Using Online Training to detect, prevent, respond to and control the virus
The World Health Organisation developed a free learning platform three years ago with emergencies like Covid-19 in mind. The online course was quickly developed to give real time knowledge from WHO experts and published on January 26th, 4 days before the Coronavirus was declared a public health emergency.
Every day has seen upto 3000 new users registering for the training.
Education establishments turning to elearning after lockdown
School closures have hit 13 countries and affected 290 million students globally.
Teachers have had to embrace online learning regardless of their belief in the tools or whether they have any experience using them.
This has turned out to be a huge positive for online learning. Naima Charlier director of teaching and learning at the Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong says there has been a massive increase in teacher confidence around technology and e-learning.
High profile schools including Amhest College, Princeton, Stamford and the University of Washington have all announced plans to switch to virtual classes.
Potential Issues
Many schools are planning ahead of potential closures with many turning to technology to fill the gap, but Professor Rose Luckin warned on BBC Radio 4 that.“very few primary schools have the sophisticated technology and the IT support needed” to implement such a plan.
Exam season also presents a huge problem to schools, with specialist certification software just not available to schools, being able to assess students away from the establishments would not be possible.