STEM Matters: The COVID-19 crisis will accelerate EdTech adoption

摘要

With most governments around the world temporarily closing their schools and other educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization) estimates these nationwide closures are now impacting around 70% of the world's student population. This totals more than 1.2 billion affected learners across 156 country-wide closures -with several other countries (including the US, Australia, Russia and China) implementing localised closures impacting millions of additional learners. In the UK alone, over 15 million students are affected: almost 2.5M at tertiary (further & higher) education level; 6.4M at secondary; a further 4.8M at primary; and the remainder at pre-primary. The implications for the education sector are enormous, with disruption at a scale rarely experienced before, and are due to be examined in a wide-ranging inquiry by the UK Parliament's Education Select Committee. It will look at how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting all aspects of the education sector, exploring both short term impacts, such as the effects of school closures and exam cancellations, as well as longer-term implications, particularly for the most vulnerable children. Committee chair, Robert Halfon MP has said: "The coronavirus outbreak is going to have a deep and long-lasting impact right across the education sector."