John Dean and Gerhard Finster
Lessons From a Crisis: Education in a Time of Virtual Learning
Polish Journal for American Studies, vol. 17 (2023), pp. 97-112

Abstract: E-learning was the most important technological response to school lockdowns during the COVID 19 pandemic. It was by far the most wide-scale application of e-learning, and thus an important cultural and technological experiment. The article focuses on challenges and opportunities offered by e-learning environment in American education, with some comparative context in European education. How successful was e-learning as a response to school lockdowns? Did it change American education? Did it change or reinforce the existing cultural patterns of discrimination and class division? While some of the advantages offered by e-learning will probably improve the educational practice in the USA, there are problems that e-learning did not solve. Instead, the technology of distant learning will probably reinforce existing cultural patterns.

Keywords: e-learning, school lockdown, COVID 19 pandemic

DOI: 10.7311/PJAS.17/2023.07

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