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The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it not only sanitary challenges, but also social and economic difficulties on a global scale. The provision of means for students to keep on with their education despite the multiple social distancing restrictions is one of them. In this context, online learning has become a very useful alternative. Among ** Latin American and Caribbean countries analyzed in 2020, the most commonly used distance learning tool was online learning, implemented by ** countries in the region. In comparison, less than ** countries evaluated delivered devices or provided students with live online classes.

Alternatives to online education

Although online education has been the most chosen learning delivery system in Latin America and the Caribbean during the pandemic, a considerable part of the population in the region has little to no access to the internet or to digital learning tools. As a result, other creative ways of providing learning resources have been adopted. A good example of this has been the broadcasting of educational programs via television and radio. In Mexico, for instance, the program “Aprende en Casa” was launched at the beginning of the 2020/2021 scholar year to air educational content for each school level throughout the day.

Digitalization in schools pre COVID-19 pandemic

One of the characteristics of digitalization in Latin American schools, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, has been the evident inequalities among institutions and students. These disparities are present in multiple areas and vary not only between countries, but also within them. Uruguay, for instance, having one of the largest shares of pupils with an effective online learning support platform in the region, was also among the Latin American countries with the lowest share of students whose teachers were prepared to integrate digital devices to education.