors actively used assessment tools like WebAssign and WebCT in their classes. In an experimental psychology class, I used SAS statistical software to crunch data I collected from experiments. I used online message boards to post ideas and criticism in my opinion/editorial writing class.

In my technical document design class, I experienced the best use of technology in a class: hands-on, experimental, and interactive. This course covered the fundamental designs of technical documents: instruction manuals, memos, resumes, and so forth. Taught in a computer lab, the class sat one student to a computer. We learned to use Adobe Pagemaker, the most popular desktop publishing program at the time. With basic exercises from the instructor and trial-and-error assignments with broad guidelines, I learned not only how to use the program but also design fundamentals-by doing the actual design, not by reading it out of a book.

This is how the Net Generation learns: by doing. Many of my peers have emerged as the leaders of my generation. They will go on to become the leaders of our nation in many different roles-politicians, business executives, artisans, scientists, and journalists. Much like how we learn by doing, we lead by doing; that is, by practicing the art and science of our chosen paths.

Human Interaction

Generational differences in learning techniques are apparent in how people of different ages approach technology. It has been said that we, the Net Generation, are closer to our grandparents-the Greatest Generation-in our work ethic and optimism about the future than to our parents' generation. But how we approach problems is totally different.

My grandfather is a tinkerer-he figures out how things work by trial and error. He is very mechanically inclined and has spent his life working on many kinds of machinery. But when it comes to computers, he approaches it one thing at a time, step by step.

Every time I come home from college, he has a new problem for me to fix on his computer. He will fiddle and fiddle with a program until he is befuddled. Usually it is because he missed a step somewhere. If I show him and write down steps, he takes the information I've given him and works it out for himself. Even though the computer's parts are more complex than a carburetor or gear drives, the skills my grandfather used to put it together came from decades of tinkering with machines. He still uses a step-by-step thinking process used in mechanical arts to figure out software and basic functions like e-mail and Internet browsing.

Similarly, Patrick sits down with a new piece of design software and tinkers with its features. "Usually, if it is from a software company I know, I can figure out a new program easily," he said. He has fundamental knowledge about how certain software should work. By tinkering, he can figure out shortcuts and pick up the gist of the program quickly.

Even though Patrick uses step-by-step problem-solving skills, he also is pulling information from his own memory, experience, and base knowledge to master the new program. Patrick has had almost two decades of experience working with computers-almost to the point that it is second nature. My grandfather, on the other hand, has only had about five years of computer experience. Because they have been wired since grade school, Net Geners are likely to grasp technological concepts faster.

But the same "tinkering" practice applies in the classroom: doing hands-on work and working in groups, students get a better grasp of concepts the professor is trying to teach. Using technology only enhances the hands-on experience; it does not-and cannot-replace human interaction. There's that word again.

Interaction, not Isolation

Distance education is the popular option for nontraditional learners. With many traditional industries such as manufacturing and textiles going offshore, 20-year veterans of the workplace are being laid off and going back to school to learn a new trade. Distance education-through Internet and video courses-helps those who have to work a job and go to school at the same time better schedule their learning opportunities. These people are usually older, in their 30s or 40s, and are learning to use technology, like the Internet and computers, while training for a new career. In theory, the Net Generation should learn better through Internet courses because they have been surrounded by computers all their lives and know how to use the technology already.

Just the opposite is true. Net Geners like the social interaction that comes with being in class with their peers. While they may use technology in their daily lives, relationships are a driving force in the learning process.

Jake Seaton, as a part of his multidisciplinary degree, took a video course through distance education-and didn't like it. "I needed the structure of going to class. I would go to my other classes and then come home and have another class to watch on TV," he said. "I didn't like it. At the end of the day, I wanted to be done, not have to work at a class at home."

This is typical among Net Geners: learning through social interaction is important. Feedback from the professor is vital, and working in groups is the norm. Arman Assa, MBA candidate and president of PackMUG-the Mac Users Group at NCSU-said that learning technology has not advanced enough to replace the social interaction in the classroom. "Historically, communal learning has always been the most effective way for educating the student and generating thought-provoking discussion in class. I don't believe technology has reached a point where we can duplicate that effectively on a computer," Assa said. "Some instructors argue that chat rooms, message boards, and instant messaging are good substitutes, but they are by no means replacements for the exchange of tacit knowledge.

"Does this mean that interactive technology is bad for the classroom? No. It means that it should simply augment what is already there," Assa continued. "For instance, one of my human resource classes in the MBA [program] has regular classroom discussion, but the instructor augments it with message board interaction. It was a very effective tool for helping introverts who don't talk in class to join the discussion."

Cut-and-Paste Culture

Technology is everywhere. Net Geners cannot remember a time in their education where a computer was not used for some learning experience. Because of this "tech-savviness," traditional educational practices and ethics are coming into question. Cheating, for example, always a major academic infraction, is on the rise on college campuses-and technology is helping with cheating. Talk to students and any one of them will tell you that cheating is prevalent and part of the culture, especially in technical disciplines. That is, if you use the strict definition of cheating.

NCSU uses WebCT and WebAssign extensively. Since a faculty member cannot directly supervise students and only the answers are recorded in WebAssign, not how the student came up with them, students often work together on their assignments. But students must submit their own answers. In computer engineering, students must write a program and submit it as a part of learning different coding languages. Patrick says these programs are worked over with a fine-tooth comb. "The TAs and instructors run the programs line-by-line to see if any code was copied," he said. "There may be opportunity to cheat, but you will get caught." He adds that there is not much opportunity to cheat during exams.

Plagiarism is the academic infraction of choice. How can it not be, though? Information is easily available from the Internet, especially from sites like Wikipedia. Old term papers are being sold online. Because the Internet provides easy information fast, the temptation to click "copy/paste" and pull in quotes from a Web site without attribution is great. But students still get caught because faculty members can search for familiar phrases or quotes to root out plagiarism.

Cheating is on the rise in universities. Is it because students aren't learning the material? Or is it because their learning and work ethic are so different from their professors that working together to solve a problem is no longer that serious an infraction? Remember that teamwork has been emphasized to Net Geners since the first day of kindergarten. Businesses are also looking for graduates who can work effectively in teams.

