Rapid change and reflections from experts

A McMaster Professor’s blog about supporting students during a pandemic and what students say they need. 

Karen Mundy, OISE Professor and member of the UNESCO Commission on the Futures of Education, writes an Open Letter to a Minister of Education about managing education systems during COVID-19   

A UK principal gives great advice to parents and carers: “If you decide that your child isn’t going to engage with anything sent home and is going to spend the entire period playing in the dirt, or baking, or watching TV, then that is your choice. That is your right. There is nothing to stress or feel guilty about.” 

A British Professor of Education outlines how the crisis is demonstrating that there is something irreplaceable about students and teachers coming together to learn in person. “All of a sudden, we’re seeing at first hand the crucial (but often taken-for-granted) role that schools play across society.” 

Equity and planning 

A non-profit focused on IT in higher education writes about The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning 

An international group of teacher/researchers argues you “cannot just put a class online” or expect that one strategy will work for all students, families or teachers. 

A Globe and Mail article about how educators and governments are grappling with issues around inequitable access to technology. 

A Times Educational Supplement (TES) article outlines the disproportionate impact of school closures on low income families and suggests ways systems could help. 

Unicef’s new supports for low- and middle-income countries to enable rapid, system-wide response.