On February 9, nearly 200 million primary and secondary school students in China started their new term in what has been described as the largest home learning experiment ever. There has been a sharp rise in educational radio broadcasting in China and online education has boomed worldwide. Some pundits believe this trend will continue long after fears about coronavirus have died down and it may change the face of education in the UK.
China's response - from large scale quarantining to building a hospital in six days - was impressive. Their efficiency in dealing with the education crisis was equally astounding. By mid February China's Ministry of Education had launched a national cloud learning platform. 169 lessons were introduced for the first week, covering 12 subjects for junior and senior high school based on the national curriculum. According to Central China Television news, materials would be supplemented by key teachers from Beijing and other cities as needed.
The government worked with three major telecommunications operators – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom – and tech companies including Baidu, Alibaba and Huawei. They provided 7,000 servers and 90 terabytes of bandwidth to back up the e-learning platform so it would function with up to 50 million students using it at the same time.
It is unlikely that the UK would be able to mount such a speedy or uniform response. The market here is disparate and fragmented but schools are beginning to learn from those around the world who have been directly affected by the crisis.
Putting technology in place to support home learning
Quarantine for Coronavirus in the UK lasts two weeks. Schools must have a way to get lessons and homework to students who are unfortunate enough to find themselves in that situation.
Heathfield School for Girls is a private boarding and day school with many students from China and Hong Kong. Staff, will support learners via Microsoft Teams and Firefly.