Based on the very social nature of Net Geners and the tremendous amount of information available to students these days at the touch of a button, the traditional definition of cheating is changing. How faculty assess students is changing as well. Faculty still give written exams (in English, it is still a certainty), but they must be ever more vigilant to catch the cheating student. Cell phones and text messaging have allowed students to text back and forth between each other, conferring through the airwaves on exam questions. Because of emerging technologies, faculty are having to adapt their classes and how they assess students in order to uphold academic integrity.

Challenges for Higher Education

So what do Net Geners want from learning technology? Interactivity-whether it is with a computer, a professor, or a classmate. They want it; they crave it. Traditional lectures are not fulfilling the learning potential of typical students today. Distance education and online courses don't work well with Net Geners-the social component of learning is required. As technology in the classroom progresses, more and more students are going to demand it be included. This will pose challenges, though.

Funding

First, technology costs money. What else is new? Faculty members can receive grants for using technology in the classroom and developing new learning technologies. This is fine on the department level, but for a university to implement learning technology on a massive scale will take an act of Congress. State legislatures are listening and meeting the basic technological needs for public universities. But it takes bond referendums for state-of-the-art classrooms in order to implement technology on a university level. And bonds are paid by the taxpayers because the referendums are voted upon by the taxpayers. No vote, no bonds. So it goes, I suppose.

Access and Skills

Second, students need to be able to use the technology. In North Carolina, students must pass a computer competency test in the eighth grade before being promoted to high school. They are tested on the most fundamental computer skills: word processing, creating a spreadsheet, using Web browsers, and e-mail. Beyond that, students either pick up skills on their own, take a class outside the primary educational setting-say at a community college or library-or don't learn at all. Users-even Net Geners-will only learn so much when operating a computer. The average student will use a computer for homework, online chatting, checking e-mail, and surfing the Internet. The more advanced users will know how to write a simple Web page, update a ready-made blog site, or download music and movies-perhaps illegally-and burn CDs. But for the most part, users have no knowledge about how to set up a local area network or how to troubleshoot their own computer for minor problems.

On a more fundamental level, there is such a thing as a "digital divide." Technology is expensive, and the only way for some school systems to afford computer labs is if computers are donated. These computers often are refurbished and several years old. While they are useful in teaching fundamental skills, like those tested for in the North Carolina standardized computer test, they will not be able to support the latest technology. Once a computer or software is released on the market, it is usually replaced in 18 months. How can a Pentium II running Windows 95 properly prepare a high school or college student for the working world, which uses Windows XP? It can't. These computers ideally should be relatively up to date and able to provide students with not only fundamental skills but also the chance to learn intermediate and advanced skills as the "cool new thing" rolls out of the factory.

There are students who cannot afford a personal computer in their homes and must rely on technology in their schools or local libraries. There are even students whose first real experience with technology will come when they go to college. How can they possibly survive in the high-tech college world if they don't know the basics?

Colleges need to teach students computer skills beyond fundamentals. Skills such as digital document archiving, Web page design using Dreamweaver or Flash, setting up wireless networks, and using a firewall are quickly becoming the norm, where in the past they were considered advanced knowledge. Even basic upkeep and troubleshooting is still left up to tech-support hotlines, often located halfway around the world. These are the skills students need to know to be competitive. Many colleges offer introductory courses in computer science that are available as electives in many disciplines. Updating the intro course curricula-or even the state standardized tests-will go a long way in fostering computer skills.

While usability has gotten better as operating systems have progressed, you still hear comments like "I can't use a Mac, I use Windows," or "I only know how to word process on my computer, I can't use MS Word on a Mac." Even though the Net Generation learns quickly, the old adage "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" still applies. The inability to move between platforms-and the lack of accelerated fundamental skills-is a major hindrance to learning technology. The workforce is so competitive that the difference in knowing how to set up a simple network and basic computer troubleshooting over knowing just document preparation could mean a job down the road. It will be a challenge to overcome, but it isn't impossible.

Interaction

Third, technology must be relevant and interactive to the coursework. A faculty member who uses PowerPoint in a lecture is not using technology interactively. Students need a practical use for technology, whether to manipulate data or to explore the inner recesses of the human body without cutting up cadavers. Students need to communicate quickly with each other, but in a centralized manner. That is why message boards are great. Members-only message boards allow students and faculty to communicate with each other. Plus, faculty members can use the course lockers during lectures and provide information outside lecture for students to explore at their own pace.

Relevance

Fourth, technology must be used for a practical purpose-that is, taking the fundamentals and technology learned over a semester and applying it to a final project, where creativity and uniqueness is required and rewarded. In my technical document design class, we had to create a useful technical document: write the text and design a technical document using Pagemaker. My group designed an instruction booklet for a video game. Chris Reynolds used his sound-editing software to help a friend with a music project. They wrote a short piece of music, recorded and edited it, and burned it to a CD for the professor to evaluate. Chris was excited because it gave him a chance to "play" with his software. While he doesn't use his music software in his business courses, he is learning skills that could be marketable after college. Plus, his friend got an "A" on the project.

Using technology for some practical purpose, and not for the sake of using technology, must be the clear objective. "Students are often the guinea pigs in 'IT-enabled' classes as faculty test out whether the latest innovations actually help learning," Assa said. "Some faculty, in an effort to use the latest buzzword or receive the next big grant, are testing technology simply for the sake of technology, rather than using technology as a tool for learning, such as paper and pencils. When people focus too much on technology, they lose sight of the true purpose of technology, which is to facilitate learning in the classroom."

The Next Generation

Turn on the TV on Saturday mornings and watch cartoons for an hour. Count how many commercials there are for interactive toys for toddlers and young children. Even babies have "learning centers," with flashing colored lights and music. Whether or not the "Mozart Effect"-the theory that musical stimulation increases IQ scores-exists, parents have latched onto the idea that it does, and toy makers are obliging and capitalizing on their belief.

These new learners are exposed to technology-even on a rudimentary scale-from nearly the womb onward. My mother's kindergarten class uses the computer for learning games that reinforce counting and spelling skills. A quarter of the population has a computer at home, and many more have access to a computer-and the number continues to grow every year.

