The New York Times recently ran two articles with different opinions on the value of virtual learning.

In his February 15th article on “Lessons from Virtual Kindergarten,” [i] David Saks talked about how his four-year-old son Kyle will benefit from a return to face-to-face kindergarten.

But in his February 16th article on “I Actually Like Teaching on Zoom,” [ii] Viet Thanh Nguyen argued that continuing the changes brought about by the pandemic will enable his college students to learn more effectively.

They’re both right.

Three things happened to us during the pandemic.

We needed to make more use of technology and tools, and we did. We acquired new devices and other technology.

We all acquired new technology skills, even four-year-olds like Kyle.

And our culture changed. We began interacting in new ways at work, at school, and at home.

We would be wise to realize these are transformative changes. We need to proactively manage them to get their benefits but also to avoid the downsides. Our technology tools can help us to be more productive and connect better with each other. And we can benefit from our experience with virtual learning during the pandemic.

But we also need to cherish all that was best about the old normal—we must be especially vigilant not to let our alluring technology diminish our ability to have normal human interactions. And how this works will vary depending on the age of the humans involved.

Mr. Saks was right on the money regarding Kyle—four-year-old children need intense human interaction, and their screen time, although somewhat inevitable today, needs to be carefully controlled.

Professor Nguyen’s college students are towards the other end of the education age spectrum. They grew up with screens, and they can benefit from virtual learning in some ways. But whether we’re four or one hundred and four, we need to prioritize those face-to-face human interactions.

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[i]    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/opinion/kindergarten-remote-learning-covid.html.

[ii]   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/opinion/zoom-video-school-teaching.html#:~:text=And%20much%20is%20horrible%3A%20teachers,the%20human%20connection%20attenuated%20online