COVID-19 triggered a mass experiment in online education that will have a lasting impact on how and where Canadians learn. The abrupt change poses a fresh challenge for a Canadian higher-education system that was already preparing for an economic future that might look very different.<\/p>\n
Over the span of a few weeks in March, Canada’s post-secondary institutions moved more than 2 million students online. The swift transition provided some early lessons: most students can learn from anywhere, and educational institutions have the ability to transform quickly. <\/p>\n
As the urgency of managing the crisis shifts to securing Canada’s economic recovery, students looking to gain the skills to compete in the post-COVID world will demand more from digital education. Institutions should seize on this moment to give students and life-long learners greater flexibility in where, when and how they learn.<\/p>\n
The higher-education system is about to become more competitive. Nearly every post-secondary institution on the planet has just made significant investments in online tools and methods. For Canada to remain a global education leader that continues to attract the world’s brightest, our institutions will need to differentiate themselves. This starts with cultivating the scale needed to make online leaning profitable; collaborations across the sector could give students more choices and specializations. The next step requires an inclusive approach to alternative learning \u2013 either experiential learning or micro-credentials \u2013 that gives students flexibility in how and where they obtain academic credits. At the same time, educators will need to integrate the tools of augmented reality and machine learning to personalize education. <\/p>\n
Nearly 1.6 billion learners have been affected by national school closures <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n