The next generation of learners will meet and surpass the Net Generation's expectations of educational standards. Those standards will only be met if faculty and administrators today establish the infrastructure of learning technology in the classroom. And not just using PowerPoint in the lecture hall, but understanding how technology can be used to reach the most people in an effective way. It will take great effort on both sides-students and faculty alike-to learn and use technology effectively. But the benefits will be well worth the effort.

About the Author

Ben McNeely is the managing editor of Technician, the student newspaper at North Carolina State University. A senior in English, Ben hosts a talk show on WKNC-FM and also contributes to the yearbook and to the online magazine Americana. As an officer in PackMUG, the Macintosh Users Group at NC State, he was instrumental in bringing Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple Computer, to campus as a speaker. McNeely, an aspiring journalist and Eagle Scout, is interested in technology's impact on today's society and its implications for the future.

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Using Technology as a Learning Tool, Not Just the Cool New Thing

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Ben McNeely North Carolina State University © Ben McNeely I fully realized the digital age when I first spoke to my grandparents over the "talk" feature on AOL Instant Messenger. How cool is it, I thought, to have grandparents that not only have a computer, but know how to use it?

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The rise of digital technologies means that it has become much easier to use other people's work as your own. Plagiarism Checkers like Viper can easily catch you out if you commit plagiarism in your work.

The Effects of New Technologies

In the past, it was much more difficult to detect acts of plagiarism. Such detection involved somebody remembering a specific piece of content, and matching it to the work of a plagiarist. As you would know, content matching would have been quite difficult, and so, many plagiarists may have gotten away with their acts of plagiarism in the past.

New technologies are constantly digitizing paper content. Do you think this would help in the detection of plagiarism? Yes. as this makes it much easier to locate via searches and plagiarism detection software. Therefore, we have now entered a new era in the war against plagiarism.

The Views of Academics

Lea Evering and Gary Moorman have looked at plagiarism in the Digital Age, and they say that:
"The current concept of plagiarism is based on a capitalist view of property and ownership. It assumes that everything of value can be owned, bought, and sold and that ideas, knowledge, and art are created by individuals who have the rights of ownership".
All pieces of writing are copyrighted automatically . Reproducing such texts or original ideas will be considered an offence of plagiarism.

As you may know, this includes text, pictures, artwork, videos, and or computer-generated animations. However, any piece of writing, artwork, or any narrative of any kind is probably roots in popular culture, and can ever be truly original. For example, you might see a movie that has similarities with something else that you have watched, with just a little twist to differentiate it. However, unless something is a like-for-like copy, it is unlikely to be an act of plagiarism.

The Human Factor

As human beings, we tend to take in vast amounts of information over the course of our lives. This information can then spill out subconsciously into our own works of art or literature. It could be likely that would not be aware that the information has been taken from viewing somebody else's work.

For those who do not wish to plagiarise, just like ourselves, the Digital Age can be a blessing. Right now we can all, including you, perform a lot of ways to check our work for plagiarism. We can: (a) simply copy and pasting the text into a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, or (b) use a dedicated plagiarism software like our Viper Plagiarism Checker. For many of us with artistic integrity, this is a vital part of the process of writing. Whether this is song lyrics, academic work, or a work of literature or journalism. Checking also provides you with a safeguard to not get into trouble for copying later on.

Has the Digital Age had a Positive or Negative Impact?

The Digital Age has been both a blessing and a curse for all of us when it comes to plagiarism. For willing plagiarists, this has provided them with a wealth of information and ideas to easily copy and use as original work. For academic institutions it has led to us, a means of detecting plagiarism.

Perhaps such digital means might also allow a plagiarist to check if a document or piece of work has been digitised. This will grant them the insurance to know that it would be easy to plagiarize. Complex situations could arise though. Someone who uses this as a source, and correctly cites it, might inadvertently be taking the ideas of someone else's work, without realising it; and could therefore get into trouble for the omission of a citation of this original work.

As time goes by, plagiarism detection software will increasingly become more sophisticated. This might lead to a scenario whereby fewer and fewer people engage in acts of plagiarism. What this might not solve though, are acts of accidental plagiarism.

The Effects of Digital Plagiarism in Higher Education

Plagiarism has been a big issue for universities for many years. The rise of digital technologies, like our very own here at Viper, have helped to eliminate such concerns.

Digital technologies have led us to a situation in which such institutions have to be more aware in detecting plagiarism. This would help them keep their academic reputation. It also make it fair on those students, including you, who try follow the plagiarism rules and regulations. Nowadays, criminals can become more technological and could counter-crime agencies, and vice versa. This then, is an ongoing battle, which evolves as one side responds to the other.

The key to this battle in the academic world is that of teachers and lecturers. Writing styles can help teachers identify plagiarism. Therefore, teachers might be able to identify when a student's work has undergone a drastic change in style. This could act as a red flag for further investigation. If all students' work, including yours and mine, is put through plagiarism detection software such as Viper, then this should serve to decrease levels of plagiarism. This would then make plagiarizing to risky for students.

Closing Remarks

These digital technologies can help to eliminate plagiarism. It is important for us to use such technologies to our own advantage. Although digital technologies can be seen as both a curse and a blessing the benefits of these technologies could help you. Plagiarism in the Digital Age is becoming easier to detect, so you should be warned, and take appropriate action to protect yourself from acts of accidental plagiarism.

If you require more information on the effects of plagiarism or would like to start using our innovative plagiarism checker, simply visit www.scanmyessay.com

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How Digital Plagiarism Is Affecting Education

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The rise of digital technologies has meant that it has become much easier to use other people's work as your own, while simultaneously, it has also become much easier to be caught due to plagiarism detection software such as Viper.

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What impact is technology having on student cheating?

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What impact is technology having on student cheating?

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The vast majority of Americans - 95 percent - today own a mobile phone. In 2015, 64 percent of American adults owned a smartphone and that percentage has grown to almost 77 percent in recent years. For adults aged 18 to 29, a whopping 94 percent own smartphones, according to Pew Research Center.

