The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the use of educational technology: an exploratory research in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Abstract

The year 2020 was marked with the emergence of the pandemic by the new coronavírus, schools and large knowledge centers were forced to reinvent themselves. Several apps and tools such as Google Classroom, Google Meet, and Zoom have begun to be employed in technology-assisted remote learning. This study has an exploratory and descriptive character and presents a research conducted with teachers of schools and educational centers in Rio de Janeiro during the pandemic period. The objective was to present new resources and tools, as well as innovations in teaching, and the creativity to keep the classroom spirit alive during remote learning (RL).  It was observed that private institutions quickly adapted to RL, managing to minimize the delay with the interruption of the presential activities. Public institutions, on the other way, aimed to promote the digital inclusion of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged students. The most commonly used teaching tools were Google Classroom and Google Meet. Despite the impact of the economic crisis generated by coronavirus, a revolution in the teaching method and the important acceleration of the digitization of education were observed.

Keywords: coronavirus; education; innovation.