On Wednesday 4 November 2020, the Education Policy Institute and Pearson held a webinar on the future of blended learning and the digital divide: ‘Narrowing the gap, tackling the digital divide: How can technology address the disadvantage gap during COVID-19 and beyond?’
The virtual panel discussion was chaired by Bethan Staton (Financial Times) and included Sharon Hague (SVP Schools, Pearson), Professor Becky Francis (Education Endowment Foundation); Sir Jon Coles (United Learning); Priya Lakhani (CENTURY Tech); David Laws (EPI); and Christian Wakeford MP (Education Select Committee).
With the new school year in full swing, the panel of experts discussed the impact of the digital divide on learning losses over the last eight months. The discussion covered the barriers schools have faced adopting an online learning approach which allows all pupils to fulfil their potential and whether blended learning has a future in classrooms beyond the pandemic.
This session also reflected on how the edtech strategy should be updated in light of the challenges and opportunities that have arisen due to COVID-19 – and what role technology can play as part of an evidenced intervention to narrow the attainment gap.