International Schools Blog

Online learning, digital learning, remote learning, blended learning, ed tech… These are just some of the words that have been used to describe education across the world as schools, colleges and universities have been forced to restructure their educational programmes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For over 20 years, Pearson has been at the forefront supporting online schools to engage and flourish. At present, over 105,000 students are using our proven digital platform around the world to support their learning.

Despite being a year of global upheaval, 2020 brought about a number of major developments in digital solutions in education, such as the widespread switch to online schooling, the rise in the use of apps and hybrid learning. It’s likely that teaching will continue to make use of digital technology for the foreseeable future. With this comes new challenges and developments.

If your school is like countless others around the globe, the first half of 2020 saw you diving overnight into “remote learning” in response to the pandemic. Your teachers embraced Zoom; your department heads scrambled to digitise homework; your parents pitched in (perhaps grumbling a bit); and your students adjusted and kept on learning.

Enforced home schooling during the first lockdown was tough for many parents around the world. But now, a growing number of families are taking their children out of schools altogether, despite many having fully reopened for the new academic year. Indeed, in the UK, the Department for Education in September reported that 800,000 pupils were still out of school a few weeks into the new term.

Sharon Hague, Senior Vice President of Pearson Qualification Services, shares her thoughts on the clear challenges ahead as global education makes the switch to online learning.

Wherever you are, and whatever type of international school you’re in, it’s a fact that all students have had their learning affected by the school closures brought about by the global pandemic this year. It’s also true that all teaching professionals want to identify gaps in learners’ skills and knowledge, yet identifying those gaps and deciding if they are important or not isn’t always straightforward.

COVID-19 forced governments around the world to introduce nationwide school closures for all but a sliver of students. Now, as the lockdown is loosened, schools in the UK and many other parts of the world fully reopened from September 2020. As children flood back through the school gates, the mental health impact of the pandemic is becoming more and more apparent.

Kate Edwards, Pearson’s Chief Learning Officer, shares her top tips, techniques, and advice for making the most of online learning.

As decision-makers assess how to safely and effectively reopen schools following the coronavirus pandemic, many international school leaders have turned to the hybrid model, where teachers deliver a blend of in-person and online courses, but how do you choose the right technology for a hybrid classroom and where do you start with the approach?