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School closures in response to the pandemic led educators to make heroic efforts to provide their students with online learning experiences and continued connections with their teachers and classmates.This has placed a spotlight on the critical need for all students to have access at home to the devices and Internet connectivity required for online learning, as advocated by FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and many others.A related critical issue also needs to be spotlighted: the lack of readiness of many educators to employ online teaching effectively.

In response to the sudden transition, many educators have moved their existing course materials online, provided live or recorded versions of their classroom lectures, and employed a social networking or discussion tool to enable interactions with and among students.While their efforts are to be commended, in many cases the effectiveness of the quickly implemented online courses has been limited.

Looking past the immediate crisis, there are differing scenarios for how the rapid increase in online learning might influence its future use.On the optimistic side, we might see an increased recognition of how online learning can extend and enhance students education, leading to the widespread implementation of high-quality online courses.Schools could then make further use of online learning to help meet social distancing requirements and provide additional learning opportunities and flexibility for their students.

On the pessimistic side, as described by Michael Horn, among others, the rush to online learning without adequate preparation could lead many to conclude that it is of minimal benefit, more frustrating than productive, and to be used only as a poor substitute when face-to-face learning is not possible.

In order to progress toward the optimistic scenario, we need to recognize that effective online learning involves more than just moving a course syllabus and lectures online, just as a successful movie involves more than just filming a live play. It involves changing the culture of the school, with new types of responsibilities for teachers, students and families, and new forms of interactions among them. It requires providing professional development, time and technology resources to enable educators to optimize students online learning experiences.It requires that educators become skilled at building the following, and more, into their online courses:

In this optimistic view, the potential of online learning will become widely recognized as a means of teaching and learning that has different advantages and disadvantages than face-to-face classes, leading to a commitment to support educators in developing the skills to effectively capitalize on this potential and prepare their students to be lifelong online learners.Only then will schools go beyond addressing equity of access to achieve equity of high-quality online learning experiences.

Editors note: This perspective was originally published by EdSource. It has been posted with the authors permission.

Glenn M. Kleiman is a professor in the College of Education at NC State University. He served as the Executive Director of the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation from 2007-2018 and led the Friday Institute team that collaborated with WestEd in developing the Sound Basic Education for All Action Plan for North Carolina.

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Perspective | Online learning after the coronavirus crisis - EdNC