How technology helps children keep learning when crisis strikes.
When disaster strikes, children’s lives are thrown into turmoil. Homes may be lost, families separated, and schools destroyed. In these moments, continuing education is often seen as secondary to survival — but it shouldn’t be. Education provides more than knowledge: it gives children a sense of normalcy, protection, and hope. In emergencies, digital learning is fast becoming a vital tool for upholding children’s rights and ensuring education does not stop.
Why children can’t wait for education in a crisis
In the chaos that follows natural disasters or conflict, schools are often among the first institutions disrupted. For children, this abrupt loss of structure can have long-term impacts on development, mental health, and safety. Emergencies expose children to heightened risks, including hunger, disease, violence, and exploitation.
Despite these challenges, education in crisis remains critical. It provides stability, fosters resilience, and can help children begin to heal. But waiting for traditional schools to reopen may take weeks, months, or even longer. That’s where digital learning becomes essential. It bridges the gap between disruption and recovery, helping children continue their education even in the most difficult circumstances.
What digital learning looks like during emergencies
Digital learning in crisis isn’t one-size-fits-all. It takes many forms depending on context, resources, and connectivity. It might include online lessons for children in temporary shelters, pre-loaded tablets for students in conflict zones, or mobile-based lessons in refugee camps. The key is flexibility and rapid deployment, ensuring that even when schools are closed, learning doesn’t have to stop.
Save the Children uses a range of approaches in these situations. In emergencies where education systems are unable to function, temporary learning centres are established, providing safe environments for both learning and play. Where appropriate, digital tools are used to supplement these physical spaces, allowing education to reach children in otherwise inaccessible areas.
Real stories: Learning through a screen in times of chaos
In many emergency contexts, digital tools have helped ensure children do not fall behind. Save the Children’s work in emergency education includes rapidly deploying resources that can include technology, depending on the setting. For example, in disaster-affected areas, children are provided with learning materials and safe environments where they can study and engage with education. In some cases, this can include digital content delivered via mobile devices or temporary classroom setups supported by technology. The goal is not to replace traditional education permanently, but to use digital solutions as a lifeline, maintaining educational continuity until more permanent arrangements can be restored.
Tackling the digital divide to reach every child
While digital tools have transformed education access in emergencies, they are not without barriers. Connectivity, electricity, and access to devices remain significant challenges, particularly in low-income or remote communities. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, girls, and children with disabilities are often the least likely to have access to digital learning, exacerbating existing inequalities.
Save the Children recognises this challenge, and that’s why many emergency education interventions focus on providing offline digital tools or combining tech with face-to-face support. In some places, printed learning packets or mobile classrooms may still be the most appropriate solution. What matters is ensuring that all children, regardless of their situation, have the opportunity to keep learning.
Save the Children’s approach to education in emergencies
Save the Children works in humanitarian crises around the world to ensure children continue to learn, no matter what. This includes setting up temporary learning centres, training teachers, providing school materials, and creating child-friendly spaces for learning and emotional support. Importantly, Save the Children’s approach considers the broader impact of emergencies on education:
- When families are displaced, children often lose access to formal schooling.
- When schools are destroyed, education must be rebuilt from the ground up.
- When children face trauma, education must provide healing as well as learning.
Whether through digital platforms, safe physical spaces, or a combination of both, the focus is always on quality, inclusivity, and the rights of every child to an education, even in crisis.
The future of learning in crisis: What comes next?
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the global conversation about digital education. But for children affected by conflict, natural disasters, or displacement, the need for innovative learning solutions has always been urgent. As emergencies become more frequent and complex, the ability to deliver education in crisis through flexible, scalable platforms will become even more critical.
Save the Children continues to adapt its education in crisis programs to ensure children can keep learning despite disruptions. This includes supporting temporary learning centres, providing learning materials, and creating safe, child-friendly spaces where education can continue alongside emotional support. When it comes to emergencies and children, digital learning offers a critical bridge to protect education when everything else is at risk. With the right partnerships, funding, and commitment, digital learning can continue to evolve as a powerful way to protect children’s education rights, no matter the circumstances.