The resumption of education and the influence of technology

The resumption of education after mandatory quarantine is one of society's greatest concerns.

The year 2020 is a watershed in the education sector. Many schools closed, others had to reinvent themselves, while others were so well adapted to technology that they were not very affected by the crisis imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic (at least not as much as some institutions).

One factor, however, permeates all of these situations: how schools dealt with or began to deal with the technological revolution. Because the tools for education 4.0 were already there, but not all institutions made use of them. According to the teacher Francisco Tupy, PhD from the School of Communication and Arts (ECA) of USP, tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, Skype and Facebook rooms already existed before the Pandemic and with the crisis they began to be used in the school environment.

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“At certain points, education, and especially basic, school and traditional education, does not usually encompass changes. Because of a series of political, social, economic and traditional issues, it [basic education] has resistance, it has a delay. But with the need it changes,” says Francisco Tupy.

And in fact, she changed, or rather, was forced to change. Schools that have not adapted to the new reality, if they have not closed, may be coming to an end. The alternatives to deal with this totally unexpected and unpredictable situation, which we were forced to face, even though they involved technology, were no longer so new. “Education was already seeking to review its practices based on what technology could provide. Basically, the technology will offer an optimization, an improvement of processes. Initially a reduction in costs and then an increase in benefits, results and privileges,” says the professor.

Technology in education is not restricted to classrooms

Working with technology in education, however, is not restricted to the ways of teaching. More than that, technology education is done to create citizenship. “Technological education will have this purpose, either to deal with information or to understand the technology itself, such as methodologies such as programming, robotics, digital art, and also the relationship between understanding and leadership vis-a-vis the means of production and society in an ethical, correct way” reflects Francisco Tupy.

Some time ago we talked about technology in education.

This blog is not about today use of technology in education. We know, therefore, that to educate for the 21st century is to use new methods that are totally contemporary to the moment in which the world is passing. Thus, allowing children, young people or adults to have access to knowledge that without technology would be practically unfeasible, at least for the majority of the population.

Thus, techniques, such as virtual reality glasses, are able to promote visits to museums around the world without having to leave the school environment. On the other hand, students today are able to build complex robotic systems and, with 3D printers, produce objects such as prostheses or masks to reduce the risk of health professionals becoming infected with coronavirus.

The resumption of education with technology for school management

But for schools to reinvent themselves, they will need adopt technology in many other areas of its operation. An example of this is that management cannot be more analogical. It is necessary to follow the example of other companies and modernize school administration. Systems such as a CRM are essential for business activities, and they are no less so for schools.

Using social networks to get closer to the community in which the institution operates is also a very effective digital marketing technique, already adopted by many schools. Social networks, however, go beyond marketing, since it is part of education to teach children how to behave in these environments. “In the same way that you have a citizenship, you will have a digital citizenship... [the child] will have elements that they need to understand about how society works in order to interact in a healthy way and in a correct and well-positioned way in relation to it,” says Tupy.

The challenge of having enrollment contracts filled out

Schools will also need to facilitate the way in which students are enrolled. A situation repeated by many educational institutions that are Clicksign clients is that before using Clicksign Automation, Clicksign's automation module to optimize contract management, parents took their children's enrollment contracts home and, due to the daily routine, took a long time to deliver them signed back to school.

With the Clicksign Automation, this challenge was solved. Contracts are completed and signed electronically, from anywhere where parents of students can access the internet. This can even be done from the smartphone through WhatsApp. It is a fully technological and accessible solution to meet a practical challenge in the routine of school administration.

Therefore, technology will be increasingly present in the school environment. And even when the quarantine is over, the lessons learned from it will continue.