With more than one academic year into the pandemic, it is timely to consider the lessons we learnt, and how they could shape education in the future. Papers from around the globe, reflecting on the directions we took and could take, were published in the FEMS Microbiology Letters virtual Thematic Issue ‘Educating in a pandemic and beyond' in October 2021. Its content is reviewed here to facilitate discussions within the professional community. Online platforms and tools, that allowed a rapid emergency response, are covered, as well as enhancing student engagement, complementing and blending in-person activities with online elements for more flexible and accessible learning opportunities, the need for educator training, and improving science literacy overall and microbiology literacy specifically. As we go forward, in order to benefit from blended and flexible learning, we need to select our approaches based on evidence, and mindful of the potential impact on learners and educators. Education did not only continue during the pandemic, but it evolved, leading us into the future.

中文翻译：

---

缺席使头脑变得更强大——在大流行病及以后进行教育

大流行已经过了一个学年，现在是时候考虑我们学到的经验教训，以及它们如何影响未来的教育。来自世界各地的论文，反映了我们采取和可能采取的方向，发表在FEMS 微生物快报上2021 年 10 月虚拟主题问题“大流行中及以后的教育”。其内容在此处进行审查，以促进专业社区内的讨论。涵盖了允许快速应急响应的在线平台和工具，并增强了学生的参与度，将面对面的活动与在线元素进行补充和融合，以提供更灵活和可访问的学习机会，满足教育工作者培训的需求，并提高科学素养整体和微生物素养特别。在我们前进的过程中，为了从混合式和灵活的学习中受益，我们需要根据证据选择我们的方法，并注意对学习者和教育者的潜在影响。教育不仅在大流行期间继续进行，而且还在不断发展，引领我们走向未来。