The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital learning tools in education. Key lessons learned include a shift towards more blended and personalized learning, and a greater focus on digital assessment over exams. While new technologies have enabled continued learning, inequities in access remain a challenge. Moving forward, successful strategies will require a holistic approach, robust tools that fit the new pedagogical model, and policy changes to support equitable access and a sustainable funding model for schools. Remote learning appears set to continue playing a role alongside in-person instruction as part of a blended learning approach.

1. Roundtable: Lessons learned?
The digital future of education

2. Originally appearing in Education Technology,
our EdTech Strategist Patrick McGrath answers
key questions on the lessons learned from
COVID-19 and its impact on the future of
education.

3. 1. With education establishments closed for an
unspecified time, the sector has forcibly
accelerated its digital adoption. What
does/will this mean for current and future
student generations?

4. Key lessons:
Assessment will change; new digital focus; learner
inequalities; personalised learning; blended learning
The immediate impact has been the absence of end of year
exams and testing. This means current students are
approaching learning from a different position - not with an
exam in sight, but the more immediate needs of the
remaining course or curriculum content, and using digital
tools and new approaches to understand new concepts.

5. They are also experiencing an overnight shift from
paper based work to electronic work - handwritten
pieces suddenly move to digital, worksheets now
move to require completion online, and
formative/summative assessment occurs with
online quizzing and forms.

6. On the downside, those with individual needs may
not be receiving the support they need to succeed,
and for some may not even have the devices or
access to effectively take part in learning. It’s
created an inequity, but one that can be addressed
moving forward to facilitate our new normal.

8. We’ll see a drive for more blended learning and the
growth of digital platforms. In the medium term, it’s
inevitable that we move away from end of term
exams - students will be assessed differently,
perhaps through learning analytics.

9. This will see a shift towards a more personal,
bespoke learning experience where students can
work at pace and to interests. It’s accelerating what
we’ve all known for a long time - the need to move
to being learner centric, not teacher centric.

10. 2. What will prove to be the lasting benefits of
the new learning model(s) that we have all
quickly adopted?

11. Key lessons:
Impact of technology on student learning; importance of
teacher CPD; lasting change is in the pedagogy
When school closures happened, there was a scramble for
technology to enable ‘remote or distance learning’. This did
have the benefit that teachers went on a steep learning
journey - experimenting with new tools, considering
approaches they never would have previously and finding
solutions to the challenges of learning remotely.

12. We’ll see this approach settle and teachers select
the right tools to succeed in this new way of
working - based on evidence of impact and of
effectiveness. It’s clear that the technology
approach will not disappear.

14. The lasting impact is in the pedagogy - the
different, new approach to motivating learners, to
being flexible, to how we engage and then how we
assess. These are the fundamentals of education,
and they are changing, fast.

15. 3. And what are the challenges that they
present?

16. Key lessons:
Choosing the right tools for your context; holistic approach
to CPD; policy changes are essential
From a people perspective we have to ensure that we are
supporting teachers in their professional development,
that we upskill students so they understand how to use
technology for learning, and we have to be involving
parents at every step.

17. In technology terms, we have to ensure that solutions
are robust and genuinely fit the criteria for this new
way of learning. We have to carefully select the right
tools from our current experiences and ensure they
form a clear strategic plan to integrate into the
learning cycle.

18. All of these changes can only be supported by
wider change - exams, curriculum, equity of access,
how we inspect schools and of course funding.
We’ve all shown the will, and the ability to change
things for this new way of learning. To sustain it
requires policy change.

19. 4. Which particular tools and resources have
best enabled learning to continue in the
current climate?

20. Key lessons:
Google Classroom uptake; motivating students remotely;
teaching synchronously with video and other tools
Google tools, and in particular Google Classroom, have seen
massive traction over the recent period. Classroom has
been used as the almost de facto tool for educators to store
and send out work, assignments and materials - creating a
structured digital workflow.

21. Educators have built an ecosystem around this core
platform - ways to complete worksheets, to have
work assessed, to quiz and provide feedback and
enable discussion.

22. Beyond that, there’s been a huge rise in video use.
Not just the usual ‘YouTube’ clips - but teachers
embracing tech creatively to create explanation
videos for new concepts, walk through assessment
pieces, and in many cases teaching synchronously.

23. The tools that are now seeing a huge rise in use are
those that provide motivation. As an example, our
Fluency Tutor tool encourages students to practice
reading aloud. It’s a simple concept - students
select a reading piece, record themselves reading
and can send it back in one click to a teacher to get
feedback or have it assessed.

25. 5. How has the coronavirus outbreak impacted
edtech policy development? Has it shifted
the focus away from one area to another (e.g.
safeguarding staff and students while
working from home, alternative methods for
assessment, etc.)?

26. Key lessons:
Equity of access & learning loss gap need addressed;
accessibility concerns; re-thinking assessments & exams
The more immediate impact on policy is around equity of
access - in two ways. First, for students that don’t have
internet or device access. They are clearly, massively
disadvantaged in this new way of working. The gap will
widen at a considerable pace if policy isn’t put in place to
address this.

27. We’ve been here before (see FELTAG) - with a
proposal to create infrastructure and provide
devices and access for all students. Now is the time
to make this happen, and we’re seeing welcome
initiatives to provide laptops/chromebooks and
broadband connectivity to certain groups of
students.

28. Second, around those students with individual
needs. In the clamour to move to digital learning,
little consideration has been placed on the specific
needs of many students. It’s clear this is now being
recognised and there are policies and processes
being discussed to address it.

29. Areas like accessibility, assessment, motivation and
the importance of parental engagement are being
highlighted together with some clear
recommendations to schools.

30. Looking ahead, there will be policy changes around
assessment and exams, because as the new
‘blended’ approach takes its ship over the coming
academic year, systems will have to be in place to
either support public examinations. Or look at
digital, or continuous assessment based
alternatives.

31. 6. How has the outbreak impacted already tight
school budgets?

32. Key lessons:
The real impact on budget will be seen over the course of the
next 2 academic years
Schools have only managed to keep to budgets because
tech tools have by and large been free during this time, and
they’ve been able to lean on parents for access and devices.
Government has put in place some additional funding for
exceptional budget needs outside of technology for the
current situation, which has helped.

33. It’s not this academic year that we see being
impacted heavily however - it's over the course of
the next two, where schools will be expected to
sustain this level of online learning and fund tools
and devices in an ongoing way. If we are to do it,
schools need new funding beyond the current
allocation to make things work.

34. 7. With the easing of lockdown and the move
to the ‘new normal’, how much of this remote
learning structure is likely to continue?

35. Key lessons:
Focus is now on blended learning; technology is here to stay
but needs a strategic approach with learning at core
Funding and policy are core to this structure staying at an
effective scale. The focus now is on blended learning - with
a reduction in pupil numbers in school and therefore by
default, many more pupils studying and learning at home.
It’s therefore crucial that we build on everything we learnt
during lock down.

36. Teachers have upskilled fast, students have
received a more personal experience and
technology is here to stay. We’ve proved we can do
it as educators. We know the solutions exist and are
effective. If we are strategic and ensure that
learning is the centre point of our motivation for
change and our new way of teaching and learning,
we’ll never go back.

37. It’s been ‘sink or swim’, and our educators have
learnt to be olympic class swimmers in this new
world. The tide of remote learning that’s carrying us
is not going to stop. It’s here to stay. As long as we
ensure equity of access, we leave lock down with
improved ways of learning - digitally.