Estonia, the leading education nation in Europe has announced that it will share all of its digital education tools to support other countries’ education systems during the Coronavirus crisis. The tools include shining star startups like 99 math, who we featured recently, and will give them huge international exposure.
As of today, all school buildings in Estonia are closed, as in many other countries across the world. Teaching and learning have been moved entirely online.
“Who isn’t afraid of digital education? Learning and teaching digitally are challenging even under normal circumstances. However, during the COVID-19 outbreak, digital schooling is the only option,” said Mart Laidmets, the Secretary General of the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. “In Estonia, we make ICT work for education, we have a number of solutions that fully support distance learning. We are ready to share Estonia’s best practices and solutions with the countries in need. After all, providing education is essential for a sustainable society,” Laidmets added.
This initiative is positive news for Estonia’s edtech sector, fuelled by many small SMEs and startups, who will be given the opportunity to help many children who are for the first time studying solely at home. For startup 99 math, for instance, this will be a huge boost to their mission to get as many children as possible involved and enthusiastic about mathematics, and will see many kids benefiting from their fun game-centric services.
A complete list of the internationally-accessible solutions that have joined this initiative is available here and will be updated over time.
Märt Aro, Co-Founder of the European EdTech Alliance, states that thanks to Estonia’s general adoption of digital technologies, Estonia’s education sector naturally has a set of tools that supports remote learning. The tools are typically co-created between schools, universities, and companies. “A number of tools are prepared for international usage and the companies developing those tools have also kindly agreed to support other countries in need. The aim of this initiative is to support distance learning and work in the education sector during this time of crisis. The aim of these solutions is to increase the social aspect of distance learning and do their best to motivate learners,” said Aro.
The co-founder of the Good Deed Education Fund and ride-hailing company Bolt Martin Villig added, “Estonia is globally known for its digital government services, and, thanks to the solutions, Estonia is somewhat better prepared for this crisis. I am humbled to see companies coming to support schools and universities this quickly and also organizing free webinars to support educators in achieving the best possible results.”
