Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe science on remote schooling is now clear. Here’s who it hurt most.
Academic progress for American children plunged during the coronavirus pandemic. Now a growing body of research shows who was hurt the most, both confirming worst fears and adding some new ones. Students who learned from home fared worse than those in classrooms, offering substantial evidence for one side of a hot political debate. High-poverty schools did worse than those filled with middle class and affluent kids, as many worried. And in a more surprising finding, older students, who have the least amount of time to make up losses, are recovering much more slowly from setbacks than younger children. Most school districts saw declines, but the magnitude varied.
23rd Nov 2022 - The Washington Post
Productivity tips for students in remote learning
Students can adopt a list of productive tips and habits to keep them from burning out whilst studying remotely: a schedule, the right working conditions, a specific place to study, up-to-date study tools, a reward to look forward to, setting goals and keeping track of them will all help staying focused and efficient.
22nd Nov 2022 - E-Learning Inside
Disability advocates criticise 'discriminatory' university plans to end remote learning
Disability advocacy groups have slammed a decision by leading Australian universities to end remote learning options for students. Students from the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney who began their degrees online will need to show up in person from next year. The University of Sydney said a decision by the national regulator requiring all international students return to on-campus learning influenced their decision for domestic students.
21st Nov 2022 - SBS News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullEmergent bilinguals lost vital instruction during remote learning, study shows
Emergent bilingual learners—students developing proficiency in English and another language—in kindergarten through second grade saw significant loss of language-rich instruction during remote learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by Amy Crosson, associate professor of education in the Penn State College of Education.
15th Nov 2022 - Phys.org
The school that never stopped remote learning after lockdown
As with all Victorian schools, the pandemic forced Kalianna to switch to remote learning almost overnight. But unlike almost every other school in the state, it has adopted some COVID-enforced changes permanently. Late last year, when the state emerged from its final period of lockdown, Kalianna continued with remote learning, knowing that the education of some of its most chronically absent students was at stake.
15th Nov 2022 - The Age
The Nation's 'Report Card' on Remote Learning
On the first nationwide test of American students since the pandemic, scores plummeted to levels not seen in 20 years. The results show how challenging it was to keep students on track during the pandemic. What do the scores tell us about remote learning, who lost the most ground academically, and what can schools do to help students recover?
14th Nov 2022 - The New York Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullWe need to reverse the global learning crisis before it derails a generation of children
Opinion piece by David Malpass, president of the World Bank Group, in which he argues that while schools were closed during the pandemic, students made none of the usual learning gains, despite attempts with remote learning. As many as 70% of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income economies can’t read and understand a basic text – what's called “learning poverty.” An expanded academic calendar, teaching based on instructional needs and funding education, can help recover learning losses.
8th Nov 2022 - USA Today
Educause ’22: Stanford Reflects on 2 Years of Remote Learning
Educators from Stanford University shared lessons from their campus’ overall experiences with remote learning, including student struggles and academic innovations, at the virtual Educause Annual Conference last week.
7th Nov 2022 - Government Technology
School’s out: Is remote learning damaging our kids’ education?
Covid may have accelerated the trend to shift learning online, but not everyone is convinced it’s the right move.
6th Nov 2022 - New Zealand Herald
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullIs remote tutoring tech the solution to Europe’s ongoing teacher shortage?
One of the great challenges facing education across Europe is a lack of teachers. According to the latest EU data, 35 out of the 43 education systems across the bloc reported a shortage of teachers last year. It’s this problem that Vienna-based edtech company GoStudent is hoping to try to solve with its remote tutoring platform. “We are using technology to connect kids from all over the world with teachers that are also from all over the world,” said Felix Ohswald, the co-founder and CEO.
4th Nov 2022 - euronews
University orders all of its students back to campus after haunting image exposed the reality of student life in 2022
A top university has decided to pull the plug on students learning exclusively from home, making it compulsory to front up to campus lectures and tutorials. Sydney University will wind up remote learning and teaching next year after three years of online classes. Vice Chancellor at the university Mark Scott said patchy video platforms meant the college can not provide quality education.
2nd Nov 2022 - Daily Mail
Opinion: A Positive Future for Remote Teaching and Learning
Education leaders learned valuable lessons from synchronous and asynchronous learning and should examine everything that was accomplished during that rushed push toward remote learning. As Forbes magazine reports, remote work certainly seems to be here to stay in some form in the business world, so our education system needs to help prepare students for a future in which virtual workplaces are a reality. In a recent study by Future Forum, collaboration was found to be the main reason for resuming face-to-face work environments
31st Oct 2022 - Government Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning not ‘primary’ driver of academic losses, new analysis suggests
Exactly how much did remote learning contribute to students’ academic losses during the pandemic? A new analysis released Friday inches us closer to a complicated answer. Using the latest national and state test score data, a team of researchers found that districts that stayed remote during the 2020-21 school year did see bigger declines in elementary and middle school math, and to some degree in reading, than other districts in their state. But the losses varied widely — and many districts that went back in person had bigger losses than districts that stayed remote. The pattern is inconsistent enough that school closures, it seems, were not the primary driver of those drops in achievement.
29th Oct 2022 - ChalkBeat
COVID-19 pandemic massively set back learning, especially for high-poverty areas
The COVID-19 pandemic devastated poor children’s well-being, not just by closing their schools, but also by taking away their parents’ jobs, sickening their families and teachers, and adding chaos and fear to their daily lives. The scale of the disruption to American kids’ education is evident in a district-by-district analysis of test scores shared exclusively with The Associated Press. The data provide the most comprehensive look yet at how much schoolchildren have fallen behind academically. The analysis found the average student lost more than half a school year of learning in math and nearly a quarter of a school year in reading – with some district averages slipping by more than double those amounts, or worse.
28th Oct 2022 - PBS
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullLessons from students in how to adapt teaching to online learning
Dr Nick Young, senior lecturer from the School of Education within Cardiff Met University. was nominated for a THE award linked to innovation. He is creating some guidance for academic staff on how they could adapt their teaching to online learning, and to try and engage students in quality teaching interactions.
23rd Oct 2022 - Times Higher Education (THE)
When to Outsource Online Learning, and When Not To
Like a lot of professors whose field of study is higher education, Jeffrey C. Sun frequently gets asked by administrators at his institution to weigh in on thorny issues they’re debating. When his bosses at the University of Louisville were considering how best to expand their online learning offerings, they asked Sun, a Distinguished University Scholar, for his thoughts on whether the university should hire an online program management (OPM) company or build the in-house expertise itself.
19th Oct 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
The Surprising Ways Teachers’ Biases Play Out in Virtual Classrooms
Virtual learning is nowhere near its pandemic peak, but it has entered the K-12 education mainstream and remains an option for many students. That is why it is important for educators and policymakers to understand that remote learning can be an environment primed to draw out teachers’ unconscious biases, according to a new study. When asked to evaluate identical student math work in a simulated virtual Zoom classroom, teachers were more likely to recommend that Black students get tested for special education than white students and that boys get tested for gifted programs more than girls, the researchers found.
13th Oct 2022 - Education Week
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullThree Benefits Of Remote Learning For Every Generation
This is an exciting and unprecedented time for business professionals to invest in online learning experiences, not only for their own career advancements but for that of their employees, as well. More people than ever before are reevaluating how they spend their time, energy and hard-earned money. What better way to improve these areas than to invest in yourself with quality education or level up your career aspirations with new skills and knowledge?
14th Oct 2022 - Forbes
Children could be sent home to work remotely again this winter, headteachers in Wales warn
Children could be sent home from school to work remotely again this winter with further waves of Covid expected this winter, headteachers are warning. Health bosses have forecast a Covid and flu "twindemic" and one of Wales' top doctors said "one of more waves" of Covid are expected in coming months.
14th Oct 2022 - Wales Online
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning growing amid pandemic and safety concerns
As virtual learning continues to expand, officials have noticed that parents’ motivation for wanting to pursue it has as well. Suzanne Sloane has been the Head of School for Virginia Virtual Academy since 2010. At that point, there were 90 students enrolled. This school year, they have about 5,000 students.
7th Oct 2022 - WHSV3
Virtual learning: An affordable education
It is theoretically possible to record lectures that do not require any personalisation or engagement so that students can watch them whenever and wherever they want. Since there is hardly any social interaction in these introductory courses, technology platforms may provide the content to extremely wide audiences at minimal cost without surrendering one of the key advantages of the face-to-face (F2F) classroom.
3rd Oct 2022 - The Hans India
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning tools can support mental health
As is well documented, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education systems worldwide. Research has indicated that mental health conditions have increased across all age groups. During the pandemic, remote learning tools have been primarily used to support the continuity of education. And yet, they also have the potential to greatly support mental health. UNICEF has released a report examining current remote learning programs that promote the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of students, educators, and caregivers in the education sector. Led by ACER researchers, the study involved a global rapid review to identify promising mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programs that are suitable for remote delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and emergency contexts.
28th Sep 2022 - ACER.org
Schools scale back home internet help as remote learning fades
With students off Zoom and back in classrooms, many schools have stopped helping students get online at home, new federal data shows. Just 45% of public schools are providing home internet access to students who need it this school year, down from 70% earlier in the pandemic, according to August survey data released by the National Center for Education Statistics. The sharp decline in schools giving students Wi-Fi hotspots or covering the cost of home internet coincides with the end of widespread remote learning.
27th Sep 2022 - Chalkbeat
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullPulling Distance Learning Tools Into In-Person Classes
We embark on academic year 2022–23 and a seeming return to normal. Yet we are not the same coming back—there are students who had to finish college online, those who had to start college online and those who have experienced college only online. If last year’s kindergarteners remember their remote year, those memories will be part of the graduating Class of 2039. Faculty members also are not the same, even those of us who teach in art and media fields. The “online model” may have changed our teaching forever—and for the better.
20th Sep 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
How remote learning provided graduates with skills for future careers
In March 2020 Ireland was about to go into lockdown and universities, colleges and schools were forced to shift their education delivery to a mostly unfamiliar online format. For the next year and a half students could only attend virtual classes, access study materials from afar and collaborate on projects from a distance. We asked Orla Bannon, director of careers at Trinity College Dublin, about how the pandemic may have equipped students with new skills and how they might make themselves more employable.
20th Sep 2022 - The Irish Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullLearning loss was steepest in school districts that stayed remote longest: Study
Districts where schools stayed remote longer experienced more significant learning loss — but some of those losses are being reversed by states through effective teaching strategies. Those are the results, at once dismaying and hopeful, from a 10-state, district-by-district analysis conducted by Brown University economist Emily Oster as part of her long-standing effort to chronicle the pandemic’s deleterious impact on education.
15th Sep 2022 - Yahoo News
How the Pandemic Has Impacted Children’s Learning
A recent report shows that children's standardized test scores have gone down since 2020—the biggest drop in scores seen in 30 years. Though there are some limitations to the report, it suggests that the last few years of remote learning weren't great for many kids. Kids can learn remotely if they have the right resources, but in-person instruction remains immensely valuable.
12th Sep 2022 - Psychology Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullQ&A: How a Year of Remote Learning Affected Kids’ Development
In her new book “The Stolen Year,” Author Anya Kamenetz examines how remote learning during the pandemic worsened the growing mental health crisis among children and adolescents. She also examines how it exacerbated existing educational inequities and was detrimental to educational attainment for children and adolescents.
8th Sep 2022 - Healthline
Remote learning revolution makes universities a target for cybercrime
Universities are already an attractive prospect for attackers looking to extort them for millions, steal sensitive student data or exfiltrate valuable research. Remote learning made them even more of a target. Since COVID-19, ransomware attacks on universities have spiked, and even now, two years on from the jump to hybrid working and learning, universities are ill-prepared. A recent report found that 97% of top 10 universities in the US, the UK and Australia are still leaving staff and students vulnerable because their systems lack basic security.
7th Sep 2022 - Education Technology
Remote learning might have helped protect teenagers’ sense of community during COVID-19 school closures
New research published in Behavioral Sciences provides evidence that information and communications technologies helped to protect students’ sense of community amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new study, 917 Italian high school students (with an average age of 16.38) completed an online questionnaire that assessed their perceived sense of loneliness and perceived sense of community before and after the outbreak of COVID-19.
3rd Sep 2022 - PsyPost
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullEducation without walls: Some Ottawa families have chosen virtual schools — here's why
Unlike the online classes run during the pandemic, virtual schools are full-time standalone schools with their own staff who deploy teaching strategies directed specifically at virtual learning. For some families, it’s a preferred way of learning. For others, a student has experienced challenges in a traditional school setting and the safety and familiarity of their home work best for them.
3rd Sep 2022 - Ottawa Citizen
So Long, Remote Learning: Why Some Districts Are Ending Virtual Options
Remote learning became the primary mode of instruction for most K-12 schools during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when many students and staff weren’t able to meet in person. But more than two years later, about one-third of a sample of 100 large and urban districts in the country report they are ending their remote learning programs for the 2022-23 school year, according to an analysis by the Center on Reinventing Public Education.
3rd Sep 2022 - Education Week
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullMore kids are repeating a grade. Is it good for them?
The number of students held back for a year of school has surged around the US. Traditionally, experts have said repeating a grade can hurt kids social lives and academic futures. But many parents, empowered by new pandemic-era laws, have asked for do-overs to help their children recover from the tumult of remote learning, quarantines and school staff shortages.
1st Sep 2022 - ABC News
Student test scores plunged during the pandemic
Test scores in elementary school math and reading plummeted to levels unseen for decades, according to the first nationally representative report comparing student achievement from just before the pandemic to performance two years later. The falloff left little doubt about the pandemic’s toll. The average math score of 234 this year was comparable to the average score recorded in 1999, and the reading score of 215 was similar to the 2004 score. How long it might take to catch up is unclear and not likely to be understood until further test results are analyzed.
1st Sep 2022 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullNY students with disabilities will have new chance to complete education
Students with disabilities who may have "aged out" of an education program due to the COVID-19 pandemic will have a renewed chance beginning in September to finish their school work under a law approved earlier this year. The law is meant to help students who have lost a year of education when the pandemic closed schools and made it difficult for them to complete their coursework through remote learning or online lessons.
31st Aug 2022 - Spectrum News 1
Edtech companies breaking UK data laws, privacy campaigners claim
Edtech companies are breaking UK data laws, leaving children’s data vulnerable to commercial exploitation, privacy campaigners claim, as free remote learning software that was adopted by schools in the pandemic comes under scrutiny. An investigation by children’s digital rights charity 5Rights is being presented to the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Department for Education on Wednesday, highlighting the policies of popular edtech products Google Classroom and ClassDojo.
31st Aug 2022 - Financial Times
Manitoba spending $2M on student supports, including boost for remote learning centre
The Manitoba government says it's spending about $2 million to bolster learning and counselling supports for students across the province ahead of their return to school next week. About half that money is going to the province's remote learning support centre for after-school learning help for students from Grade 1 to Grade 8, Education Minister Wayne Ewasko said. Another $390,000 will go toward supporting online resources and video-streaming services, including enhancements to support educators in French, French immersion and French-English programs.
31st Aug 2022 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullRoughly 1/3 of nation’s largest school districts to keep remote learning option from COVID
Roughly a third of big city school districts in the US are keeping virtual programs created during the COVID-19 pandemic in place this school year, according to new research released Monday. Another third of large districts are ditching remote learning altogether, researchers from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a non-profit research center at Arizona State University.
30th Aug 2022 - New York Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullBack to school in UAE: Is remote learning still an option for students?
In UAE, over one million students and 65,000 teaching staff will return to school from tomorrow, Monday, August 29, for the academic year 2022-23. This would mark the beginning of the most ‘normal’ schooling for students since the pandemic hit as most Covid safety rules have been eased. Last week, authorities announced an update to the national protocol for educational establishments for the new academic year. Notable changes include doing away with the requirement for periodic PCR testing as well as social distancing in schools and buses.
29th Aug 2022 - Khaleej Times
Distance learning affected disadvantaged students most. The teacher shortages are just piling on.
The kids hit hardest when the pandemic closed their schools are also among the most likely to start off the year at districts without enough teachers and other staff.
Many schools have all the teachers they need, data shows, despite a national uproar over a teaching shortage. But data suggests that districts with large numbers of Black, brown or poor students – the students who fell furthest behind in math and reading during remote schooling – could bear the brunt of the teaching vacancies.
29th Aug 2022 - USA Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in full‘We can fit education into our lives’: More kids learning at home
The number of Victorian children and teenagers being homeschooled has surged 44 per cent during the pandemic, new data shows, and more students are now choosing to study online. Educators say greater student confidence with online learning, teacher shortages and an increase in mental health issues among children have led to a continued rise in studying at home.
25th Aug 2022 - The Age
Toronto board expects 4,800 students in virtual learning in September
The kickoff to the new school year is just weeks away, and about 4800 students attending Toronto District School Board (TDSB) have opted for virtual classrooms, starting in September.
25th Aug 2022 - Calgary Sun
Nearly 80 percent of parents say they became more interested in kids’ education during virtual learning: study
Seventy-nine percent of parents say they became more interested in how their child was being educated during the pandemic, when the process went largely virtual, according to a new survey. The survey, conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, similarly found that 84 percent of parents agreed they learned more about how their child was educated during pandemic at-home education, and 78 percent said they became more involved in their child’s education because of what they saw.
25th Aug 2022 - The Hill
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in full‘We can fit education into our lives’: More kids learning at home
The number of Victorian children and teenagers being homeschooled has surged 44 per cent during the pandemic, new data shows, and more students are now choosing to study online. Educators say greater student confidence with online learning, teacher shortages and an increase in mental health issues among children have led to a continued rise in studying at home.
24th Aug 2022 - The Age
UK government provided almost two million laptops to students
The Department for Education (DfE), the UK government department responsible for the English education sector, has provided nearly two million electronic devices to children and young people to support their education. Parliament Street think tank observed the number of laptops, tablets and phones purchased by the DfE over the past three years, for staff, teachers, and students during the era of remote learning over the pandemic.
24th Aug 2022 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in full5 strategies for rebuilding student engagement after COVID-19
The past two years have offered ample evidence of the impact remote learning has on students. Virtual education systems kept schools running safely during the early days of the pandemic, reduced bullying in some cases, and gave many students a new sense of autonomy. But as we returned to classrooms, other effects became apparent. While remote, students missed hands-on learning opportunities and time to bond with peers.
23rd Aug 2022 - K-12 Dive
Students experience less stress in online courses: study
Many students across the globe had to transition between taking lessons in lecture halls to their living rooms in the COVID-19 pandemic. This drastic change in environment prompted questions about differences in the learning experience. Among them: does the body feel less stress in a virtual classroom as opposed to a physical one? The answer could be yes, according to a small study measuring heart rate and cortisol levels in students' saliva, which found that medical students were physiologically more relaxed in an online lecture rather than an in-person one.
23rd Aug 2022 - CTV News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow Students Can Improve Back, Neck Health Following Extended Time Virtual Learning
During the pandemic, students spent a lot of time on their phones or computers learning. Orthopedic surgeons said they have had an increase in children with back pain over the past two years. Now, with a fresh start to a new school year, there are tips for keeping your kids back and neck strong.
22nd Aug 2022 - news9.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow to build a great online foundation course
Online teaching often meets resistance, particularly when the student cohort is as diverse and unique as those in university bridging courses. We all know that the Covid-19 pandemic utterly disrupted the higher education system, but the forced opportunity it offered was to challenge our own thinking about bridging courses in the online space. This shift has yielded very positive results for our students.
21st Aug 2022 - Times Higher Education
Colorado district expands 'equity of opportunity' through remote classes
As school systems get into a more typical rhythm of in-person learning, some are holding onto or expanding aspects of remote learning that revealed unexpected benefits during the pandemic. The St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, Colorado, is launching a program that opens certain advanced courses to high school students, some of whom are taking the classes remotely. Michelle Bourgeois, St. Vrain Valley’s chief technology officer, said the ability to include students from different campuses remotely in the lessons is helping provide “equity of opportunity."
21st Aug 2022 - K-12 Dive
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullFive key takeaways from this year's A-level results
This was no ordinary year of A-levels - both in terms of exams and results. The students receiving their grades on Thursday experienced three years of disrupted learning because of the pandemic. And the story wasn't the same for everyone: the impact of school closures varied depending on things like how badly communities were hit by Covid, and how prepared schools were to handle the transition to remote learning.
18th Aug 2022 - BBC News
How Community Colleges Are Setting Best Practices for Hybrid Learning in Higher Ed
With nearly 1.4 million fewer students enrolled in undergraduate programs than before the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities looking for ways to boost registration may want to consider offering more hybrid courses, a structure nearly half of students (49 percent) say they prefer. According to an EdTech Twitter poll, 64 percent of respondents are catering to this preference by offering at least some hybrid offerings this academic year.
18th Aug 2022 - EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullEight questions to ask your training lead
Any good e-learning partner will appreciate that digitising your learning programme can be a complex and sometimes nerve-wracking process. To help prepare you for that important first meeting with your chosen L&D lead – whether that is an external provider or your inhouse L&D lead or team – we’ve put together eight essential questions that should be covered when a new digital learning project is started.
17th Aug 2022 - Virtual College
Department for Education provided 2 million laptops to students for remote learning
The Department for Education (DfE), the UK government department responsible for the English education sector, has provided nearly two million electronic devices to children and young people to support their education. The research, retrieved via the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) and analysed by the Parliament Street think tank, observed the number of laptops, tablets and phones purchased by the DfE over the past three years, for staff, teachers, and students during the era of remote learning over the pandemic.
17th Aug 2022 - FE News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhat is the digitalization of education, and why do we need it?
The digitalization of education and online distance learning differs. The concept of digitalization is much broader. It means using different programs, applications, and other digital resources for e-learning remotely and directly at school or university. For example, one element of digital education is using an essay writing service to aid academic writing. Digitalization concerns not only educational processes but also organizational ones.
15th Aug 2022 - KnowTechie
Tech at school: How teachers are maximizing digital tools in today’s classrooms
Inspired by the need to connect remotely, and supported by $122 billion in educational funding in the American Rescue Plan, education technology, or edtech, has taken center stage in school systems across the US. The rise of learning management systems (LMS) has been especially impactful. These systems give teachers the ability to plan and deliver lesson content, monitor students’ participation in the work and assess performance.
15th Aug 2022 - USA Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullPodcasts: discover a new teaching format
Podcasts are now an established part of the academic terrain. The relatively low costs of microphones and developing rudimentary editing skills help provide the possibility for scholars to promote their ideas and address wider audiences. A simple search engine enquiry for any academic keyword will quickly reveal a large volume of podcast material and demonstrate the enthusiasm with which scholars launch their new shows. But perhaps the most interesting potential of podcasting is not its potential to help disseminate research but its pedagogical value for the new age of blended learning.
15th Aug 2022 - Times Higher Education
How Students Can Improve Back, Neck Health Following Extended Time Virtual Learning
During the pandemic, students spent a lot of time on their phones or computers learning. Orthopedic surgeons said they have had an increase in children with back pain over the past two years. Now, with a fresh start to a new school year, there are tips for keeping your kids back and neck strong.
15th Aug 2022 - News On 6
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe Benefits of Hybrid Learning
An upside to the pandemic is that we’re actively exploring how to maintain relationships and connections at home and at work in a hybrid form. Pandemic-era research has found that remote learning's greater flexibility in scheduling and methodology responds to the needs of more learners. Remote learning also holds the potential to diversify the pool of educators and tutors with whom our children interact.
14th Aug 2022 - Psychology Today
Why Some Colorado Families Want To Stick With Remote Learning
In Colorado, the state's only accredited synchronous virtual learning school is looking to see an increase in enrollment again. Following pandemic uncertainty, safety concerns, and an improved execution, parents and teachers are saying the expansion of online options is good for their students. "They feel comfortable, maybe because they're in their home, maybe because they're behind a screen. But they feel comfortable because they're speaking out in class, they feel comfortable participating," said Kala Munguia, the Principal of Jeffco Remote Learning Program.
13th Aug 2022 - Patch
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow To Give Feedback To Students In The Online Learning Environment
Feedback is essential when it comes to education, as it can supplement growth and development. However, it can be quite a challenge when it comes to the online learning environment. In this article, we will discuss three ways in which educators can give feedback to students who use online resources. We will also mention a few tips as to how you can ensure that your feedback is constructive.
11th Aug 2022 - The Tech Edvocate
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullA New Era of Schooling: What Is The Future of Remote Learning?
The coronavirus pandemic shifted the once-steady ground of higher education. Where there once existed classrooms and communal meeting spaces on campus, there were suddenly Zoom calls, breakout rooms and emails aplenty. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of undergraduate students enrolled in at least one remote learning (also called distance education) course was 97% higher in 2020 than before the pandemic in fall 2019 (11.8 million vs. 6 million). The number of undergraduate students exclusively enrolled in distance education courses was 186% higher in 2020 than in 2019 (7 million vs. 2.4 million).
10th Aug 2022 - Pittsburgh Magazine
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullFive reasons why going digital is good for your learners
Before 2020, a digital revolution was happening across every industry, but following the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on businesses, it can be said that this digital revolution has accelerated. With many businesses now working from home, a flexible working structure being called for, and less face-to-face contact between colleagues and peers, digital work practices have now become a necessity. But converting to digital has often been perceived as time-consuming, costly and irrelevant. And though businesses are now recognising it is very much relevant, it is still a daunting prospect. We spoke to our Chief Learning Officer, Sarah Baker, to understand what the benefits of digital transformation are for your learners and their future success.
9th Aug 2022 - Virtual College
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullOklahoma invests $5M in online math tutoring program
The Oklahoma education department’s program is part of growing efforts to address learning loss through tutoring — though approaches vary by state and district. As U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has urged states and districts to spend pandemic relief funds on high-dosage tutoring, Oklahoma is doing just that by using $5 million of COVID-19 aid dollars for its online math tutoring program through summer 2024.
8th Aug 2022 - K-12 Dive
Why online learning must remain part of the education toolkit
Numerous studies and anecdotes point to deteriorating student performance during the pandemic and cite remote instruction as the reason. There seems to be a cause-and-effect bandwagon that a strict diet of online learning is bad for students at any level and a return to in-person instruction is the answer. However, students need the best tools we can give them, in tandem, all the time, in combinations that work for them. Those tools include remote and online instruction.
7th Aug 2022 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullAs students return to classrooms and ditch virtual instruction, experts and parents wonder about pandemic learning loss
Parents heard a lot about learning loss throughout the pandemic as schools went virtual. Experts say it was harder for kids to reach milestones, both academic and social. As we look to the upcoming school year, the first fully back in the classroom for many students, where are our kids now?
7th Aug 2022 - MSN.com
How Effective is Online Learning for Those in Senior Education
With the rise of new technologies, being physically present in a classroom is no longer necessary to receive a high-quality education. Thanks to online education, we are in an era where you can receive an education anywhere and anytime. Although the idea of leaving behind conventional teaching practices and the classroom setting may seem foreign, online education has been proven to be valid and valuable for many students. There are many reasons why online learning is effective for those in senior education who want to learn a new skill or improve their knowledge of a particular subject.
7th Aug 2022 - TechDay News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullStatistics Update: New Trends in Enrollment, Virtual Schooling, and Special Education
In the US, there were 691 virtual schools in 2019-20, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s before the pandemic took hold, so the number has likely changed. But it’s the most recent data available. By comparison, 21 percent of public schools offered online courses in 2017-18.
4th Aug 2022 - EdWeek
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhy online schooling was a positive experience and not a struggle for children during pandemic
Through the pandemic, for some children, the online environment was an extension of how teaching practices like dedicated dialogue circles presented ways children's opinions and thoughts could be shared. For these children, enforced online schooling overall was a positive experience and not a struggle.
3rd Aug 2022 - Economic Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullOnline Learning Platforms: The Different Types And Their Benefits
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning platforms have drastically increased in popularity over recent years. Students of all levels, including those in corporate training, now rely on the internet to deliver their educational materials. This article discusses how online learning platforms work and which platform to choose based on your needs.
2nd Aug 2022 - Forbes
How much has remote learning damaged Hong Kong students and how quickly can the damage be undone? Teachers talk about the harm and how they’re helping the healing
Primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong have had more than two years of on/off remote learning as opposed to Western countries’ schools that shut for only a few months. Younger students missed out on key developmental milestones, while special educational needs (SEN) students suffered by not having direct access to their teachers.
2nd Aug 2022 - South China Morning Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow blended learning programs changing the classroom experience for students
The education industry has changed significantly with the advent of blended (or composite) learning solutions. Integrating technology with education enables educators to foster collaborative learning and create a dynamic classroom experience, with ed-tech solutions democratising education and revolutionizing the entire learning landscape. Blended learning solutions bridge the void between traditional classroom learning and online educational resources.
