Getting Closer to Distance Learning: Online Education in Latin America

As schools in Latin America struggle to reopen amid another wave of the pandemic, online learning platforms remain essential tools. Latin American students have suffered the most lost days of in-person learning of any region. Today, most of Latin America has partially reopened classrooms, but schools in several countries in the region remain fully closed. That has left many children still dependent upon recorded TV programs and radio broadcasts for learning. Renewed social distancing measures are also disrupting university teaching. In the long-term, these educational losses could reduce the region’s potential GDP by 16 percent, according to the World Bank.

Fortunately, some school systems in the region have adopted effective digital platforms for synchronous remote teaching, to offer asynchronous digital learning tools and for communicating with students and caregivers. These technologies also hold immense promise for post-pandemic education. For now, however, there are barriers to the widespread adoption of remote learning platforms, including the region’s deep digital divide. In Mexico, for example, 70 percent of elementary students rely upon mobile phones for remote education. Regionally, one-in-three Latin Americans lacks regular internet access, and the number is far lower in rural areas. There are also obstacles to the continued development of remote learning tools, including government regulations and limited venture capital.

This event addressed how education technology can provide long-term solutions for the region’s educational challenges, the advantages and limitations of online education in Latin America, and its post-pandemic prospects. This seminar is co-sponsored by Zoom Video Communications and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI).