The start of the year 2020 wasn’t just the start of a new decade but is slowly turning out to be the start of a new lifestyle. The novel coronavirus pandemic that is currently ravaging the world has had a huge impact on our daily lives. It has also resulted in Educational Institutions being shut across the globe for an indefinite period. An estimated 1.2 billion children are waiting to return to their classrooms. Right now, there is no definite answer on when and how they will return.

However, learning, being a continuous process, must go on. While the first few weeks of the lock down were spent in fathoming the impact that COVID-19 will have, the later period was spent in searching for alternatives to the classroom. The internet, which was already buzzing with e-learning portals, cam to the rescue.

Even before COVID-19, the world was witnessing high growth and adoption in education technology, with global EdTech investments reaching US$18.66 billion in 2019. The overall market for online education was pegged at $350 Billion by 2025. The pandemic just ensured a significant surge in the usage.

So the last few months, teachers are being greeted by a good morning on their computer screens, with their students spread across the city and in some cases, across states. Virtual meeting rooms have become the new staffrooms. Online education portals and applications have registered a huge spike in sign-ups and downloads. Many portals are also offering free courses for those interested in learning.

For years, Global Educational Influencers have been predicting the same. They have been vocal about the use of the internet to spread education. Most of them are actively engaged in creating educational content that cuts across the globe in its appeal and is beneficial to anyone interested in learning but lacks the measures to do so.

Virtual classes, animated content, interactive applications, immersive videos, and other such methodologies have made sure that these Educational Influencers reach out to the maximum population. With the current situation, the cause of virtual education platforms just got a boost.

In this edition, we continue to celebrate the never-say-never attitude of the Global Educational Influencers who are making sure that the learning wheel doesn’t stop. Here are some more stories about those bridging the gap between distance, global education, and those who want a share of it.