1st Aug 2022 - MSN.com
Metaverse: Hong Kong University to create the world’s first virtual classroom on Metaverse
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is jumping into the Metaverse by building its own virtual campus in the virtual reality space. The institution will set up its MetaHKUST and design a learning environment that will virtually connect its two campuses located miles apart - in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
1st Aug 2022 - EconoTimes
How some children prospered in pandemic online learning
While media often seemed to report on negative aspects of online schooling, this was not a universal experience. In my education research with international colleagues about socially innovative interventions to foster and advance young children’s inclusion and agency in society during the pandemic, we worked with teachers as they implemented research insights about teaching practices that support listening to children’s voices.
1st Aug 2022 - The Conversation
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong University of Science and Technology to launch virtual reality lessons with metaverse campus
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will launch a virtual reality classroom as part of its bigger plan to create a campus in the metaverse to promote immersive learning. During the coronavirus pandemic, Zoom became an alternative educational tool for schools in Hong Kong, but learning in the metaverse is a better option as the videoconferencing platform had become boring and less interactive.
31st Jul 2022 - South China Morning Post
Ontario pledges tutoring, mental health support for students during coming school year
The Ontario government announced its Plan to Catch Up, which includes a return to in-person learning, with extracurricular activities like sports and field trips. The province is also launching a large-scale tutoring program, enhanced summer learning, and improved mental health supports for students who are returning to classrooms.
31st Jul 2022 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong University of Science and Technology to launch virtual reality class
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has announced the launch of a virtual reality classroom as part of a bigger plan to create a campus in the metaverse to promote immersive learning. An academic at the institution on Thursday said the mixed reality classroom would host the opening of the new HKUST Guangzhou campus on September 1. “A lot of guests might be overseas and can’t attend [the opening], so we will host it in the metaverse,” said Pan Hui, chair professor of computational media and arts at the Guangzhou campus.
28th Jul 2022 - South China Morning Post
How EdTech Firms Are Bringing Higher Education To The Metaverse
Remote learning might’ve gotten a bad rap during the pandemic, but education is about to move into the metaverse. And, experts say, it will be better than in-person instruction. The costs of higher education have been growing, racking up more debt for students, and the post-college economic returns have been flattening. But learning has never been more important, especially in an era of rapid technological and growing automation.
28th Jul 2022 - Forbes
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullOnline Learning, From the Margins to the Center
For some years after its inception, online enrollments were not tracked formally by the National Center for Educational Statistics. Distance learning was considered the poor stepchild of the traditional campus-based experience. However, with slow, steady growth, by 2014 the NCES reported that more than five million students out of a total of more than 21 million in college were enrolled in at least one online class. That amounted to some 25 percent of all students.
27th Jul 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullStudy: Pandemic-era suspension rate drops may be misleading
Many California school districts were on track to have substantially higher rates of suspensions showing racial disparities during the 2019-20 school year had the coronavirus pandemic not forced schools to go remote, according to a study released Tuesday by the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the UCLA Civil Rights Project. COVID-19’s abrupt arrival in early 2020 caused schools across the nation to move to virtual learning, and as a result suspension rates fell for the remainder of that school year.
26th Jul 2022 - K-12 Dive
Impact of COVID‐19 on student attainment and pedagogical needs when undertaking independent scientific research
University education was affected worldwide as COVID-19 turned into a pandemic. Universities in the UK commenced distance learning, gradually moving to more blended distance learning alongside face-to-face teaching. Veterinary medicine courses were able to operate blended learning with enhanced health and safety procedures within a few months. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham (SVMS) transitioned to distance learning, with all undergraduate learners conducting their teaching, learning, pastoral care, assessment and research activities remotely. Four months later SVMS started hybrid/blended teaching, with both face-to-face and distance learning continuing into 2022 (two academic cohorts).
26th Jul 2022 - onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullVirtual Intensive Study in China Trigger Exchange between China and UK Youth
When the two-week Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) virtual study trip to China pulled the curtain down on July 15, more than 1,500 secondary school students from 64 schools across England had completed the online summer camp of learning Chinese and Chinese cultural under four themes of panda zoo, sport and modern life, Chinese campus, history and cultural heritage.
25th Jul 2022 - Associated Press
Law students want more distance education classes, according to ABA findings
A recent survey of 1,394 students in their third year of law school found that 68.65% wanted the ability to earn more distance education credits than what their schools offered. The survey, which was compiled in February, is from the strategic review committee of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Questions were shared on a group email list for associate deans and voluntarily distributed to students.
25th Jul 2022 - ABA Journal
Awaken your students' interest in your online course
Online courses bring a variety of challenges, from providing support to students and having a user-friendly platform to finding the requisite academic resources and tech, both of which are key to us successfully meeting the challenge of providing quality virtual teaching. In addition to these challenges, in asynchronous courses almost all of us will by now have experienced disinterest from the participants in our virtual class. This can manifest itself as receiving no questions from attendees, a sea of turned-off cameras or low participation in class activities, among others.
25th Jul 2022 - Times Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullGlobal Virtual Education Summit 2022 to be held from August 12 to August 14 2022
The Global Virtual Education Summit - 2022 is being organized by IN4OBE, USA - in collabration with Lords Institute of Engineering & Technology, Hyderabad, The Regional India Chapter of IN4OBE.
24th Jul 2022 - The Week
Online Schooling Is the Bad Idea That Refuses to Die
Nearly all of the 20 largest US school districts will offer online schooling options this fall. Over half of them will be offering more full-time virtual school programs than they did before the pandemic. The trend seems likely to continue or accelerate, according to an analysis by Chalkbeat. That’s a problem. School closings over the last two years have inflicted severe educational and emotional damage on American students. Schools should now be focusing on creative ways to fill classrooms, socialize kids and convey the joy of collaborative learning — not on providing opportunities to stay home.
24th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullImpact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Education: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia
Results: Out of 3700 questionnaires, 922 completed the questionnaires from 11 different medical schools. Umm AL-Qura University had the highest response rate with 232 responses (25.2%), followed by King Abdulaziz University with 186 responses (20.2%). The majority of institutions preferred Blackboard and Zoom as platforms for e-learning. A total of 355 (38.5%) believed that it resulted in higher academic achievement, whereas 555 (60.2%) of students believed the limitation of clinical access was one of the biggest disadvantages of e-learning. Overall, 518 (56.2%) of students did not want to continue using e-learning on its own in the future. Whereas 668 (72.5%) wished to keep using e-learning in combination with traditional learning. Conclusion: According to our findings, advantages of e-learning vary among students. Most of the students thought e-learning to be an interactive system that provides a learning opportunity. In contrast, many of the students believed that there were many disadvantages regarding online teaching methods.
21st Jul 2022 - Dove Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullHuman Rights Watch notes child rights violations due to surveillance into private lives outside school hours
In a statement issued last Tuesday (12), HRW said that the overwhelming majority of education technology products, endorsed by 49 governments of the world’s most populous countries and analysed by the HRW, appear to have surveilled or had the capacity to surveil children in ways that risked or infringed their rights. It made this statement after reviewing technical evidence and easy-to-view privacy profiles for 163 education technology products that were recommended for children’s learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Of the 163 products that were reviewed, 145 (89%) surveilled or had the capacity to surveil children outside school hours and deep into their private lives. Many products were found to harvest information about children such as who they are, where they are, what they do in the classroom, who their family and friends are, and what kind of device their families could afford for them to use for online learning,” the statement read.
20th Jul 2022 - The Morning
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCould students attend uni as avatars on a virtual campus?
Imagine a world a decade from now where universities are delivering degrees via co-located virtual shopfronts. It’s tertiary education, not in competition, but delivered through a shared digital platform for students around the world. A shared national virtual campus, if you like.
17th Jul 2022 - The Australian Financial Review
Mobile phones can enable learning during school disruptions. Here’s how
Reducing learning loss when schooling is disrupted requires outside-school interventions that can effectively deliver instruction to children at scale. But little evidence exists on cost-effective learning interventions during school disruptions. It’s estimated that globally 70%–90% of households own at least one mobile phone. This suggests that the use of mobile phones has the potential to provide educational instruction in resource-constrained contexts and at scale. But this “low-tech” solution is less commonly used in education relative to “high-tech” approaches that rely on internet-based instruction. This is despite the fact that only 15%–60% of households in low- and middle-income countries have internet access.
17th Jul 2022 - The Conversation
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow Technology Is Impacting Modern Education?
Modern education is not only becoming global in the way how information is being distributed but it’s even more technology-driven. As the pandemic times helped us see, technology inspires modern students to research and become more responsible because they are often in the lead. Examples include remote learning and dealing with the LMS platforms like Google Classroom where education takes a totally different virtual approach. The educators feel divided about the impact of modern education as there are accessibility and technical gap issues that become a barrier for certain learners, yet it cannot be denied that modern education is affected by the use of technology.
14th Jul 2022 - mitechnews.com
Don't abandon virtual learning options (opinion)
With 2022 commencement in the books and colleges and universities now turning to the upcoming school year, administrators and students alike should discount a sentiment that many administrators and others in the higher education universe hold and which was captured in a recent New York Times opinion piece. The Times author argued that if higher education is to thrive, “everyone involved—students, faculties, administrators and the public at large—must insist on in-person classes and high expectations for fall 2022 and beyond.”
14th Jul 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullChildren Exercise After 2 Years of Remote Learning
A new studyTrusted Source by researchers from University College Dublin, Ireland, looked at more than 1,000 data sources detailing changes in child and adolescent behavior during pandemic lockdowns. The study, published by JAMA Pediatrics, concludes that “a considerable reduction in physical activity has occurred.” “Thus, targeted public health initiatives are urgently needed. As UNICEF recognized in the early stages of the pandemic, formal reactivation strategies are required to avert the potentially irreversible harms that are being caused to a lost generation of youth,” they added.
13th Jul 2022 - Healthline
Study: Pandemic-era remote learning hit English-language learners especially hard
The abrupt transition to online learning at the beginning of the pandemic was especially harmful to English-language learners in U.S. schools, a new report finds. The report, released Monday by UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization, found that the COVID-19 pandemic had a disproportionate impact on most Latino students, but especially on those learning English.
13th Jul 2022 - Axios
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullRemote possibilities: Successful strategies for virtual teaching and learning
Virtual learning is making its presence known--here's how emerging edtech tools are making room for innovation. In this episode of Innovations in Education, hosted by Kevin Hogan: 3 ways telepresence robots are impacting learning; How to ensure digital equity in online testing; Blended and hybrid learning–the future of education.
12th Jul 2022 - eSchool News
Classrooms after Covid: The impact of the pandemic on children's mental health
Covid had a profound impact on schools and children – from lost learning to mental health and child development – that we are only beginning to understand. Schools did not have an easy pandemic. Closed for months, reopened and closed again, two years of learning and development were hugely disrupted. Many children struggled to adapt to remote learning and days couped up at home. Exams were cancelled. The impact on children has been profound. Schools were already struggling to cope with a huge rise in mental health issues – experts say it has now become a crisis. Yet to those working within them, these challenges do not seem to be appreciated.
12th Jul 2022 - Politics Home
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullDespite presenting many challenges, pandemic-era remote learning also helped parents better understand their child’s ability and focus, as well as gain more appreciation for the work of teachers
Home schooling, together with office closures, were a seismic adjustment for all involved. Suddenly everyone was home for months on end, living, working and playing together. Emerging research shows that many children have benefited from having more time with their parents and siblings. Learning online from home, although less than ideal for some households, also provided helpful insights. Parents gained a much better understanding of their children’s academic capabilities, including their ability to focus, retain information and follow instructions. The outcome is that many children received extra support where they may have fallen behind in other circumstances, while parents gained greater appreciation for the work of teachers.
11th Jul 2022 - South China Morning Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in full81.4% of students feel safe going back to school, over 70% rely on digital learning: Survey
Following two years of remote, hybrid, and socially distant learning, students are returning to classrooms now. Despite the disruption, the pandemic ushered in a new learning mechanism for students in India that’s set to cement itself further going forward. Brainly, one of India’s leading online learning platforms, conducted a survey with middle and high school students to understand the generic sentiment of Indian students about returning to traditional classroom settings and what it holds for them.
10th Jul 2022 - India Today
New summer school classes aim to reignite learning after pandemic disruptions
In Canada, school divisions across the country have reported seeing more interest in their summer learning offerings, from the Burnaby School District in B.C. touting record single-day registrations back in April, to Ontario school boards from Sudbury through the Niagara Region noting more students signing up for virtual and in-person summer school and co-op opportunities. New Brunswick Education Minister Dominic Cardy also noted a huge appetite for extra learning last month when unveiling a wide range of new summer programs.
10th Jul 2022 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullSecondary school teachers' use of online formative assessment during COVID‐19 lockdown: Experiences and lessons learned
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, teachers had to shift their teaching and assessment to online. Formative assessment (FA) can help teachers to engage, guide and monitor students' (online) learning. However, more knowledge is needed of how teachers could use the full FA process online. Results showed that many teachers implemented new FA strategies and adopted, more often than in their face-to-face practice, all the five phases of the FA process in an aligned matter in online FA. Teachers indicated opportunities in stimulating student engagement and guiding and monitoring student learning more at an individual level in the online FA process, but also experienced challenges, mainly in lack of interaction online.
7th Jul 2022 - Wiley Online Library
GCSE and A level pupils able to join virtual classes from all areas of Wales
GCSE and A level students in every part of Wales will be able to join classes by video link from next year, the Welsh Government has announced. The e-sgol programme lets GCSE and A level pupils join classes at other schools via video link. It will increase the number of GCSE and A/AS-level options available for pupils, especially for those at smaller, rural schools, widening access to a greater range of subjects. E-sgol, as it is known, also aims to broaden the subjects available to study through the medium of Welsh.
7th Jul 2022 - Wales Online
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullEducation tech companies bring virtual teaching to the table as solution to teacher shortage
The way kids learn is changing, and the tools used to teach them are changing, too, due in part to the pandemic. “This online learning is a way that not only meets students where they’re at and where they are interested but also the way that we all learn,” Jeanette Simenson, a remote teacher with Elevate K-12 and an educational consultant, said. Education technology companies like Elevate K-12, which is a live streaming instruction platform, are growing. Especially in areas where hiring a teacher can be tough.
6th Jul 2022 - TheDenverChannel
Schools given free online maths tuition for Covid catch-up
All government schools will have access to free online maths tutoring for two years to help pupils affected by the Covid pandemic. The Government of Jersey has partnered with company Complete Mathematics to help students whose learning was "negatively affected" by the pandemic. The programme has been funded by the Covid Recovery Catch-up Fund.
6th Jul 2022 - BBC News
What have we learned about online learning?
The COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges, professors and students to engage with digital forms of education in ways many of them never had. Did the experience of teaching and learning remotely make them more open to online education and to using technology in the physical classroom? Did professors get more comfortable with teaching with technology? Did it change student expectations about when and how they learn? A series of recent episodes of Inside Higher Ed’s Key podcast explored those and other questions.
6th Jul 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullAmazon launches free online learning resources to help during cost of living crisis
Working with some of the UK’s leading education content providers, Amazon launched Amazon Study, providing parents, carers, and teachers with access to a wide range of free, curriculum-linked maths and science resources to support children’s learning. New research from YouGov who surveyed 1000 UK parents and carers (who are involved in their child’s learning) on behalf of Amazon, found that while 45% enjoy being involved in their child’s learning, 29% find it stressful, and 20% find it difficult.
5th Jul 2022 - FE News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCollege returns to online learning as Covid and flu run rampant
Auckland's Carmel College is the latest school to tell its students to go back to online learning for the remainder of the term, as Covid and flu run rampant through students and staff. It comes as Covid-19 modellers warn we could be seeing the start of a second wave of Omicron due to the more transmissible BA.5 variant.
4th Jul 2022 - RNZ
Online learning: How to protect children's personal data
Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently issued a 94-page report titled How Dare They Peep into My Private Life? Children’s Rights Violations by Governments that Endorsed Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic, which found that 49 countries in the world had violated children's right to privacy while mandating online learning during the pandemic. The report also found that 164 educational technology (edutech) products and 290 companies had collected, processed or received children's data since March 2021.
4th Jul 2022 - The Jakarta Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullPandemic learning disruptions could impact transitions to high school, post secondary
Virtual learning created many challenges for students in Canada, and now some are worried the transition to high school or post-secondary education will be even harder.
3rd Jul 2022 - CBC.ca
“The pandemic of distance learning”: How Arab high school students see online‐learning during Covid‐19
Emergency transition to online learning due to Covid-19 created unprecedented challenges in schooling. There is a dearth of information on the perception of Arab high school students and parents regarding the negative effects of online learning during Covid-19. The perceived negative effects by students and parents on several aspects of the transition to online learning such as the technical adjustments, impact on parents, perceptions of learning online versus face to face, pedagogical drawbacks, and psychological effects are described and discussed in light of results of previous studies.
3rd Jul 2022 - Wiley Online Library
Could more online learning help fix Australia's teacher shortage?
Thousands of teachers went on strike in New South Wales, over pay and unsustainable workloads. This comes amid increasing concerns about teacher shortages around Australia. One option that could free up teacher time, and ensure students are getting the education they need, is “blended” learning, in which some learning is done online and some face-to-face.
3rd Jul 2022 - theconversation.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullThese students say virtual learning makes the transition to high school, university much harder
From disrupted exams to learning new studying habits, many students say they have lacked any sort of consistency with school since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, the transitional years — the move from Grade 8 to high school or Grade 12 to post-secondary studies — already brings the fear of the unknown. So CBC News spoke to some of those students about how the educational changes brought on by the pandemic have shaped and shifted these milestone years.
30th Jun 2022 - CBC.ca
Online learning: What next for higher education after COVID-19?
Higher education institutions worldwide faced challenges when switching to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the experience highlighted how online learning could make education more engaging and accessible for many students. Lecturers and teachers should embrace the opportunities offered by digital distance learning to revolutionize education for the better.
30th Jun 2022 - World Economic Forum
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullClass Technologies CEO: 'The education landscape has forever changed'
Michael Chasen, CEO of Class Technologies, tells Education Technology about the company’s recent acquisition of Blackboard Collaborate and why his predictions for virtual learning have changed since the pandemic.
29th Jun 2022 - Education Technology
University rankings failing to account for online learning changes
University rankings have failed to take into account the increased weight of remote learning in the wake of the pandemic, according to two online HE institutions. Despite the fact that the vast majority of universities now offer at least some courses that are entirely digital, there is still no online dimension in how institutions are rated and ranked, say researchers from the Open University in the UK and the Barcelona-based Open University of Catalonia (UOC). Consequently, the pair have been working with Italy’s Institute for Educational Technology to examine the criteria and indicators on which rankings are based, along with identifying new ones to enable online learning to be measured specifically.
29th Jun 2022 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhat Schools Really Learned From Remote Learning
Remote learning is—for now—a thing of the past in much of America’s K-12 system. But it’s not likely to stay that way forever. Some students are still learning remotely, if their district provides resources for that model. School districts will need long-term strategies, then, for engaging students when they aren’t physically present in school buildings, two researchers argue in a new paper.
28th Jun 2022 - EdWeek
Will online education become the 'next new normal?'
Professor Mark Brown, Director at the National Institute for Digital Learning at Dublin City University says there is “no doubt” that the pandemic was “a watershed moment in time” for online learning. However, a “strong tendency” to emulate as closely as possible the face-to-face experience of the traditional classroom meant that lessons learned from Distance Learning over many years were not always applied.
28th Jun 2022 - The Irish Times
Top tips for succesful online learning – The Irish Times
Learning online is not as simple as logging on and absorbing the information: it requires a different approach from both learner and teacher. We asked the experts how students can make the most of an online or blended learning approach.
28th Jun 2022 - The Irish Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullWarnings of mental health crisis among ‘Covid generation’ of students
The pandemic has had a lasting legacy on the mental health of the “Covid generation” of students, exacerbating rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm and resulting in a “significant rise” in young people struggling at university, experts have said. UK universities have reported that more students are experiencing mental health problems in the aftermath of the pandemic, and that this is expected to continue with the cohort arriving in September, whose school experience was heavily disrupted by the pandemic. The president of the National Union of Students, Larissa Kennedy, said she was “deeply concerned” by the student mental health crisis, which was “getting worse”, with NUS research suggesting “the majority of students are burdened by anxiety”.
27th Jun 2022 - The Guardian
How to create digital training that will engage your learners
After surveying over 2,000 learners on their expectations from learning, this article delves into the findings and offers practical advice on what digital formats can be used and most importantly when to use them. How can you use interactive elements to bring the learning to life? When does scenario-based learning help engage your audience?
27th Jun 2022 - Virtual College
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullStudents look back on COVID warped school year: ‘It was this feeling of finality’
The final bell is about to ring at the end of a topsy-turvy school year warped by the COVID-19 crisis. Many Canadian students cautiously returned to class this fall under strict pandemic protocols, such as mandatory masking and social distancing. As younger kids became eligible for vaccination late last year, it seemed like schools were settling into new routines. That was soon upended by the rampant spread of the Omicron variant, which saw some provinces extend winter breaks or switch to remote learning.
26th Jun 2022 - Global News
NYC rolling out 2 virtual learning programs with aim to turn them into fully remote schools by 2023
New York City is rolling out two virtual learning programs for high schoolers — with the aim to turn them into full-blown remote schools by 2023. The new initiative, called “A School Without Walls,” will offer hybrid and virtual learning for 200 rising ninth graders this fall. Officials described the program as moving “beyond the classroom,” giving students more freedom and flexibility to earn a high school diploma.
26th Jun 2022 - New York Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow analytics can support online teaching
Even as they continuously improve their models, sharpen teaching practices and boost academic performance, universities have still found the need to identify areas of opportunity for providing quality service. One key party interested in this information is teachers: as they attend to students first-hand, they need to understand what concerns them and how they interact during classes. As we know, there has been an increase in digital classes across most higher education institutions, but such classes can often mean the teacher has only limited access to and knowledge of what happens during their teaching. Not visible, for example, are most direct interactions between students, nor the level of attention they pay to the class or the activities and so on.
23rd Jun 2022 - Times Higher Education
The Biggest Disruption in the History of American Education
The coronavirus caused by far the biggest disruption in the history of American education. Neither the Great Depression nor even the two World Wars imposed anything close to as drastic a change in how America’s schoolchildren spent their days. When schools closed, they shut children out of the place where much of this growth happens. Some of the lost growth was academic and social, as school closures cut children off from teachers and friends. These losses were compounded by children’s exclusion from an array of other goods and services. In the United States, almost all public services for school-age children in some way run through schools.
23rd Jun 2022 - The Atlantic
New study out of Michigan shows students in virtual learning had academic, social and sleep issues
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, data show an estimated 55 million children in the U.S. were impacted by changes to school formats. Many of those kids had to turn to virtual learning from home. “Parents were trying to do their best, educators were trying to do their best. Everyone was really trying to make the best, most important decisions for their children,” said Dr. Kimberley Levitt, Clinical Assistant Professor for the Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Michigan and a Michigan Medicine Researcher.
23rd Jun 2022 - ABC Action News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullLiteracyPlanet extends its online learning offer
LiteracyPlanet has teamed up with two new partners to further extend its range of online tutorials and learning resources. The initiative sees the Australia-based literacy platform teaming up with the learn-to-code video streaming service, CODEFLIX, and Matific, a tool for the intuitive teaching of maths.
22nd Jun 2022 - Education Technology
Back to class: London-area students opting out of remote learning in droves
In Ontario, local school boards have seen a steep decline in the number of students who want to learn virtually, a sign families may be viewing pandemic online classes as a thing of the past, officials say.
22nd Jun 2022 - London Free Press
How teachers supported children and parents through COVID-19 school closures
School closures resulted in a dramatic shift in the role that parents were required to play in their children’s learning. Teachers’ expectations of parents shifted from supporting learning at home, based on what children were doing at school, to being integrally involved in schooling at home. New research sheds light on the obstacles that parents and teachers faced, but also the effective strategies that teachers used to get parents involved with their children’s learning.
22nd Jun 2022 - The Conversation UK
Are the Russian covid-vaccine results accurate?
Dr Sheldrick’s team published their analysis on June 20th in the American Journal of Therapeutics. It was motivated by concerns that other researchers had raised earlier about one particular pattern in the Sputnik V paper: the vaccine’s efficacy was almost identical in each of the five age groups shown. The Russian scientists’ answer was that these results reflected a true efficacy that did not differ by age. But clinical trials are usually affected by all sorts of random circumstances, known as “noise” in the jargon. The implication is that, in this particular trial, the various sources of noise cancelled one another out in a way that generated a pattern of equivalent efficacy in all age groups.
22nd Jun 2022 - The Economist
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullStudents call for better pandemic teaching methods and learning materials
Students from Uganda, Zimbabwe and Brazil have won the 2022 FT/World Bank blog competition on how to improve education during the pandemic. Most students argued that online learning was no substitute for face-to-face interaction in schools, but some also highlighted the benefits of technology and called on policymakers to be more flexible and explore combining the best elements of both approaches. Many cited the damaging effects of lockdowns on mental health, the inability of online learning to provide a substitute for the social aspects of studying and the “digital divide” of poor internet access in many regions and countries around the world.
21st Jun 2022 - Financial Times
Michelle McIlveen announces qualification arrangements for next academic year
In Ireland, education minister Michelle McIlveen said arrangements for next year’s qualifications will "acknowledge the unprecedented disruption our education system has faced" due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, students had to rely on teacher-assessed grades as the pandemic led to the closure of schools and pupils moved to remote learning. This year marked the first time in three years that pupils have sat A-levels, AS levels and GSCEs. However, several courses were amended to allow for the continued loss of time in the classroom.
21st Jun 2022 - Irish News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe Peculiar Case of Space and its Relationship with Equity in Asynchronous Online Learning
For the asynchronous online student, there’s no true equivalent of a physical classroom—though we mostly operate with the idea that a virtual course in a learning management system replaces the common space of a physical classroom. The discussion board, for example, is the space for discourse, the lesson page is a space for lecture, and so on, but this is only that which appears at the surface level. The space that directly and most immediately affects learning is the combination of the mental and physical space a student is in when accessing the lessons of a course.
20th Jun 2022 - Faculty Focus
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullGoa to introduce 'virtual classrooms' across the state
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that the state is preparing to introduce 'virtual classrooms' in all schools, so that one good teacher can teach students across the state. While launching the class 7th regular curriculum teachers handbook under the Coding and Robotics Education in Schools (CARES), Sawant said that about 435 aided and non-aided schools in Goa will get such virtual classrooms.
19th Jun 2022 - Economic Times
Ontario school boards set virtual learning plans for 2022-23 year as interest drops
School boards across Ontario are nailing down virtual learning plans for the upcoming school year and some are finding that programming is challenging to offer, with significantly lower student interest. The province requires boards to offer remote learning as an option for the new school year, as is has for previous pandemic school years. But enrolment has declined each year, and not all boards are able to offer a full virtual school option.
19th Jun 2022 - Global News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe Parents Keeping Their Children in Pod Schools
Parents throughout the US sought out micro-schools and pod teaching through the pandemic’s first academic year, seeking a way for their children to socialize maskless and escape the confines of virtual learning. Many children later returned to public school, but parents who were especially resistant to masks began to see these alternatives as their only option. Then, in early March, Governor Phil Murphy lifted the statewide mandate—and yet this cluster of pods and micro-schools remained. Months of shared anger at schools had fostered solidarity among parents. That anger didn’t dissipate after mandates were lifted; it merely changed shape and direction.
16th Jun 2022 - New York Magazine
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullTeachers Warn of Pandemic's Cumulative Impact on US Students
Measuring the effects of the pandemic on students is challenging at this early stage. But researchers and teachers agree nearly all students were impacted in some way, even though each state and school navigated balancing safety and learning differently. The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University estimated that one-fifth of American students were enrolled in districts that continued virtual learning for the majority of the 2020-21 school year. Those students, they say, lost the equivalent of as much as 22 weeks of learning.
15th Jun 2022 - VOA News
The metaverse is much more than a virtual copy of your campus
After two years of virtual learning following Covid-19, the higher education environment is ripe with new ideas about what universities should become. Is the large lecture in a hall still fit for purpose? Does online learning offer greater opportunities to engage students who have to undertake part-time work? How do we reorientate the value of learning when artificial intelligence is creating opportunities for students to employ computers to write their essays? Do we still need exams where access to the internet is prohibited? These are serious conversations that require us to consider what knowledge and expertise means in a digital age. For these reasons we begin to see more interest in the metaverse from within HE, but this shift is embryonic.
