Nothing like a global pandemic to shake things up. 

For years school districts have utilized technology for record-keeping, administrative purposes, and managing operations, but tech use to benefit students directly had been sporadic, optional, and too often limited to districts with the greatest resources. 

All that changed when COVID-19 shut schools down, forcing technology to become the rule rather than the exception for learning as well as communicating with families. According to an Education Week Special Report, that unintended experiment opened the door to technology use that is now here to stay: 

A slew of technology tools have taken root inside public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The result is shifts in how educators and administrators conduct meetings, provide mental health supports, and check to see if their students understand new math concepts.

Based on research over a two-year period, the EdWeek report found that nearly two-thirds of educators (teachers, principals, and district leaders) are now more willing “to use technology with their students.” 

Thanks to $109 billion allocated by Congress to put computers in the hands of more kids and improve connectivity, the ed-tech playing field is more level than it’s ever been, allowing for enhanced learning opportunities in and out of the classroom.

In addition, the report highlights three areas where technology use will likely continue:

1. Videoconferencing platforms (e.g., Zoom, Google Hangouts/Meet, and Microsoft Teams) are widely favored “to support ongoing remote and hybrid learning.” With the majority of schools back to in-person learning, these tools remain in high demand for parent-teacher conferences, guest-speaker programs, school board meetings, professional development, online tutoring, etc.  
2. Social and emotional learning technology has gained popularity as a way to help address the mental health impacts associated with COVID shutdowns. “Many districts have added new software tools that are focused on collecting data on students’ mindsets, feeling, and general well-being.” 
3. Digital math tools is a growth area aimed at helping students who fell behind during COVID. Survey respondents said that digital instructional resources are better-suited to math than they are to reading, which was thought to be “more difficult to teach remotely and digitally than in person, with print materials.” 

There’s little about the global pandemic that can be considered a silver lining—except maybe the growing embrace of ed-tech among educators, families, and kids.