The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education at an unprecedented scale. This disruption is a global phenomenon with school closures affecting students and teachers around the world. More than 60% of the student population has been impacted by nationwide school closures, with millions more impacted by regional and local closures. In the U.S alone, over half of K-12 schools closed early for the summer, triggering a learning crisis.
With global uncertainty about the continued impact of COVID-19, school reopenings are likely to adopt a mixed approach with students and teachers preparing for rolling closures once classes start.
In the face of such uncertainty, we recognize the importance of accelerating the rate of innovation and improvement to digital and online learning tools. We seek to create an environment where online learning approaches are affordable and accessible to all students. This conference seeks to engage stakeholders, leaders, and educators across the globe with the most critical issues facing education and generate new solutions and partnerships.