15th Jun 2022 - Times Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in full'Inspirational' teachers awarded in Perth for their efforts during Covid-19 pandemic
Teachers who were at the forefront of providing free virtual geography lessons for secondary school pupils stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic have been awarded medals by the Perth-based Royal Scottish Geographical Society. The Tivy Education Medal has been presented to a group of volunteers and inspirational teachers, for their collective work during the pandemic. When Covid-19 struck, there were very limited learning resources for students during lockdown. RSGS pulled together a small team of teachers and film makers to try and help. The team created 26 virtual Chalk Talks lessons covering the entire National 5 and Higher Geography curriculum, from glaciers to coasts, cities to deserts, and everything in between.
14th Jun 2022 - The Courier
The pandemic’s remote learning environment shows promise for international students
As colleges and universities move back to in-person instruction, lessons from online learning implemented during the pandemic have revealed special insights for supporting international students studying in Canada. The adjustments made to education through the pandemic provide a surprising solution to key economic and academic difficulties international students experience. By adopting a hybrid or low-residency model for programs with large numbers of international students, colleges and universities would afford these students the opportunity to find reasonable housing outside of urban hotspots, to better balance work and school timetables, and to relinquish transportation costs.
14th Jun 2022 - University Affairs
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning linked to sleep, behavioral disruption in elementary students: study
Elementary school children involved in pandemic-related remote learning faced greater disruptions in sleep habits and behavior than children learning in person, according to a new small study. Researchers surveyed close to 300 parents with children ages 5-10 throughout Michigan between February and March 2021, as some schools returned to the classroom and others opted to stay online, noting their focus was to uncover pandemic-era learning’s impact on children’s foundational period.
13th Jun 2022 - The Hill
Research aims to refine digital learning to help children stay on track
Many believe the gold standard in raising children is to keep them away from technology as much as possible. But Karen Murcia, an associate professor at Curtin University and a chief investigator with the National Centre for the Digital Child, attributed that to a "dated" study that investigated the impacts of small children watching television. She said it could not be applied to today's interactive digital offerings. She has begun a new research project to examine, in detail, how the use of digital technologies can assist and influence young children's educational outcomes.
13th Jun 2022 - ABC.Net.au
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullColleges 'reinventing' virtual student exchange
Rather than repeating other institutions’ mistakes, universities should embrace established ‘modalities’ for collaborative online international learning – and appreciate it as more than a Covid stopgap.
12th Jun 2022 - Times Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning was even tougher for migrant parents. Here’s what they want schools to know in case lockdowns return
When COVID forced school closures, many parents found themselves more involved than ever with their children’s learning. For some parents, it was hard work but broadly achievable. Many migrant parents, however, found themselves at a distinct disadvantage. Parental engagement is strongly linked to student learning outcomes. With learn-from-home likely to return the next time there is a pandemic or other emergency, it’s important we understand why many migrant families found this mode of education delivery so incredibly challenging – and how the system can be improved.
9th Jun 2022 - The Conversation
Biden administration lays out its plan for Covid-19 vaccinations for children under 5
The White House has announced a highly anticipated Covid-19 vaccine rollout plan for children under 5. The administration "has made 10 million vaccine doses available for states, Tribes, territories, community health centers, federal pharmacy partners, and others to pre-order," according to a White House fact sheet shared with CNN Wednesday. It is partnering with those entities to ship and distribute vaccines across the country following next week's meeting of the US Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisers -- who will review data on these vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna -- and expected authorization from the full FDA.
The first vaccinations could start "as early as the week of June 20 —with the program ramping up over time as more doses are delivered and more appointments become available," according to the fact sheet. CNN previously reported Covid-19 vaccination shots for the youngest Americans could begin as soon as June 21.
9th Jun 2022 - CNN
COVID vaccine rights waiver within reach, WTO chief says ahead of meeting
Ministers from across the globe are convening for a conference at the World Trade Organization in Geneva for the first time in more than four years from June 12-15. It comes at a critical juncture for the body and for global trade. The meeting, delayed twice by COVID-19, is a chance for the 27-year-old body to prove it can respond to what Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has described as a "polycrisis" of economic, health, environmental and security challenges.
9th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe 'Homework Gap' Persists. Tech Equity Is One Big Reason Why
Nearly a third of U.S. teenagers report facing at least one academic challenge related to lack of access to technology at home, the so-called “homework gap,” according to new survey from the Pew Research Center.
8th Jun 2022 - edweek.org
Virtual school evolves, even as the pandemic wanes
Prior to the pandemic, virtual education was kind of a niche product. It’s existed for decades, but it wasn’t an option that many public schools in the U.S. provided. During the pandemic, school districts had to offer it. And some of their students — or, to put them in Marketplace parlance, their “customers” — got a taste for it, which means public schools have had to rethink how to keep those customers happy.
8th Jun 2022 - Marketplace
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow to screen remote-learning apps for privacy
Educational apps are supposed to help children learn how to add, subtract, spell and read. Behind the scenes, they’re doing a whole lot more including gathering data about students that can be used to target them with ads, privacy experts say. A new study from advocacy group Human Rights Watch found that 90 percent of educational tools are collecting data that they then send on to advertising tech companies.
7th Jun 2022 - Washington Post
Zoom School Was No Education for My Math Students
It is obvious that all math courses have a prequel and a sequel. Academic year 2020-21 placed nearly all students in a remote-learning setting. That year, I taught—and I use the term loosely—algebra-I, the prerequisite for geometry and algebra-II. Each day I kept track of the number of students who were actively engaged. All students had the option of clicking on the appropriate Zoom link, then tuning in or tuning out. On average, 20% were active, attentive participants. These 20% got a mediocre math education via distance learning. The 80% who opted out got virtually no math education along with a year’s worth of backsliding.
7th Jun 2022 - Wall Street Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullUses for Audiovisual Technology Beyond Remote Learning
K–12 school districts invested in many remote learning devices for teachers and students to ensure continued education during the pandemic. Districts rolled out one-to-one device programs and opted for peripherals that supported remote learning. Of these, webcams and microphones were two of the most popular products. Frequently, districts purchased USB plug-and-play peripherals for learning, but they also made large investments in classroom technology such as pan-tilt-zoom cameras. These technologies served as a life raft during emergency remote learning. However, now that students are largely back in classrooms, some schools are struggling to find ways to use these audiovisual devices.
6th Jun 2022 - EdTech Magazine: Focus on K-12
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullVirtual Learning Made Persistent Problems Worse for English-Learners
Bit by bit researchers continue to piece together how virtual learning impacted English-language learners’ education, from limiting vital in-person interactions with teachers and peers to leaving some without a robust support system at home. A new report from the Government Accountability Office released in May found that teachers who were teaching in a virtual environment with at least 20 percent English-learners reported that their students “struggled with understanding lessons and completing assignments, having an appropriate workspace, accessing school meals, and getting assistance at their workspace.”
5th Jun 2022 - Education Week
E-learning is a burden for the deaf and hard of hearing
When considering deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) population, research recognizes that fatigue due to communication challenges and multi-focal attention allocation is a significant concern. Given the putative heightened demands of distance learning on deaf and hard of hearing students, we investigate how an online environment might differently affect deaf and hard of hearing participants, compared to hearing participants, Portuguese Sign Language (PSL) users and non-users. Our findings show that the deaf and hard of hearing group present higher values in the post-task fatigue rates with significant differences from the hearing group (non-PSL users).
5th Jun 2022 - Nature.com
How the pandemic and remote learning have impacted teens
In many ways, the switch to virtual learning was an unexpected, unplanned experiment that was conducted on millions of school-age children. More than two years on, there’s new information about the impact that switch has had on teens between 13 and 17 years old and their parents. In a survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Center, there are signs that some things are returning to the way they were before the pandemic, but some teenagers feel left behind. The survey found that most kids have kept close relationships with friends and families over the pandemic and that they prefer going to school in person more than remotely. However, there are notable differences in how the pandemic, specifically remote learning, has affected Black and Hispanic teenagers and lower-income families.
5th Jun 2022 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullUsing Virtual Teachers to Help Fill Vacancies: Some Pros and Cons
For-profit companies, including Elevate K12 and Proximity Education, offer districts the opportunity to fill hard-to-staff positions in everything from 6th grade reading to AP Physics, using virtual teachers who may be working in a completely different area of the country. The option is becoming increasingly popular. Is this a clever solution to teacher shortages, or another instance of shortchanging the neediest kids? It depends on who you ask. Here are some pros and cons, according to the companies and their critics.
31st May 2022 - EdWeek
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st May 2022
View this newsletter in fullCurriculum narrowing in wake of pandemic, find inspectors
Scottish schools are dedicating more time to literacy, numeracy and wellbeing as they emerge from the pandemic - but "in a few cases" this has been to the detriment of other subjects, finds a new review by school inspectors. According to the review, it was more difficult to develop practical skills during periods of remote learning because "teachers faced challenges in directly observing young people demonstrating their skills in practical science and drama" and pupils did not always have "access to appropriate resources, materials and equipment".
30th May 2022 - TES News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullDistance learning: Just a stop-gap arrangement or a sustainable way of study
Schools and colleges across the country shifted to online mode during Covid as the enforcement of lockdown and social distancing rendered classroom teaching impractical. In all cases, parents were keen to safeguard their children against the virus and hence were not mentally prepared for the traditional classroom studies.
The country was adapting to the innovation of distance learning (or eLearning as it is popularly called), But in effect it is online method of instruction while distance learning as previously known varies from the new evolving scenario. Online Classes or Distance Learning is in fact the new version of correspondence course. The new way of learning requires computer, smartphone, reliable internet connection, whereas in correspondence course an address(for sending study materials) was the only thing required. Online classes or distance learning has got an edge over correspondence learning as in this mode of education the teacher and students can interact simultaneously, by sitting at the comfort of their home/ preferred location and see each other.
28th May 2022 - Times of India
Using Virtual Teachers to Fill Vacancies: Smart Solution or Big Mistake?
Those are the the pitches Proximity Learning and Elevate K12, rapidly growing for-profit companies that live-stream teachers into classrooms nationwide, make to districts struggling to find an algebra or physics instructor. The companies’ approach to virtual learning, they say, offers more than just help for districts in filling vacancies and the chance for teachers to set their own hours and work from anywhere: It provides a glimpse into the future of K-12 education. Staffing shortages and the desire to prepare kids for in-demand jobs will eventually propel many schools to offer a combination of face-to-face teachers and this new live-streaming model, said Shaily Baranwal, Elevate K12’s founder and CEO.
26th May 2022 - EdWeek.org
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullParents' evening: should they happen in-person or remotely?
As with so many aspects of school life, headteachers were forced to move parents' evenings online during the coronavirus pandemic. But while teaching and learning is now back to in-person delivery, many schools are weighing up whether to return to in-person parents' evenings or keep them virtual. Here, two teachers discuss the pros and cons of each approach, and look at what leaders need to consider when making the decision.
26th May 2022 - tes.com
Virtual learning apps tracked and shared kids' data and online activities with advertisers, report says
Millions of students who participated in virtual learning during the Covid-19 pandemic had their personal data and online behaviors tracked by educational apps and websites without their consent and in many cases shared with third-party advertising technology companies, a new report has found. Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy organization, this week published the findings of an investigation conducted from March 2021 to August 2021 that looked into the educational services, including online learning tools, used by students all over the world when school districts shifted to remote learning.
26th May 2022 - CNN
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullOnline Learning Can Help Minimize Racism and Ableism In and Out of the Classroom
As pandemic restrictions continue to ease, many colleges and universities are looking to ramp up their on-campus classes and activities. However, it seems that many marginalized students would like to stay remote. In fact, 68 percent of Black students and 60 percent of Hispanic students feel positive about online learning, and the transition to virtual learning has offered some students with disabilities new educational modalities. Of course, every college student is different, and online learning won’t impact everyone in the same way. But the virtual classroom presents its own unique benefits — and challenges — for racially diverse and disabled students.
25th May 2022 - EdTech
Virtual learning compromised kids' privacy and security
There was also a cybersecurity consequence to virtual learning during the pandemic. The distance learning apps that schools used frequently scooped up reams of information about students, dramatically undermining their privacy and security, an international investigation has found. The apps grabbed personal information, including locations, and tracked the online behavior of millions of students
25th May 2022 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe online learning phenomenon impacts higher education; 17.3M students enrolled in 2021
During the pandemic, 98% of universities in the U.S. switched to remote learning. Since then, more students are continuing with online study, with 17.3 million students in the U.S. studying online in 2021 – either full-time or partially.
24th May 2022 - St George News
Tech Tip: Choosing digital tools for a virtual classroom
Technology is responsible for some amazing advances in education. However, most of us in the classroom want to be great teachers, not IT experts. I’m a former math teacher now dedicated to developing and innovating virtual curricula for hundreds of virtual teachers across a variety of subjects. So the question I most often get from teachers is: What digital tools should I be using in my classroom?
24th May 2022 - Smartbrief
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullPandemic school reopenings were not just about politics
Almost as soon as some schools reopened for in-person learning in the fall of 2020, research was suggesting a tidy, albeit dark, conclusion about why they did: politics. Early analyses indicated that Covid-19 health factors had virtually nothing to do with reopening decisions, and partisan politics could explain nearly all the variation. Further analyses show a more complicated picture.
23rd May 2022 - Vox.com
What Should We Call the In-Person and Virtual Meetings?
For teaching and learning, we use the term “hybrid” to describe a course that has both in-person and online components. A hybrid degree program is customarily understood as one delivered primarily online and that contains some expectations of on-campus and face-to-face contact hours. The closest language that we have for mixed in-person/Zoom meetings in a course setting is HyFlex. Students in a HyFlex course can choose if they want to attend physically (in class) or virtually (by Zoom or whatever platform is used).
23rd May 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd May 2022
View this newsletter in fullVirtual Is the New Reality for M.B.A. Students
More business schools are venturing into virtual reality, using video delivered via headsets to immerse students in far-flung locales. The pandemic forced many M.B.A. programs to curtail international travel just as VR technology took off and headsets proliferated. Now, early experiments such as Dartmouth’s are prompting more schools to explore the technology, both in classes and as part of the overall student experience.
22nd May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Kids Are Far, Far Behind in School
Starting in the spring of 2020, school boards and superintendents across the US faced a dreadful choice: Keep classrooms open and risk more COVID-19 deaths, or close schools and sacrifice children’s learning. In the name of safety, many districts shut down for long periods. But researchers are now learning that the closures came at a stiff price—a large decline in children’s achievement overall and a historic widening in achievement gaps by race and economic status. The achievement loss is far greater than most educators and parents seem to realize. The only question now is whether state and local governments will recognize the magnitude of the educational damage and make students whole.
20th May 2022 - The Atlantic
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullEducation secretary refuses to stop plans for more online learning in the Western Isles
In Scotland, Western Isles Council is planning to to make some specialist subjects available remotely across the islands’ four secondary schools at the same time. Pupils learning remotely would be supervised at school by an adult, but not necessarily a teacher. Donald Cameron, Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, wants the education secretary to step in. He says it could hold back children’s progress and “undermine the role of professional teachers”.
19th May 2022 - The Press and Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullRealizing the vision: Education technology paving the way to interactive learning
EdTech platforms have redefined education by making learning more student-centric and engaging. With the introduction of learning applications, video lessons, virtual labs, and peer-to-peer discussion portals, students can not just take ownership of their learning but also build on their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This contributes to a boost in their academic performance and their overall development through the inculcation of lifelong skills.
18th May 2022 - India Times
Remote teaching during the pandemic disadvantages students in New Jersey's lower-income school districts
The rollout of remote teaching in New Jersey during the COVID-19 pandemic was haphazard, under-resourced, inequitably delivered, contributed to student and teacher stress and may exacerbate digital and social inequality, according to a Rutgers study. By analyzing responses from structured interviews with a sample of 21 K-12 public school teachers, the researchers found students in lower-income school districts experienced inequities in online teaching and learning opportunities, compared with students in middle-income and wealthier districts.
18th May 2022 - Phys.Org
Law students report online learning gains, but in-person still wins out
A new survey of law students shows that more of them are coming around to online classes. Students surveyed this spring by AccessLex Institute and Gallup had better things to say about their remote or hybrid classes than they did a year ago, indicating that law schools improved their online offerings during the two-year pandemic. In-person instruction still takes the prize: Among surveyed students who took most or all of their classes remotely this year, 72% rated their program as either good or excellent, compared to 78% of those who took classes in person. But that’s a much smaller gap than in 2021, when 57% of online J.D. students and 76% of in-person students gave their program high marks.
18th May 2022 - Reuters
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullVideo Games as an Effective Learning Medium – Are we there yet?
Considering the popularity of gaming, it begs the question: is there potential beyond pure entertainment? Have we found a way to make gaming viable for education, or is it destined to just be a fad? When considering this, it’s important to understand the gap that often exists between the actual appeal of gaming and what education has typically tried to gamify. As well as the extent of its ability to effectively teach different practices and emulate real-world scenarios.
17th May 2022 - FE News
Remote classes affected students and teachers differently worldwide: Waterloo study
Switching to remote learning affected university students and teachers quite differently in developed and developing countries, a Waterloo study found. Researchers from the University of Waterloo analyzed the impact of shifting to “emergency response teaching” in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They collected data from developing countries, including Bangladesh, Malaysia and China, and developed countries, including Canada, the United States, Germany and Spain, through a combination of surveys and interviews with students and teachers.
17th May 2022 - The Record
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullRobust Technology Supports Higher Education Cybersecurity Training Programs
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts jobs in information security will grow by 31 percent by 2029. To address both current and expected workforce shortages, higher education is ramping up its offerings, with cybersecurity exploding as an academic discipline. It takes robust technology to support learning, both in person and remotely, in this tech-centric field of study.
16th May 2022 - Ed Tech
How Could Universities Use the Metaverse in the Future?
Implementing virtual reality into education could have a positive impact for students and the social aspect of school and university. Over the past few years, remote learning has become a key issue for students. With the World Economic Forum reporting that registrations for online courses shot to 92 million in 2021. However, learning over video calls can have an effect on students’ engagement, as reported by Ofqual. This could mean by improving the online environment in which students learn, the social and creative element of the Metaverse could change how students learn and interact positively
16th May 2022 - FE News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe impact of remote learning and what it’s meant for the advancement of edtech
Peter Claxton, senior director for edtech solutions at ViewSonic, offers his opinion on where schools turn next in their technology journey. He explains that "the ability to meet others online in a classroom, or lecture theatre is something we are going to see emerging from the edtech world. Children are used to playing in various gaming environments in an immersive environment and the technology now will allow that to happen."
13th May 2022 - Education Technology
Using remote learning technology to boost student engagement and interaction
As face-to-face teaching returns, educational technology can be used to boost student engagement in ways that are not possible in a physical classroom. Ironically, remote learning has opened the opportunity for more intimate instruction, not less. Use online learning spaces to divide large classes into small groups via “virtual tables”, organised by student comprehension, subject matter interest, location, native language or nothing at all.
13th May 2022 - THE Campus
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullGamification Of EdTech: Virtual Learning On The Road To The Metaverse
Increasingly, as 76% of U.S. kids play video games weekly, educators are looking to video games as a solution. The gamification of remote learning is moving to the next level through immersive virtual reality (VR) content, which is already used to train employees in construction, motor and aviation industries. Exciting game-based elements can entrance students with their variations of accessibility and creative communities. Instead of watching a lecture, students learning in video game-type simulations gain exposure to the emerging metaverse of connected online worlds.
12th May 2022 - elearningworld.eu
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullGame-Based Learning Prepares K–12 Students for a Digital Future
As educators seek tools for online environments, one of the solutions they’re increasingly turning to is game-based learning. One of the best ways for students to learn is through play, and growing up in a digital world, they are already playing video games outside the classroom. Bringing learning to students in a format with which they’re already familiar can help K–12 educators deliver important lessons. Video games can be used to teach students about the complex problems in the modern world, and they can teach students how to be better prepared for the future.
11th May 2022 - EdTech
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullIt's time for educators to embrace the powers of AI and virtual reality
AI is utterly different to conventional digital technology because it is both adaptive — it personalises itself to the individual student and teacher — and it is autonomous — it operates independently, allowing students to learn at their own times of day, in their optimal way, and in their location of choice. It is akin to each student having a personal tutor and teacher in each and every subject, presenting them with material and giving them feedback and pastoral advice, at their beck and call any hour of night and day, 365 days a year. When allied to virtual reality (VR), AI offers students mind-boggling experiences, with experiments in science, modelling in mathematics and the social sciences, and scenarios in literature and history, beyond the imagination, literally, of those presiding over our education system at present.
10th May 2022 - The Times
NYC to launch two ‘full-time’ virtual schools, education officials say
New York City is planning to launch two fully virtual schools, top education department officials said during a City Council hearing on Tuesday, though key details about how and when they will be created have yet to be revealed. City officials told local lawmakers that launching the “full-time” virtual schools will be part of the solution to high rates of chronic absenteeism and re-engaging students in the wake of pandemic disruption. About 37% of the city’s K-12 students are on track to be chronically absent, defined as missing at least 10% of the school year, substantially higher than the years before the pandemic.
10th May 2022 - Chalkbeat New York
Virtual learning set poor children even further behind, study shows
Students in high-poverty schools paid a far higher price for virtual learning than did their peers in low-poverty schools, leaving vulnerable students even further behind than when the pandemic started, according to a working paper published last week by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The authors focused on the costs of virtual learning and warned of dire consequences from not addressing the gaps.
10th May 2022 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullCPS expands access to remote learning: 'For kids who are high risk ... this is a very good option'
Alaina is a student in the Virtual Academy, the remote-learning option Chicago Public Schools introduced in August for “medically fragile” students as the district returned to full-time, in-person learning for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. CPS recently announced it is relaxing the academy’s admission guidelines for the fall and increasing access to advanced coursework. The Tribune spoke with parents of four children enrolled in the academy this year. They shared differing experiences, but each said they were grateful for the program because they were able to limit exposure to the coronavirus.
9th May 2022 - Chicago Tribune
Virtual learning or hybrid learning: How do we choose?
With a more flexible workforce and the popularity of hybrid working comes a need for L&D practitioners to meet the learning requirements of those working in home, remote and office settings. The challenge we now have is knowing when it is appropriate to go virtual and when we choose hybrid. More and more clients and employers are asking if training sessions can accommodate both ‘on the Zoom’ (other platforms are available) and ‘in the room’, without considering the impact or fear behind that question!
9th May 2022 - TrainingZone.co.uk
Khan Academy: the maths teacher with 135 million pupils
The Khan Academy now has more than 135 million registered users in 190 countries and operates in 51 languages. It offers thousands of free video tutorials and exercises to anybody with an internet connection. At the start of the pandemic, when schools closed around the world, the number of minutes spent learning on the website tripled almost overnight from 30 million to 85 million a day.
9th May 2022 - The Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow a tutoring service helps students with learning deficits
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, students continue to struggle to make up the learning deficit that came with reduced and compromised learning opportunities. Math test scores saw the greatest loss according to research from The Anneberg Institute. Of the $122.7 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act, 20% is to be used by local elementary and secondary education agencies to address learning loss. “There’s really a need for programs that can address the learning loss that’s happened in the last couple of years,” Kevin Kemper, co-owner of online math tutoring program My Math Experts.
8th May 2022 - Azed News
Taiwan donates multimedia classroom equipment to Saint Lucia
Taiwan's embassy in Saint Lucia recently donated equipment for two multimedia classrooms, to help strengthen basic education and digital literacy in the Caribbean island nation. The equipment, which includes 65-inch interactive screens and high-definition cameras and speakers, can be used to facilitate remote classes, musical performances and virtual meetings, according to the Taiwan embassy in Saint Lucia.
8th May 2022 - Focus Taiwan
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe Conversation About Quality in Online Learning: Key Podcast
This week’s episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’s news and analysis podcast, explores the special report, “The Evolving Conversation About Quality in Online Learning.” The report explores a wide range of issues around the current and future state of technology-enabled learning to try to help administrators and faculty members prepare to deliver high-quality virtual instruction, however it fits into their institutional missions. Lori Williams, president and CEO of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), discusses the report and its implications for colleges, professors and policy makers. Williams discusses how the pandemic has changed perceptions and practices around online education and how to judge quality in virtual learning, among other topics.
5th May 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Writing Effective Recommendations for Remote Students
Many students have been struggling to request and secure letters of recommendation during the pandemic. They may be unsure how to ask for letters at the best of times, and with COVID and less face-to-face contact, they have faced even more barriers. This situation will only become more difficult when the faculty members whom students feel they know best refuse to provide letters and/or recommend they reach out to someone else. Just as faculty members have updated their practices to become effective remote teachers, they can rethink how to approach letters of recommendation and references for remote students.
30th Nov -0001 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullBiden Administration Awards Nearly $77 Million to Expand Internet Access for Dozens of Tribes
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded 19 grants as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. The grants, totaling nearly $77 million, are being awarded in 10 states, and will fund internet use and adoption projects to improve healthcare, workforce development, education, housing, and social services in tribal communities.
4th May 2022 - commerce.gov
Remote learning continues to affect student outcomes – study
Three-in-five (64%) Australian parents say their kids have been seriously impacted by continued disruptions due to COVID-19, new research shows. According to the latest data captured within the Real Education Report 2022, the past two years have left more than half (51%) parents feeling their children have fallen significantly behind academically and are struggling to catch up. In addition, 46% of parents also feel the constant disruptions will also lead to long-term impacts on their academic progress and job prospects.
4th May 2022 - The Educator
Study offers insight into how remote learning impacts motivation of school students
Over 40% of parents of primary school students and 38% of parents of secondary school students felt their child found remote learning 'difficult' or 'very difficult', according to new data from the Schools Infection Survey (SIS). 'Struggling with motivation' was reported as the main barrier to learning at home by 39% of primary school pupils' parents, 44% of secondary school pupils' parents and 55% of secondary school students themselves. The main concern for teachers about providing remote education was a lack of engagement from pupils (69% in primary and 74% in secondary).
4th May 2022 - News-Medical
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe Pros and Cons of Online Classes
Online courses have a bright future. It is not hard to imagine a world where students can freely access education that is relevant to their needs and flexible to their schedules. But as they exist today, university online courses are an implicit admission that many schools treat education solely as a series of hurdles to be jumped through. The structure of a typical online course reveals that the goal is not learning but to prove that an attempt at learning was made.
3rd May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Op-Ed: Virtual internships and learning experiences are just as valuable as in person ones
Roger Adkins is the executive director of the Center for Global Education at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana..He writes: "As the pandemic picked up steam, our signature global learning programs and fully funded internship and research program at Earlham College were abruptly paused. As our students and faculty shifted to online coursework, many did so for the first time in their young lives or long careers. Virtual internships and online global learning experiences were offered simply to fill the void. But instead of reading student reflections decrying these as second-rate experiences, I’ve heard a refreshing narrative for the last two years." "Despite missing out on the more esoteric kind of learning when we experience things in real life, many who work in the experiential education space are learning that online internships and virtual study abroad experiences have significant capacity to prepare young people for the world of work while sharpening their worldviews."
3rd May 2022 - Yahoo
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd May 2022
View this newsletter in fullFour lessons from online learning that should stick after the pandemic
What have we really learned about online education? And what do we do now? Online learning isn’t new, and lessons can be drawn from existing research and experience. Athabasca University pioneered the world’s first online MBA, M.Nursing and M.Ed progams over 28 years ago. And today, it’s one of Canada’s leading online universities. The experience of online pioneers highlights four distinct aspects of online learning that should stick post-pandemic: learning to learn online, designing online teaching with purpose, blending space and time online and continued disruption with AI.
2nd May 2022 - The Conversation
Empowerment, Exit and Entrepreneurship Will Continue to Transform Education
Over the past two years of social and economic disruption, U.S. education has experienced an extraordinary transformation that can best be defined by 3 “Es”: Empowerment, Exit and Entrepreneurship.
2nd May 2022 - Forbes
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullAn Educational Revolution Waiting To Happen
Most American kids don’t have access to an adequate education. Online or remote learning could increase access to quality education for vast numbers of people by an order of magnitude. For most people, the excellence of long-distance learning could even become superior in many ways to anything else they can currently afford, even if education within a brick-and-mortar setting remained of higher quality for the few who can afford it. A universal embrace of online learning would represent a seismic uptick in opportunity for entire societies.
28th Apr 2022 - Forbes
2 years after COVID, remote learning lessons are clear
It has become accepted wisdom in some quarters that remote education is simply worse across the board for students than traditional in-person models. Certain studies have blamed virtual education for learning loss, social isolation, mental health and behavioral issues, and more. However, using remote learning as a catch-all for a variety of school-related challenges (many of which existed before the pandemic) misses some nuances.