Smartphone Industry Growth

While the growing popularity of smartphones is often seen as "progress", it is also having a monumentally negative impact on the tertiary education sector. The increased use of technology has contributed to the simplification and ease of copying homework assignments - and cheating in general - across schools and tertiary institutions around the world. Despite the fact that repercussions for cheating are severe, involving possible suspension or expulsion, 62% of U.S. students have reported seeing or hearing of another student using a connected device to cheat on an exam, quiz or project. In the U.K., there has been a 42% rise in cheating cases involving gadgets such as mobile phones and hidden earpieces since 2012, and in Australia cheating via technology is also on the rise at universities, with engineering and international students the most likely offenders. In one study across eight national universities and four colleges in Australia, it was found that a "widespread tolerance for cheating" existed among students and staff, with 68 percent of university staff admitting they had found "suspected contract cheaters" among their students in the past.

Popular Forms of Cheating

"Contract cheating" is perhaps the most serious form of academic dishonesty, involving students putting out a tender for others to complete their homework, coursework and assessments. But most students are cheating in a far simpler way: by switching on their mobile devices and snapping a photo of a classmate's work, enabling them to copy that homework almost word for word in order to avoid doing it themselves. Students are also using mobile phones or earpieces during exams, by activating their device's infrared, Bluetooth, or texting applications to share exam information with other test takers.

With the rise of technology, academic cheating is becoming more and more prolific, with hundreds of thousands of websites now offering custom-written papers, selling cheat aids and publishing how-to-cheat videos, teaching students anything from how to load programmable calculators with exam responses to how to replace a water bottle's nutrition information with mathematics notes. Students are cheating in extremely advanced ways - with some even resorting to the use of a virtual private network to protect their activities.

But teachers are catching up, quickly.

New technologies Emerge

Using new technologies, including text-matching software and plagiarism websites, webcams, biometric equipment, as well as drawing on strategies such as virtual students and cheat-proof tests, it is ever so slowly becoming harder to plagiarize other students work. Surprisingly, teachers often find they have the most success in identifying plagiarism by simply Googling phrases they find in students' papers. But more tech-savvy professors and teachers set up web "honey pots" - phony Web pages that answer specific questions allocated by them for homework with blatantly out-of-date or inaccurate information. Innovative technologies like Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) provide a way of improving the accuracy of assessment by addressing cheating concerns, by using an algorithm to choose test items based on students' strengths and weaknesses. Using this method, every student takes a different test. As a result of new "anti-cheat" innovations like these, the U.S. has seen the percentage of students who admit to cheating - which rose from 20 percent in the mid-1900s to over 50 percent in 2002 - drop down to around 10 percent in recent years.

But the reality is, advances in technology will continue allowing for easy, accessible sharing unless significant steps are taken to address the problem.

Relation Between Tests and Cheating

Some attribute the rise in student cheating to an ever-increasing workload, others see it as a changing work ethic seen in the Millenial and Gen Z groups. Some see a direct correlation between the rise of standardized testing and cheating. Others hold accountability policies responsible: they have pressured educators to raise test scores. Whatever the cause, it's evident the education sector needs to address the phenomenon soon before cheating becomes the status quo, as opposed to a rare lapse in judgment.

Final words on Plagiarism

To ensure you don't find yourself falling for the same traps other students have and "accidentally" plagiarizing your next assessment, try to implement the following measures. Develop a more efficient weekly schedule so that you can spend more time on each subject - and assessment - so that when deadlines approach you aren't tempted to find a "quick solution" to completing your work. If in doubt, don't copy and paste a piece of work found online but if you must, ensure it is correctly referenced. Don't give in to peer pressure and share your work with others, because developing a habit of cheating - either for yourself or for others - creates a poor work ethic that can damage your future. And lastly, always remember your ethics. They will get a lot further than an A+ will.

This article was contributed by fellow NYU students. If you would like to make a contribution to the NYU Dispatch, please .

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What impact is technology having on student cheating?

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The vast majority of Americans - 95 percent - today own a mobile phone. In 2015, 64 percent of American adults owned a smartphone and that percentage has grown to almost 77 percent in recent years. For adults aged 18 to 29, a whopping 94 percent own smartphones, according to Pew Research Center.

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The Top 5 Tech Trends That Will Disrupt Education In 2020 - The EdTech Innovations Everyone Should Watch

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The Top 5 Tech Trends That Will Disrupt Education In 2020 - The EdTech Innovations Everyone Should Watch

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One solid indicator that EdTech is big business is the number of billionaires the sector created. According to Deloitte, the Chinese education market should reach $715 billion by 2025 and was responsible for creating seven new billionaires. The richest was Li Yongxin, who leads Offcn Education Technology that provides online and offline training for individuals who want to take civil service exams, but there were other EdTech business leaders represented. Here we consider the key technologies that underpin the EdTech revolution as well as the top 5 tech trends set to disrupt education in 2020.

The Top 5 Tech Trends That Will Disrupt Education In 2020 - The EdTech Innovations Everyone Should ... [+]
Adobe Stock

Key Technologies that Underpin the EdTech Revolution
A discussion about the top tech trends that will disrupt education must first begin with the technologies that will influence these trends.

Artificial intelligence will continue to fill gaps in learning and teaching and help personalize and streamline education. As students interact with connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices and other digital tools, data will be gathered. This big data and analysis of it is instrumental for personalized learning, determining interventions, and what tools are effective. Extended reality, including virtual, augmented, and mixed realities, helps create different learning opportunities that can engage students even further. Education is increasingly becoming mobile, and educational institutions are figuring out ways to enhance the student experience by implementing mobile technology solutions. Of course, this technology requires a capable network to handle the traffic demands, and 5G technology will provide powerful new mobile data capabilities. Finally, blockchain technology offers educational institutions to store and secure student records.
Top 5 Tech Trends That Will Disrupt Education in 2020 1. More accessible education
There aren't only financial considerations when speaking about how accessible education is. The UN estimates there are more 263 million kids globally who are not getting a full-time education. While there are many reasons for this statistic, such as access to a qualified educational facility, there are also issues with proper materials, learning accommodations, and more. Online learning makes education available to those even in remote areas as well as make it easy to share curriculum across borders. EdTech solutions can overcome many common barriers to a quality education.

