In March 2020, the coronavirus crisis caused schools around the world to suddenly shut their doors. At ProFuturo, we work hard to guarantee the continuity of teaching and learning, using our experience and knowledge in the field of digital education, and adapting to the reality of distance education. That is why we felt obliged to propose a new course of action, included in the contingency plan #SeeYouInDigital (Ensuring the continuity of learning).

ProFuturo’s educational model, based on innovative learning techniques and technology, made it easy for us to make a quick transition to a distance learning system. In this way, we have contributed to ensuring the learning continuity for thousands of children in many corners of the world and allow teachers, students and families to continue learning despite being away from the classroom. 

The contingency plan developed by ProFuturo started with opening up its learning platform. 160 teacher training courses and countless educational content for students were made available worldwide free of charge. In addition, offline intervention models were implemented to reach teachers and students without Internet connection or access to technology. ProFuturo wanted to ensure that no one was left behind because of Covid-19.

#SeeYouInDigital (Ensuring the continuity of learning)

The contingency plan developed by ProFuturo, which was featured in the OECD article, included the following actions: 

1. Opening up the ProFuturo digital learning platform. In April, ProFuturo opened its learning platform to teachers and students around the world to continue teaching and learning from home. More than 160 training courses and resources for teachers and more than 7,000 resources for students were offered free of charge in 4 languages. 
2. Building strong public-private partnerships to reach more teachers and children. In the wake of the pandemic, ProFuturo signed collaboration agreements with the governments of Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru, and strengthened its relationship with its partners. The programme gave access to its contents to ministries of education and organisations such as UNESCO or the World Bank so that they could include them in their own learning platforms and thus, together, reach even more countries and institutions. 
3. Adapting contents and methodologies to reach the disconnected. The idea of also reaching teachers and students without technology or connectivity was translated into radio and television classes or the physical delivery of printed materials. 
4. Strengthening teacher training in digital competencies. In order to adapt to the new educational reality, ProFuturo reinforced the training of local teachers in innovation, information and communication technologies (ICT) and digital skills. 
5. Donation of equipment. ProFuturo donated 10,000 tablets in Spain to vulnerable children so that they could continue learning at home. 

The health crisis has made patent the need for a hybrid education model that includes digital tools to ensure learning. Although at ProFuturo we dream of returning to the classroom for good, we work towards bringing and facilitating the universal right to education to any child. We know that universal quality digital education is still a challenge and that is why we will continue striving towards narrowing the education gap and the digital divide.

Access the full document Spain: #SeeYouInDigital (Ensuring the continuity of learning).