In these times of lockdown due to the Coronavirus COVID-19, face-to-face educational functions and activities are being moved online, using remote working sites and tools. Many of us are struggling with the adjustment to working and teaching online, especially those who have always taught in a traditional classroom and are now being asked to rapidly regroup and prepare for a longer period of educational “social distancing”. To address these questions and many others, EDEN, The European Distance and e-learning Network is rolling out a series of practical webinars s on how to take face-to-face education online. These webinars will start by focussing on the day-to-day challenges our teachers and educators face and move on to consider other, broader institutional aspects.
At the second webinar the 6th April 2020 I had the honor and pleasure to host and present on When education moves home: implications for students, academics, administrators, and education leaders . Please find the recording of the webinar here . My slides are available here on SlideShare .
The description for the webinar was:
With the escalation of Covid-19, educators around the world are encouraged to move to online and distance learning as schools and universities are forced to physically close campuses (buildings). Most governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in order to contain the spread of the COVID -19 pandemic. UNESCO estimates that more than 850 million children and young people – about 80% of the global student population – have had to stay away from schools and universities due to pandemic COVID 19. Nationwide closures are in effect in some 110 countries and local closures in many others. This means more than doubling the number of students prevented from attending educational institutions, and a further increase is expected during this Covid 19 pandemic. From one day to the next, teachers around the world have found themselves managing virtual classrooms, communicating with their students over social media platforms and learning by doing as they provide education from a distance to over 1.5 billion students affected by school closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So when education moves home, what are the implications for students, academics, administrators, and education leaders
Some questions that was discussed:
During the webinar, the questions of why, what, who, how, and when will be discussed when education moves home, and what the implications are for students, academics, administrators and education managers.
The differences between emergency distance learning and online learning will be discussed.
How can high-quality education be facilitated, promoted and offered despite many challenges?
How can academics and learners be protected, supported and recognized?
What kind of lessons will we learn from Covid19 and what challenges do we face?
One obvious problem is that the “educational business” will not be the same as it is today.
These #onlinetogether #covid19 webinars are especially developed for these uncertain times, featuring experts and experienced practitioners within the field of open, distance, and e-learning. These weekly, one-hour webinar sessions will be held every Monday at 17:00 CEST, starting on March 30, 2020. Each webinar will consist of a brief presentation addressing the webinar topic, that will be further complemented by a question-and-answer session, where you are greatly encouraged to participate, share your opinion and experiences, and ask your most pressing questions.