Teachers’ training and use of information and communications technology in the face of the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused one of the greatest disruptions to education witnessed in recent years. In an attempt to prevent the circulation of the virus and to ensure the right to education, many governments quickly transitioned from traditional face-to-face instruction to some form of distance learning. To ensure learning continuity during the school closures, many teachers around the globe were tasked with moving their lessons on line. There is some evidence that education systems are moving to a “new normal” where traditional face-to-face instruction will be complemented by some form of distance learning. Even though data collection was conducted before the COVID-19 outbreak, the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2018) offers some useful information to illuminate why some teachers are more likely to let students use ICT for projects or class work than others, and to explore the factors behind whether teachers take up professional development activities that include ICT skills for teaching.