Nationwide school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have created the world’s largest-ever remote learning experiment. The move to virtual instruction has been a huge learning curve for educators, students, and parents. But it’s also been a boon for education technology.

As part of HMC’s ongoing research effort to better understand the longterm effects of COVID-19 and develop solutions for a safe return to PreK-12 schools, we consulted with clients from various school districts and county offices of education, conducted surveys with parents, and did a deep dive literature review on building design and infectious disease transmission/prevention.

HMC is committed to sharing our findings with the industry in a series of white papers that focus on five main areas of Technology, Adaptability and Flexibility, Regulatory/Budgetary/Institutional Impacts, Space Needs Restructuring, and Impact to Wellness/Mental Health. In this paper, we focus on Technology within our PreK-12 built environments.