Good Society Forum: Education in times of COVID: Challenges of a socially distanced classroom

As the pandemic reached different corners of the world, school buildings closed in the middle of the academic year. However, teachers and students did not stop working, as they transitioned to virtual classrooms and tried to find new ways to continue learning. This has not come without challenges, as sitting in front of a computer is not an ideal substitute for being in a physical space. Organic interactions with teachers and other students are lost, and the crisis around the world makes it harder for everyone to stay focused. Furthermore, differences of infrastructure between nations but also within countries —access to a computer, internet, and a calm place to work—has meant that not all kids have the same opportunity to continue learning. Have efforts to transition to virtual learning been successful at all or have these past few months been lost for students? As the pandemic continues and it is still uncertain when and how teachers and students will be able to be back in the same space, how can we better prepare for education in a post COVID world?
Please register via Zoom at: https://yale.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QZjZo4_jSAOlSye4ajUpmw.
Our panelists are:
Denis Mizne, Executive Director, Lemann Foundation (Brazil) - 2007 World Fellow
Emiliana Vegas, Senior Fellow and co-Director of the Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution
Raymond Ravaglia, Chief Learning Officer for Opportunity Education and founder of the Stanford University Online High School
Nav Iqbal, Principal and CEO, GEMS Metropole School - Motor City (Dubai)
The Good Society Forum is a community of change-makers around the world with a common quest to build the good society. Launched in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Good Society Forum Webinars digitally connect change makers around the world, engage them on ideas, and inspire action to build the good society.