Distance Learning Evidence Review Report

Executive Summary

Distance learning (or EdTech) interventions can increase the amount and quality of instruction students receive. Distance learning includes any instruction where content is not delivered by a live, in-person instructor, but instead by, or with, information communication technology (ICT), often because the instructor and student are not co-located. Sometimes the instructor and student are co-located, but the content is being delivered through technology directly, where the instructor is more of a facilitator than a traditional teacher.

Distance learning interventions usually involve digital and audio-visual elements and can deliver instruction through lectures, demonstrations, animations, and simple SMS text, or provide interactive methods of learning, such as quizzes, puzzles, and games.

This review examines the empirical evidence to understand what drives the success (or failure) of distance learning interventions. The extent and urgency of access to education, and the global focus on the topic due to CoVID-19, call for more and better evidence-based action. The focus of the review is on the application of distance learning interventions and their impact on academic outcomes.