This Forum explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Higher Education (HE) sector through the experiences and perspectives in China, Malaysia and the UK, with schools and universities closed and teaching moved online with very short notice. Authors were given an open brief as to the nature of their contribution, reflecting the still…

In March 2020, schools and universities were abruptly shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just as abruptly as they shut down, they were moved to fully online instruction. It was and continues to be an adjustment from classrooms with bodies to online classrooms without bodies, and now in-person classrooms with distanced masked bodies, or some…

Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University and founding president of the Learning Policy Institute, is a longtime leader in education, an expert on professional learning, and an influential researcher and policy advisor. She has been leading President Joe Biden's education transition team,…

Perhaps now, as I write in the pandemic confusion of education, there is renewed, or shall I say, long overdue interest in exploring leadership and policy topics in distance education. Thus, it is our pleasure to interview Dr. Michael Beaudoin. Dr. Beaudoin has authored 130 publications and presentations, including three books -- one winning the…

In this article, the author shares his fear that students will become accustomed to an educational experience that lacks joy and fun as a result of the changes made to education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his teaching colleagues have noticed that when students are learning virtually, they act much more as receivers of knowledge than…

The use of online platform to conduct teaching and learning activities has becoming a new norm for teachers and students during this COVID-19 outbreak. In this commentary, we share our experiences of using online conferencing platform to promote active and interactive learning among students. We also suggest approaches that teachers can use to…

This teacher reflection includes tips on family communication during a crisis. The reflection includes notes from the field on the transition to digital learning due to COVID and how to increase family communication when students are not able to be physically present in school.

Learning-focused teaching must take into account students' cognitive processes. Chew and Cerbin (2021) offer a conceptual framework based on nine interacting cognitive challenges faced by students to guide instructors toward teaching practices that provide the best opportunities for students to learn. The goal of this guideline article is to…

The author argues that providing students with access to resources--without the necessary supports to make full use of that access--creates educational inequity.

In this commentary, we discuss the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on Vietnamese universities and policy makers, paying particular attention to the growing appreciation for the merits of e-learning and related technology-based educational modalities. Some possible avenues for the adoption of e-learning in Vietnamese HE institutions in a…

This piece summarizes one teacher's experiences during the abrupt move to digital learning due to COVID 19. This is not a full research study.

As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many school administrators are forced to transform traditional schooling into an online distance learning environment. This commentary addresses how some of the challenges and implications of our research in leadership and instruction of one-to-one laptop schools are applicable to establishing a distance…

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, on 18 March 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the immediate closure of schools in England. (The closure was not absolute: schools would remain open for vulnerable children and the children of key workers. In practice, though, very few children have continued to attend.) In what follows, nine English…

The year 2020 began with grand ideas about building future higher education. Thereafter universities have been through a constant swirl of uncertainties and confusions as they respond to a novel suite of radically reconfigured fundamentals and prospects. This essay charts this journey in order to document 2020 experiences and to clarify evolving…

Christchurch-based science advisers Sabina Cleary and Carmen Kenton, from Kaha Education, talk about their experiences of supporting teachers during the COVID-19 lockdown. Insights from their experiences during a previous crisis guided them during COVID-19. They share their thoughts about useful learning to take forward as school life resumes.…