Education For All in the Time of COVID-19: How EdTech can be Part of the Solution

In response to the education crisis, countries around the globe are leveraging technology and remote learning to continue education amid school closures. Educational technology (EdTech), a combination of IT tools and educational practices used to facilitate and enhance learning, has opened access to education for learners in many remote parts of the world. Predicted to triple in value to $350 billion by 2025, the EdTech sector has been rapidly gaining ground in countries like India and Kenya where efforts to improve failing education systems have led to a proliferation of online learning solutions. Mobile technology alongside other mass media channels such as radio and television have supported education in LMICs.6 

With increased mobile penetration rates and wider network coverage in LMICs, mobile has become a catalyst for innovation, especially in the context of COVID-19. Low-tech solutions, such as SMS-based learning systems, have unlocked learning opportunities for the underserved via basic feature phones and offline access options. Mobile technology has also been at the centre of partnership strategies for many EdTech providers, accelerating the impact of online learning solutions in LMICs and providing a lifeline for girls and other vulnerable groups, such as learners in humanitarian settings and learners with disabilities. 

In the wake of COVID-19, new coalitions have united around a common goal to address the education crisis in LMICs. Sustaining those efforts and developing holistic learning ecosystems that integrate all education stakeholders will be vital to achieving quality education for all. One powerful alliance is the UNESCO Global Education Coalition, which has brought together partners from civil society, the private sector and international organisations to provide equitable learning solutions and universal access to education through the use of EdTech. 

In addition to partnerships, sustainable learning models that build on the lessons from COVID-19 are urgently needed. This is particularly important in LMICs where deep-rooted challenges undermine the impact of new learning solutions and the ability to train the next generation for the future of work, which will be shaped by digital transformation in all sectors. 

EdTech solutions could become the building blocks of a new, blended approach to education that help school systems prepare for, and become more resilient to, crises like COVID-19. This new model will require data on EdTech solutions and their impact on users, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics can play an important role, not only by revealing what students need, but also by personalising learning and improving learning solutions. Insights from EdTech solutions, such as user metrics on learning outcomes, can help EdTech become an adaptive technology at home and help teachers achieve better results in the classroom.