Technology can improve access to education. Digital textbooks that can be accessed online 24/7 won't require transportation to get to an educational facility or library during certain hours. Digital copies are relatively cheap to produce, so textbook fees aren't as taxing for digital versions as they might be with physical versions that cost more to create. Similarly, translating physical textbooks into all the languages natively spoken is cost-prohibitive for publishers when they are producing only physical copies of books. Digital versions make these translations much more feasible.

Within the classroom, the ultimate accommodation for learning differences is called differentiated learning. This allows students to have learning that is tailored to their personal needs. This and student-paced learning where students can move through and review material at the speed they need is much more feasible when using technology. There are also tech solutions for students who have physical or learning disabilities.
2. More data-driven insights
Just like it does for other industries, technology can help educational institutions and educators be more effective and efficient. By analyzing the data about how digital textbooks are consumed, or educational technology is used, valuable data-driven insights for how to enhance learning can be attained as well as provide info to make decisions about what tools aren't effective. Technology, including big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, will also allow for more in-depth personalization of the content for an individual's learning needs. At the university level, data is no longer siloed into individual department's Excel spreadsheets but is consolidated at the institution level, so insights can be extracted. With the assistance of data-driven insights to readily see where students need more support and what support is necessary, teachers are freed up to inspire students and change lives.
3. More personalized education
While a personalized education experience isn't a novel concept, technology can make achieving it much easier. Today's classrooms are diverse and complex, and access to technology helps better meet each student's needs. Technological tools can free teachers up from administrative tasks such as grading and testing to develop individual student relationships. Teachers can access a variety of learning tools through technology to give students differentiated learning experiences outside of the established curriculum.
4. More immersive education
Extended reality encompassing virtual, augmented, and mixed reality brings immersive learning experiences to students no matter where they are. A lesson about ancient Egypt can literally come alive when a student puts on a VR headset and walks around a digital version of the time period. Students can experience hard-to-conceptualize current-day topics through extended reality, such as walking among camps of Syrian refugees. This technology enables learning by doing. Students are used to using voice interfaces at home when asking Alexa to define a word when doing homework, but this technology can also support learning and improve education in other ways. Chatbots can deliver lectures via conversational messages and engage students in learning with a communication tool they have become quite comfortable with, such as what CourseQ offers. Ultimately, if chatbots can make the learning process more engaging for students and reduce the workload on human educators, their use in education will continue to grow.
5. More automated schools
Many schools already rely on online assessments that are flexible, interactive, and efficient to deliver. Automation will continue to alter schools as more smart tools get incorporated, including face recognition technology to take attendance, autonomous data analysis to inform learning decisions so teachers don't need to analyze data as well as help automate administrative tasks. When a student interacts with online technology, they leave a digital footprint that informs learning analytics. But automation will also help control building costs by automatically controlling lighting and heating/cooling systems and to help keep students safe with automated school security systems.

You might also like to have a look at this video, in which I outline the eight things every school must do to prepare for the 4 th industrial revolution:

... Read More

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The Top 5 Tech Trends That Will Disrupt Education In 2020 - The EdTech Innovations Everyone Should Watch

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There are many EdTech innovations everyone should watch. EdTech is big business that's made possible by several essential technologies, and these technologies are set to disrupt education. Learn the key technologies that underpin the EdTech revolution and trends that will disrupt education in 2020.

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The pandemic could open a door to new technology — and dramatic innovation — in education

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The pandemic could open a door to new technology — and dramatic innovation — in education

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Disaster is a laboratory for innovation. During a war, or in the aftermath of an earthquake, whole societies mobilize to answer the immediate challenge, while a cadre of researchers looks for a way to transform the crisis into advances that will improve lives, or save lives, in the future.

The global COVID-19 pandemic is such a challenge. For Zachary Pardos, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education and the School of Information, the crisis brings a persistent question: With tens of millions of students across the world forced to stay home from school, and shutdowns in some areas likely to continue in the fall, how can we assure that they get the best possible education?

Pardos is a specialist in adaptive learning technologies, studying the deep dynamics of student learning and marshaling big data to build user-friendly tools that are both powerful and subtle. He has worked closely with teachers and students at every level to integrate the technology into everyday curricula.

In an interview, he described how these emerging support systems engage students and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, even when they're not in the classroom. The systems are not an online course, but rather an online tutor, driven by artificial intelligence, that can assess a student's strengths and weaknesses and deliver personalized individual instruction.

Such technologies are already in use in undergraduate study, including at Berkeley, and to a limited degree in U.S. high school classes. Today, however, educators are compelled to consider the most effective ways to teach students at home - and that means COVID-19 may open the door to new ideas and new technologies that will endure in the classroom after the disaster subsides.

And while the pandemic and economic disruptions are changing the landscape for future work, Pardos said, adaptive learning technologies have the power to help students pivot, on the fly, toward new careers.
[This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.]
Berkeley News: When people think of adaptive learning technologies, they might imagine online courses or students using clickers to respond to questions from an instructor. Is this the right way to think about them?

Zachary Pardos: It's something different. Those technologies have elements of adaptive learning. Specifically, mechanisms for immediate feedback. Thanks to autograding, you can be given correctness feedback on problems, or even essays, in an online course. But adaptive learning involves more personalization on the part of the technology.

The key components of adaptive tutoring systems have tended to be a model that continually assesses what a student knows, a list of knowledge in the domain being learned and then hints and an adaptive sequencing of content based on what the student knows. An example of that on the Berkeley campus has been the ALEKS system. It's used by incoming freshmen who aren't yet ready for college-level math.

But they're not ready in a variety of different ways. So, it's not just one short summer course that could remedy that. And having human tutors continuously assess readiness and adapt instruction to each of the hundreds of incoming students is a monumental task that would quickly exceed the resources of a human tutor. But adaptive tutors have been shown to scale very well in this scenario.

Are there other examples you can think of that are in use now, or might be soon?