27th Apr 2022 - eSchool News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullReopening With Resilience: Lessons from remote learning during COVID-19 - Eastern and Southern Africa
The widespread school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the learning crisis for children living in Eastern and Southern Africa. The crisis has also shown the great need to develop resilient education systems that can provide learning when schools are forced to close. Understanding how to provide remote learning equitably utilizing multiple modalities and emphasizing low-tech solutions in Eastern and Southern Africa is critical given the great challenges facing the region in terms of electricity and connectivity access.
27th Apr 2022 - ReliefWeb
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning due to COVID-19 helps UMKC student with disability
With the introduction of lockdown browsers and proctoring, universities are able to maintain academic integrity while still allowing students the freedom to receive an education remotely. This is the future of the college experience for many people in unique circumstances, and the shift to online learning helps professors become more helpful and understanding.
26th Apr 2022 - UMKC
How Higher Ed Institutions Are Meeting the Demand for Student Devices
When universities pivoted to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, devices became even more crucial resources — which, for some students, proved problematic. An EDUCAUSE survey fielded the year before the pandemic struck found that although 99 percent of college students felt laptops were at least moderately important for academic success, 8 percent (potentially more than a million students) didn’t have access to one. While many universities provided devices to some students before 2020, the expanded use of online instruction has ushered in a new emphasis on device availability.
26th Apr 2022 - EdTech
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullFree virtual production learning platform launched at NAB
On April 24, 2022, Zero Density announces the launch of a new online learning platform for creators of real-time broadcast graphics and virtual sets, “Zero Density Academy.” Featuring more than 50 in-depth video lessons, Zero Density Academy enables broadcasters to learn future-proof skills and earn a globally recognized certification — all for free.
25th Apr 2022 - fenews.co.uk
More Canberra schools expected to go to remote learning in Term 2 as winter looms
More schools in Canberra are expected to switch to remote learning in Term 2 as all education systems brace for a winter COVID-19 wave. ACT public schools will have the toughest regulations when school returns, as Canberra's non-government schools and NSW schools loosen their restrictions.
25th Apr 2022 - The Canberra Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhat Happens to the Right to Education, Online?
We have seen how the pandemic not only amplified existing inequalities in access to education through school closures and disrupted teaching, but also altered the nature of the learning experience. In March 2020, UNESCO reported that 87% of the world’s school children had been affected by COVID-19-related school closures and cessation of learning, signalling a major rupture in education. In May 2021, Human Rights Watch called for governments to devote serious attention and resources to ameliorate, mitigate, and correct the long-standing inequalities in education systems that have been highlighted and exacerbated during the pandemic. Added to that, the camera is believed to have induced a whole new level of anxiety among ill-prepared teachers and learners, and exacerbated privacy violations, even as the question of the efficacy of a digitised education process remains unsatisfactorily answered
24th Apr 2022 - The Wire
Virtual STEM learning programs ramped up during the pandemic
The chasm of need for creative virtual learning experiences grew during the pandemic, especially in STEM classroom activities. Some organizations stepped up with programs to fill this learning gap that existed before schools went online and will continue to exist after kids are back in the classroom. “Many schools simply don’t have the resources to augment classroom instruction with valuable hands-on, experiential alternatives,” says Sarah Buhayar, Pacific Science Center board member and a director at the Gates Foundation.
24th Apr 2022 - Seattle Times
COVID changed the way colleges prepare future teachers
As COVID-19 brought winds of change in K-12 education, schooling of future teachers shifted, as well. Colleges of education in Oklahoma say they modified the way they prepare students for a career in education during the pandemic era. Readying future educators to teach virtually is the foremost adjustment, said Jon Pedersen, dean of Oklahoma State University’s College of Education and Human Sciences.
24th Apr 2022 - Oklahoman.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullThird of primary school leaders cutting edtech spending – report
Almost a third (32%) of primary school leaders say they have had to cut back on information technology (IT) equipment because of financial constraints, according to a new survey carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). In secondary schools, the figure is 20%. The findings form part of a report on catch-up funding published by the Sutton Trust. While a higher proportion of poll respondents reported having to cut back on teaching and support staff, the widespread reduction in edtech spending is nevertheless a cause for concern in its own right. As the move to remote learning during the pandemic underlined, poorer students and schools are on the wrong side of a digital divide, even without factoring in the likely impact of a cut in IT investment.
21st Apr 2022 - Education Technology
Stress Still Driving Students to Consider Stopping Out
Three-fourths of students in bachelor’s degrees programs and two-thirds of adults seeking associate degrees who considered taking a break from college within the last six months cited emotional stress, according to a new Gallup-Lumina report. The report also said that 44 percent of adults not currently enrolled in a college degree or certificate program have considered enrolling in the past two years. The report is based on a survey of 11,227 U.S. adults conducted last fall and expands on a 2020 study of U.S. higher education “that found rising concerns among students about the shift from in-person to remote learning. That research confirmed the spread of COVID-19 had jeopardized student retention, with about half reporting the pandemic was ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to affect their enrollment,” according to Gallup and the Lumina Foundation.
21st Apr 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Hybrid teaching harming teacher mental health
The extra time, energy and workload required to deliver hybrid teaching is having a detrimental effect on the health, safety and welfare of teachers, representatives heard at the Annual Conference of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union. Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary said, “Teachers have adapted to new ways of online working and embraced new tools out of necessity to help children while they were learning from home during the pandemic. But it cannot be right that their health and wellbeing have been affected adversely by the excessive workload required to deliver remote education."
19th Apr 2022 - HSM
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullMeta funds virtual classrooms at 7 universities complete with VR headsets
College students at schools from Georgia to Oregon will have a new back-to-school supply this fall: virtual reality headsets. Seven universities and colleges are opening digital twins of their campuses to offer an alternative to class via video call. Each school will roll out a digital twin of campus for students to attend either on campus or remotely. Each student will receive a Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset for use during the course. Courses will be synchronous as if they were attending class on a physical campus.
20th Apr 2022 - TechRepublic
Mixed-reality virtual learning platform secures £150k seed funding
Focus MRS, a mixed-reality virtual learning platform, has secured a £150,000 seed investment from Jenson Funding Partners . The technology is designed to enhance the teaching of practical subjects, such as construction, barbering, and personal training, with educators able to pre-record or stream 360-degree videos for students who can then watch them on their smartphone with the aid of a “low-cost” headset and VR viewer. Educators are provided with a 360-degree camera to capture the lesson, which they can then upload to the Focus MRS platform. Students can log in, review their lesson timetable, select the lecture, and put on their viewer.
20th Apr 2022 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe Gamification Of EdTech: Virtual Learning On The Road To The Metaverse
Exposure quarantines pushed remote classroom learning from the occasional into the commonplace. Both teachers and educational institutions are scrambling to identify new ways to improve distance learning experiences, engagement and equal access to tools and facilities in the post-pandemic world. Increasingly, as 76% of U.S. kids play video games weekly, educators are looking to video games as a solution. The gamification of remote learning is moving to the next level through immersive virtual reality (VR) content, which is already used to train employees in construction, motor and aviation industries.
19th Apr 2022 - Forbes
Research suggests that virtual learning is the most popular method for adults
New unweighted research into virtual learning, commissioned by learning management system provider Digits, has shown that watching online videos and taking part in online courses are now the most popular learning methods in the UK. On average, over one in four of the 2,000 people polled say they most enjoy learning via videos and courses on the internet (29% and 28% respectively), while face-to-face options, such as in-person classes with others present and one-to-one tutoring, were favoured by less than one in four people (23% and 19% respectively).
19th Apr 2022 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in full“We must show the same sense of urgency to abolish digital poverty for teachers as we do for children.”: Tackling the Digital Divide
The pandemic shone a spotlight on the number of children with limited digital access, and indeed a number of worthwhile schemes sprung up over the pandemic to provide children with devices to get them online. However, in the admirable efforts to improve digital access, one crucial group was neglected – teachers. Recent research from the Digital Poverty Alliance highlighted that 47% of teachers in the UK have struggled with digital connectivity. Many of them must share their home device with others in their household or simply do not have access to a device once they leave work. And when teachers cannot fully engage with technology, their pupils are directly affected, whether connecting remotely or engaging with digital learning in class.
18th Apr 2022 - FE News
Pandemic Learning Was Tough On Everyone. Bilingual Students Faced Additional Challenges
As with other problems that long dogged the education system, the pandemic exposed the lack of resources along with barriers that English-learning students face in receiving an equitable education, says Leslie Villegas, a senior policy analyst at New America’s Education Policy Program. She was part of a research duo that interviewed 20 English-language education leaders across the US to learn how they and students managed during virtual schooling. Their new report found that the sudden shift to remote instruction—and all its limitations—had a “disproportionate impact” on students who were learning English.
18th Apr 2022 - EdSurge
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullIs Tech Destroying Kids' Social Skills? Here's How Social-Emotional Learning Can Help
Technology’s effect on children’s social skills and well-being has caused a lot of hand-wringing over the years—and parents’ and educators’ concerns have only grown with the pandemic as students have done more socializing and learning on their digital devices. Social media, virtual learning, online gaming, and ubiquitous devices present new social challenges for kids. So, what social-emotional skills do they need to flourish in an increasingly tech-centric world, and are schools teaching them?
13th Apr 2022 - Education Week
Will virtual teaching become the new normal in UK independent education?
New research suggests more than a quarter of independent school teachers in the UK would consider virtual teaching permanently. Specialist education insurer Ecclesiastical has released research which suggests 28% of independent school teachers in the UK would consider taking on a virtual role permanently in the future.
The survey also found that a third of independent school teachers have seen an increase in virtual roles being advertised and two in five are more concerned about falling behind technological changes since the pandemic. Nine in 10 respondents said that their schools has invested in more technology since the pandemic.
13th Apr 2022 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullSome Colleges Are Ending Hybrid Learning. Students Are Pushing Back.
Johnny Ellsworth would like nothing more than to return to a classroom in a world without a pandemic, where the sophomore at Pomona College could “connect with people in a more intimate way than you might be able to over Zoom.” Instead, as a person who is immunocompromised, he wakes up every morning and checks his phone to see what the local Covid rates are before he heads to class, reminding himself of all the reasons his education is important to him, including his family and his future job.
11th Apr 2022 - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullEven in a virtual classroom, preschoolers can gain reading skills
When the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools nationwide, students of all ages — from high-schoolers in Advanced Placement classes to preschoolers getting the hang of the ABCs — shifted to remote learning on a screen. And while learning to read in an online setting may seem a tall order, a new study by the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences finds that children can develop key reading skills in a virtual classroom with other students. Researchers say their “Reading Camp” program demonstrates not only the effectiveness of the approach, but also the potential to reach larger numbers of students remotely, by necessity or by choice.
11th Apr 2022 - University of Washington
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow Can Immersive Learning Be Used in Hybrid Classrooms?
As the pandemic affected higher education and forced universities to think creatively about keeping students engaged from afar, immersive learning continued to gain traction as a virtual tool to bring previously inaccessible concepts, locations and objects directly to students using technology. It’s important to know what it is, the technology needed to use it, and its potential to impact remote and hybrid education models.
6th Apr 2022 - EdTech Magazine
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow Can Immersive Learning Be Used in Hybrid Classrooms?
As the pandemic affected higher education and forced universities to think creatively about keeping students engaged from afar, immersive learning continued to gain traction as a virtual tool to bring previously inaccessible concepts, locations and objects directly to students using technology. An EDUCAUSE QuickPoll conducted in November 2021 indicated that while many respondents were either not currently adopting extended reality technologies (34 percent), were in early stages of adoption (16 percent) or had adopted for a few specific projects (39 percent), 90 percent believed that extended reality adoption will increase over the next five years
7th Apr 2022 - EdTech
How COVID-19 Affected the Mental Health of Teens
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is shedding new light on how difficult the COVID-19 pandemic has been on high school students. The agency has released its first nationally representative survey of teens’ mental state during the COVID-19 outbreak. “With disruptions in normal routines and moving to virtual learning, students faced isolation, loneliness, and loss of structure in their day,” Dr Asha Patton-Smith said. “Many teens lost important connections forged in the school environment, both with peers and with school staff, which caused many students to lose their support systems"
7th Apr 2022 - Healthline
Reforming learning disorder diagnosis following COVID-19 educational disruption
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, millions of children across the globe have experienced the partial or full closure of schools and/or prolonged reliance on virtual learning. The effects of this ongoing educational disruption are still unfolding. Early studies from the COVID-19 era have associated educational disruption with increased mental health concerns (including depression and anxiety) and diminished learning gains (especially in maths and reading) in young people. Those affected by racial and economic disadvantages have been more likely to experience longer periods of educational disruption
7th Apr 2022 - Nature.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullUS and UK pupils want remote working options in higher education and employment
Remote learning may have been a temporary education measure during the pandemic, but for many students it has had a permanent impact – affecting their readiness for post-secondary education and career plans, future workplace outlooks, and choice of where to live. The majority (58%) of students surveyed said they envision a combination of remote and in-person work for their future careers, with nearly one in five stating that the ability to work remotely is a factor in their decision about what to study or what jobs they might pursue.
6th Apr 2022 - Independent Education Today
Did we really learn anything about schools in the pandemic?
If you Google “lessons learned about schools during the pandemic” you will see a long list of articles that purport to tell us about all the things we learned about teaching and learning in the two years since the coronavirus crisis began in March 2020. Many of the pieces highlight similar “lessons” — on inequity, technology, in-school learning, funding mechanisms and other issues — that seemingly hadn’t been thought of before. But for anybody paying the slightest bit of attention there is nothing on the list of pandemic school “lessons” that we didn’t already know before covid-19 — and for a long, long time.
6th Apr 2022 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullNearly One in Five Teenagers are Factoring the Ability to Work Remotely into Their University and Career Plans, Survey Shows
Remote learning may have been a temporary education measure during the pandemic, but for many students it has had a permanent impact — affecting their readiness for post-secondary education and career plans, future workplace outlooks, and choice of where to live. Those are some of the findings of a survey of 16- to 18-year-olds in the U.S. and U.K
5th Apr 2022 - FE News
Incorporating Asynchronous Learning in K–12 Districts
Asynchronous learning, an educational model in which students learn on their own schedule, is exploding in popularity in K–12 schools. As the number of devices and familiarity with online learning increase, districts are finding students prefer a more flexible schedule. There are many ways districts can approach this trending educational model, including flipped classrooms, virtual-only schools and through variations of blended learning, project-based learning and more. While it might seem overwhelming at first glance, it isn’t difficult to incorporate asynchronous learning into the classroom.
5th Apr 2022 - EdTech Magazine
Evolving Conversation About Quality in Online Learning: Special Report
Inside Higher Ed has publishing a new special report, “The Evolving Conversation About Quality in Online Learning.” This free print-on-demand report explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped both the practice and perceptions of online, hybrid and blended learning in postsecondary education. Among the topics it explores are changing student demands and expectations regarding online quality; growing institutional support and training for faculty members; how quality is judged in virtual learning, and who does the judging; and best practices for high-quality instruction, however it is delivered.
5th Apr 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullMore Brits would rather learn online than in-person
Given the choice, more people prefer to learn new skills and knowledge online – and most likely alone – than alongside other people. That’s according to new virtual learning research, commissioned by learning management system provider Digits, which reveals that watching online videos and taking part in online courses are now the most popular learning methods in the UK. On average, over one in four of the 2,000 people polled say they most enjoy learning via videos and courses on the internet (29% and 28% respectively), while face-to-face options, such as in-person classes with others present and one-to-one tutoring, were favoured by less than one in four people (23% and 19% respectively).
4th Apr 2022 - FE News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullStudent group work: how to improve engagement online
Online learning can leave students feeling lonely, disengaged and unmotivated. Because they do not attend classes in person on campus, they can lack a sense of belonging and do not readily identify with their university. Often they have never met their instructors in person and may never have visited the campus. Incorporating group activities into online college coursework can help increase engagement and a sense of belonging. With group work, online students collaborate to complete short assignments or long-term projects, all the while interacting with each other on a more personal level.
3rd Apr 2022 - Times Higher Education
Emergency remote teaching and the learning loss that came from it; Were Mass. educators properly trained to t
The pandemic disrupted classrooms across the US. A McKinsey study discovered that K-12 students are currently, on average, five months behind in their expected mathematics levels and four months behind in their expected reading levels. MCAS scores from 2019 and 2021 — the MCAS wasn’t offered in 2020 due to the pandemic — showed a decline in almost every grade level across Massachusetts. Professionals attribute the decline in test scores to the state-wide switch to emergency remote teaching during the 2020-2021 school year. “Drops were seen all over the commonwealth of Massachusetts including in our wealthier suburbs,” commissioner Jeffrey Riley said during a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting where the scores were unveiled. “These are drops we haven’t seen in decades.”
3rd Apr 2022 - MassLive.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullOrganisations harness the power of learning to support families in their communities
This year’s Family Learning Award shortlist, shows how organisations are using imaginative, innovative and inclusive ways to deliver learning opportunities which help families in their communities. The awards, organised by education charity Campaign for Learning, celebrate learning activities that supported families during lockdown and beyond and supported health and wellbeing. As to be expected, some of the top priorities for organisations were focused around the significant changes to how learning is delivered beyond the pandemic, keeping families connected, boosting mental health and ensuring everyone can access opportunities to learn.
31st Mar 2022 - fenews.co.uk
DfE warned over 'unrealistic' remote learning guidance
In England, updated government guidance on remote learning for schools has been criticised as "unrealistic" and "a distraction" by heads and teaching profession leaders. The non-statutory guidance, published this week, sets out expectations over how schools should "deliver high-quality remote education" when in-person teaching is not possible. Its suggestion that schools should consider "securing appropriate internet connectivity solutions where possible" has been described as a "huge demand".
30th Mar 2022 - tes magazine
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe challenges of large hybrid lecture courses (opinion)
Sarah Marsden Greene is a lecturer in economics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She writes: "The COVID-19 pandemic has forced monumental and continually shifting changes to the way we teach college students. As the spring 2022 semester has rolled along amid pressure from virus variants, part of me is still processing the fall 2021 semester. It was a semester in which the private four-year college where I teach economics courses faced the challenge of turning the tide of instruction modality from COVID-imposed online to in person. It was a transitional time, with most students returning to residential living, while a very few were not. In-person learning was no longer a modality deemed too risky but was practically a requirement, as in pre-COVID semesters. A rigorous approval process was in force for those students seeking remote learning, with many being flatly denied and forced to withdraw for the semester. Only a very few were approved for remote learning. The COVID-era of accommodating students in their many varied situations had ended as of fall 2021. As an instructor, part of my understanding for this hard-line approach is to prevent disgruntled parents from complaining that they are paying for room and board while their students are not attending class and, in the worst case, commencing lawsuits over tuition charged for online classes."
30th Mar 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Why we should let online elementary students lead
The role of elementary teachers has never been more important, especially as kindergarten through fifth grade students today are facing more change than ever before–from the effects of the pandemic to social media and stressful current events being right at their fingertips. According to The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the annual average learning gain for Kindergarten through second grade students is higher than at any time during a child’s years in school. This is why we both decided to become elementary school teachers–to make a positive impact in children’s lives during such a critical time of development and growth. While it is essential for students to understand and master their learning in elementary school, it is also important that students develop confidence, feel ownership over their work, and become passionate about learning
30th Mar 2022 - eSchool News
Covid closures still affecting 400 million pupils - Unicef
Schools in 23 countries, with 405 million pupils, are still partially or fully closed because of Covid, the United Nations Children's Fund says. The charity, Unicef, estimates 147 million children have missed at least half of their in-person schooling. Some vulnerable children, especially girls, have not returned to those schools that have reopened. Unicef executive director Catherine Russell says children are "the hidden casualties of the pandemic". While children have been less vulnerable to the most serious health effects of coronavirus, their lives have been turned upside down by the school closures of the pandemic.
30th Mar 2022 - BBC.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullTeaching data science: a guide to using online tools
Learning to code can be intimidating; first attempts can be frustrating and require repetition and feedback to gain confidence. Often learners will move at very different paces, depending on prior experience and confidence. As a result, online or blended learning, combining self-paced workbooks with instructor contact, can be the perfect environment for teaching data science. Luckily, there are many platforms and tools to enable successful blended learning
29th Mar 2022 - Times Higher Education
Remote education is here to stay - optimising the home learning environment
Remote education creates a pathway to develop skills outside of the traditional classroom, offering individuals the opportunity to learn without limits – on their own terms around other aspects of their lives. With remote education here to stay, there are some key considerations for both learners and providers to make the most of the experience.
28th Mar 2022 - FE News
Where Does Blended Learning Go from Here?
Education has always been a conduit to prosperity and opportunity. It is therefore critical that, as our approach to teaching evolves and becomes more digital, its value and accessibility improves, rather than diminishes. Research has shown that online learning is effective only if students have reliable access to the internet and computers, and if teachers have received adequate training and support. The truth of this sentiment was clear in a global survey of teachers in high-poverty schools who found virtual classes to be ineffective during the pandemic, rating them 3.5 out of 10. With blended learning, teachers report higher levels of engagement and an overall increase in motivation.
28th Mar 2022 - Education Technology
Report shows impact of pandemic on students’ performance
A statewide report on public school students in Connecticut during the pandemic has concluded that while graduation rates rose, other evidence showed evidence of learning loss. Those who learned in in-person settings during the 2020-21 school year lost the least ground academically, the Department of Education’s Condition of Education report concluded. That trend held true across all grades and most student groups. Those students who learned in hybrid or fully remote models showed “substantially weaker achievement and growth during the pandemic,” particularly in mathematics, according to the report.
28th Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe pandemic upended education. Two years later, what changes are here to stay?
Two years ago, the pandemic upended the education system. And while students are now back at their desks in before-times style, other parts of schooling will likely never be the same. From Chromebooks in classrooms to added mental health and social supports, some pandemic-induced changes appear to be here to stay — at least for now. What are COVID-19′s lasting impacts on the way kids learn, how schools operate, and how communities interact with them? Some educators and parents shared their perspectives.
27th Mar 2022 - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Enrolling and Engaging Online Learners: A Compilation
“Enrolling and Engaging Online Learners” is a new print-on-demand booklet from Inside Higher Ed. You may download the free compilation of news articles and essays here. On Wednesday, April 27, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, Inside Higher Ed will present a webcast to discuss the themes of the booklet and answer your questions.
27th Mar 2022 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullA teacher's tips for effective edtech integration
Integrating technology into the classroom offers numerous benefits for students, including increased communication and collaboration skills alongside better engagement. The first thing that needs to be done in order to successfully integrate technology in the classroom has to be instructing/training teachers to do so. Having professional development sessions offered yearly and up to date with the ever-changing tech tools that schools are offered would be something that every teacher could benefit from. Students, as a result, will reap the benefits of their teachers’ pedagogical tech skills.
24th Mar 2022 - eSchool News
How Virtual Learning Can Help Bridge the Skills Gap
Though online learning predates COVID-19, the pandemic quickened the pace of digital learning’s evolution in higher education. The last two years alone have seen an explosion in online courses and the expansion of online degree programs. Moving forward, higher education institutions must innovate to increase access, engagement and the overall experience for students of all types, while also embracing the idea of “lifelong learning,” said Judy Olian, president of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, during a webinar on “How Virtual Learning Is Enabling Lifelong Skill-Building.” Olian and three other panelists discussed where online education fits into the future of higher ed and how institutions must adapt moving forward.
24th Mar 2022 - U.S. News & World Report
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhy learning together is the future of online education
Following the ed tech revolution, we’re seeing an exciting and necessary evolution—one to address the elephant in the online classroom. The reality is that online learning engagement and completion rates are famously low. Learning leaders struggle to boost engagement, even when learners have access to content on nearly every skill imaginable. Not enough people are making the progress they want with online education. What is standing in the way? there are three core reasons: accountability, effectiveness, and connection.
23rd Mar 2022 - Fast Company
Virtual teaching: How to share resources with your music students
With the pandemic affecting everyone’s everyday lives, virtual learning has become the norm for a lot of students, parents and teachers. Many tutors and teachers wonder how they can make the most of the online world to make learning fun and effective. The same goes for learning and teaching music. It might be quite a change for some, but there are still ways to keep each other inspired. In this article, we will be looking at several ways in which teachers are able to share various resources with students virtually, so that they receive the same level of learning as they would within the classroom. But most importantly, these digital tools can help us maintain our love for learning and music.
23rd Mar 2022 - Mail and Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow colleges and universities are reimagning remote learning
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only accelerated trends towards online learning, but it also has broadened the types of people who want targeted skills training. These tools can help prepare them for jobs of the future. However, the ideal model has yet to be developed, as remote learning needs can vary dramatically from person to person. Across the sector, private universities and colleges are seeking outside assistance and advice from organizations such as IFC to help improve online learning offerings.
22nd Mar 2022 - WEForum
Staff absences due to Covid could spark return of remote learning, council warns
Edinburgh City Council, Fife Council and Dumfries and Galloway Council all said remote learning may have to be considered as the pandemic continues to rip through teachers and pupils. Director of education for Dumfries and Galloway council, Gillian Brydson, said individual classes or year groups could face the return to online learning despite the easing of restrictions. This is due to rising case numbers, she said, leading to “very challenging” situations for “a number of our schools and early years settings”.
22nd Mar 2022 - The Scotsman
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullChanging Classroom Paradigms Post-Covid
Mamta Saikia, Chief Executive Officer of Bharti Foundation, writes about the ways in which the pandemic has changed education in India: "we simply cannot go back to traditional teaching and learning processes. A lot has changed, and we have to rebuild our classroom strategies keeping in mind the way things have evolved."
21st Mar 2022 - BloombergQuint
Tasmania's education union calls for more support for teachers delivering virtual learning to COVID-impacted students
Teacher shortages in parts of Tasmania are making virtual learning impossible for children isolating at home due to COVID-19, the state's education union says. Children who are in the same household as an active case of COVID-19 are required to isolate for seven days from the date of the case diagnosis. This means that they are forced to do their education remotely, as is the case with children with COVID-19. Australian Education Union state president David Genford said these students needed the full learning support they deserved.
21st Mar 2022 - The Examiner
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullDistricts face difficulty luring covid-cautious parents back to school
In the US, the push to return to a pre-pandemic normal has tested the resolve of parents still worried about covid’s risks. Perhaps nowhere has the shift back to normal been more jarring than in Prince George’s schools. Though not its original intent, the Maryland district of about 130,000 students set up a massive virtual learning experiment when, to placate anxious parents, it extended enrollment in its remote program for K-6 students during last summer’s delta variant surge. Thousands of families chose that option, which the district said would last only for the first semester, when a pediatric vaccine was expected to be approved.
20th Mar 2022 - The Washington Post
Learning How to Blend Online and Offline Teaching
In the pandemic many higher ed faculty, forced onto Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms, have continued teaching online just as they always did face to face, delivering lectures over streaming video as they did in person. Many are unaware that teaching online can actually open new possibilities to innovate their teaching practice. Even so, there are some instructors who have found new and rewarding ways to teach, thanks to the forced experiment with online—by doing things that stimulate active learning, turning video conferencing classes into engaged, peer-to-peer discussions of what students explored on their own or with others between class sessions—activities such as viewing videos, visiting websites and reading scholarly books and articles, among other offline resources.
20th Mar 2022 - EdSurge
Universities' online teaching and 'blended learning' to be reviewed
In the UK, the quality of online teaching and “blended learning” at universities is set to be reviewed, over fears that students’ poor experiences of online learning during the pandemic may have undermined the potential of mixing face-to-face lectures with online study. The Office for Students (OfS) has launched a review to explore how universities are delivering blended learning, which will aim to give students and applicants information on whether the elements of their courses taught online are of a high enough quality.
20th Mar 2022 - North Wales Pioneer
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullDigital teaching materials: moving away from print for better results
Waste paper is often discarded in classrooms, and Microsoft Word-based worksheets tend not to be particularly engaging, especially during online teaching periods. Moreover, interactive questions, audio and video can’t be included in printed materials. HTML 5 packages (H5P) provide a new way to create rich interactive content within learning management systems such as Moodle, Canvas and Blackboard. Content types include multiple-choice questions, gap fills, drag and drop, interactive video, parallax presentations and many more. An interactive book allows many of the content types to be embedded in a comprehensive browser-based workbook.
17th Mar 2022 - Times Higher Education
Universities’ online teaching and ‘blended learning’ to be reviewed
In the UK, the quality of online teaching and “blended learning” at universities is set to be reviewed, over fears that students’ poor experiences of online learning during the pandemic may have undermined the potential of mixing face-to-face lectures with online study. The Office for Students (OfS) has launched a review to explore how universities are delivering blended learning, which will aim to give students and applicants information on whether the elements of their courses taught online are of a high enough quality.
