By Rebecca Salem
As education moves into a new era of learning and collaboration, teachers and administrators are encountering fresh challenges and opportunities every day. The disruption caused by the pandemic exposed gaps in access and instructional continuity: last year, UNICEF warned that more than one billion children risked falling behind when campuses closed. As schools and colleges reopen, districts and educators are adopting new frameworks and tools designed to sustain learning, strengthen relationships, and support student success.
This article explores the immediate and lasting effects of COVID-19 on education, highlights practical tools and approaches schools are using now, and outlines emerging trends reshaping teaching and learning. Below, academic leaders and edtech practitioners describe specific initiatives they’ve implemented to foster engagement, collaboration, and instructional flexibility.
What tools and solutions has your organization implemented?
Academic experts share the tools, programs, and strategies they use to support meaningful interactions and learning across varied learning environments.
“When schools shut down last March, many educators were forced out of their comfort zones and, in doing so, discovered technologies and approaches that actually simplify teaching and improve student outcomes. The crisis also pushed long-standing equity issues into the mainstream conversation, accelerating efforts to address them,” says Jenn Breisacher, CEO of Student-Centered World.
- Student-Centered World was founded in 2018 to help teachers design highly engaged, hands-on classrooms that reduce teacher stress, reclaim time, and drive student success. The organization’s flagship program, A Passion for Progress: Being a Rockstar Teacher in a Stressed-Out World, guides educators in creating fully interactive lessons that propel engagement and deepen learning.
- The organization also offers a free professional learning series called Finding Your Student Engagement Formula. This series presents a practical four-key model for engagement and walks teachers through designing a first-day lesson that sets a positive tone for the entire year. Importantly, the approach works with or without advanced technology, so schools with limited resources can still build classroom environments grounded in meaningful relationships.
“We focus on strategies that center relationships and active learning, whether lessons are delivered face-to-face, hybrid, or remote. The goal is consistent: create experiences that students and teachers want to return to every day,” Breisacher adds.
James Bacon, Director of Outreach and Operations at Edficiency, describes his organization’s work coordinating flexible instructional time in middle and high schools. “Edficiency helps schools manage the logistics of flexible blocks so students and teachers can spend time where it matters most. Flexible time gives students extra opportunities for support, enrichment, or extracurricular involvement without necessarily extending the school day.”
Edficiency’s platform allows students and teachers to request each other during flexible periods, apply priority levels to requests, and track who is where each day. This visibility helps administrators analyze trends and ensure flexible time is used efficiently. Since the pandemic, schools have experimented with multiple flex periods per day, combined flex time with lunch, or designated entire days as flexible. Some schools even allow students to attend flex time only when invited or when they opt in, creating a more personalized schedule.
“We’ve seen larger schools run flex periods virtually: on-campus students stay in their rooms and log on, while a staff member supervises. That way, teachers can support students across the building or remotely, and students at home can participate equally,” Bacon explains.
Daphne Wallbridge, Superintendent of a French Catholic school board in Northern Ontario, emphasizes organizational systems and collaborative structures. “Our priority is building lasting systems that promote genuine teamwork and tear down silos,” she says. “Tools and initiatives will come and go, but consistent structures—weekly collaborative meetings, clear and transparent communication, and support systems that enable principals to lead teacher teams—ensure we keep students’ needs at the center.”
These foundational practices aim to create stability and continuity across schools, allowing educators to respond to changing circumstances without losing focus on student learning.
Lindy Hockenbary, Owner of InTECHgrated Professional Development, highlights immersive virtual environments as a way to sustain interaction in any setting. “I work with teachers using platforms such as Mozilla Hubs and Frame to create shared virtual spaces that support meaningful connection whether learning is in-person or online. My work and writing on online learning emphasize practical best practices for virtual instruction as we move into a post-COVID world,” she says.
Across these examples, a few consistent themes emerge: prioritize relationships, design flexible systems, use technology to expand access while keeping equity in view, and maintain team structures that support ongoing collaboration. Schools that combine thoughtful pedagogy with practical systems and adaptable tools are better positioned to meet students’ needs in a changing educational landscape.
About the author
Rebecca Salem is a creative writer and educator at heart and serves as Senior Marketing Manager at Achieve3000.
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media hub focused on providing context for the shift in education to digital curriculum.