The Transformation Of The Education Industry Amid Covid-19

Covid-19 definitely changed our plans drastically. Everything we were expecting from this year had to change. The education industry didn’t expect this pandemic either, so imagine what it was for most schools to transition from traditional education to online training.

Students also experience a major concern when this pandemic arrived. Not everybody has Internet access or a computer to afford remote education. Besides, everybody’s learning capacities are different. Online training isn’t the best match for all students. Therefore, they may have a significant drop in their performance due to this situation. Here we’ll explore Covid-19’s impact on the education industry.

Remote Education

To avoid spreading the virus, most companies decided to shut their doors. However, they weren’t going to stop teaching. Instead, they used remote education to keep up with their work. For students, it is crucial to be up-to-date with their classes. If it wasn’t for online learning, students would lose an entire academic year.

Most teachers used Zoom meetings for their classes. This became a great communication channel between them and their students. However, remote education wasn’t the best match for subjects that require a more practical approach instead of just theory.

Students’ Learning Challenges

Not everybody across the globe has Internet access or a computer. Many students who live in poverty will probably lose an academic year. That’s why it is so important that parents educate their children at home during the pandemic.

Yet, unequal access to technology isn’t the only challenge that students are facing during the pandemic. Not all students find remote learning engaging enough. If they don’t have the right motivation, it’ll be hard for them to focus on their online classes.

New In-Demand Skills for the Future of Work

All levels of education were influenced by the pandemic, from k-12 to universities. During the pandemic, we had a short preview of how the future would look like with remote working. The work dynamic is highly related to education, considering that some professions become more in-demand than others.

Almost all tech-related jobs stayed afloat regardless of the pandemic. The reason for this is that tech professionals can work remotely without any issues. Besides, there was an accelerated digitalization process which made companies hire a massive number of tech professionals such as web developers, digital marketers, and software developers.

Accelerated Digitalization in Schools

The transition from traditional education to online learning was tough. Most schools had to quickly develop digital content that would be available for their students 24/7. Remote education also led to some kind of flexible approach so that students could learn at their own pace.

In a recent report from EdWeek Market Brief, we can see that schools were doing drastic changes in their personnel. They were discharging some employees and hiring others that would be more relevant according to the situation. Some of the staff they were hiring included web developers and digital marketing specialists.

Providing Training Outside Office Hours

Since students would have to learn at their own pace, schools had to be able to provide training at all hours. But how to do it without compromising teachers’ non-working hours? They had to create content that would be available on their site every day. Videos, podcasts, and images would be some of the resources they’d have.

Some institutions started to use Google Classroom as a digital learning environment for their students. They’d be able to communicate with their teachers and see all the resources they needed in one place.

What Will Happen in a Post-Coronavirus World?

Nobody can predict the outcome of the pandemic. Some institutions have already opened their doors with certain restrictions, and others have stayed with remote education. Yet, in the future, it is very probable that a percentage of the curriculum remains remote. However, people are optimistic about the vaccines and they think this will be the solution to go back to normal.

Conclusion

The rest of the schools that didn’t reopen in October will probably open once the vaccine is available. Although people believe we’re going back to normal, it’s going to take some time for that to happen. Schools still need to have security restrictions to protect students and teachers.