17th Mar 2022 - Evening Standard
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullSingapore’s Chan Sees More Online School Learning in Covid Shift
Singapore plans to move more school lessons online and make better use of technology to improve the learning and teaching experience, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said Wednesday. Transmission of knowledge can be done via digital channels, which will free up in-person school time for pupils to sharpen their collaborative skills and creativity, Chan said in an interview. The minister also sees technology as “a great enabler” that helps lighten the workload of teachers and accelerate the pace of education.
16th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg Quint
Fix digital weaknesses to make up for learning losses
As Malaysia enters the endemic phase of Covid-19, it is time to look closely at the remote learning issues that cropped up during lockdowns and reimagine Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) education as a whole. This is crucial to ensure continuity and to prepare pupils for the workforce. The pandemic highlighted the importance of technologies in remote teaching and learning (T&L) amid the closure of educational institutions. But shortfalls in remote learning and the digital divide severely disrupted education access for many pupils, particularly those from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds.
16th Mar 2022 - New Straits Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullSingapore's Chan Sees More Online School Learning in Covid Shift
Singapore plans to move more school lessons online and make better use of technology to improve the learning and teaching experience, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said Wednesday. Transmission of knowledge can be done via digital channels, which will free up in-person school time for pupils to sharpen their collaborative skills and creativity, Chan said in an interview to be broadcast as part of the Bloomberg Asean Business Summit. The minister also sees technology as “a great enabler” that helps lighten the workload of teachers and accelerate the pace of education. “We will move more and more of our lessons online, allowing our students to do more self-paced learning” Chan said, citing the experience from the Covid-19 pandemic. The city-state began preparations for virtual classrooms even before the start of the virus spread, he added.
16th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
Over half of disabled students considered leaving full-time education during the pandemic, study finds
Disabled students were left without support during the pandemic and over half considered leaving full-time education, according to a survey of pupils at 69 UK universities and higher education providers. Just 23.1 per cent of disabled students received the support they needed over the pandemic, with many saying they felt “left behind”, “alienated”, and “forgotten” by university staff. Campaigners are calling on universities to maintain a hybrid of online learning and in-person teaching, with one student saying: “There shouldn’t have had to be a pandemic to make things accessible.”
15th Mar 2022 - The Independent
Breakout room anxiety: how to address this among students
Much of the anxiety of a breakout room comes from not knowing who one’s randomised group members will be. This feeling is exacerbated because students may not have had the chance to become familiar with most of their course mates, as they would have in traditional settings. And unlike physical class, they have no idea when a lecturer might randomly “visit” their breakout room. Here are a few steps lecturers can take to help make students feel more comfortable in breakout rooms: Build rapport among students; Focus on one or two specific, focused and inspiring tasks to complete under 10 minutes; Limit the use of breakout rooms; Ask for constructive feedback from students.
15th Mar 2022 - Times Higher Education
How can Artificial Intelligence in online learning support emotional and social development?
In reacting to COVID-19, the priority for education providers was ensuring face-to-face learning and assessment activities were transitioned to an online environment. In doing so, practitioners may have lacked the capacity to consider the implications an online environment might have on the emotional and social development of learners. Whilst some learners thrived under the remote circumstances, many struggled to adapt to this new way of teaching and learning. This view is supported by anecdotal evidence which suggests that many learners experienced feelings of isolation and demotivation as the rapid transition to online learning was made.
15th Mar 2022 - FE News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullHawaii schools to receive $72 million in federal funds for online learning
More than $72 million in federal COVID-19 assistance funds has been awarded to Hawaii public schools, and a handful of charter and private schools, to help close the “digital equity” gap suffered by students who don’t have a way to connect to the internet at home.
14th Mar 2022 - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Flexibility of virtual learning prompts some post-secondary students to pursue more online studies
Most Canadian post-secondary students experienced virtual learning of some sort during the pandemic. Although many were not fans, its greater flexibility and accessibility is prompting some students to seek out virtual classes and forcing universities to rethink how they structure online degrees, including science courses that depend on in-person laboratories, practicums, co-ops and residences.
14th Mar 2022 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullUniversities Reimagine Teaching Labs for a Virtual Future
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of university teaching labs worldwide. Students in STEM classes stopped using industry-grade equipment on campus, and instead tried to problem-solve independently with take-home kits that provided limited functionality. As classroom instruction moved from in-person to virtual, professors and teaching assistants quickly realized this new learning experience created many challenges. Real-time instruction and hands-on experience gave way to students trying to solve problems independently. Engineering professors at Morgan State then began using more advanced virtual lab options, which allowed students to access industry-grade lab equipment.
13th Mar 2022 - EdTech
Using immediacy cues in the classroom
As equity-focused educators, we can practise immediacy cues – both verbal and non-verbal, in physical and virtual classrooms – to signal to all students that they are welcome, that we respect and value them, and that we’re interested in them. These signals go a long way to creating an inclusive environment and promoting positive learning outcomes for all students. We’ll look first at verbal immediacy cues in person and online because these may be things we’re already doing, and therefore may be easier to increase as we deliberately strive to create more welcoming spaces.
13th Mar 2022 - Times Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhy video creation encourages classroom innovation
Some of the best educational content develops with creative thinking and a willingness to try new things–and if teachers and students have the right tools, they’re on the right path. Learn more during this eSchool News webinar featuring educators and edtech experts who can speak to how video lets teachers gauge student understanding, enables students to access content at their own pace, and more.
10th Mar 2022 - eSchool News
Taking best of innovations, lessons of pandemic education
The Future of Teaching and Learning Task Force convened in the spring of 2021, and the group has now released its report. The initiative brought together faculty and staff from across Harvard’s Schools and units to explore the innovations and lessons that emerged from pandemic-era teaching and imagine how the University might create more engaging and equitable learning opportunities in the future.
10th Mar 2022 - Harvard Gazette
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullTeachers Are Transferring Their New Virtual Teaching Skills to In-Person Instruction
One big result of the pandemic is that it is spurring many schools to embrace technology in deeper and more sustained ways than ever before. What’s driving that momentum? To begin with, digital learning devices have become way more common in classrooms and students’ homes, thanks in part to billions of dollars in federal relief funds. Nearly half of the educators—49 percent—identified improved access to laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets as a major boost to their expanded use of education technology in the classroom, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey. Almost as many teachers, principals, and district leaders—46 percent—said teachers’ new facility with technology has been highly beneficial for teaching and learning.
9th Mar 2022 - Edweek.org
Unis 'should capitalise on knowledge gained from their online learning experience'
COVID-19 restrictions required universities to move their classes online. It was a tremendous – although difficult – learning experience for all involved in this shift. As restrictions have been lifted, universities are moving back to in-person teaching. With campuses getting busy again, it may look like nothing has changed. Universities would be wise, though, to reflect on lessons learned during the pandemic. They should capitalise on knowledge gained from their online learning experience. Universities should continue to encourage and help lecturers to be creative and flexible in how they design their courses and interact with their students
9th Mar 2022 - Study International News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe 10 most innovative education companies of 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic blasted online education years into the future, and exposed its many challenges. At a time when educators and parents alike are still grappling with school disruptions and learning loss, this year’s most innovative education companies sought to supplement traditional schooling and democratize access to education. Some of these companies, like Duolingo and Coursera, which pioneered online learning, are expanding their reach into new markets with a slate of offerings targeted at moving higher education online. Others are offering a new spin on more conventional modes of instruction.
8th Mar 2022 - Fast Company
Many companies are offering employees the benefit of online courses. Do they actually help your career?
Many companies offer some form of tuition reimbursement, but some are taking it a step further and providing their workers with access to online skill development courses. But do these programs really lead to new jobs and promotions? The short answer is that it depends. While companies are investing in skills-development training, hiring based on those courses hasn’t caught up in a big way yet. However, that’s shifting in this increasingly tight labor market as employers look beyond the job potential employees have on their résumé.
8th Mar 2022 - Fortune
Further study moves to hybrid – but will the changes stick?
In recent years, more students have gone to a so-called “fourth-level” course after a few years – or even decades – in work, a shift away from a time when most postgraduates went straight from college into their master’s degree course. Many have families, full-time jobs and other commitments, so finding the time and money for a postgraduate course can be tricky. As a result of this shift and the changing needs of learners, higher education institutions have been moving towards providing more flexible, online and blended learning options. And when the pandemic hit, almost all postgraduate learning moved online. So, with society opening up, how are postgraduate courses being delivered now?
8th Mar 2022 - The Irish Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullOnline Learning Can Lead to Increased Success for Minority Students in Higher Education
Research shows that student performance in gateway courses can predict retention, the likelihood of graduation and all-around student success. Historically, minority students have been underserved in these courses. This leads to a higher number of minority students receiving grades of D or F, withdrawing or receiving incomplete grades, often resulting in lower retention rates. While online learning is not without its challenges, experts say it can be a catalyst for improving course outcomes for disadvantaged and historically marginalized students.
7th Mar 2022 - EdTech Magazine
Creating Meaningful Connections: E-journaling and Self-assessment for Online Courses
There are challenges in finding meaningful ways to engage with students in asynchronous online courses. Some students find learning new concepts difficult when taking a course with an asynchronous format. It can lack personalization and a clear path for self-directed learning. Additionally, instructors often look for options to engage with online learners beyond a synchronous virtual meeting format. Providing self-directed learning opportunities can feel overwhelming to instructors given that it is an additional step instructors need to grade. However, utilizing e-journaling as a tool for online instruction can establish connections and lighten the assessment load by utilizing student self-assessment strategies.
7th Mar 2022 - Faculty Focus
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullVirtually the same?: Online higher education in the post Covid‐19 era
For this special section for the British Journal of Education Technology on the future of online higher education in the post-covid-19 era, we called for research papers to analyse and reflect on the lessons and experiences universities, East and West, have gained over the period of the ongoing pandemic. We intended that the special section would also explore the implications for the future of online university education.
6th Mar 2022 - BERA Journals
Western University's new 5G connection 'a game changer' in virtual learning
A new 5G network, exponentially faster than anything that has come before, is being touted as “a game charger” by Western officials who say they are the first university in Canada to have the technology. The internet upgrade will pave the way for a more immersive experience for students trying to learn online, among other things, officials there say. “Western is the only university in Canada that has a fully functional 5G network up and running,” said Peter White, Western executive director of government relations and strategic partnerships.
6th Mar 2022 - The London Free Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullStudents with disabilities are not getting help to address lost opportunities
Even before the pandemic hit, 98% of U.S. school districts said they didn’t have enough special education teachers to serve all the students who needed their help. During the pandemic, short-handed school districts were even more stretched to provide learning support to students with disabilities. Now, those students are struggling to catch up with where they should be. When then the pandemic forced schools to rapidly shift from traditional in-person teaching to virtual classes on laptops and smartphones in students’ homes, the sorts of services common in special education – additional support within a child’s classroom, and dedicated time with specialists outside the classroom – became difficult, or even impossible, to provide.
3rd Mar 2022 - The Conversation
Online tutoring effective at making up for COVID-19 learning loss
A pilot program intended to measure the results of online tutoring for K-12 students has shown promising results in helping them recover from pandemic-driven learning loss, researchers at UC San Diego announced Wednesday. Conducted in partnership with the volunteer mentorship nonprofit CovEducation, the program matched students with volunteer student tutors from research universities. According to the findings, students who got more hours of online tutoring experienced better results.
3rd Mar 2022 - KPBS
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullTech Leads the Way to Equitable Education for K–12 Students
The recent rise in educational technology has allowed K–12 students to become more connected than ever before, despite being physically farther apart. This is partially due to an increased focus on connectivity for students at school and at home, as — even at the state level — leaders are working to get learners online. Additionally, the increase in technology has broken down geographical barriers that formerly determined how students could learn. From virtual field trips to specialized classes, ed tech is taking students all over the world.
2nd Mar 2022 - EdTech Magazine
Masterclass on tackling remote learning for higher education
While the initial frenzy of switching from in-person to remote learning has subsided for higher education institutions, the process is far from over. Students and educators must continue to learn and teach as much as possible without the immediate interpersonal communication and in-person learning setting, not to mention acclimatising to the energy of a home while working. With this abrupt change from lecture halls to the online universe, some are wondering whether the acceptance of online learning will sustain post-pandemic and how such a shift will affect the global education system.
2nd Mar 2022 - The Star
How remote learning can help close the digital skills gap
John Perks, global principal architect of the NextGen professionals programme at ServiceNow, and Simon Maskrey, senior global partner manager at Salesforce for Trailhead, discuss why businesses will benefit from helping to close the digital skills gap. Both Perks and Maskrey see the benefit of readily available online content. The former notes that, at ServiceNow, “the training is somewhat traditional in that we still use a virtual classroom, but we’ve also taken those classes online to create an on-demand experience, with a combination of videos, simulators and the classic writing on screen.”Maskrey comments how the pandemic forced a change of attitude toward teaching methods. “Outside of the US, there’s been a huge degree of resistance to remote learning and virtual classrooms until about two years ago … Until then there were a lot of people who perceived that you couldn’t learn online and that, for the best premium learning, you had to be in a room with people. I think the reality is that it just isn’t true.” As a result of the lack of access to classrooms, as well as restrictions on travel, there has been a greater emphasis on remote learning.
2nd Mar 2022 - SiliconRepublic
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullOntario's first fully virtual high school hints at the future of public education
Providing students with choice on how they complete their education is a good thing, but only if necessary supports and resources are made available to ensure their success. Last week, Peel District School Board announced the creation of Peel Virtual Secondary School — an entirely online public high school available to the region’s students this coming fall. Establishing a publicly funded virtual school is a huge move for PDSB. As Ontario’s second-largest school board, it could influence other boards to follow suit.
1st Mar 2022 - Queen's Journal
The Future of Higher Education Will Be a Virtual Balancing Act
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, some pundits predicted that it might mark the entrance into a new phase of higher education: a virtual one. It would be the end of the residential college model, they said. Indeed, universities quickly pivoted to online classes in the spring of 2020. It was a grand experiment in a new mode of teaching and learning, one heavily reliant on technology. But, as Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun said during a recording of higher education podcast Future U. on Monday, the results emphasized the enduring importance of human interaction.
1st Mar 2022 - Northeastern University News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullLos Angeles Unified to expand online learning, improve independent study
To accommodate an expected increase in the number of students in remote learning once its school vaccine mandate takes effect, the Los Angeles Unified School District is creating new online schools that will open in the fall. The schools will take the pressure off the district’s current independent study program, which was inundated with students this school year after the state’s distance learning statute expired last summer. The district’s independent study program, City of Angels, was the main option for students who didn’t return to in-person instruction in the fall. This year, it enrolled nearly 10 times the number of students it did prior to the pandemic.
28th Feb 2022 - EdSource
MSU embraces virtual learning in online grad programs
Students, parents and teachers across the world have become accustomed to online learning in the past two years, with most schools opting for virtual learning at some point during the pandemic. However, the subject has proved to be divisive throughout the country. Some have objected to the return to in-person learning amidst safety concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic. Others have protested the delay to in-person learning, citing studies that have shown the detrimental effects of virtual learning on students. In the case of Michigan State University’s Master of Science in Global Health and Graduate Certificate in Global Health programs, online learning has not been looked at as a pandemic obstacle or pandemic precaution but has been embraced as a way to allow people of all backgrounds to receive an education.
28th Feb 2022 - The State News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow the metaverse is transforming the edtech market
The metaverse has grabbed the attention of top industrial honchos, as learning through the metaverse provides a gamified learning experience and constant access to study material for students. The edtech market is one of the fastest growing of its kind. According to Future Market Insights’ recent study, revenues of the edtech market are expected to surpass $288.4Bn by the end of 2031 at a staggering 14.5% CAGR (compound annual growth rate). Top tech companies are investing in the edtech market to gain early mover advantage and promote learning through the metaverse.
27th Feb 2022 - Education Technology
The invisible children: how online learning failed special needs students
Too often, educators say, the debate on remote learning has ignored how the switch has hit hardest those children who were already struggling and whose needs make learning online particularly challenging. It is common, they point out, for any child to struggle to focus while learning from home; but for a child with ADHD (Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder) it can be near impossible; it is common for people working from home to complain about distractions, but for children with hearing impairments even modest background noise can entirely drown out what is being said on-screen. The danger, educators warn, is not only that special needs pupils are falling further behind their peers, but that many are regressing and losing hard-earned behavioural gains. As they do so, frustration mounts for both parent and child. Meltdowns become more common and isolation takes its toll, making learning even harder
27th Feb 2022 - South China Morning Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow technology is improving student engagement at home and in the classroom
The education sector has witnessed a drastic transformation over the past two years as blended learning has become the norm. Classrooms have needed the right technology to support this, providing remote learners with an experience that replicates in person teaching as closely as possible. Needs from teachers and students have evolved, and expectations of what can be achieved with technology are higher than ever. Now, educators are looking to invest in technology that not only allows teaching and learning to continue, but technology that helps to keep students engaged in new and creative ways, regardless of where they’re working
23rd Feb 2022 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullOntario to require virtual learning option for next school year
The Ontario government is going to once again require school boards to offer virtual learning, as an option for students in the 2022/2023 school year. During a funding announcement press conference, Education Minister Stephen Lecce explained the virtual learning option has been seen as a strength in the school system by some parents. “There are roughly 150,000 [students] this year [who] exercised that choice. What I’ve heard from their parents and some educators who are involved in virtual learning is, [it] is a strength for that strong minority of children. So, we’re going to continue to offer it,” Minister Lecce said.
23rd Feb 2022 - The Star
25 Brilliant Preschool Virtual Learning Ideas
Distance learning is a massive struggle with pre-schoolers. Keeping their attention focused can feel like herding cats at first, but the internet is a cornucopia of resources making this daunting task more manageable. Keeping them engaged and active is difficult enough in a classroom but being connected by a screen increases the challenge tenfold. Pre-K and preschool teachers really have their hands full with distance learning but here are 25 ideas to make the virtual classroom every bit as fun and educational as hands-on learning.
23rd Feb 2022 - Teaching Expertise
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullEducation ministry boosts efforts to support online education as more schools adapt
In Japan, the education ministry is stepping up the establishment of online learning environments for public elementary and junior high schools as the coronavirus pandemic continues. A Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology project to provide a tablet computer to each student was completed within the 2020 school year, which ended in March 2021, three years ahead of schedule, enabling schools to adopt staggered attendance and online classes if a COVID-19 state of emergency or similar restrictions are introduced.
22nd Feb 2022 - The Japan Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullAn exploration of instructors' and students' perspectives on remote delivery of courses during the COVID‐19 pandemic
The world-wide pivot to remote learning due to the exogenous shocks of COVID-19 across educational institutions has presented unique challenges and opportunities. This study documents the lived experiences of instructors and students and recommends emerging pathways for teaching and learning strategies post-pandemic. Seventy-one instructors and 122 students completed online surveys containing closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted, including frequencies, chi-square tests, Welch Two-Samples t-tests, and thematic analyses. The results demonstrated that with effective online tools, remote learning could replicate key components of content delivery, activities, assessments, and virtual proctored exams. However, instructors and students did not want in-person learning to disappear and recommended flexibility by combining learning opportunities in in-person, online, and asynchronous course deliveries according to personal preferences.
21st Feb 2022 - BERA Journals
Triumphs and Troubles in Online Learning Abroad
When the pandemic careened across the globe in spring 2020, U.S. higher ed responded swiftly by opening online in a few weeks, a feat made possible only because privileged American secondary intuitions long ago introduced digital access in nearly every college in the nation. As campuses locked their gates out of fear of infection, most American college students rushed to their laptops to study from home. Elsewhere, not everyone was as fortunate. During the global crisis, 1.6 billion young people in 161 countries were not in college. Shockingly, without internet access, COVID-19 locked out close to 80 percent of the world’s enrolled students. Africa was hit hardest, cruelly, with 82 percent of college students in sub-Saharan Africa without internet access.
21st Feb 2022 - EdSurge
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullEnrollment in virtual schools is exploding. Will students stay long term?
Across the US, enrollment in charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately operated schools, increased by 7 percent — around 240,000 more students — during the 2020-2021 academic year, according to a report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In many states, virtual charter schools drove the outsize growth in charter school enrollment, according to the report, even as the quality of them has come under scrutiny. On top of that, state education departments, including Florida’s, experienced massive enrollment upticks in their statewide virtual schools.
20th Feb 2022 - The Washington Post
The Art of Remote Learning: How One Virtual School Recreated Traditional Class
When the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person learning in March 2020, interest in virtual schools skyrocketed. One of two virtual schools in the state, Iowa Virtual Academy opened in 2012 with 61 students, and as of the end of last school year served about 540 students, said Steve Hoff, principal of Iowa Virtual Academy. For some students who were struggling academically in-person, virtual can help them tailor their own learning environment. For other students struggling with illnesses or who are in the hospital, virtual school helps them stay afloat academically. Sometimes students want a quicker academic pace so they can graduate earlier.
20th Feb 2022 - Yahoo News
For some children, online learning had unexpected benefits
Many students and parents complained about the hardship of learning at home, from technological glitches to little ones dissolving into tears having to stare at a screen all day. But some students thrived. For them, learning online carried unexpected benefits. This was especially true for children who had felt excluded or uncomfortable in their schools prior to the pandemic – those who had experienced racism or bullying in their classrooms, or have anxiety or learning disabilities. Experts say all of this raises deeper questions about how public education can adapt to meet the needs of students.
20th Feb 2022 - The Globe and Mail
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullOntario school boards required to offer remote learning option for 2022-2023
Ontario will require school boards to offer virtual learning as an option for one more school year. Government officials say they are making investments to make schools safe for in-person learning, but given the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, they want to offer parents one more year of choice. The province is announcing its funding amounts for the next school year today, including $26.1 billion to school boards amounting to $13,059 per student, an increase from the previous year.
17th Feb 2022 - Global News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullReport Demonstrates How Virtual Communities Can Foster Belonging in Online Learning Settings
The College Innovation Network has published the results of a study that illuminates the importance of fostering belonging among online students, and demonstrates how intentional design of virtual spaces can enable impactful peer connections. Previous research has shown the benefits of improving belonging for college students. For example, underrepresented and underserved student populations at a broad-access university who took part in a belonging intervention had greater academic persistence over two years as a result of increased belonging.
16th Feb 2022 - Yahoo Finance
Access to tech key to pupils levels of remote learning engagement – study
Irish primary school children were more engaged with remote schooling during the first Covid-19 lockdown if they had access to adequate digital technologies as well as help from parents and teachers. This is according to the first nationwide study in Ireland investigating primary school children’s experiences of remote schooling, which was led by Dr Yekaterina Chzhen, assistant professor at the Trinity College Dublin Department of Sociology. The first Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020 resulted in the greatest disruption to children’s schooling in generations in Ireland and was a time of rapid and unexpected transition from in-person to distance learning. Schools in Ireland were closed for 141 days, which was one of the longest school closures across rich countries at the time.
16th Feb 2022 - TechCentral.ie
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullClear Goals and Engaging Hosts: How to Create Powerful Virtual Learning Experiences
Virtual learning experiences present some excellent aspects that in-person sessions may struggle to offer. To reach their full potential, however, online sessions require a mixture of strategies and techniques. This is why people designing and developing learning events should be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and technology competencies to create engaging virtual sessions. In this respect, the article will explore some of the best practices to help you tailor a virtual learning experience that your attendees will truly appreciate.
15th Feb 2022 - fenews.co.uk
Top tips for establishing close relationships with students online
As anyone who has spent time teaching at any level will tell you, forming a close relationship with students is a crucial aspect of education – whether that’s in the classroom or in an online environment. The quality of the crucial relationship between teachers and students is a true learning booster for students and can become a source of well-being for teachers, too – after all, emotional exhaustion is reduced when close relationships develop. So with this in mind, how can a teacher forge and maintain close relationships in the classroom that foster commitment and learning? Here are some ideas for teachers to consider for establishing meaningful connections with students.
15th Feb 2022 - Times Higher Education (THE)
How Online Learning Is Reshaping Higher Education
“When the pandemic hit, it was a provocation, as well as a demand for innovation,” said Caroline Levander, the vice president for global and digital strategy at Rice University in Houston, during a recent webinar on the future of online learning hosted by U.S. News & World Report. While the changes were challenging for many, faculty members at Rice and elsewhere embraced the new opportunities that online learning offered. Levander shared an example of a Rice physics professor, Jason Hafner, who capitalized on the virtual environment to find compelling new ways to teach concepts to students.
15th Feb 2022 - U.S. News & World Report
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullOnline learning for the underprivileged: Simple steps towards a brighter future
The pandemic has changed the world of education dramatically in India. The closure of schools and switch to hybrid model of learning have laid bare the existing digital divide. Underprivileged children, who don’t have access to basic resources of online learning are now challenged by the perils of the pandemic and they deserve maximum attention. Transforming community centres or developing educational centres as smart classes for communities with internet facility, digital screens, phones and computers can solve the problem of unavailability of resources and provide better access to education.
14th Feb 2022 - The CSR Journal
Less than one in three students rate their online education as good – study
Less than one in three students in full-time education rated their online education experience during the pandemic as excellent or good, a survey has found. More than six in 10 people in part-time education rated their online education experience during the pandemic as excellent or good. The figures were revealed after the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published its analysis of remote learning from the Our Lives Online pulse survey. The report includes insights into online education experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as analysis on future online learning opportunities.
14th Feb 2022 - The Independent
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullWill Covid-19 bring edtech closer to overcoming challenges of virtual schools, colleges? Here's what experts have to say
Educational technology (EdTech) entities have been operating since the emergence of niche technologies. The EdTech sector witnessed exponential growth following the disruption due to the Covid 19 pandemic. India-based data confirms that the EdTech revolution is not going to subside anytime soon. It is an ongoing process with newer and better developments in the pipeline. The lack of a proper tool to operationalise the virtual classroom is the primary challenge in online education. Most institutions are just relying on video conferencing tools and messaging applications to run the classes.
13th Feb 2022 - India Today
Let's not allow tradition to stifle innovation in higher education
Britain’s higher education sector could miss a major opportunity to cement its reputation as a world leader if innovative online learning measures introduced during the pandemic are phased out to accommodate calls to return to a fully face-to-face university experience. While leading universities across the globe use online tools to enhance their offerings and create a world-class educational experience for their students, there’s an embedded school of thought in the UK (and elsewhere) that online learning is of inherently poorer quality or provides a poorer experience. As a nation with ambitions to be digitally driven, we should realise that this couldn’t be further from the truth. If we want our students to really thrive and get the best value for money for their education, shouldn’t technology play a part?
13th Feb 2022 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullFour Tips To Increase Student Engagement In Hybrid Learning
One of the most common complaints from teachers and parents is that it is difficult to engage with students remotely. Educators constantly worry that students’ attention will wander, and they may slack off during school hours. Therefore, it is important that the education experience is the same for all students regardless of their location, whether they are learning from the classroom or attending the lessons remotely. Here are four tips on how educational institutes can get the most out of their hybrid education setup
10th Feb 2022 - BWEducation
How to work with Forage to implement virtual internships
In January 2020, the University of Westminster embarked on a new work-based and placement learning (WBPL) project with the aim of embedding employability across all undergraduate courses. The aim is to enable all undergraduates to gain valuable employability skills that will help them prepare for a competitive job market. With the onset of Covid-19, we needed to find quick and innovative ways to be able to move WBPL online so our students could gain these vital employability skills.
10th Feb 2022 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullMalaysian student gives free gamification workshops to enliven virtual lessons
Like other schoolgoing children, teenager Sheldon Chong has been attending online classes throughout the pandemic and finds it mainly one-dimensional, without much interaction and engagement. So to make elearning more enjoyable, Chong decided to offer gamification workshops so that teachers and students can create games for virtual lessons. Gamification in education applies game elements to a learning environment. Chong, an award-winning game developer and digital illustrator, will be holding two 90-minute online workshops entitled, Create A Virtual 2D Game (for students) (Feb 10, 8.30pm) and Create A Gamified Virtual Classroom (for educators) (Feb 11, 8.30pm) for free.
9th Feb 2022 - The Star Online
15 Ways to Engage Your Students In-person, Online, and in Zoom
Marti Snyder, PhD, PMP, SPHR shares 15 strategies he uses most often in various formats - in-person, hybrid, and online - to engage students. Many of these strategies overlap and can be used regardless of delivery mode.
