2020 has a been a year of rapid transformations and the Education 4.0 impact is evident across the globe. But why did Institutions not see it coming? How did Institutions manage to transform within days or hours their offer and their learning spaces? Academia has been promoting online and blended learning for quite some time. Still, even in 2020, the majority of academic staff would teach in the traditional didactic approach of using lectures. Despite the fact that data and research evidence the need of teaching in unique and adaptable way, Institutions have failed to embrace 100% the pedagogical importance of adapting content, approaches and outcomes to the unique needs of individuals. Then the pandemic hit us globally. Overnight, all HE Institutions were able to transfer all teaching and learning activities online. Suddenly the platforms they have invested money on, transformed from a repository of documents, to an interactive space. So how did Institutions achieve this? Why did we need a global crisis to revamp our approaches, understand the diverse background of our students and tailor the activities not based on Institutional KPIs, but course needs and student needs? Institutions managed well this transformation, but this has also brought possibly greater problems too. We see the digital divide growing and education becoming accessible by the elite. The talk will draw upon experiences from HE Institutions, provoke thinking and further strategic developments in an attempt to develop learning spaces for all with emphasis on equal and inclusive opportunities.

Published in: London International Conference on Education (LICE-2020)

• Date of Conference: 23-25 November 2020
• DOI: 10.20533/LICE.2020.0001
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-22-8
• Conference Location: London, UK