A new era of schooling, at last.

Last year, the shift to online learning changed schools. As we head into a new school year, the question is where to now.

The schooling system in Australia and much of the world, has long been criticised for following the same format to schooling hundreds of years ago. Students sitting at desks and teachers standing at the front of the classroom instructing.

In 2020 schools went into online learning mode for months or weeks, depending on the severity of COVID cases at the time. This change to the schooling format was thought of as a necessary, short-term response while the pandemic was with us.

Come 2021, with greater awareness of COVID waves, we have resigned to the idea that nothing about a pandemic is short term. Lock-downs and schools going back into online mode at a moment’s notice is a very real, and ongoing situation that schools and the education system need to accept and plan for indefinitely. Even once the pandemic has gone.

While the government and others have openly considered online learning to be B-grade schooling, my discussion with schools and students have indicated otherwise. In fact many schools and students have found pots of gold at the end of the online learning rainbow. Some schools have told me that 2020 senior students excelled in HSC exams, compared to previous years. In my work with schools, teachers have told me that online learning allowed them greater insight into their students’ needs and home life that they would not have otherwise been able to gain. The benefit was that they could tailor the learning for their students more accurately.

Not all was rosy though. Latest research from University of Newcastle show that children most impacted negatively from online learning were students from low SES locations.

In this new school year, school has to be different. The model that we have relied on for hundreds of years has to change. We have a sense of responsibility as a nation to ensure that schools reflect the needs of society, and society’s needs have changed. While our life isn’t shifting online 100%, its clear a shift has begun.

Working flexibly has become a new expected mandate. Could schools shift to a similar model. The 9am-3pm replaced with a series of tasks to be completed over time. Students could then work on those tasks over an extended day or weekend. Teachers facilitating the task progress with scheduled check points online.

Sea-changers are flocking to regional locations en masse, placing strain on local country schools who are often less resourced. Could smaller country schools team with larger cities schools for online learning. This would allow more equitable distribution of resources and teacher expertise. It would facilitate meaningful and diverse student friendships and collaborations.

2020 saw wellbeing issues for both groups. If a more online way of working and life is what we are preparing this generation for, then wellbeing strategies that acknowledges these changing needs are important for schools to address. For example lack of social connection is an issue with online learning, so how can schools nurture student friendships? How can they select school captains? How can they deal with behaviour issues; you can’t send a student to the back of the room if they are misbehaving- so what is the best ways schools can do this online? How can they enhance digital literacy and STEM skills that are more needed in an online environment?

The 2021 school year isn’t about replicating what was done in a short-term 2020 online strategy. It’s about critiquing what worked and didn’t work and how to incorporate that into a long-term sustainable strategy. Beginning now.  It’s not an easy job and schools need support from all of us- parents, industry, government.