Obstacles and lack of answers: The Ministry of Education has published a distance learning program, but the program ignores some critical obstacles.

First obstacle: Not all students have a computer, and learning via a cell phone is considered impossible. The main problem of distance learning - in most homes there are two or even three children who need a computer, when in fact there is one computer. "The smartphone is not a good replacement for a computer. It is impossible to study with zoom," explains Prof. Tal Shavit, an expert in behavioral economics and happiness economics from the academic track at the College of Management.

"Anyone who thinks the kids will be using smartphones because there is not enough computers will forget about it. It won't work. It will crash into itself, and pretty quickly. The Ministry of Education said: "Distance learning takes place in different ways, and in addition to group learning, independent learning is independent of the use of a computer. 

In addition, 36 studios have been opened that include a large variety of English, math, language, science and other classes. The classes are tailored to all age groups, and are also accessed on Hot, Cellcom and Partner TV channels from morning to afternoon. "

Second obstacle: High concentration requirement from students. For a month now, Prof. Shavit has been teaching his students through the zoom software. According to him, learning requires a high concentration ability that elementary school students do not have: "Distance learning in zoom requires a high concentration during the lesson, both for the teacher and the students - much more than in the classroom.

For students 25 and older, this is difficult and they are more trained in self-learning routines as well, and we make quite a few breaks. So what will happen to 10-year-olds who the teacher can't even see if they are in front of the computer or playing games? "The Ministry of Education said:" The school maintains a personal connection with the students, accompanies them and addresses the difficulties that arise. "

Third obstacle: overloading the web and the study sites. Already at the onset of distance learning, technical difficulties emerged - many sites, including school sites and study sites operated by various education providers, failed to load and collapse. This time, learning is expanding to more than 2 million students, which means an unusual load on servers or Internet networks in some areas.

The fourth obstacle: Most of the students in ultra-Orthodox education have no internet. The same is true for many students in Arab society and for disadvantaged students in the periphery. Education Minister Rafi Peretz took pride in the fact that about NIS 50 million would be spent on the purchase of computers for uninhabitable populations. He even noted that about 30,000 computers would be purchased for families in need, especially with regard to the ultra-Orthodox sector - but the minister apparently forgot that large sections of the ultra-Orthodox population had no internet at home.