9th Feb 2022 - Faculty Focus
Cornish language has new learners after pandemic moves courses online
A rise in learning apps and online classes as well as a project in schools is behind an increase in the number of people learning the Cornish language. Pre-pandemic there were no apps or online courses for the language that had died out in the 18th Century. Now there are several apps including European Union funded Indylan - recently launched by Cornwall Council. Cornish language teachers said online courses had enabled a "huge rise" in demand.
9th Feb 2022 - BBC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullTCEA 2022: Online Learning Success Starts with a Strong Foundation
Teachers have come a long way since March 2020, when many were thrown unprepared into the remote learning world. But instructional technology consultant and author Lindy Hockenbary says there’s still a lot more teachers can learn about online learning success. At this year’s in-person TCEA 2022 conference in Dallas, the A Teacher’s Guide to Online Learning author used her session, titled “The Recipe for K–12 Online Learning Success,” to share with teachers, instructional technologists and other educators how to cook up a satisfying online learning experience.
8th Feb 2022 - EdTech Magazine
School's Out: Mental Health and Virtual Learning
It has been nearly two years since the coronavirus disease was declared a pandemic. Social distancing measures have led to school closures in many countries around the world, and repeated follow-up measures have led to a large degree of inconsistency in the delivery of education for many children. In the Americas alone, schools remained closed for more than 41 weeks. One year into the pandemic, nearly 50% of students worldwide were still facing partial or complete closures of school. Although many students were able to navigate these circumstances with and even saw an improvement in their mental health status, a significant number were unable to do so.
8th Feb 2022 - Medscape
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullUK parliament launches online SEND sessions
Set to launch in April 2022, the UK Parliament Education and Engagement team have announced a new free online SEND workshop aimed at young learners aged 7-25. The workshop will involve sensory-based digital sessions. During the online class, students will use their senses to explore Parliament, find out who works there, and explore what they do. A poem will form the basis of the workshop, which will guide the students using rhyme, repetition and actions around the building.
7th Feb 2022 - Education Technology
President Speaks: Stop asking whether online learning is 'worth it.' Start focusing on how it helps working adults.
Don Kilburn is the CEO of UMass Online, the online arm of the University of Massachusetts.He writes: "I hope we are, particularly in light of recent events, well past the stage where the value of online learning as a modality is in any doubt. Yes, there can be a stupefying spectrum of quality of online learning programs, ranging from the shoddy to the world class, but that same spectrum applies to face-to-face learning. Rather than engaging in a conversation about whether online learning is "worth it," we need a more evolved debate that examines the nuances of strong online programs and how we can make them work better for today's students, particularly those already in the workforce."
7th Feb 2022 - Higher Ed Dive
‘Pupils feel attendance doesn’t matter following lockdown online learning’
In England, pupils feel they do not need to be in school because of the remote learning provided during national lockdowns, which is driving poor attendance, the education watchdog has found. In a report published on Monday, Ofsted said that, in secondary schools in particular, “it appears that the provision of remote education during national lockdowns has negatively affected some pupils’ perceptions of the need to be in school”. Some parents also expect that online learning will be provided for their children if they go on holiday during term time, Ofsted found.
7th Feb 2022 - The Independent
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullOttawa's public school board will offer virtual classes in the fall
Ottawa's public school board will offer virtual learning for a third straight school year in the fall. The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says it will offer in-person learning, along with the "Ottawa-Carleton Virtual School" for the 2022-23 school year. The virtual learning community is made up of Kindergarten to Grade 12 students across the board, engaged in 300 minutes of remote classes each day.
6th Feb 2022 - CTV Edmonton
Gamification in virtual education
Living in a world with technological advances that are difficult to keep up with has seemingly created a rift between old school and new school - making for an interesting discussion around the impact it has on the education sector, globally, and in South Africa. With so much opportunity for online learning available today, and the various platforms offering a vast variety of virtual learning content, it is impossible to look past the impact of online gaming.
4th Feb 2022 - Bizcommunity
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullWe need to move beyond the synchronous versus asynchronous debate
The pandemic’s push to experiment with online materials has brought to the fore the possibility of replacing traditional educational models with ones enhanced by technology. On the supply side, rather than watching a video of your professor give an introductory lecture on a topic, there are now world-class faculty offering such videos for free. No university expects to produce all of its own textbooks – might we one day think the same of lectures? On the demand side, computerised adaptive learning and testing offers more personalised educational models.
3rd Feb 2022 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Covid-19: Universities move to online learning for semester 1 as Omicron looms
Auckland University is moving most of its teaching online until the mid-semester break due to the threat of Omicron. The university’s executive committee announced the decision on Thursday, saying it wanted to give students and staff clarity and predictability. The decision comes shortly after the university decided to move exams online for 2022, regardless of Covid-19 traffic light settings.
3rd Feb 2022 - Stuff.co.nz
Westminster has 'no remit' for UK-wide online academy
The Welsh and Scottish governments have hit out at UK government plans for a national online academy offering "the best lessons" from "the very best teachers". They say Westminster has "no remit" to establish a UK-wide academy, that they have not been consulted and that the existence of separate education systems in Scotland and Wales has not been taken into account. Meanwhile, edtech industry leaders have questioned whether the UK government has evidence that there is headteacher demand for the "new digital education service". The plans for the free online resource were contained in the Levelling Up White Paper
3rd Feb 2022 - TES News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullOnline learning provider looks to boost academic programmes with new senior appointment
Cardiff based postgraduate online medical learning provider, Learna, has appointed a new Head of Programme Development and Innovation. Helen Davies joins the firm from BMJ (British Medical Journal), where she was Head of Online Learning and Assessment and has over twenty years experience working in the online medical education sector.
2nd Feb 2022 - FE News
Children acted out more during distance learning, parents say, deepening learning loss
One recent Harvard study of roughly 400 families suggests that children’s behavior worsened during Zoom school. Children were often more prone to misbehave or become aggressive or withdrawn during remote learning, according to parents surveyed as part of the broader Early Learning Study at Harvard. “By following individual children over time, we found that their behavioral health was worse while they were in remote learning as compared to when they were in in-person or hybrid learning,” said Stephanie Jones, Harvard researcher and co-director of the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative.
2nd Feb 2022 - EdSource
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Feb 2022
View this newsletter in full‘Remote Learning’ Takes on New Meaning in Virtual Reality
As the pandemic continues to disrupt academia, some teachers are turning to alternative ways to keep students engaged. At the University of Connecticut, Tina Trinh visited one class held partly in virtual reality.
1st Feb 2022 - Voice of America
Unmasking the scientist: breaking down anonymity to build relationships when teaching online
During online teaching sessions, many staff prefer not to ask students to turn on their cameras, so as to acknowledge and respect their right to privacy and recognise the fact that many may be working in a space never intended to be a learning environment. In many sessions students are encouraged to use their cameras and microphones if they wish, but it should not be required and typically few students choose to show their faces. So, while students become familiar with the faces of staff, the students themselves remain an anonymous cohort to their lecturers. There are ways to improve on this
1st Feb 2022 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullNew Glasgow 'virtual school' for kids who can't make it to the classroom
A new school has been launched in Glasgow for children who can’t attend lessons in person. ‘Glasgow’s virtual school’ teaches pupils who are unable to go to class, including vulnerable kids, patients in hospital, children in care and those struggling with mental health problems. With 25 staff the virtual school works with hundreds of children annually - supporting their education and health and well-being.
31st Jan 2022 - Glasgow Live
Does virtual learning achieve fairer outcomes for students?
The growth of digital education and the rising numbers of online schools across the UK has certainly made learning more accessible and more personalised for students today. Gone are the days when being home schooled meant learning in isolation. Children can now learn virtually with peers and via live lessons. They can socialise both virtually and in-person during meetups. They can attend school assemblies, events and after school clubs. Most importantly, they access the entire GCSE and A-level syllabus, all from the comfort of their home and from anywhere in the world. Exposure to digital learning also means students can learn at their own pace, obtain ‘in the moment’ feedback and take more responsibility for their overall education. The question is, does online learning lead to fairer outcomes for all pupils?
31st Jan 2022 - Independent Education Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullCan Online Tutoring Help Schools Dig Out of Pandemic Learning Hole?
Tutoring is the top-billed remedy to help students make up for disrupted learning. States and districts are spending millions in federal funds to pay for it. But can it work online when so many other efforts to move instruction online have fallen short?A new study from a team of researchers is the very first to test the hypothesis using a randomized experiment. And the results, while far from a silver bullet, show some promise and suggest some lessons for other online tutoring efforts.
29th Jan 2022 - Education Week
Eight Russell Group universities won't pull plug on virtual learning
In England, many students at elite universities are still learning remotely despite ministers' pleas for face-to-face tuition. Of the 24 universities in the Russell Group, eight have kept at least a portion online even though Government Covid restrictions have been lifted. Only six said they could guarantee all teaching would be in-person, while the rest would not confirm either way. Some are keeping large lectures remote while holding smaller sessions in person.
29th Jan 2022 - msn.co.uk
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullParents Protest End of Virtual Learning Option for K-6 Students in Prince George's
The virtual learning option for Prince George’s County Public Schools students in kindergarten through sixth grade is coming to an end Friday, but many parents are not OK with the return to in-person learning and held a demonstration in protest. About 12,000 K-6 students enrolled in the virtual education program at the beginning of the school year.
27th Jan 2022 - NBC4 Washington
These 3 charts show the global growth in online learning
The number of students accessing its online courses now exceeds pre-pandemic levels, a leading global online learning platform reports. Following the COVID-19-induced shift to remote working, people are increasingly looking to digital learning to develop the skills to navigate today’s constantly evolving world of work.
27th Jan 2022 - WEForum
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullSix Ways to Build Instructional Immediacy During Online Learning
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way college students and instructors relate. Thanks in large part to how instructional technicians have elevated their support in the growing online environment, online and hybrid instruction are now a permanent part of higher education. This means that teaching styles must change accordingly. In the traditional classroom, educators know immediacy is crucial for engaged learning. The author details six ways to build instructional immediacy
26th Jan 2022 - EdTech Magazine
Using action learning to improve interdisciplinary online teaching
Online technology makes it easier for instructors from different disciplines to jointly teach students. This enables students to investigate complex issues from multiple perspectives. However, when teachers of various fields come together, they face a new challenge: how can they collaborate effectively to teach an interdisciplinary course? Despite ample helpful resources of best practice for delivering online teaching, there isn’t one golden rule to fit all. Action learning (AL) – a practical and flexible problem-solving method – deploys the art of asking questions to locate core matters in an authentic and contextual issue before offering a solution.
26th Jan 2022 - Times Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullJohns Hopkins experts offer suggestions to address challenges of online learning for children with cancer
Thousands of schools transitioned to online learning in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time many children with cancer and other chronic health needs, as well as those with special education needs, faced significant challenges to learning online. An opinion paper by Johns Hopkins experts, published Jan. 4 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, highlights some of the issues faced by families and offers suggestions to move forward.
25th Jan 2022 - News-Medical.Net
DC Students Stage Walkout For Safer Learning Under COVID-19
D.C. public school students walked out of schools Tuesday afternoon as part of a campaign to get the city’s school system to create safer learning conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the students’ demands are a virtual learning option for all students, safer meal times, deep cleanings of schools, and better COVID-19 data reporting.
25th Jan 2022 - msn.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhat Is the Flipped Classroom Approach in K–12?
Armed with more educational technology and the professional development to meaningfully use it, more educators in K–12 are considering the flipped-classroom approach. At the onset of the pandemic, schools found ways to make virtual learning work. They rolled out one-to-one device programs and made investments in educational technology. Educators learned to use new tools and found new ways of bringing content to students. With the technology barrier broken down, some educators took the opportunity to shift their methodology to a flipped-classroom approach. Others, who already employed this model, found that it made the transition to and from remote learning easier on students
24th Jan 2022 - EdTech Magazine
What Have We Learned About Remote Learning?
A child clinical neuropsychologist interviewed more than 50 students with attention, learning, and social-emotional difficulties about their experiences with remote learning during the pandemic. These interviews provided an anecdotal glimpse into strategies that worked and those that contributed to some of the dismal results in the spring of 2020.
24th Jan 2022 - Psychology Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullHow teachers in training are learning to make remote school work
Teachers in training are learning how to work differently, now that it looks like remote classrooms will be sticking around for a while. COVID-19 has forced people in many fields to adopt new technology. Tess Miller, the interim dean at UPEI's faculty of education, says the next generation of teachers needs to have the skills to be effective both in the classroom and online. And those learning to be teachers now — remotely learning, themselves — will benefit from the experience in the future.
23rd Jan 2022 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullFlint schools extends virtual learning period indefinitely
Flint students will remain at home indefinitely starting next week, as the school district today announced that it will not be returning to the classroom on Jan. 24. The decision to continue virtual learning comes from Superintendent Kevelin Jones, who made the call to go virtual to begin the new year after winter break. “While this decision was not made easily, it is necessary for the greater health of our community,” Jones wrote in a statement to parents. “To lower the transmission number, and to keep it low, we must actively continue distance learning until further notice,” Jones said.
20th Jan 2022 - MLive
How to fund 3 must-have classroom tech tools
Classroom technology is essential, and nothing made that more obvious than the COVID-19 pandemic that forced learning to go virtual and hybrid. Technology upgrades help make students feel included and achieve their full potential. But funding for classroom tech tools is always a challenge. Funding challenges aren’t impossible to solve, however. Join a panel of experts who, during this eSchool News webinar, will explore the most relevant technologies to help you upgrade your district’s classrooms and enhance learning for all students.
20th Jan 2022 - eSchool News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullMore than 1,200 Oakland students pledge to stay home unless schools improve Covid safety
More than 1,200 students in Oakland, California, have signed a petition saying they would stay home this week unless school administrators provide additional Covid protections, including more N95 masks, weekly testing and better social distancing – or a shift to virtual learning. On Tuesday, three district campuses were closed because students and teachers, in solidarity, stayed home. The protest comes as schools across the country have struggled with the latest, Omicron-fueled wave of the coronavirus pandemic. In recent weeks, students in New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, Washington DC and elsewhere have launched protests and petitions as well, demanding improved safety measures. Districts, meanwhile, have faced immense pressures from parents and politicians to keep school campuses open as the US enters its third year of the pandemic.
19th Jan 2022 - The Guardian
Mt. Pleasant schools continues to provide meals during virtual learning
Though school cafeterias throughout Mt. Pleasant Public Schools (MPPS) may be quiet while students are home for virtual learning, the district continues to provide breakfast and lunch to students and local children at no cost. MPPS schools went virtual on Thursday, Jan.13 in response to elevated COVID-19 cases in the district. In-person classes are scheduled to resume on Monday, Jan. 31.“Providing our children with healthy, nutritious meals is one of the many ways we support their growth and development, and we’re happy to continue offering these meal choices at no charge while students are home for virtual learning,” Superintendent Jennifer Verleger said.
19th Jan 2022 - The Morning Sun
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullIs Virtual Reality a Good Fit for Your Blended Learning Curriculum?
Blended learning models are shaping the future of education, but how can technology best serve teachers and students in achieving their goals? Ruth Hill, Head of Learning Design at Bodyswaps, looks at four common challenges that ed-tech could help educational institutions to address in 2022 and asks – is virtual reality the right tool for the job?
18th Jan 2022 - FE News
COVID-19: Two Saskatoon public schools moving to remote learning
The Saskatoon Public Schools (SPS) has made the decision to temporarily move Centennial Collegiate and John Dolan School to remote learning. This comes after consultation with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). The SPS announced that starting on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, all classes at Centennial Collegiate will move to online learning and all extracurricular activities will be paused until in-person learning resumes
17th Jan 2022 - Global News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in full9 social-emotional learning strategies to use in the new year
Following the 2020-2021 school year, educators can look back with pride–and exhaustion–on all we have learned. We have learned to teach in brand new modalities like remote and hybrid learning, foster more student independence, and adapt instruction to a huge variety of learning needs. But one of the most important lessons to come from this pandemic year is a greater focus on the importance of social-emotional learning. Throughout this school year, educators, coaches, and school leaders have engaged in virtual professional development and one-on-one coaching sessions to hone their social-emotional learning skills and knowledge to meet the needs of all learners.
17th Jan 2022 - eSchool News
NYC Education Department Quietly Opens Door For Teachers To Allow More Remote Learning
The New York City Department of Education has updated its attendance policy to give educators discretion on allowing students to learn remotely during the current COVID surge, and to count those students as present for attendance purposes — a possible sign of movement towards a remote option for all students. The policy update appeared online Friday afternoon without any formal announcement, a day after Mayor Eric Adams acknowledged the school system is considering a remote option.
14th Jan 2022 - Gothamist
Pivoting to Remote Learning: Why It Is Harder in Some States Than Others
When it comes to the question of who gets to call the shots on a switch back to remote instruction, states have wildly different answers, an Education Week analysis found. Education Week contacted every state education office to determine how states are handling district decisions about transitioning to remote learning. Forty-six states responded. In at least five states, virtual learning days are highly restricted, due to state regulations. Districts have limited flexibility to transition to full-time remote instruction in at least 10 other states. More than half of states let districts decide on their own.
14th Jan 2022 - EdWeek
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullChicago students protest for virtual learning, COVID-19 stipends
Students in Chicago participated in a walkout on Friday, demonstrating over a lack of adequate safety measures and resources amid the COVID-19 pandemic, just days after the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) agreed to reopen schools again. Students demanded laptops for virtual learning, including students in discussions over plans regarding COVID-19 safety, adequate quantities of cleaning supplies and better social distancing, among other concerns
16th Jan 2022 - The Hill
Students Walk Out Over Covid in New York, Michigan, Oakland, Boston
In the US, teachers’ unions and local governments are in a tug-of-war over remote learning policies, but little attention has been given to students’ preferences, instead putting youth in the middle. Recent days have seen a resurgence of student organizing in response, specifically to accommodate online learning amidst the omicron variant and spiking COVID spread. William Hu, a senior at Boston Latin School, launched a petition on January 4 to push Governor Charlie Baker, who has been resistant to remote schooling despite the rise of the omicron variant, to permit online school as an option. Hu’s petition is approaching 5,800 signatures as of this writing.
12th Jan 2022 - Teen Vogue
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullCreating an engaged digital learning space: Not just a pandemic necessity
Educators can do more to support online students in the post-pandemic hybrid learning climate, says chief operating officer at ViewSonic Bonny Cheng: "Given the often ad hoc nature of hybrid learning during the pandemic, some might have the impression that hybrid learning is a second-best option compared to in-person learning. Modern digital learning tools, when properly implemented, can bridge the gap between in-class and remote learning. This new approach to education will also open up new opportunities to teach more broadly."
13th Jan 2022 - Education Technology
Omicron Continues To ‘Significantly Impact’ In-Person Learning As 2 More Philly Schools Go Virtual To Bring Total Over 100
The number of Philadelphia schools switching to virtual learning this week is now over 100. Two more schools have joined the growing list because of the COVID-19 surge brought upon by the omicron variant. Right now, a total of 101 schools are virtual.
13th Jan 2022 - MSN.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhat will 2022 hold for the education and edtech sector?
Rahim Hirji, UK Country Manager of leading online learning platform, Quizlet offers insights and comment on the education landscape for 2022: "Whilst we have seen many students spending more time in the classroom in 2021 than in 2020, some universities are continuing to offer lectures and seminars online, following huge investments in blended learning tools – something we will see becoming the norm in education across all sectors going forward. Being thrown in at the deep end in terms of online learning was a challenge, but it also helped to demystify the medium for those that were unfamiliar with it."
12th Jan 2022 - FE News
Studies Find Virtual Learning Grows During COVID, Providing Safe and Flexible Options for Families and At-Risk Students
Virtual learning in K-12 education continues to grow due to the health threat caused by coronavirus variants and the assistance this learning model can provide to at-risk students, according to two papers released by Pioneer Institute. Though the two factors are distinctly different, their impact is the same, as more families have been prompted to explore the possibilities of digital learning. They have discovered that expert virtual learning differs from what many parents and students experienced after schools unexpectedly shut down in March of 2020. Others have seen how the use of technology can address the unique needs of certain children and high schoolers
12th Jan 2022 - Yahoo Finance
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullRise in pupils and teachers using online lessons through virtual school
In England, a Government-backed virtual school has seen a rise in pupils using online lessons this term as the Omicron variant threatens disruption to education. Oak National Academy, which provides free learning resources and online lessons, said its weekly user figure last week was 340,000 – the highest level since schools returned from closures in March 2021. The weekly user figure was only 166,000 for the week starting on December 13, the academy said. The virtual school, which began in April 2020, expects the numbers to grow as schools try to keep children learning despite Covid-related absences.
11th Jan 2022 - MSN.com
Opinion: Online education can be a great way for children to learn if we do it right
Suzanne Chisholm is vice-principal at SIDES, a public online school in Victoria. She has taught elementary students in both classrooms and online. She writes: "Online learning can be an excellent option for many students, and for some students it’s the best option. However, it must be done properly, and it usually works better when it is a choice." "Purposefully designed online education delivered by trained and skilled teachers plays a crucial role in our modern education system, and provides a vital alternative for many students and families, pandemic or not. The programs we offer at our school serve a diversity of learners, many of them among the most vulnerable in society. Families tell us how glad they are that we exist. Some parents say our school has been a lifeline for their child. Online learning is anything but cruel and harmful for these students."
11th Jan 2022 - The Globe and Mail
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullDurham University moves to calm fears on online learning method
Durham University has moved to calm concerns about offering online learning on its campus this term, despite ministers calling on educational institutions in the UK for a return to face-to-face teaching. The university, which has previously turned to online methods earlier in the pandemic, announced that it would be starting the new term in a virtual capacity, due to the rising number of Omicron cases within County Durham and the wider North East.
10th Jan 2022 - The Northern Echo
New Brunswick parents raise concerns over another return to online learning
New Brunswick students are preparing for a return to some at-home learning for the third calendar year in a row beginning on Tuesday. The move comes amid an Omicron-fuelled surge in COVID-19 cases and as schools in most provinces and territories also delay a return to the classroom. Students in New Brunswick will stay at home for a least two weeks and then the situation will be reassessed weekly. Restrictions on school sports and extracurricular activities will also remain in place.
10th Jan 2022 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullAs omicron continues to surge, families despair over return to remote learning
The vast majority of U.S. districts appear to be returning to in-person learning, but other large school systems including those in Newark, New Jersey, Milwaukee and Cleveland have gone back to remote learning as infections soar and sideline staff members. Dozens of smaller districts have followed, including many around Detroit, Chicago and Washington. The disruptions also raise alarms about risks to students. Long stretches of remote learning over the last two years have taken a toll, leaving many kids with academic and mental health setbacks that experts are still trying to understand.
9th Jan 2022 - PBS NewsHour
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullSchools sticking with in-person learning scramble for subs
Principals, superintendents and counselors are filling in as substitutes in classrooms as the surge in coronavirus infections further strains schools that already had been struggling with staffing shortages. In Cincinnati, dozens of employees from the central office were dispatched this week to schools that were at risk of having to close because of low staffing. The superintendent of Boston schools, Brenda Cassellius, tweeted she was filling in for a fifth grade teacher. San Francisco’s superintendent, Vince Matthews, has called on all employees with teaching credentials to take a class.
6th Jan 2022 - The Associated Press
Parents in 'limbo' as schools close, return to virtual learning amid COVID-19 surge
As schools returned from winter break this week amid skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, more did so virtually than at any point so far this school year. This week, there have been over 4,500 temporary school closures across the country. The prospect of a return to virtual learning, on a short- or long-term basis has some parents around the country concerned about the challenges of remote education and unpredictable childcare after great lengths were taken to keep kids in the classroom.
By the same token, advocates say some parents feel the opposite, applauding the move temporarily to keep schools open in the long run. Others say they would like to return to virtual learning for safety reasons, but simply don't have the option.
6th Jan 2022 - ABC news
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in full10 school classrooms go virtual as Covid cases rise in East Lothian
More than 10 classes at schools across East Lothian were learning from home on Wednesday. Schools opened their doors following the festive break but staff shortages, due to Covid-19, meant some classrooms were empty.
5th Jan 2022 - East Lothian Courier
Schools shift to virtual learning in Ontario amid surge in COVID-19 cases
Students across Ontario logged on to virtual classrooms as a new school term began on Wednesday, triggering renewed frustration for some families who said their children have a tough time with remote learning. Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation president Karen Littlewood said teachers are feeling a “slight sense of relief” that the return to in-person learning has been delayed since many of the safety measures called for are not currently in place. But she said educators are frustrated at having to revert to online schooling once more.
5th Jan 2022 - The Star
Chicago cancels classes after union backs remote learning
Leaders of Chicago Public Schools canceled classes Wednesday after the teachers union voted to switch to remote learning due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the latest development in an escalating battle over pandemic safety protocols in the nation’s third-largest school district. Chicago has rejected a districtwide return to remote instruction, saying it was disastrous for children’s learning and mental health. But the union argued the district’s safety protocols are lacking and both teachers and students are vulnerable.
5th Jan 2022 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in full‘It’s really disappointing’: Ontario parents, teachers brace for virtual learning
Students, parents and teachers in Ontario are bracing for another stint of virtual education after the province announced Monday that schools would not reopen to in-person classes for at least two weeks due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Premier Doug Ford announced the shift to remote learning less than a week after his government insisted in-person classes would resume after only a two-day delay.
4th Jan 2022 - Global News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullThe Bright Side of the Virtual Classroom
Wendy Lustbader M.S.W. writes about her experience of virtual teaching: "Now I have to re-think the ways my teaching has been augmented on the screen. I didn’t know that certain advantages would take hold of me as a teacher or expand the options students had for being heard and seen. To my surprise, there were times when it felt like we had been together in a real room. When we are in-person again, I hope to make actual some of these discoveries from the virtual classroom – or at least the spirit of them."
3rd Jan 2022 - Psychology Today
Simulated and classroom culture in higher education
Educational institutions have adopted virtual learning across the world. For higher educational institutions, senior management has taken up the responsibility to supervise and monitor the effectiveness of virtual learning towards achieving strategic goals. The whole onus is on the course instructor to design the contents and delivery of the course in such a way as to promote self-learning and better engagement in the class. Effective knowledge starts with learner’s engagement. Hence, students’ engagement has emerged as a fundamental subject in Higher Education in the recent past. In turn, it has become a pervasive indicator for measuring the education quality of institutions.
3rd Jan 2022 - EurekAlert
COVID-19: New Brunswick students preparing to move to online learning for 2 weeks
New Brunswick students are preparing to move to online learning for at least two weeks, as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the province. Education Minister Dominic Cardy made the announcement on Friday. Originally, students were to return to the classroom on Jan. 10, but with rising COVID-19 case counts and Omicron being highly transmissible, the ministry changed course.
3rd Jan 2022 - Globalnews.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullNewfoundland and Labrador schools switch to online learning as COVID-19 cases surge
Public school students in Newfoundland and Labrador will return from the holiday break to remote learning starting Monday, as the province, like the rest of the Atlantic region, battles a surge in COVID-19 cases. Premier Andrew Furey announced the change on Wednesday, one day after Nova Scotia extended the holiday break for students in that province by one week in order to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.
29th Dec 2021 - Toronto Star
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhy Mission — Not Money — Will Lead Colleges to Truly Innovative Online Learning
During the past decade, online education has been driven by enrollments, especially out-of-state enrollments. Online courses have been developed as cash cows for years, by many of the institutions that have them at all. Not only is this approach pedagogically bankrupt, but it hasn’t worked. In-house course design and fiscal responsibility alone, though, will not be enough to create really robust online programs. We also need innovation and creativity. We need to expand beyond the primarily self-paced and asynchronous approach we have already tried.
28th Dec 2021 - EdSurge
Indigenous learners face more challenges with virtual learning, says report
A report about the impacts of remote learning on children includes a section specific to Indigenous youth, including perspectives from a Nipissing First Nation educator.
The Information and Communications Technology Council published 'Uncharted Waters: A World-class Canadian E-learning Paradigm,' which explores virtual learning in Canada and the ways in which it may be useful beyond a COVID-19 context. The report said just 17 per cent of on-reserve households in Ontario have access to high-speed internet. Attendance rates have long been a challenge at First Nation schools, and absenteeism rates grew during the first shift to online school.
Also a problem is that some parts of the curriculum, such as traditional knowledge sharing from elders, cannot take place online, either due to technological barriers or the belief that sacred knowledge should only be shared orally.
28th Dec 2021 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullEdtech should work to replicate universities' social experience
As universities moved online during the pandemic, an emerging challenge is to replicate the real-world social experiences of universities in an online environment. While many social media giants have brought social interaction online, they have been geared towards the general public, and therefore are not built for the specific needs of students. There is an opportunity for purpose-built technology to provide solutions that are specifically designed to create an academic community. Edtech innovators should be looking at physical campuses and identifying which features can be replicated online.
