Challenge
I don't know of a single parent, student or teacher that has not been impacted by Covid-19. Distance Learning worked for some, was ok for others and there were those who had a severe negative impact from the 'Virtual Classroom' and I believe that the impact of the Carona Virus will be felt for many years to come. Literacy and Numeracy are not easy to teach virtually, but able to be done and with the addition of G-Suite we are able to virtually meet with students any time, set work and comment and feed back on it in real time and differentiate teaching with ease. Traditional subjects can be taught virtually through technology and taught well. MakerEd, Project Based Learning and STEAM inquiries are not so easy and these are the learning opportunities that help to develop the skills that our students are going top need. The World Economic Forum's Future Jobs Report lists the skills that employers are looking for in employees in 2020 and the to 3 are Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking and Creativity and these are the skills that are developed within these learning areas and these lessons are the ones that have not been happening within the virtual classroom or been happening to a much lower level. This is the problem that I have been pondering the past few months, but it is difficult to define as it impacts teachers, students and parents differently. Culturally it doesn't always sit high on the importance list of subjects for parents and schools that may be results driven (especially as I am at an International School in Asia) and I feel that it may be a problem that might not be felt until 10 years from now as a cohort of students move into the workforce.