How to transform educational system to face next Covid crisis

 

How to transform educational system to face next Covid crisis

Salnikova Ekaterina Georgievna

In spring 2020 the spread of the COVID-19 led to schools shut all over the world. The traditional schooling system could not be used in these circumstances. Education has changed dramatically: e-learning dominated in schools and universities as it was one of the most sufficient ways out of the situation.

Teachers and lectors worked remotely and used different digital platforms to keep contacts with their students. A great amount of Russian schools are connected to their regional system of digital education where teachers can publish homework tasks, check assessments and evaluate them. It was a great advantage in the situation. In addition, they reached out to learners efficiently and effectively through groups in the social nets, for instance, VK, video meetings via Zoom and Skype and Google Classroom. Fortunately, many online learning platforms, for example, skyeng or uchi.ru, offered free access to their services.

However, there were some challenges to overcome. Some students with insufficient bandwidth, without Internet connection and in some cases without any suitable gadgets felt depressed. The lockdown showed the gap between people from different social groups. Although some schools and local authorities provided digital equipment to needy students, the problem was not solved in the whole country.

In addition, not all teachers were able to use digital resources to organize their work. The reasons are different: the lack of training, not enough experience or absence of gadgets and the Internet. It is difficult to imagine but many teachers in remote areas of our country do not have reliable Internet access. The only place with the Internet is a school which was closed during the quarantine.

Another issue to tackle is digital skills of students. As it turned out, children who seemed to be born with a gadget in a hand were not able to work with easy platforms without adults’ support. Moreover, distance learning with all its advantages requires self-discipline, time management skills and the ability to cope with different destructors.

E-learning is helpful in many ways and it is crucial to implement it into traditional education system. Though traditional lessons and lectures create a special atmosphere and give an opportunity not only transmit knowledge but also build character, online learning can be integrated in it as it will accelerate education process. Besides, it will greatly support educators in case of another wave of the COVID-19 or in another case of lockdowns. To have a sufficient e-learning system the government should prepare a basement for it. Without modern digital gadgets and reliable Internet connection there is no sense to build a new e-learning system. Educators must get a proper preparation and enough training to use modern technologies. The problems of teachers should be taken into account, too. As sometimes they are forced to work with slow programs which can be changed by new effective ones. Parents need a kind of preparation, too. Nowadays we can meet parents who do not use the Internet in their professional life and they are not able to explain the children the advantages of using the Internet not only as entertainment but also as a method of self-education and self-development.

To sum up, it is necessary to say that e-learning can become an integral part of education system and it can force the development of education.