22nd Dec 2021 - Education Technology
Get set for the return of virtual learning, warn teaching unions
Some schools in Kent are already preparing for the prospect of a return to virtual lessons after the New Year, despite the government’s insistence that no closures are under consideration. One of the county’s largest secondary schools has told senior staff to draw up contingency plans for remote learning when the holiday period ends. Wholesale school closures would be unpopular with both staff and parents, with the new term a crucial period for those taking exams. Covid has already accounted for a drop in attendance rates at schools, prompting fears that the learning loss gap between less-advantaged children and their peers may grow.
22nd Dec 2021 - Kent Online
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullOmicron deals one more blow to schools that have weathered COVID-19 and violence
Across the U.S., school districts and families are stumbling toward the finish line of a punishing semester. At some points, nearly all schools appeared back to normal with daily, in-person instruction. But disruptions abounded. As the country braces for an onslaught of infections driven by the more transmissible COVID-19 variant, schools and districts are shuttering and some are preparing to return to virtual instruction – the very mode of education this year was supposed to jettison.
21st Dec 2021 - USA Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullHarvard plans to go remote in January as Covid-19 cases surge
Harvard University announced Saturday that it will return to remote learning for the first few weeks of 2022 as infection concerns grow in the face of a new coronavirus variant. Cornell University, also an Ivy League school, moved its finals to virtual learning last week after a spike in Covid-19 cases on campus.
20th Dec 2021 - NBC News
Omicron variant hits US and Canadian shores: Universities shift to remote learning
The rapid spread of the Omicron variant in US and Canada is dimming the silver lining of face-to-face learning. Just when students are re-adjusting to physical classes, both countries are bracing for a fourth wave of surging COVID-19 infections ahead of the holiday season. The concern over alarming case spikes has led to many universities in Canada and the US moving learning online, with in-person exams delayed or cancelled. Some institutions have announced that online classes would extend until the beginning of the Winter 2022 term.
20th Dec 2021 - Study International
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullSchool districts across US are returning to remote learning due to staffing shortages, COVID surge
School districts across the US are returning to remote learning due to staffing shortages and a surge of COVID as cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has doubled in just 24 hours ahead of the holiday break, according to reports. On Friday, Prince George's County in Maryland became the first major school district to announce that all students will make the move to remote learning. Students in the district will begin online learning Monday, just four days before winter break begins.
19th Dec 2021 - Daily Mail
‘Very high’ levels of Covid staff absences could send learning online in new year, heads warn
“Very high” levels of staff absences linked to Covid could result in pupils learning remotely in the new year, headteachers in the UK have warned. School leaders told The Independent staff pressures posed the biggest threat to staying open to students in the next term, amid rising cases and warnings over the new Omicron variant. But headteachers said this could be affected by staff being unable to come into work due to Covid.
19th Dec 2021 - The Independent
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullSchools prepare for online learning to return in the New Year
Schools across England are preparing for online learning to return in the New Year, according to reports, with some already starting their virtual lessons. According to the BBC more than 30 local authorities already have schools that have moved at least some lessons online already.The BBC says some children are being told to take laptops home with them over Christmas in case they are asked not to come back in in the New Year. The latest data for England shows 236,000 pupils were not in school on December 9.
16th Dec 2021 - Bristol Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow innovative methods helped playschools to connect with students during the pandemic
The pandemic may have challenged educators across the world in multiple ways but some Indian playschools managed to tide over the difficulties with insightful teaching methods. This article looks how five institutions continued to educate and engage their young students with fun and informative techniques.
15th Dec 2021 - The Hans India
Colleges go back to drawing board — again — to fight virus
Facing rising infections and a new COVID-19 variant, colleges across the U.S. have once again been thwarted in seeking a move to normalcy and are starting to require booster shots, extend mask mandates, limit social gatherings and, in some cases, revert to online classes. The threat of the omicron variant comes as a gut punch to schools that were hoping to relax safety measures this spring.
15th Dec 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullUK/US Teachers & parents see VR as having a major role in the classroom
Research findings of 1,000 parents and 600 primary and elementary school teachers from UK & US: At least 70% of parents had the essential equipment for remote learning (e.g. devices) such as laptop(s), tablet(s), mobile phone(s) etc. in both regions. However, infrastructure (wifi) accessibility was the main issue with only 61% (UK) and 56% (US) households having access to online resources and virtual classes.
14th Dec 2021 - FE News
Online teaching's TikTok pedagogy is leading students a merry dance
Binoy Kampmark is senior lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University, Melbourne: "Colleges and universities feel both tempted and threatened by the presence of online instruction systems. Writing in 2018, Subhash Kak was already noting that online learning would “put as many as half the colleges and the universities in the US at risk of shutting down in the next couple of decades as remote students get comparable educations over the internet”. But, equally, online delivery has been a supreme opportunity for the budget minders."
14th Dec 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Pupils in Wales struggled with online learning during lockdown as study reveals impact on wellbeing
Secondary school children in Wales struggled to concentrate and engage with schoolwork when schools shut and work moved online during lockdown, new research has concluded. Their confidence and wellbeing were negatively affected, the study by researchers at Cardiff and Swansea universities showed. The research, published in a British Psychological Society journal, follows similar findings of the impact of the pandemic on young people from the Children's Commissioner for Wales and education watchdog Estyn, as well as warnings from headteachers.
14th Dec 2021 - Wales Online
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow to go about online assessment practices in higher education
Assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning process. During the pandemic period, teachers are desperately looking for online methods to accurately assess a learner’s knowledge, ability and skill. There are diverse issues to be addressed, such as how to proctor an online exam; how to avoid copying so that grades are allotted in a fair fashion; and how to get descriptive/step wise answers through online exams. Several measures -- from simple online questionnaire forms to browser-locking artificial intelligence-based software -- have been adopted to address these issues. However, the question is, should we re-create all the existing offline assessment methods to a virtual platform or introspect a little and evolve more meaningful approaches
13th Dec 2021 - Telegraph India
Berkeley College Online Learning Program Among Best in Country, Newsweek Says
Berkeley College's commitment to serving its students a quality education earned recognition beyond the classroom this year after the school was recently named as one of America’s Best Online Learning Schools of 2022, according to Newsweek and Statista. “The higher education landscape has drastically changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Diane Recinos, interim president of Berkeley College. “While some colleges struggled to pivot, Berkeley College’s 23-year tradition of excellence in online education offered students a seamless transition to remote learning."
13th Dec 2021 - TAPinto.net
Schools are sending children home early for Christmas for remote learning in one part of Wales
In Wales, a council has announced children will return to remote learning for the last three days of term in response to soaring Covid cases and fears over the new Omicron variant. Anglesey council is bringing back hub schools for key workers while others are sent home to learn remotely. Last week headteachers told WalesOnline they were discussing ending term early. Many staff and pupils are absent and there are worries that anyone testing positive from Wednesday December 15 will have to isolate over Christmas Day
13th Dec 2021 - Wales Online
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullOnline learning platform would offset the disruption storms and pandemics cause
Storm Barra was like a bomb dropped into family routines, sweeping in and leaving teachers no time to plan virtual learning. Which is fair enough – lessons take time to plan. But this lack of ability and agility to offer online learning highlights the urgent need for a centralised, easy to access portal with the primary and secondary curricula, clearly laid out with links, videos and worksheets for every topic.
12th Dec 2021 - Independent.ie
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual instruction is the future of modern teaching: How schools and educators can prepare
Virtual instruction in the post-pandemic era requires clear-headed attention to the value it brings to students, educators and school districts alike. However, as we’ve seen, many have struggled throughout the pandemic, adapting to a virtual model, leaving some lingering questions about the viability of this instructional model. School districts seeking funds allocated for student learning through initiatives like the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) will discover that the intellectual and business solution of adding a robust virtual element to their institutional construct is a critically essential component of student instruction. However, simply moving traditional curriculums onto a Zoom call isn’t an effective approach.
9th Dec 2021 - The Business Journals
The new normal: should e-learning be a part of education post-pandemic?
Whether you’re a tech sceptic or a technophile, most people can agree that technology played an enormous role in ensuring that education could continue during the pandemic. When Covid-19 hit, e-learning tools helped students to enjoy an unbroken educational experience, even at a time when they couldn’t physically visit the classroom or mingle with other students. But while tech helped schools to successfully pivot to deal with pandemic learning, what does the future now hold for online learning? Given the choice of returning to learning as normal, should e-learning stick around, post-pandemic, to aid teaching and learning or is face-to-face teaching the most effective method? That question is one that educators and stakeholders are now pondering.
9th Dec 2021 - Independent Education Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullLockdown harmful for almost every child's education, Ofsted warns
Nearly all children in England have fallen behind in their education and suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ofsted has warned. The watchdog has called on schools to offer pupils sport and extra-curricular activities to ensure children “regain a sense of normality” in their lives. Chief inspector Amanda Spielman warned that many of the youngest children’s progress and development “faltered” amid the pandemic, with some regressing in basic language and social skills.
8th Dec 2021 - Wales Online
What to do when technology fails: an educator's survival guide for online classrooms
Online teaching allows educators to reach students all across the globe, but the technology that enables this flexibility cannot be taken for granted. All of it can and will fail at some point, and the onus is on teachers to possess the technological know-how to resolve these issues at short notice. The article goes through seven tips on how to troubleshoot common technical issues encountered in online teaching
8th Dec 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: No plans to close schools or for remote learning
In Northern Ireland, the Department of Education (DE) has said "there are no plans to close schools early this term or to move to remote learning". That is according to a circular from DE which has been sent to all headteachers and education bodies. Earlier Education Minister Michelle McIlveen said she understood concerns expressed by some teaching unions. However, she told the assembly that classroom-based teaching remained the best option for all pupils.
7th Dec 2021 - BBC News
Remote Learning Fails the Test
Accumulating evidence shows the damage of school shutdowns. Now a working paper published in the National Bureau of Economic Research documents how much remote learning reduced student achievement, especially for low-income and minority children. The researchers—from Brown University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and MIT—examine the relationship between in-person learning and third- through eighth-grade student scores in 12 states. They found that the share of students who scored “proficient” or above declined in spring 2021 compared to previous years by an average of 14.2 percentage points in math and 6.3 percentage points in language arts.
7th Dec 2021 - Wall Street Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullNew Covid variant extends online learning period
The arrival of the fourth wave of Covid-19 via the latest Omicron variant has put online learning higher on the agenda, with another new option for South African parents to consider for their children in 2022.
6th Dec 2021 - IOL
Education ministry holds virtual symposium for open, distance and e-learning
In Indonesia, the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry held the 2021 International Open, Distance and e-Learning Symposium (ISODEL) from Dec. 1 to 3. The theme of this year’s symposium was “Education technology in the new normal: Now and beyond”. As the title states, ISODEL’s 2021 focus was highlighting technological innovations to support schools across the country engaging in remote education during Covid-19.
6th Dec 2021 - Jakarta Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullStrong parent-teacher relationships may be the key to virtual learning success
When school shifted online at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents were tasked with stepping in to support their children academically. However, it was difficult for many parents to juggle their own job responsibilities with household duties and virtual school. Now, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University found that students are more likely to succeed with online learning when parents and teachers have a strong relationship.
5th Dec 2021 - ConsumerAffairs
Universities Minister Michelle Donelan says online learning mustn't be used as cost-saving measure
In England, online learning must not be used by vice chancellors as a cost-saving measure or 'for convenience', the Universities Minister warned. Michelle Donelan said institutions must become 'more transparent' about the return to face-to-face learning. She has written to every university leader in the country, setting out an 'expectation' they listen to students' demands. In-person teaching has been allowed on campuses for all courses since May, after Covid lockdown measures meant some degrees had been online-only for months. But even though there are no longer restrictions on face-to-face learning, many universities have opted to keep some virtual lectures. Thousands of students across the country have signed petitions to protest at their lack of in-person teaching while still paying fees of £9,250-a-year.
5th Dec 2021 - Daily Mail
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullDonations improve how kids learn amid ongoing COVID concerns
Grantmakers are increasing spending on education, hoping to turn the pandemic into an opportunity to fine tune the use of educational technology, develop better lesson plans, and build connections with families and after-school programs that could help reduce students’ mental-health challenges due to COVID. They want to help school districts change the way people like Mansur teach, while reducing learning gaps. The support could help reduce teacher burnout and get students on solid footing at grade level without resorting to remedial instruction.
2nd Dec 2021 - Associated Press
Universities claim shift to online education in pandemic has benefited students
Universities claim that online lectures and support are welcomed by students and are in some cases better than the face-to-face contact they replaced. Universities UK (UUK), which represents vice-chancellors, says in a briefing that a range of benefits from the pandemic are helping students. Many institutions plan to continue online careers fairs and open days and digital internships, it says. However, David Laws, a former Liberal Democrat cabinet minister, fears that poorer students would be hit hardest by a move away from face-to-face careers events.
2nd Dec 2021 - The Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullCan Online Education Be a Force for Equity and Institutional Sustainability?
Robert Ubell’s new book Staying Online, offers a compelling argument that online learning can be a force for equity, despite the widespread claim that low-income and first-generation college students fare relatively poorly in online courses. Done properly, Ubell contends, online learning can boost outcomes for marginalized students, increase retention rates, improve student learning, and stabilize institutional costs. Staying Online is, in short, a clarion call for institutions to mainstream virtual learning.
1st Dec 2021 - Inside Higher Ed
Covid-19: Some pupils remote learning amid staff shortage
Entire year groups are having to switch to remote learning across Northern Ireland because there are not enough teachers to cover classes, a teachers' union has said. NASUWT's Justin McCamphill has called for schools to close early before Christmas as a "circuit breaker". One Belfast school has required some year groups to learn from home or leave early every day this week.
1st Dec 2021 - BBC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullOnline school supports SEND children 'let down by system'
An online independent school has been re-introducing children with SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities), whose needs for adequate support in their learning and development haven’t been met, back into school. According to Ofsted, many families have been waiting as long as two years to obtain support for their children’s learning needs. As a result, Minerva’s Virtual Academy, which provides support and guidance to children with SEND, have been “flooded” with calls from desperate parents who have exhausted all options. Lawrence Tubb, Minerva’s Virtual Academy headmaster, said: “Many of the families we speak to have children with severe SEND issues including autism, which can affect a child’s capacity for learning in multiple ways. Several of our pupils have had their confidence knocked via the system and have struggled to fit in, adapt and progress in their schools.
“The pandemic has of course, not helped matters. The reality is, many families have been unable to access appropriate support and care or have experienced delays in obtaining a medical diagnosis, which means they are left to battle in the interim with little or no learning provision.”
30th Nov 2021 - Independent Education Today
Keeping it real: Bringing practical dimensions into online teaching
Moreover, some tutors love disaster scenarios, as if the law only applies when things go wrong. This is understandable when teaching crime, where no one expects characters to be nice to each other, but must every seminar in contract law start and end in breach? This approach risks producing students who can tell you that a contractual provision is unenforceable but cannot redraft it.
30th Nov 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Online Learning During the Pandemic | Useful Tips for College Students
The coronavirus pandemic has transformed every aspect of human life, including the education sector. Due to restrictions of movement and other measures in place to minimize the spread of the virus, many colleges have chosen to offer some or all of their courses online.
30th Nov 2021 - The Portugal News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullMost staff 'feel lack of support for improving online teaching'
Less than a fifth of UK academics say they are being given the time to develop their online teaching while just 6 per cent believe their university has given them recognition for the skills they have developed, a new survey has shown. Although most of the 3,700 teachers questioned between October 2020 and July 2021 by digital services provider Jisc said they felt supported when it came to teaching online, a large majority said that there was a lack of help for innovation.
29th Nov 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Teachers fear omicron will ‘rip through schools’ and could push learning online
Teachers fear the new Covid variant starting to spread across the UK will “rip through schools” and could see learning pushed online. Some schools have already sent pupils home to learn remotely due to a rise in Covid cases and staff absences. Julie McCulloch from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) warned keeping schools open may end up leading to more remote learning. She said the “real difficulty” was managing remote learning for groups self-isolating as well as teaching students allowed to be in school.
29th Nov 2021 - The Independent
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat do parents in Saudi Arabia really think about distance learning?
Distance learning was a necessity imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the past 18 months there has been a great deal of debate, globally, about the merits or otherwise of remote education and how well its extended use has served students during these difficult times. In Saudi Arabia, however, parents appear to be overwhelmingly in favor of distance learning, according to figures quoted by Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh.He added that it is here to stay, in some form, even after the pandemic ends because it has become a pillar of the education system.
28th Nov 2021 - Arab News
Long Hours and Online Learning - Interview with teacher Sophie Jackson
Over the last 2 years, how schools approach learning has been through some large changes, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns. When the topic of education is brought up in relation to these changes, most people highlight the impact of a changing learning environment on students. However, children weren’t the only people affected: schools and their staff had to adapt quickly to a rapidly changing environment as well. Primary school teacher Sophie Jackson explains how online learning has evolved for her school and how it is used now.
28th Nov 2021 - This is Local London
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow innovation is smashing digital learning barriers
A year ago, Unicef announced that more than one billion children were at risk of falling behind academically due to school closures in response to Covid-19. Education institutions have since adapted, deploying technology that enables teachers and pupils to continue to connect outside of the classroom, further accelerating the positive impact technology has played in education over the last few decades. With the reopening of schools, educational establishments are building on the digital foundations they have laid, helping to address the concerns raised in the Unicef report, such as lack of access to personal computers and technology that facilitates home-based learning.
25th Nov 2021 - Education Technology
Mumbai: Hybrid education mode ‘not working’ for online students
In Mumbai, with schools requesting the state to make attendance in physical classrooms compulsory, students attending virtual classes from home are complaining about being “left out” by teachers when hybrid lessons are in progress. “With classes going hybrid, students attending online are feeling left out during interactive sessions. Teachers are not adequately trained to handle in-person and virtual students at the same time,” said the principal of a Sion school.
25th Nov 2021 - Times of India
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullVivid language: teaching online students to assess writing
Teaching students how to self-assess their writing for focus, organisation and development is a big, yet incredibly important, challenge. Thankfully, the online classroom offers a chance to use word processing tools to refresh writing instruction and create a practical skill for student-writers to use in their academic lives. In the writing classroom, students use self-assessment to correct themselves as thinkers and composers of ideas. The online, video-based classroom supplies faculty and students with tools that make self-assessment visual, engaging, immediate and comprehensible.
24th Nov 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullCombining virtual and in-person learning is the future of education, study finds
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything from work meetings to doctors’ visits has shifted online. For parents, this has also meant adjusting to virtual school for their kids. Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the Dresden University of Technology explored what the future of schooling may look like. They explained that though there have been benefits linked to online learning, it’s not likely to be the sole form of education moving forward; instead, education professionals are likely to utilize a combination of both in-person and digital teaching. “Digital teaching should be seen as a complementary means to further improve the quality of teaching, and the importance of face-to-face teaching should not be forgotten,” said researcher Dr. Anne Gärtner.
23rd Nov 2021 - ConsumerAffairs
Covid Saw A Boost In Online Learning Among Women
The Covid period has generally speaking been a difficult one for women. While labor market participation among women had been steadily rising in the decades leading up to the pandemic, it fell dramatically during it, with participation rates in America falling to levels last seen in 1987. It's a trend that is not echoed, however, in new data from the online learning platform Coursera, which shows that women have enrolled in courses at higher rates than before the pandemic. Indeed, whereas women made up 47% of learners in 2019, this had jumped to 52% by 2021. “Our research suggests that gender gaps in online learning narrowed during the pandemic, even as gender employment gaps widened,” Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO, says.
23rd Nov 2021 - Forbes
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning led to lower K-12 test scores in some U.S. states, especially for math, study finds
The coronavirus pandemic forced schools to pivot to virtual learning in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, but new research shows how remote learning hurt some students' academic performance. According to a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), remote learning caused significant declines in test scores in English language arts and math compared to schools with more in-person learning.
22nd Nov 2021 - MSN.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullVR and robots will have major role in the classroom but we must solve the engagement issue, say teachers across the UK and US
New research into children’s education post-pandemic finds glaring gap between engagement levels and tech-enabled teaching. It found that 18 months since nationwide lockdowns began, the top priority for teachers across the UK and US is bridging the gap between decreasing children’s engagement levels and using tech effectively in the classroom.
21st Nov 2021 - fenews.co.uk
Equitable access to online learning, safe reopening of schools: Students urge MPs on World Children's Day
On World Children’s Day, students in India emphasized on the learning recovery from the loss of study during the COVID-19 pandemic and urged parliamentarians to reopen schools safely and take actions to bridge the digital divide.
21st Nov 2021 - The Statesman
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullPush for more online learning as universities pin hopes on 2024 recovery
NSW universities expect student enrolment numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. University of NSW vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs said Australian universities could educate millions of students overseas with online courses. He said the world and Australia would be better placed with 85 per cent of people having some form of tertiary education. “I’d love to see online embraced in a massive way by Australian universities. Australia can be genuinely educating millions and millions of people around the world, who can’t access a good quality education, through using online technology.”
18th Nov 2021 - The Age
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullStudents speak out: What they will miss about distance learning
Students in the Philippines listed down the things that they will miss about distance learning after the pandemic task force approves limited face-to-face classes in higher education institutions under Alerts Level 1, 2 and 3.
17th Nov 2021 - Interaksyon
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullNew research shows virtual school can harm children's vision
When COVID-19 first shut down classrooms and virtual schooling became the new norm, ophthalmologists predicted an increase in digital eye strain in children. New research from ophthalmologists at Wills Eye Hospital confirms that the increased screen time did lead to more eye strain in children, as well as a more troubling eye condition called convergence insufficiency, which can cause difficulty reading. The study is being presented at AAO 2021, the 125th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
16th Nov 2021 - Medical Xpress
5 Reasons Why Online Schools Are Right For Students
Conventional high schools and classrooms don’t work for every student. For some students, the high school experience can be underwhelming due to the content covered and the mode of learning. The fear of falling behind the rest and the whole day-long structure can all contribute to malaise with traditional education. However, after COVID, things have changed and you can now enroll in virtual classes that will be better suited to your needs. Here are some reasons why online schools are right for students: flexible schedule, digital assignments, personalized learning, learning at your own pace, and a challenging and engaging environment.
16th Nov 2021 - eLearning Inside
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe Benefits of Online Learning Are Also Its Weaknesses. That’s Where Advisors Help.
While asynchronous online learning works well for many students, it is not without its challenges, and those can be the very same attributes that make it attractive—that’s the paradox of online learning. Students who are balancing multiple responsibilities of jobs, children or aging parents are generally attracted to the anytime/anyplace virtue of online courses, but they may also need the most help in managing all of these things. Let’s examine the characteristics of online education and how they both enable and constrain learning, plus consider tips for how advisors can help students resolve these tensions.
15th Nov 2021 - EdSurge
Developing virtual experiential learning: key takeaways | THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect
It is important for students to integrate classroom learning with practical application, real-world experiences and community engagement. How can higher education institutions find ways to offer students experiential learning that are compatible with remote instruction? The Chinese University of Hong Kong set out to embed the topic of sustainable development within its general education curriculum through the launch of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Study Scheme. A fund was created to help teachers to organise SDG-related experiential learning. Their creativity and determination in implementing activities through the pandemic was impressive and many useful lessons can be drawn. With in-person meetings and trips cancelled, faculty developed innovative virtual solutions
15th Nov 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullPandemic first graders are way behind in reading. Experts say they may take years to catch up.
In classrooms across the U.S., the first months of school this fall have laid bare what many in education feared: Students are way behind in skills they should have mastered already. Children in early elementary school have had their most formative first few years of education disrupted by the pandemic, years when they learn basic math and reading skills and important social-emotional skills, like how to get along with peers and follow routines in a classroom. While experts say it’s likely these students will catch up in many skills, the stakes are especially high around reading. Research
14th Nov 2021 - USA Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: Online teaching suggested for unvaccinated teachers as mandate deadline looms
In New Zealand, teachers who are unvaccinated against Covid-19 could remain in a virtual classroom educating pupils whose parents aren’t ready to send them back to school. That’s just one of the ideas to have come across the desk of Cambridge East Primary School principal Hamish Fenemor, who is also the immediate past president of the Waikato Principals’ Association. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced children in years 1-8 will return to school part time and students in years 9 and 10 will go back full time on November 17.
11th Nov 2021 - Stuff.co.nz
3 strategies for virtual student-centered learning
When secondary educators plunged into emergency online teaching in March 2020, they faced a slew of challenges. Among those challenges was the lack of student engagement after the novelty of logging in from home in pajamas wore off. The best classrooms build a sense of community, offer opportunities for growth, provide varying entry points for students to engage, and place an emphasis on interactive, collaborative, and student-centered learning. How to do this in a virtual space requires proactive relationship building, creative energy to pre-plan, and a sense of humor especially when the technology fails.
11th Nov 2021 - eSchool News
The School in the Cloud - Virtual learning as an opportunity
What does the future of education look like in a wired world? In this film, Indian education expert Sugata Mitra conducts an experiment. In an Indian village, he builds a school that only exists virtually, in the cloud.
11th Nov 2021 - Deutsche Welle
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullCT legislators consider permanent virtual school as interest grows
A program called TEC Connections Academy Commonwealth Virtual School (TECCA), a tuition-free K-12 public school in East Walpole, Mass., opened its doors in 2014 with 200 students and 14 staff members. The idea behind it was to give students throughout Massachusetts a different learning option. Now enrollment has skyrocketed to 2,700 students with a waitlist in the thousands. Staff has also increased to 190, including teachers, counselors and social workers.
10th Nov 2021 - The CT Mirror
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe educator's imperative: creating intentional inclusivity in the digital classroom
Online teaching is about more than just the right technology. It is about building an inclusive online learning environment through relational and humanistic approaches that welcome diversity of all types. Diversity, equity and inclusion cannot begin and end as statements of principle – they must be carried out through actions by educators in the classroom. What may seem like small gestures, when undertaken with authenticity, will support an online learning environment that enables everyone to feel invited in and recognised.
9th Nov 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
The nightmare of online learning: Here's what I've learned as a teacher. It's not pretty.
We have learned – hopefully, once and for all – that no digital teaching tool can replace a talented, experienced, committed, hard-working teacher with at least the basic administrative support in a reasonably safe, clean and well-lit classroom. Much as some of us perfected our online teaching chops, it was never the same; it was hardly close. If we didn’t already know how much kids need to be around each other, we know now, especially those of us who are parents too. But not all students missed what is for them the chaotic crush of school. Many found solace in being away from us. For some kids, being isolated at home was an upgrade from the social isolation or bullying they had to contend with at school – and from which the educators in their lives failed to protect them. We need to do a lot better at creating a positive learning environment for all students.
9th Nov 2021 - USA Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe big idea: Should we leave the classroom behind?
Education was adapting to the digital world long before Covid but, as with so many other human activities, the pandemic has given learning a huge shove towards the virtual. Overnight, schools and universities closed and teachers and students had to find ways to do what they do exclusively via the internet. Naturally there were problems, but as Professor Diana Laurillard of University College London’s Knowledge Lab explains, they essentially pulled off an extraordinary – and global – experiment. “It can’t return to the way it was,” she says. “The cat is out of the bag.”
8th Nov 2021 - The Guardian
Some districts plan for new full-time virtual schools to outlast the coronavirus pandemic
A Rand Corporation survey conducted in June found 26 percent of districts said they would run a virtual school this year, compared with just 3 percent before the pandemic. The school systems that served primarily families of color reported particularly high demand from parents for a virtual option. Yet it remains unclear how many students will remain in virtual learning when the pandemic subsides and whether they should. Research before the pandemic often showed poorer outcomes for students in virtual schools versus brick-and-mortar ones. Only 3 percent of parents, in another Rand survey conducted in July, said they would send their youngest school-age child to full-time virtual school if the pandemic were over.
8th Nov 2021 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullWe cannot allow remote learning to create undereducated students
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated just how vital and valuable technology is to education. It’s also shown how far we still have to go in leveraging that technology to improve learning and prepare students for college and beyond. When the pandemic shuttered schools across the country and sent tens of millions of students home, many institutions quickly shifted to remote teaching to prevent catastrophic learning loss. While necessary, this stopgap solution had an inherent flaw: Few teachers were actually prepared for the transition to online instruction, particularly in K-12.
