What is the long-term effect and what about student travel?

The coronavirus crisis has required learning institutions to adapt rapidly to an online model. Unlike previous disruptions, newer technology has improved the experience. Will this shift have permanent long-term consequences? Will it extend into travel? Holbrook has gathered some of the more recent articles on this topic.

Holbrook Travel and our community of student and adult educators are going through a challenging period. Programs have been canceled or postponed, and many plans put on hold. What looked to be a temporary pause is shaping up to have a longer time horizon as we learn more about the epidemic and seek medical remedies and safety precautions.

In our conversations and ongoing partnerships, we’ve come across a number of articles and blog posts that present what is happening already and what the future could look like after the crisis subsides. This post shares four of our favorite articles, in case you missed them. 

What the Shift to Virtual Learning Could Mean for the Future of Higher Ed

It took the upheaval of World War II to dramatically bring women into the workforce. It took Y2K and H1-B work visas to create our engineering workforce and build our tech giants to the force they are today. For higher education, Covid-19 may be the disruption that reshapes our institutions, so write the authors in a recent Harvard Business School study. We may be closer to this shift than we realize.

What the Shift to Virtual Learning Could Mean for the Future of Higher Ed, by Vijay Govindarajan and Anup Srivastava, March 31, 2020, HBS Review.

Coronavirus: Colleges experiment with stay-at-home ‘study abroad’ programs

When the virus first broke out in China, then Italy and other European countries, higher education was all about getting students home safely and canceling any programs in the spring semester. Now schools are trying to provide some of the benefits of the immersive experience of foreign travel. Although sharing a meal with a local is not possible, other aspects are possible through virtual learning. CNBC writes about several major institutions that are seeking to bring learning abroad into students' homes.

Coronavirus: Colleges experiment with stay-at-home ‘study abroad’ programs, by Sully Barrett, April 11, 2020, CNBC.

Will the coronavirus make online education go viral?

The initial wave of online learning that suddenly took over on university campuses in China had its share of problems. Not so much technically, but with the awkward delivery of content for professors who had little time to prepare. But with practice and improved techniques, the Times Higher Education presents how online learning is spreading, a positive development in a challenging world.

Will the coronavirus make online education go viral?, by Joyce Lau, Bin Yang and Rudrani Dasgupta, March 12, 2020, Times Higher Education.

Brave New Tele-World

Susan Milligan, senior political writer at U.S. News & World Report, writes how many experts are expecting our “tele-world” to stick around. We are now doing many activities virtually, from more shopping, health, and work – to distance learning.

Brave New Tele-World: Virtual medicine, distance learning and remote work are likely to stick around after the pandemic passes, by Susan Milligan, April 17, 2020, US News and World Report.