Dear ASPnet Community,
Dear National Coordinators,
Dear teachers, students and parents,
During this unprecedented experience of lockdown due to COVID-19, digital connectivity has provided many of us with a crucial portal to access critical information, to maintain social communication, to work, and to continue our education. As a result of school closures to slow the spread of COVID-19, most of our members were struggling to assure education remotely and maintain the continuity of learning by using different technologies. Overnight, connectivity has transformed from "nice-to-have" to "need-to have".
Yet, despite the enlarged importance of digital connectivity during the pandemic, close to half of the world's population (46%), or some three billion people, do not have access to the internet. Many people remain unconnected to online technologies and even to low technologies such as television or radio.
To bridge this digital divide, UNESCO launched the Covid-19 Global Education Coalition, which brings together an array of partners to develop equitable and inclusive solutions to support distance learning. Coalition partners work together to find ways to ensure that children everywhere can continue their education, with special attention to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. One way to do this is to provide free distance learning solutions, connectivity, content and training challenges, while ensuring a mix of technologies to include low-tech solutions such as television and radio. However, there are serious risks for disengagement and dropping out of school due to these widening inequalities, potentially swelling the ranks of the 258 million children and youth currently out of school, exluded from education.
It is for this reason that we have dedicated this issue to highlighting the issue of the digital divide, and looking for ways to mitigate growing inequalities. It is my great pleasure to receive a message from the ICT Unit of UNESCO's Education sector. We would like to take you through some key findings on the digital divide and showcase good practices as well as the challenges yet to be resolved.
Stay safe. Stay CONNECTed!
Julie Saito, ASPnet International Coordinator
Special message from Fengchun Miao
Chief of the Unit for Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Education, UNESCO |
Key Findings on the Digital Divide
UNESCO Report: “COVID-19: a global crisis for teaching and learning
Close to half of the world’s population (46%), or some three billion people, do not have access to the internet. These
figures were compiled by the Teacher Task Force, an international alliance coordinated by UNESCO, on the basis of data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the International Telecommunication Union.
Not only does connectivity remain far from universal, but significant gaps exist across countries, as well as within them in terms of income, geography, age, and gender.
Click
here to read more about this report.
"While efforts to provide connectivity to all must be multiplied, we now know that continued teaching and learning cannot be limited to online means. To lessen already existing inequalities, we must also support other alternatives including the use of community radio and television broadcasts, and creativity in all ways of learning. These are solutions we are addressing with our Global Coalition partners".
Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General
Promoting Distance Learning During COVID-19 - Overview of UNESCO's Activities and Resources
UNESCO Resources for Alternative Distance Learning Solutions
On 27 May 2020, UNESCO and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) organised a virtual workshop inviting representatives from national broadcasters to present the programmes and innovations put in place as well as discuss the lessons learned on the use of radio and television-based distance learning.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UNESCO Office in Beirut has been monitoring school closures, national responses, and government circulars. In close collaboration with field offices and cluster offices in the region, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States published a
report on alternative solutions to School Closure in Arab States.
UNESCO is also working with member states, through their ministries of education to strengthen capacities in alternative distance learning solutions. These efforts include providing support in development of
content for the e-learning platform, mobile phones, TV and radio in
Cambodia and
Palestine. UNESCO has also published
recommendations on how to plan distance learning solutions and
resources for parents and teachers to motivate and support learners during remote learning.
Working with partners under the Regional Education Working Group (REWG) for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNESCO has published an online repository of
National responses in
Education in Latin America and the Caribbean
Focus on Inclusion for Resilient and Equal Societies as Schools Reopen -
The UNESCO 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report
The 2020 UNESCO Global Education Report (GEM) shows that 40% of poorest countries failed to support learners at risk during COVID-19 crisis and urges inclusion in education.
The report provides an in-depth analysis of key factors for exclusion of learners in education systems worldwide including background, identity and ability (i.e. gender, age, location, poverty, disability, ethnicity, indigeneity, language, religion, migration or displacement status, sexual orientation or gender identity expression, incarceration, beliefs and attitudes). The 2020 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report urges countries to focus on those left behind as schools reopen so as to foster more resilient and equal societies
-
You can read the full report
here
|
COVID-19 has given us a real opportunity to think afresh about our education systems. But moving to a world that values and welcomes diversity won't happen overnight. There is an obvious tension between teaching all children under the same roof and creating an environment where students learn best. But, COVID-19 has showed us that there is scope to do things differently, if we put our minds to it.
Manos Antoninis, Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report |
What our member schools say on the digital divide and inequality
“Our school has been
closed, but our teacher created a channel on the Telegram app to send our
homework and explain the lessons to us. It’s a good alternative, but I really
miss going to school, our teachers and my friends. It is not the same
experience as being in the classroom and getting your lessons in person. I’m
now studying at home and it’s hard for my parents to help with
homework. It’s not easy.” - Teeba,
14, Baghdad, Iraq
“For me, I am
collaborating with our Mongolian language teacher to give online assignments on
the subject to my students. However, the rate of students reading the
announcements and information online and responding is insufficient. Only 1/3
of the class is completing and submitting their homework.” - Ankhtuya, teacher, Mongolia
“During
this period of lockdown when I am out of school, I can learn remotely using
technologies, but they could not replace the experience of being in school.
Yet, there are millions of children around the world who remain excluded from education
due to various factors”. - Aisha Bunu, Student,
Nigeria
We encourage you to send us your messages of solidarity and other contributions, in words, pictures, videos and art works in order to build and strengthen our network, encourage and take care of each other. We would also like to hear from you about your experiences and innovative ways to learn, out of schools and within your families. Please send your contributions to aspnetinaction@unesco.org. Please attach the consent form. The ASPnet Team Julie Saito, Fouzia Belhami, Melanie Seto, Katja Anger, Simon Wanda, Helene Darne, Kangni Chen, Erik Eschweiler, Alba Moral Foster Get connected: https://aspnet.unesco.org Contact us: aspnetinaction@unesco.org |