The Future of Education

Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, governments throughout the world have taken a wide range of  measures to respond to the unprecedented disruption caused to education and schooling systems. Countries leveraged a wide variety of distance learning modalities to ensure that learning would not stop even in emergency contexts. Such modalities highlighted a number of gaps at policy, resource and technological levels. They also revealed a systemic digital divide, including numerous inequalities. All this underlined the need to improve educational system resilience, to plan required learning supports, to implement innovative technological responses and to reimagine education internationally. While recognizing the growing importance of distance learning, the crisis also underlined the key role of schools not just as learning centres, but also centres of protection, engagement, and socio-emotional support. School closures showed that it is people (teachers, students and their families), not only buildings, that make up learning settings. Connecting learning spaces and sustaining relationships that foster togetherness and participation are essential for building equitable and resilient education systems. In the search for flexible and sustainable solutions, hybrid learning has quickly become a popular option to address the impact of global emergencies. Hybrid learning, a model combining face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated pedagogies, is at the core of responses to new conditions created by the pandemic. Hybrid learning is a promising pedagogy that leverages technology to ensure equitable, quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. This constitutes the United Nations’ fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4). Implementation of hybrid learning strategies requires meaningful and affordable connectivity for all learners, but also a policy framework which guarantees that all learners, families, and communities are fully capable of benefiting from the opportunities offered by innovation. This paper illustrates how issues around hybrid learning are being addressed in concrete ways by the EU Erasmus+ project, HAVE. The aim of HAVE is to offer citizens with fewer opportunities alternative pedagogical training methods. In the period of online teaching, some students have had great benefit from participation in safe familiar surroundings instead of being present in physical classrooms. The project aims to strengthen the ability of organizations to offer high-quality teaching in hybrid classrooms. It creates a clear, sustainable, flexible and robust Learning Path to demonstrate continuous improvement and implement change. HAVE provides information to a range of stakeholders. develops a Local Learning path in relation to assessing for digital capacity, skills and competences and ensures greater knowledge and training of Teachers regarding setting up and managing Hybrid Classrooms. The consortium is pioneering hybrid strategies in its partner countries of Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Finland and Italy.

Keywords: Hybrid learning; e-learning; ICT in education; Inclusion; digital change

References:

1.     Broadband Commission. 2020. The Digital Transformation of Education: Connecting Schools, Empowering Learners [online]. Available at: https://www.broadbandcommission.org/publication/ the-digital-transformation-of-education/

2.     Graham, C. R., Borup, J., Short, C. R., and Archambault, L. 2019. K-12, Blended Teaching: A Guide to Personalized Learning and Online Integration. EdTech Books [online]. Available at: https://edtechbooks.org/k12blended

3.     McKinsey and UNESCO 2020. COVID-19 response – Hybrid learning as a key element in ensuring continued learning [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/About