Many of the nation’s 57 million K-12 students will spend at least part of the 2020-2021 school year either dealing with distance learning or a hybrid model that keeps them out of classrooms several days a week. They’ll spend lots of time using teleconferencing software, with teachers either convening classes live or prerecording lessons.
Getting children to excel won’t be easy. Zoom and similar programs can be challenging for teachers and boring for “digital natives” accustomed to watching more entertaining stuff on their devices.
Based on my experience both as a writer and a producer of films and TV shows in Hollywood and a lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh—where WQED, the nation’s first educational television station, got started—I recommend four creative ways to overcome this problem. While challenging, this disruption in education can be a unique opportunity for innovation.
1. Tap star power
What if the producers, directors, and writers who are skilled at explaining ideas visually over digital platforms—many of whom are currently sidelined because of the coronavirus pandemic—teamed up with teachers to make education more entertaining and engaging?
Having worked in both worlds, I can attest to how some TV and movie producers have no idea what a curriculum is, while even the best teachers and professors struggle to engage their own students with distance learning. But imagine a ground-up collaborative process, where educators who know the material they need to convey partner with the best storytellers who know how to get information across in the most compelling way?
Admittedly, it’s unclear where the funding might come from. But a burst of collaboration between educators, entertainment professionals, and perhaps parents and students could create high-quality educational programs that could be accessed everywhere. The resulting online lessons could assist hundreds of thousands of educators and reach millions of students. Imagine the potential, especially if one or more networks or studios took part.
There have been some notable experiments along these lines, such as Khan Academy enlisting basketball star Lebron James to illustrate probability. But what’s needed with the swift pivot to online education is a wide-scale collaboration to give teachers and students engaging educational materials.
