Online learning is here to stay and parents have a vital role to play

This is what every parent should know about the new online learning reality. First of all, whether you like it or not, online learning is here to stay.

The epidemiologists tell us that the coronavirus might stick around in one or other form for a long time to come (just like the flu virus) and that other pathogens might be responsible for epidemics in the near future. What this means is that schools (and universities) will need to get used to switching on and off between face-to-face and online learning.

The technologists also tell us that online learning is the wave of the future. In fact, there are those who argue that from the perspective of advancing learning, the pandemic was a blessing in disguise: it forced schools as conservative, slow-to-change institutions to make the break from traditional classroom teaching to remote online teaching...