Understanding the Professional Learning and Support Needs of Educators during the Initial Weeks of Pandemic School Closures through Search Terms and Content Use

Beginning in February and March of 2020, school closures impacted at least 90% of the world’s population of students, according to UNESCO estimates. As educators swiftly shifted to teaching online, they sought information to guide their initial planning and teaching in new environments with new tools. Analysis of educators’ search terms and their use of support content during this period indicates the needs felt by educators globally and informs content development and support for inservice and preservice educators. The authors compared the volume of searches, frequency of search terms, and patterns of content use during this period to the previous year by educators using an education support website. Results show that site use multiplied six times in volume, use of video increased by 60 times, and among the search terms and content topics used during and prior to this period, focus narrowed to digital and distance learning. Implications of these findings are that educators preferred to learn using video, and they focused on the specific teaching practices that they used as they began their online classes at an entry level.