"How to transform educational system to face next Covid crisis"

"How to transform educational system to face next Covid crisis"

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great challenges to our lives, health and education. According

to statistics published by UNESCO of 17 May, 1.21 billion students and children could not still go back to school,

accounting for 69.3% of the world’s student population. The global education community, including Russian educational system, continues to face the major challenge of providing interactive and motivating educational experience during school and university closure. Of course, no one was prepared for the unprecedented learning crisis that needs to be addressed immediately. Distance and online learning have become the only means for educational institutions to keep the doors of learning open for students. For some of them, this is an entirely new experience and uncharted territory. How can we help them and each other to tide over this crisis now and in the future?

Open educational approaches in our country during COVID-19 to mitigate the impact of the drastic changes in education delivery and to facilitate the continuity of the educational process nationwide the authorities

introduced several initiatives, such as educational television channels, where the school schedule and lessons are presented in live mode. Secondary school lessons are uploaded to Yandex.Uroki and can be watched at any time. OER (Open Educational Recourses) are published on the following platforms: Federal Center of Information Educational Resources, Unified Collection of Digital Educational Resources, Edinoye Okno, Russian Electronic School and others.

Of course, because learners and teachers are separated by time and space, some kind of technology or media must be used for communication between them. Learners receive self-learning materials in various formats – print, audio, video and computer – and are provided ongoing tutorial support with optional face-to-face interaction. DE (Distance Education) embraces Research shows that DE can increase access to education, improve quality, reduce costs, support inclusion and lower the carbon footprint of the education sector.

While DE can be implemented through various technologies and approaches, the learner must be at the centre of planning and implementation. Key considerations for the effective design and delivery of a DE programme are:

a) Learning resources: Content is designed to support self-learning and made accessible to students using a variety of media and technology, including print, radio, television, computers, mobiles and the Internet. When there are clear objectives and support to achieve specific learning outcomes, effective teaching and learning can happen without students and teachers being in the same place at the same time.

b) Pedagogy: Interaction between students and other students, students and teachers and students and content results in deeper understanding and is an integral part of DE. In order to benefit maximally from DE opportunities, students need to be guided to develop self-directed learning skills.

c) Learner support: Providing psychological and emotional support to learners at a distance alongside continuous academic interaction are keys to student success.

The greatest challenge to teachers is the lack of capacity to effectively transition to DE, including blended and fully online models. Many staff are not trained to use DE methods and tools, and therefore, they will need additional support and mentoring to adjust to the new environment.

So, to transform educational system to face next Covid crisis we should provide next steps:

a)

Approach DE and the teaching process with empathy and care for students

b)

Take proactive steps to adapt to the new environment by taking advantage of both offline and online learning opportunities.

c)

Integrate OER in teaching-learning, using existing OER reduces the time to develop a course and helps teachers focus on interaction and student support.

d)

Consider student workload while developing activities and graded assignments. It is important to ensure that the workload assigned is reasonable and realistic. Deadlines for assignments should be staggered so as not to inconvenience the learner.

e)

Make sure that staff are available at designated times for students to reach them via telephone or social media. Ensure that all student queries are responded to within a specified timeframe.

f)

Work in teams and develop new practices to avoid duplication of effort, share best practices.

g)

Provide guidance to schools/institutions for the development of DE systems to store and transfer special online technologies.

In conclusion, an education system that assumes the physical presence of teachers and students in the same space at the same time automatically excludes some students and cannot respond easily to circumstances that force closure, whether this is due to a pandemic, war conflicts or some disasters. When institutions are closed as a result of the pandemic, open universities and open schools could still remain open. This is because distance education (DE) does not require teachers and students to be in the same place at the same time for learning and teaching. Distance Education embraces Research shows that DE can increase access to education, improve quality, reduce costs, support inclusion and lower the carbon footprint of the education sector for saving our envoirement.