![\"\"](\"https:\/\/forbes.co.il\/e\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/shutterstock_1675198060-1-1024x580.jpg\")
It looks like the coronavirus pandemic\nand students quarantining at home are not going to end soon. In China, students\nare now nearing three months of being closed in at home, with no end in sight. While\nseveral Chinese provinces have decided to bring back high school seniors so\nthat they can take their matriculation exams, in large cities such as Beijing\nand Shanghai the decision has yet to be made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So will the coronavirus crisis and\nremote technologies change the status of teachers? Will distance learning make\nteachers and schools obsolete? Well, in my opinion they will not \u2013 but they\nwill definitely change the role of technology and teachers within the learning process.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s give remote technology and\nknowledge acquisition the honor they’re due. Yes, students will be able to\nacquire knowledge, do assignments, and keep in touch with other students to\nshare information and collaborate. Having said that, students will still need teachers\nacting as mentors to guide them, direct them, check their tests and\nassignments, and lead them to the next challenge. Teachers, too, will need to\nbe fluent in using new technologies and artificial intelligence, which will\nexamine, direct and rate the results of each student’s learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that, I believe we are facing a\nfundamental change in the education system. Educational institutions are\nestablishing studios and recording lessons taught by their best teachers, so\nthat these recorded materials can be pooled and used by students. This pool of\nresources can also be used as a knowledge center for other teachers and\neducation students, who can learn from the best teachers without having to come\nto physical classrooms to hear them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Israeli Ministry of Education is\nmoving in the right direction, though perhaps \u201ctoo little, too late.\u201d It must\ncontinue to provide infrastructure and produce educational content, just as it\nis doing today. Alongside that, however, the Ministry must provide personal\nequipment to teachers for use at home (and at schools when they reopen).\nTeachers require laptops, cameras for their home computers, and high-speed\ninternet connections capable of maintaining the connections with their\nstudents. Teachers should not be purchasing this equipment with their own\nfunds, and they should not be volunteering to work without pay in order to\nsupport their students. Teachers should be equipped with professional equipment\nand training. The sooner decision-makers realize this situation is not going to\nend soon, and that we should be prepared for the long run, the stronger we will\nemerge from this battle and the brighter will be our future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I believe that what is happening\ntoday will strengthen our understanding of the importance of the teacher’s role\nand status. It will also shed light on the importance of technology use \u2013 from\npersonal laptops through remote learning systems to artificial intelligence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is an opportune time for\nteachers. Until now, many parents have been undervaluing teachers and not\nappreciating them enough. Today, we hear about many parents who suddenly\nunderstand how hard and exhausting the teacher\u2019s role really is, and how\nimportant it is for the advancement of their children. If something positive can\ncome out of the coronavirus crisis, it is the change in our perception of the\nteachers’ day-to-day function, and our understanding of the important role teachers\nplay in the lives of our children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I am calling on the Israeli\ngovernment to equip teachers with proper tools for supporting over 2 million\nstudents currently at home (and who might not even return to school until\nSeptember 1). Teachers are the backbone of our nation, and the \u201cpillar of fire\u201d\nleading our children. Let’s give them the support and the appreciation they\ntruly deserve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone these days, and rightly so,\nis worried about providing protective equipment to doctors, nurses, and medical\nteams on the frontlines of the coronavirus war. It is my hope that we will start\nproviding equipment, training, support and tangible appreciation to teachers\nwho are greatly impacting the future of our children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Uri Ben-Ari (CEO of UBA Ventures and former Executive VP of Ness Technologies) is the co-foundr and president of Athena Fund, that promotes the empowerment of teachers in Israel by providing them with tools for self-fulfillment and professional advancement <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hundreds of millions of students worldwide use technological tools to study remotely from home these days. What does it mean for the teachers?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":1779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9](\"https:\/\/forbes.co.il\/e\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d1\u05df-\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9-1024x605.jpg\")