Mastering Physics and MATHia, for geometry and algebra, are other examples of adaptive tutors. There are many more. Most major textbook publishers have purchased or developed tutoring systems like these, and there is a wide variety of adaptive learning technologies coming out of industry and academic labs, some of which share the same focus on assessment as the tutoring systems approach.

It has been a weakness of adaptive tutors that they tend to be in limited STEM domains. A challenge going forward is to broaden them. One of the bottlenecks is just how much subject matter expertise is needed to model a new domain. But big data approaches have been promising for overcoming that. A first milestone was achieved when we were able to automatically generate personalized help on the fly in an online course by using AI, which learn from past student interactions with the course.

If you're a student, what's it like to use this technology? How is it different from traditional learning?

It's the immediate personalized help and prescribed practice that can take place. While the process of seeking out help can be beneficial, many students don't know where to start and look to the course materials and the instructional staff for assistance. Adaptive learning technologies can provide some of this assistance. If a student isn't up to a level of knowledge to be able to answer a question, instead of continuing to the next lesson, the system would adaptively extend the current lesson, giving help along the way in the form of hints and other activities until the student is prepared to advance.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of students are studying at home. Could adaptive learning technologies help?

For limited subjects, yes. The emergency move away from traditional classrooms has caused a reduction in instructor-student contact hours. This is taking place across K-12 and higher ed. A lack of contact hours could be partially compensated for with adaptive technology, where in those moments where students can't have synchronous learning sessions (with teachers, in real time), they can be interacting with a technology that has the capacity to personalize instruction - a limited capacity, but more so than a video or textbook.

It would seem that this crisis, by nature, will lead us to think about innovation in education.

Definitely. Now that so many educators have had to communicate, learn and teach through the online medium, it can't be ignored as an option to consider in the future, nor can the question be ignored of what tools could be brought to bear to improve the quality of learning in online and place-based environments.

This is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges experienced during the pandemic, challenges such as lack of engagement and lack of a sense of connection with students. How can appropriate application of adaptive technology make online learning experiences whole, from both teacher and student perspectives?

Some educators have expressed a concern that, during the pandemic, students who are supposed to be studying at home are instead offline and adrift. If adaptive learning technologies were widely in place right now, could they help?

There's both an access and an orientation issue here. With access, we'll start to see data SIM (subscriber information module) cards and devices treated like school buses - delivery vehicles expected to be provided for students to get them to the now virtual classroom.

Even when students have access, there is evidence that the way in which they orient toward online learning can lead to an achievement divide. A colleague at Arizona State University was curious how students were navigating materials in his online course and if students who failed the course navigated in a different fashion from those who passed.

Our research into the data from the course showed that going to the quizzes first and then looking for answers in the preparatory material was a dominant pattern among students who failed. Following the prescribed syllabus path was dominant among students who passed. The instructor made a couple of modifications for the next class, offering a small amount of extra credit for those accessing the preparatory materials first and sending an email to those who didn't, letting them know how important it was to the success of previous students. He saw an increase in grades after making those changes.

The takeaway for the immediate remote instruction situation is that some students will not naturally have a disciplined orientation to online learning. If not through live videoconference sessions and taking attendance, how are teachers maintaining structure and keeping students on track? Incentives and evidence-based personalized communications are options. The rigid personalized sequencing of adaptive learning technologies might be another.

It seems to me that you're talking not just about new technology, but a fundamentally different way of teaching and of learning.

As biological, cognitive beings, we haven't changed very much. But technology is changing every facet of our life, and I think that is also now happening in education, where teachers are working alongside technology. There is also a hint of the familiar here, since many adaptive learning systems have been inspired by one-on-one tutoring.

Look down the road five or 10 years. How do you see the technology evolving - and how will education evolve?

We will see technology become easier to integrate with what teachers are trying to accomplish. Machine learning technology, especially natural-language processing, will provide for Socratic pedagogical approaches and better coordinated peer-to-peer learning opportunities.

Adaptive learning will be used in broader contexts. Due to the changing economic landscape, many students may decide to pivot from their intended careers and degrees. They will have prior knowledge gained from the degrees they are pivoting away from and would be seeking personalized curricula that leverage what they have learned to coherently shift toward what they want to now learn.

This is a challenging personalization task, but a scenario similar to those in which adaptive tutors have been shown to excel, only applied at a higher, across-course level. My lab has been developing and piloting an adaptive technology aspiring to this goal here at Cal.

Are there unintended consequences that we should be thinking about now? Potential risks?

One pitfall is thinking that technology can do everything. People need to learn academic subjects, but they also need to learn to be people. They need to learn compassion, generosity, how to work together, how to share responsibility and credit, and how to maintain relationships, which is certainly a lifelong learning topic. How to become a good citizen who contributes to the conversation on what society should value. You're not going to have an adaptive learning technology to teach that.

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The pandemic could open a door to new technology - and dramatic innovation - in education

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Disaster is a laboratory for innovation. During a war, or in the aftermath of an earthquake, whole societies mobilize to answer the immediate challenge, while a cadre of researchers looks for a way to transform the crisis into advances that will improve lives, or save lives, in the future.

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How does technology impact student learning?

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How does technology impact student learning?

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How does technology impact student learning? In the physical classroom, some postsecondary educators view technology as a distraction. Even if they don't ban the use of mobile phones or social media during lectures, they may begrudgingly view technology as a little more than a necessary evil.

But after a year of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, perspectives are changing. Rather than simply 'tolerate' it, instructors are realizing that technology and the power of digital devices, apps and tools can increase engagement, encourage collaboration, spark innovation and enhance student learning.

In and of itself, educational technology doesn't result in effective teaching and learning. It still requires a guide (the educator) and a purpose (related to the curriculum). And there is effort and strategy required to integrate it effectively into your course material. But, if used with intention, technology can be transformed from a distraction to an effective teaching tool with positive effects on student achievement.

Here are a few answers to the question of how technology has changed education, and reasons why educators should make the most of technology inside-and outside-the classroom.

Technology affords better access to resources

With an Internet connection, we have access to information at our fingertips 24 hours a day. We can find almost anything online, in its most up-to-date version. For students, this means access to everything from research materials and educational apps to interactive edutainment and open resources from prestigious universities around the world. (Students may, however, need instruction on how to find credible resources and direction on providing proper attribution when they use them.)

Students can also supplement their learning by connecting with online groups and virtual communities in real time, or by collaborating on group projects using tools such as wikis and cloud-based apps. And instructors can provide access to course material (and additional resources) by setting up portals through learning management systems or providing access to course-specific software for each learner. For budget-conscious educators, open educational resources may provide useful course materials their students can access throughout a course.

What are open educational resources?

Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, research and learning resources that explicitly allow others to use, keep and distribute them. OER are teaching resources that have an open copyright license (such as Creative Commons), or they are part of the public domain and have no copyright. Depending on the license, OER can be freely accessed, used, re-mixed, improved, and shared. OER is one way of engaging students more deeply in the learning process, moving beyond lectures and static textbook chapters. By blending technology and education, open educational resources also give instructors the tools to involve students in the creation of learning materials.

Technology can improve student engagement

Technology can help students by making learning more engaging and collaborative. Rather than memorizing facts, students learn by doing and through critical thinking. This could be as simple as taking an interactive quiz in class or participating in tech-enabled group discussions. Or it could be as involved as playing educational games, practicing in science experiments in a virtual lab or taking a virtual field trip.

To make learning truly engaging, it must be truly interactive. Doing math on a computer isn't any different than doing math with a pencil and pad of paper. But using augmented reality to animate math challenges is a whole different ball game. Ultimately, interactivity and technology enhance learning.

For educators, the role of technology in education is endless: from using simulation tools to demonstrate how a hurricane develops, to using virtual reality to practice medical procedures. "As a growing number of medical schools bring virtual reality into the classroom, students are finding it an effective way to learn complex subject matter, such as anatomy, that's often easier to understand with hands-on practice," writes Chris Hayhurst for EdTech Magazine. Blended learning is a great way to ensure you're using technology to engage your students both in and out of your class.

What is blended learning?

Blended learning is an educational approach in which students learn online as well as through traditional face-to-face teaching. Sometimes referred to as hybrid learning, blended learning is a combination of traditional in-classroom and online education with multimedia components, such as interactive discussions and polls, embedded videos and live chats. Individually, both have their advantages. Together, blended learning can offer a more engaging learning experience for students by providing them with opportunities to work both independently and with their peers and instructor to reinforce learning and achieve subject mastery.

Blended learning is more than just using technology to supplement the classroom experience. Rather, blended learning requires that a significant portion of course material is delivered through online instruction using digital technology, combined with some face-to-face components. For example, students may complete lectures and homework assignments online but have in-person lab meetings. This way, students complete certain parts of the course according to their own schedule and can revisit the material as needed. The rest of student time is then spent in a classroom, lecture hall or lab, with supervised instruction.

Technology can expand classroom boundaries

Thanks to technology, the classroom no longer has walls. The learning environment no longer has boundaries. And instruction can be provided by any number of subject matter experts in the real world-in addition to the person teaching the course through the use of technology.

"Students in a classroom in the rural U.S., for example, can learn about the Arctic by following the expedition of a team of scientists in the region, read scientists' blog posting, view photos, e-mail questions to the scientists, and even talk live with the scientists via a videoconference. Students can share what they are learning with students in other classrooms in other states who are tracking the same expedition," according to an article on technology in education by Purdue University. Ultimately, technology allows students to expand their horizons by extending learning beyond textbooks and lectures and connecting it to the real world.

Technology can encourage self-paced learning

In a traditional classroom, students who were struggling to learn new concepts would quickly fall behind their peers. With self-paced learning components, however, students can advance at their own pace as part of the learning process. Those who need more time or extra help can practice outside of class with guided exercises or additional coursework. So, too, can learners who want more of a challenge.

Thanks to the always-on nature of technology, students can access online learning resources whenever they need to. These resources also have the ability to provide instructors with a sense of which students might need extra help.

The exercise of self-paced learning with these new technologies allows students to learn digital literacy and 21st-century skills, which will have a positive impact when they enter the workforce. One such way to accomplish this goal is 1:1 computing, which provides students with the technology they need to engage in coursework.

What is 1:1 computing?

One-to-one computing (often abbreviated as "1:1") is an educational practice where academic institutions provide every student with a laptop or tablet, allowing students to access the Internet, as well as preloaded course materials and textbooks. One-to-one computing uses the impact of technology to create an equitable classroom environment in which students have easy and equal access to information. It also boosts career readiness, since the skills 1:1 computing imparts are increasingly expected both on campus and in the office.

Technology can promote innovative teaching techniques

Technology changes the way we access information, and also how we're taught that information. The instructor becomes less of a 'sage on a stage' and more of a 'guide on the side.' From accessing real-world case studies online to watching video-recorded lectures to listening to podcasts, technology opens up the possibility for teaching innovation (including collaborative group work and flipped and hybrid classrooms). Instructors can also use classroom response systems to assess students' understanding of course material, adjust the paces needed in real time and build on students' problem-solving skills. Moreover, digital materials can enhance the learning experience by making it more flexible, more engaging and better able to accommodate student needs.

How are digital materials used in the classroom?

Digital materials in the higher education classroom provoke student curiosity. These interactive textbooks or readings can also boost student engagement and lead to better learning and comprehension by offering multimedia components, discussion threads and embedded assessments. In order to foster deeper and more collaborative learning, many educators share their digital materials through chat forums, discussion threads and comprehension-testing questions to assess student learning. There are also a number of online learning materials, tools and platforms that educators can use to conduct tests, quizzes and exams.

How does technology impact student learning? A summary

While technology is sometimes seen as a threat-and it does have its limits-integrating it into your teaching practice offers a new way for students to interact and engage with course material. And this is especially essential after students have become used to learning with technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to technology tools, education is no longer confined to the walls of your classroom. YouTube videos and social media don't have to be a distraction; they can be part of your lesson plans. The math is easy: it adds up to better learning outcomes.

References

1. Hayhurst, C. (2017, February 15). Medical Students Practice Critical Skills on Digital Cadavers. Retrieved from https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2017/02/medical-students-practice-critical-skills-digital-cadavers

2. How Has Technology Changed Education? (2017, April 25). Retrieved from https://online.purdue.edu/ldt/learning-design-technology/resources/how-has-technology-changed-education

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How Technology In The Classroom Can Impact Student Learning

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How does technology impact student learning? In the physical classroom, some postsecondary educators view technology as a distraction. Even if they don't ban the use of mobile phones or social media during lectures, they may begrudgingly view technology as a little more than a necessary evil.

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When you talk about the emerging technologies in our world today, you are most likely to see that the number practically appears endless. Technology has changed the way we see the world. With different kinds of unique technology appearing every year, we should not be surprised to see several parts of the world experiencing huge changes. Education is not an exception.

Education is an important part of every society. As a student, there are sometimes difficulties that can be experienced. Luckily, there are top tools that have been created to help them get past their hurdles. For instance, Canadian students can always get canadian academic assistance from known tools created especially for them.

Since the dawn of digital systems, learning has never been easier. The Educational system of the world today is the way it is today due to these broad changes that various technologies have brought. If you are aware of this, then you should also know there are still emerging technology projects which are sure to reshape education by the year 2020.

Here is the list of new technologies that will change education in 2020

Emerging technologies in education all share a similar objective; to revolutionize the learning process of learning for students. These technologies pledge to better enhance the way teachers and students work. And with such technologies ruling our modern world, education is sure to get a reshape.

To give you better insights on which emerging technologies will help in reshaping education in 2020, we will need to take a better look at each one. Here's the deal:

1. Augmented Reality (AR) & Simulations

Augmented Reality and Simulations have left a mark in the world of visuals. Today, it's great impact has started to control the way students learn and collaborate with their teachers.

AR has been around for some time now. However, through its ever-developing nature, it is regarded as one of the world's best-emerging technologies. According to studies carried out on AR and education, it has been put forward that it will make a greater impact on how education is viewed by 2020.

Augmented Reality claims it is the best way to capture the dreams and imaginations of humans. And by 2020, it promises to help students capture such imaginations with the sole aim of improving their learning process.

2. Adaptive Learning

As the name implies, adaptive learning is a technology that provides learning activities to students, based on their needs and learning style/behavior. Consider adaptive learning as a piece of tech which adapts to every students' needs in a short time. It helps students to adapt to unique learning paths that are entirely based on their interests and learning ability.

Research carried out on the technology has proven that it will play a huge role in the educational system of the world in 2020. Through its presence, the system can be reshaped, as it uses computer algorithms to orchestrate the interaction with the learner. Although adaptive learning originated from artificial intelligence, it still actively provides customized resources as well as top learning activities to address the special needs of a learner.

Adaptive learning has its primary application in the field of education. However, the technology was also built to assist business trainers in carrying out business training more effectively. Taking a look at the level of growth the technology is experiencing, it is regarded as one of the many which will reshape education in the year 2020.

3. Education Technologies Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence is very well regarded as one of the most discussed technology trends in the world. Due to its smart approach towards various systems, the world has come to trust its technology in its development. Although used in various fields, AI is not limited to the field of education. In more detail, its existence has helped the world evolve, and luckily by 2020, education is set to experience more levels of evolution from it.

By 2020, AI will reshape education. It is most likely to do this by supporting the distribution of first-person perspectives. This can come in handy in times when students need to work on essays, term papers, or research papers about a specific culture of tradition.

For instance, Google bot and most search bots will attempt to read off a short synopsis from an online search. However, a better scenario which includes the sharing of stories from first-hand sources. And this is something AI aims to achieve.

4. Usage of 5G Technologies in Education

5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology. Through its improved enhancements, just about anyone using it can get high speed and low latency wireless technology. Students are more likely to benefit from this unique innovation, as this promises them quick downloads of student files and resources and more powerful networks.

Suggestions have been made concerning the special features 5G can bring to education by 2020. One of many includes a holographic teacher who can lead discussions on specialized topics. Another suggestion is students can engage better in distant learning and gain better engagement from virtual reality experiences.

5. Automation

Automation drives a huge part of the world we live in. Business and economic sectors provide automation to better provide faster experiences as engagement grows. By 2020, the education sector is sure to benefit from the features of automation.

With automation, students can get a better chance of receiving lectures automatically at specific times. Lectures can be digitally scheduled. Not to mention, through automation, a better way to adopt the use of artificial intelligence is well-aided.

6. Competency-Based Education

In 2020, people should expect competency-based education to be playing a vital role in the system of education. Through this special technology, students get to be matched with learning activities that arr6dit for their level of learning ability. In more detail, competency-based education provides a means for students to advance their learning experience based on their ability to master a skill. This allows students to learn at their own pace regardless of the environment.

Through competency-based education, students can efficiently provide better outcomes. It helps to measure outcomes that are entirely based on a student's objective demonstration of competency in a given area.

7. Learning Analytics

Learning is a very broad process and requires efficient tracking and analyzing to better understand results. As an emerging technology, learning analytics is now being used by teachers to better record the learning behaviors of students.

Another unique benefit of keeping track of student learning rates and behaviors is that most teachers will stand the chance of providing targeted improvements to courses. In education, improvement is a very important factor that aids the learning experience of every student. This is what learning analytics can help teachers deliver to their students. Luckily, by 2020, this will become a majorly used technology.

Conclusion

In conclusion, education is set to experience a huge level of reshaping from many emerging technologies. Students can make better use of each of the above technology by looking into each one. By researching each one, they obtain special insights on just how they can get the best out of their usage. On the other hand, teachers can use online course platforms to enhance the learning environment.

This article has aimed to accomplish this by providing key details into technology. As a student, you should be ready to accept technology to better improve your learning experience. Good luck!

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7 Emerging Technologies That Will Reshape Education in 2020

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When you talk about the emerging technologies in our world today, you are most likely to see that the number practically appears endless. Technology has changed the way we see the world. With different kinds of unique technology appearing every year, we should not be surprised to see several parts of the world experiencing huge changes.