7th Nov 2021 - The Hill
Covid: How remote learning changed during pandemic
The way that teaching and learning patterns have shifted over the course of the Covid pandemic has been revealed by new analysis of Oak National Academy data by researchers at SchoolDash. In September, Oak National's research revealed that deprivation levels had affected the online classroom's impact, as in the most deprived IDACI (Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index) areas, only 69.4 per cent accessed lessons by a computer, whereas 78 per cent in the top quintile did. SchoolDash has now looked into how the Oak National Academy online classroom was used by pupils and teachers over the course of the pandemic.
7th Nov 2021 - TES News
Court order reinstates distance learning for disabled students
In California, State officials must act immediately to provide distance learning that is comparable to last year for students with disabilities and also adequate to their overall needs, a judge has ordered. The court finding, in the form of a temporary restraining order issued Thursday, will provide immediate relief for 15 students — with several dozen others that could follow — but there are broad implications for students across California. The practices at issue arise from Assembly Bill 130, which put in place rules meant to ensure that school districts provided and prioritized in-person instruction for all students this fall after the pandemic resulted in campus closures the previous year.
7th Nov 2021 - Los Angeles Times
NorthCap University launches smart classrooms to optimise virtual learning experience
NorthCap University in Gurugram, Haryana has launched state-of-the-art smart classrooms fully equipped with digital technology to optimise the learning experience of students who are struggling with online education. These smart classrooms will replicate a physical classroom in a virtual model, thus enabling students to attend virtual interactive lectures from anywhere in the world in a simulated classroom environment. It also enables the faculty to deliver lectures in hybrid mode in a classroom-like ambience.
7th Nov 2021 - Telegraph India
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe pandemic deepened inequities for Bay Area students. How can schools respond?
According to educators and youth advocates, the traumas of last year have carried over into a delta-hobbled fall semester and could manifest for years to come, particularly for female, LGBTQ and nonbinary students, as well as all students of color. In August, the alliance and YouthTruth, a national nonprofit headquartered in San Francisco, released separate studies built on the perspectives of youth and delivering sobering prognoses: Students felt overwhelmed and under-supported during remote learning, and the pandemic metastasized existing inequities for young learners.
4th Nov 2021 - San Francisco Chronicle
Homeschooling boomed in the pandemic—and many parents aren't sending their kids back to class
School enrollment in Kansas has dropped by over fifteen thousand students since 2019 as virtual and homeschool enrollment has increased. Nationwide, enrollment in public schools has dropped by more than 1.5 million students during the pandemic, according to the U.S. Department of Education. As some students stay out of public school, they’ve turned to pandemic pods, traditional homeschooling and virtual learning, Before the pandemic, Kansas City Public Schools, which serves much of Kansas City, Missouri, would see between fifty and a hundred students enrolled in its Virtual Academy. During the pandemic, that number skyrocketed—last school year, they started with three thousand students in the program.
4th Nov 2021 - Kansas City Magazine
Leveraging Technology to Scale Education
In recent decades, we have seen the power of technology not only change the way we live, work, and interact with each other, but also make it possible for the transformation of traditional classroom-based learning. EdTech is on a solid growth trajectory thanks to the combination of high-speed internet connections, robust digital platforms, compelling digital content, plummeting costs of data and devices and the emergence of adaptive learning. All of this innovation and change has fundamentally transformed traditional classroom-based learning. EdTech makes highly flexible and scalable online learning possible.
3rd Nov 2021 - MarketScreener
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullDepEd, US Peace Corps train 1,000 teachers on distance learning materials
In the Philippines, a series of virtual training on using newly developed distance learning materials was conducted by the US Peace Corps and the Department of Education.The collaboration sought to develop and validate learning activity sheets before training educators can use them and before these can be distributed to students in indigenous communities, geographically isolated areas and some of the most resource-challenged communities in the Philippines.
3rd Nov 2021 - The Manila Times
Ministry trains 700 educators weekly to boost online learning
In Cambodia, since the end of September, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has trained 3,292 teachers from secondary resource schools and network schools on how to manage distance learning to run online classes in a high-quality and efficient manner. The ministry said on November 1 that it continues to train over 700 teachers each week on remote teaching skills.
3rd Nov 2021 - The Phnom Penh Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullIn this Washington-area school system, more than 10000 students remain virtual
In the Washington area, most school systems are going full-bore with in-person learning, considering it to be the best way for students to recover from the academic losses and mental health hardships of a nearly 20-month crisis. Across Maryland, about 25,000 students are learning virtually. Of those, more than 34 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, according to state data released this week. Among those enrolled in virtual learning, 50 percent are Black, 20 percent are Hispanic, 14 percent are White and 7 percent are Asian, the data shows. In D.C. public schools, parents fought for a virtual option, but D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and officials in her administration resisted, saying students, particularly low-income students of color, fell behind in virtual learning and it was vital that they return to classrooms.
2nd Nov 2021 - The Washington Post
Screen time for US tweens and teens doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic to nearly eight hours a day, study finds
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, lockdowns and stay-at-home mandates shut down schools. Kids suddenly went from using screens not just for entertainment and socializing but also for online learning. But, additionally, they were able to spend time using screens before and after attending remote lessons. Several studies have found that children and teenagers were getting more screen time, but none using national U.S. data. For the new study, published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, the team used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.
2nd Nov 2021 - Daily Mail
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullLeveraging the best of remote learning, communication and collaboration
While parents are rightfully concerned about missed learning opportunities from remote schooling, they are also more in tune than ever with their child's education. In many ways, this period has closed gaps in parent engagement through increased virtual communication channels and digital delivery of instructional materials. While we still have a long way to go to ensure that all students have the digital skills to succeed in a changing economy, remote schooling has encouraged some gains in technological availability and digital literacy. According to one educator survey, 54 percent of educators reported that access and knowledge of technology among students improved during the pandemic. Recognizing this silver lining, we also have to acknowledge that these digital systems are far from perfect, even after more than a year of continuous classroom use.
1st Nov 2021 - MSN.com
In return to campuses, students with disabilities fear they’re being ‘left behind’
Many students welcomed the return to in-person learning, but the change has revived pre-pandemic difficulties and created new ones for some students with disabilities. Some lamented the reduction of online instruction, which allowed them to read closed captions during lectures in real time, turn their cameras off when needed, and watch recorded lectures at home and at their own pace, among its benefits. Experts estimate that 1 in 8 U.S. college students have at least one disability, according to Scott Lissner, the public policy committee chair at the Association on Higher Education and Disability. Some of those students, including those with attention-deficit-related disabilities, say they found online learning harder. But overall, the return to in-person learning presents a pervasive challenge for students with disabilities as well as for every college across the country
1st Nov 2021 - Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullUK business schools set to heavily invest in edtech innovation following Covid-19 pandemic
Three quarters (75%) of Business School leaders say that their Schools are now using virtual classrooms – an increase from 51% at the end of 2020, according to the AMBA & BGA Education Technology Report. This report, based on a survey of 171 Business School leaders worldwide, tells the story of edtech in 2020 and 2021. In so doing, it reveals how Business Schools turned a crisis into an opportunity. Following a year in which Business Schools were pushed into enhancing their investments in edtech by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, 84% of participants to this survey have indicated that they want their Business School to retain the new technology that has been introduced.
30th Oct 2021 - Business Leader
Nearly half of teenagers said the pandemic had a negative impact on their academics.
The pandemic has become the signature feature of high school for this cohort of adolescents. The forced isolation and lockdowns wrought havoc on teenage lives and shaped them in ways they will never forget. Against this backdrop, some teens struggled in school, many of them managing virtual classes with teachers who were learning on the fly. Students who were lucky enough to return to in-person classes still had to contend with being quarantined or having their schools shut down. But amid this doom and gloom, there was a silver lining: Some students actually liked remote learning. They preferred being home, or having the flexibility, or feeling less frantic about college. Students who felt chronically overscheduled finally had time to stop and breathe. For some, that space allowed them time to figure out who they were.
30th Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
Kids who learned remotely felt they 'mattered less' than peers studying in-person, study suggests
A study of Canadian students suggests that children who learned remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic reported they felt they ‘mattered less’ than their peers who studied in-person. The researchers wrote that attention has been paid to the efficacy of online learning on the reduction of virus spread, its impact on learning loss and mental health, but not much consideration has been made to the social and emotional implications of the teaching approach for elementary and secondary students.
29th Oct 2021 - CTV News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe upside to long-term online teaching: one size seldom fits all
Lawrence Tubb, headmaster at Minerva’s Virtual Academy, writes about the various reasons why online teaching works for some children: "Speaking from experience, most children that choose to be educated online do so because traditional school simply doesn’t work for them. We are all aware of the need to nurture every child individually and when it comes to elements such as pace of learning, speed of attainment and of course mental wellbeing, there are a number of grey areas."
28th Oct 2021 - Independent Education Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe Pandemic Could Have Unlocked Remote Schooling. It Hasn't
In a rush to return to normal and leave last year’s remote learning debacles in the rearview mirror, states and school systems have thrown away a potential pandemic breakthrough: the ability to shift quickly and seamlessly to remote learning whenever they need. Earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, school and system leaders hoped sick days and snow days could soon be a thing of the past. If future weather events or disease outbreaks forced children to stay home, schools could easily shift to remote learning. But as we transition from a summer of California wildfires and devastating hurricanes to an academic year disrupted by quarantines and staffing shortages, “anywhere learning” seems all too futuristic. The important possibilities the pandemic experience offers for helping schools overcome disruptions beyond COVID-19 aren’t being fulfilled.
27th Oct 2021 - EducationWeek
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual exchange: What are students signing up for?
Many students are drawn to culturally immersive experiences that support their personal growth and academic performance. Offering students the chance to study abroad is an integral part of how many post-secondary programs have developed globally responsive curriculum. Virtual exchanges are technology-based, classroom-to-classroom programs that connect students located in different geographical locations to develop intercultural and project-based learning. While virtual exchanges have been implemented for at least three decades now, the COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged many practitioners and administrators in different academic disciplines to build online global partnerships.
26th Oct 2021 - MSN.com
Many Latinos chose virtual learning for children to minimize health risks to family
Many Latino families chose virtual learning for their children instead of returning to the classroom last fall in an effort to minimize health risks and protect vulnerable family members from COVID-19, according to a new study from a Rice University sociologist. Julia Szabo said Hispanic families in her study regularly had to put themselves at risk of contracting COVID-19, usually due to work obligations. As a result, Hispanic parents who were unwilling to introduce any unnecessary threats to their families often saw virtual learning as a way to lower their risk.
26th Oct 2021 - Phys.org
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 Delta outbreak: Auckland's senior students sick of online learning but nervous about return to school
Senior students returning to school in Auckland say they want to get back in the classroom. They're sick of Zoom calls and emailing teachers for help. They say it's been a struggle to stay motivated as lockdown dragged on, despite their teachers' best efforts. But now they're replacing the frustration of lockdown with the uncertainty of gathering at school as Covid-19 cases climb across Auckland.
25th Oct 2021 - New Zealand Herald
Atlanta schools offer $3K to lure teachers for online class
Atlanta public school officials are offering a $3,000 bonus to try to recruit new teachers for additional virtual classes. The district announced the hiring bonus recently amid a jump in the number of students seeking online instruction, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Atlanta Public Schools will also provide relocation and housing allowances for successful out-of-state candidates, according to the newspaper. Starting pay in the district for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree is just over $49,000.
25th Oct 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in full63% of students claim online learning platforms helped them reduce stress while studying from home
A survey conducted on World Mental Health Day aimed to gain in-depth insights into how students manage their stress and other mental health concerns. The findings point at the fact that a majority (75%) of students have noted mental health changes during the COVID-induced study from home period. At the same time school performance and preparation emerged as one of the key contributors to students’ stress and anxiety. 71% of students reported that this near-immediate transition and the following months have impacted their mental health. Meanwhile, respite did come from online learning platforms that positively impacted student’s mental health by allowing them to supplement their school lessons with further clarity on concepts and help with homework. A significant (63%) have mentioned that online learning platforms have helped reduce stress during their study from home.
24th Oct 2021 - The Tribune
High schoolers, educators decry split focus of hybrid learning model
Ontario school districts using the hybrid model of simultaneous instruction this year say it's the way to keep remote learners connected to familiar teachers and their regular school communities. It also allows for greater flexibility if sudden shifts between in-person and remote learning are required. However, the model — which some boards adopted to address the ongoing provincial mandate requiring them to offer virtual learning — continues to draw fierce criticism from students, parents, educators and more, who blast its sustained use this year as unacceptable at this point of the pandemic.
24th Oct 2021 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullNavigating online education post-pandemic: advice for colleges
The landscape for digital learning has changed dramatically since Robert Ubell published Going Online in 2016: an explosion in outsourcing to online program managers, intensifying competition between would-be cheaters and technologies designed to thwart them -- oh, and a global pandemic that turned almost every student into an online learner and every professor into a technologist. In a new book, Staying Online: How to Navigate Digital Higher Education, Ubell, vice dean emeritus of online learning at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, brings together his writings in Inside Higher Ed and other publications about a wide range of topics.
21st Oct 2021 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullIs the Metaverse Finally Emerging?
The web is constantly evolving. Emerging now is a more immersive 3-D environment that features augmented reality, virtual reality and persistent connections. It is called the metaverse, and it may transform online learning. Where will higher education be located in the emerging metaverse? Will colleges and universities host their own “islands” of campuses? Will virtual megamalls of storefronts offer certificates and certifications hosted by a plethora of institutions? Will your institution be represented -- welcoming virtual students from around the real word to engage in 3-D learning around the clock? It is important that colleges and universities discuss the opportunities now.
20th Oct 2021 - Inside Higher Ed
Online learning platforms 'may become graduate talent brokers'
Corporations are increasingly keen on hiring learners straight from online learning platforms, edX business head claims.
20th Oct 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning during COVID doesn't work for students with ADHD
Remote learning has been a challenge for all children, but most of all for those with special needs. ADHD Australia chair Professor Michael Kohn said most children and young people with the condition have struggled with learning from home during the pandemic. The home environment is also filled with distractions such as toys, pets, siblings and snacks. Students have to go without the direct support of their teacher, so parents have had to step in to help scaffold their learning. On the positive side, students are shielded from negative social interactions and may be better supported at home.
19th Oct 2021 - The Canberra Times
Pandemic learning loss is real and kids need help to catch up, education experts say
Every summer, children forget some of what they learned during the previous school year, but now experts are warning that because of school closures and other disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, students will have a lot more lost learning to make up for. Prachi Srivastava, a professor in education and global development with the faculty of education at Western University, says learning loss is expected. She is proposing a plan for helping Canadian children thrive academically after the pandemic, and she thinks it should be implemented as soon as possible.
19th Oct 2021 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow immersive learning will revolutionize education
Immersive learning experiences are a new type of educational experience that can be used in place of traditional lectures and classrooms. Immersive learning is meant to mimic the real world by providing students with an environment that is as close to reality as possible. It’s designed for learners who are interested in hands-on experiences, problem-solving, and discovery over non-traditional methods like reading textbooks and listening to lectures from a professor. There are also many potential applications of immersive learning techniques in schools. This article will discuss what immersive learning is, how it changes the classroom experience, and some current use cases of immersive learning.
18th Oct 2021 - eSchool News
High school dropouts: Remote learning during covid put Baltimore students at risk
Hundreds of thousands of students across the U.S. have been at risk of dropping out of school. A McKinsey & Company report released in July estimated that between 617,000 and 1.2 million teens nationwide were more likely to drop out because of coronavirus-related school closures. In Miami and Chicago, in New York City and Detroit, school officials had fanned out over the summer to reestablish contact with some of those kids. And they had done so in Baltimore, where spikes in absenteeism were particularly acute among students with disabilities and those living in poverty. The article follows high school student Corey Byrd.
18th Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
Online teaching and learning is not just for pandemics and it can help solve old problems
South African universities are currently considering the future of teaching and learning after the rapid shift to emergency remote teaching and learning in 2020 and 2021. During this time, two narratives have (re)emerged. One implies that teaching and learning online is more difficult or demanding than in-person education. The other that it’s not as good as in-person teaching and learning. In the South African higher education context these concerns seem to be closely tied to staff burnout and to the inequities and complexities of the sector, which were amplified by emergency remote teaching and learning.
18th Oct 2021 - The Conversation Africa
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullSpecial Ed Students Have Been 'Left Out' From Distance Learning in Hawaii
In Hawaii, the DOE established a statewide distance learning program for students whose parents wanted to keep them home due to the pandemic, but it has limited seats, not to mention few accommodations for kids with disabilities. Special education students receive specialized services based on their Individualized Education Programs, such as counseling, or physical, occupational or speech therapy.
17th Oct 2021 - Honolulu Civil Beat
Active learning tools improve the learning outcomes, scientific attitude, and critical thinking in higher education: Experiences in an online course during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Active teaching methodologies have been placed as a hope for changing education at different levels, transiting from passive lecture-centered to student-centered learning. With the health measures of social distance, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a strong shift to remote education. A study concluded that engagement provided by active learning methods can improve performance both in hard and soft skills. Students' participation seems to be more relevant when activities require the interaction of information, prediction, and reasoning, such as open-ended questions and design of research projects.
17th Oct 2021 - IUBMB Journals
This Virtual Classroom Company Made Millions During The Pandemic While Students Languished
The coronavirus pandemic turned the American education system upside down last year, shuttering classrooms, leaving students isolated and adrift, and sending school officials scrambling for virtual solutions. But it was a boon for the many private companies that helped schools move their operations online. Among the winners was the company that several students said left them hanging: Edgenuity. During the first year of the pandemic, the Arizona-based software company added more than 500 public school districts to its client list and inked contracts totaling at least $145 million. Thanks to prepandemic acquisitions and rising demand during the crisis, Edgenuity nearly doubled what it pulled in from the public sector the year before. Some parents were satisfied with the education their children received through Edgenuity, and some districts appreciated the safe alternative to in-person learning amid the uncertainty of the pandemic. But at scores of schools around the country, the solution Edgenuity provided came at a high cost to students’ education, according to a BuzzFeed News investigation based on a review of hundreds of pages of court and school district documents and interviews with more than 50 people.
17th Oct 2021 - BuzzFeed News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullCan edtech deliver on its pandemic promise?
Education technology was adopted widely during the pandemic as schools around the world were forced to close and sought alternative ways to teach children. While sometimes overhyped in the past — much-vaunted interactive whiteboards were often left unused — edtech now has the potential to support education in lower-income countries. The benefits can be as much for policymakers and school leaders as for teachers and students in the classroom and beyond. For example, online management systems can be used to track attendance and test scores, provide lesson plans and help allocate resources. Self-learning tools for students include supplementary apps, test preparation and live lessons. But not everyone is convinced of the merits of edtech. A review for the United States Agency for International Development last year found that there was “a lack of conclusive and robust research and study of distance-learning modalities, especially in the global south”.
14th Oct 2021 - Financial Times
How does national culture affect the adoption of learning technology?
The uptake of learning technologies has been, in many cases, disappointing. University managers, educational technologists, educators and other practitioners are looking for ways to overcome this resistance and boost the use of learning management systems, also known as virtual learning environments, or VLEs. However, researchers have found factors that influence the adoption of learning technologies are not universal, and they differ from country to country. This research hopes to unpack the secret of users’ resistance from a cultural perspective – resistance that existed long before the pandemic – and offer advice to counteract it.
14th Oct 2021 - Times Higher Education
Virtual Learning Expansion Sparks Both Hope and Skepticism
Since the D.C. Council’s unanimous passage of emergency legislation increasing virtual learning slots in District public and public charter schools, parents whose children had been denied that option must now consider taking advantage of the highly coveted opportunity. Even with a greater chance of approval, there’s some skepticism among parents about whether schools will approve their applications and allow their children to learn from within the safe confines of their home. The legislation, titled Protecting Our Children Emergency Declaration Resolution, applies to children who live with people posing a high risk of illness from a COVID-19 infection.
14th Oct 2021 - The Washington Informer
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullCNN's 'Tech for Good' showcases the technology that could shape the future of education
The pandemic has made online learning commonplace across the world, turning digital learning tools into a lifeline for many students. On this month's episode of 'Tech for Good', CNN anchor and correspondent Kristie Lu Stout meets the entrepreneurs demonstrating how technology can be used to support education, in spite of lockdowns and uncertainty.
13th Oct 2021 - Yahoo Finance
The triple jeopardy of deprivation for online learning
Deprivation was a barrier to children getting an education during school closures. That’s not news. We all know of schools that had to print and post worksheets in the early days of the pandemic, and of pupils who struggled to join online lessons because they were sharing one computer with two other siblings. But what is new is some emerging evidence that graphically illustrates the scale of the problem. Pupils in areas of high deprivation faced three particular barriers: unequal access to devices, unequal quality of devices, cost of streaming.
13th Oct 2021 - Schools Week
New US data show jump in college students' learning online
An analysis of newly available federal data shows that a far larger proportion of college students take at least one fully online course than was previously understood. The analysis, first conducted by the ed-tech consultant and blogger Phil Hill, shows that based on 12-month reporting -- which the Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System only recently began collecting for distance learning -- 51.8 percent of students took at least one online course in 2019-20. This number is much higher than the 37 percent reflected in the fall 2019 enrollment data that has been cited in the past, and on which most estimates of the prevalence of online learning have historically been based.
13th Oct 2021 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in full5 ways to improve your virtual teaching
It has been 18 months since schools first closed, and we are still learning how to make virtual environments rich and engaging. And while remote instruction isn’t for everyone, it can be a powerful way to deliver instruction, build connections and foster a love of learning in students -- if you do it right. Very little in teaching can truly be boiled down to five simple strategies, but these suggestions can add to your remote-teaching skills.
12th Oct 2021 - SmartBrief
COVID took toll on kids’ learning, grades, American Family Survey finds
The latest American Family Survey, released Tuesday in Washington, D.C., indicates more than half of respondents whose children did not attend school in person chose not to return to the classroom when they had the option. This was the case for more than 6 in 10 Democrats as well as just under half of Republicans, the survey found. Parents surveyed said their children’s grades and learning suffered during the pandemic’s aftermath with nearly 20% of parents revealing that their children’s grades worsened and nearly one-third reporting declines in learning.
12th Oct 2021 - Deseret News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullColleges Innovate to Support At-Risk Students, Inside and Outside the Classroom
Colleges are paying special attention to first-generation and low-income students and to those from historically marginalized communities, using data analytics to identify students at risk of dropping out. Access to broadband and computers is, of course, an essential factor in student success. As the pandemic forced institutions to go fully or partially online, it put a spotlight on at-risk students, especially low-income students who lacked devices, computers and internet access. In response, many institutions beefed up campus Wi-Fi and offered laptop lending programs
11th Oct 2021 - EdTech
College students report issues with distance learning
College age students reported issues with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, including trouble concentrating, limited access to technology, food insecurity, and mental health issues, according to researchers. Christian Athnasian, AB, a research intern at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, worked with fellow interns on a project led by research mentor Ruth Milanaik, DO, also of Cohen Children’s, who presented the research at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition.
10th Oct 2021 - Healio
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: Online learning and the homework gap in the US
America’s K-12 students are returning to classrooms this fall after 18 months of virtual learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students who lacked the home internet connectivity needed to finish schoolwork during this time – an experience often called the “homework gap” – may continue to feel the effects this school year. Research carried out by Pew Research Center highlights how a lack of internet connectivity and digital skills negatively affected K-12 students' ability to complete school work at home. Research shows these problems were faced by families of different incomes, race and location. One-quarter of Black teens said they were at least sometimes unable to complete their homework due to a lack of digital access, including 13% who said this happened to them often.
10th Oct 2021 - World Economic Forum
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullAcademics from Japan and Hong Kong say virtual learning no substitute
While online classes have become the norm for some amid the COVID-19 pandemic, academics from Japan and Hong Kong believe that online classes cannot truly be a substitute for face-to-face learning despite the merits of technology in communicating with students. Oussouby Sacko, president of Kyoto Seika University, said professors at his university have struggled to teach, for example, art-related courses online, and students were also losing interest in attending classes. To motivate the students, Sacko has introduced a hybrid system of direct interactive sessions between teachers and students once a week and online classes on other days. Recognizing the challenges teachers face in holding virtual classes, he said there is a need to develop a program for the faculty to train them to become accustomed to the new teaching style.
7th Oct 2021 - The Japan Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe pandemic changed American education overnight. Some changes are here to stay.
Why do most classrooms look the same as they did a century ago, with desks and rows and a teacher lecturing? That observation has been repeated for years, and it took a pandemic to finally change it. Almost every kid got a tablet or a laptop, plus an internet connection – though shortages continue for lower-income students and many who live in rural areas. Though some schools jettisoned virtual learning in favor of in-person instruction this year, others blended aspects of virtual learning with traditional instruction. Confident in the ability of teachers and students to pivot quickly to remote learning at home, some districts ended snow days and kept kids learning even in the face of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and fires, that would shutter buildings. Other districts, aiming to meet the needs of students who thrived virtually, created options for students to continue learning online this year.
6th Oct 2021 - USA Today
DC Council Passes Emergency Legislation Expanding Virtual Learning
The D.C. Council passed emergency legislation expanding the virtual learning option in schools -- a plan Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back on, saying it goes against the best interests of students. Since the school year began with full-time in-person learning, almost 200 D.C. Public Schools staff members and more than 500 students have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in more than 1,000 students and teachers quarantining. The D.C. Council voted to offer a virtual option to any student who is either at high risk or lives with someone who is at high risk for COVID-19.
6th Oct 2021 - NBC4 Washington
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in full500 digital learning activities for the in-person or virtual classroom
When schools abruptly shifted to online learning in March of 2020, a flurry of announcements about free digital learning resources followed. Gradually, schools returned to hybrid learning and, now, most districts are back to full in-person learning. But a new move puts 500 daily resources into teachers’ hands for free, no matter where students are learning. In an effort to continue its support of educators during the COVID-19 pandemic, Discovery Education–an edtech partner offering a digital platform designed to support learning wherever it takes place–announced today that it will offer approximately 500 daily classroom activities available to teachers nationwide at no cost throughout the school year.
5th Oct 2021 - eSchool News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullBack in the classroom, teachers are finding pandemic tech has changed their jobs forever
Millions of teachers across the U.S. are in their second year of teaching either in-person, online or both — depending on the state, city and district they live in. Like many other professions, teachers’ jobs have become increasingly complex due to the pandemic. This year, many students are back in the classroom, but teachers have to constantly adapt if there is virus exposure. There aren’t specific guidelines on how best to teach students using the many technologies that are available. Teachers are also struggling to keep students engaged while learning new tech tools that are required to make online classes successful.
4th Oct 2021 - MSN.com
Japan, HK academics say virtual learning no match for real thing
While online classes have become the norm amid the COVID-19 pandemic, academics from Japan and Hong Kong believe that online classes cannot truly be a substitute for face-to-face learning despite the merits of technology in communicating with students. "Learning does not take place in the classroom, it happens outside the classroom, on campus where students can interact," among themselves and with teachers, Oussouby Sacko, president of Kyoto Seika University, said in a webinar. Sacko said professors at his university in western Japan have struggled to teach, for example, art-related courses online, and students were also losing their interest in attending classes. To motivate the students, Sacko has introduced a hybrid system of direct interactive sessions between teachers and students once a week and online classes on other days.
4th Oct 2021 - Japan Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual and hybrid teaching has many teachers relying on tech tools
Like many other professions, teachers’ jobs have become increasingly complex due to the pandemic. This year, many students are back in the classroom, but teachers have to constantly adapt if there is virus exposure. There aren’t specific guidelines on how best to teach students using the many technologies that are available. Teachers are also struggling to keep students engaged while learning new tech tools that are required to make online classes successful. Some teachers have created YouTube videos that students can watch when they need help with a lesson. They’re using Google Forms to give students a quick and easy way to submit assignments. Others are using Whiteboard. Fi, which gives students individual digital whiteboards, game website Math Playground for math competitions, and online learning tool Quizlet to make custom sets of virtual flash cards. Teachers also are learning how best to use the capabilities within video software
2nd Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
How did virtual learning impact youth?
Virtual schooling during the pandemic presented challenges that might have long-term effects on children and adolescents, according to Karen Dineen Wagner, MD, PhD. Wagner discussed findings from numerous studies looking at the well-being of youth and their parents as a result of virtual instruction at the 2021 Annual Psychiatric TimesTM World CME Conference. Wagner reported there have been increases in anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, conduct problems, pro-social behavioral problems, sleep issues, and worsening of preexisting mental health disorders. This, in turn, resulted in increased mental health related visits to the emergency department.
2nd Oct 2021 - Contemporary Pediatrics
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullThis Is What It's Like Being a Teacher with MS During the Pandemic
Erin Vore is a high school English teacher who lives with MS. She talks about her experience of working remotely as a teacher: "Only a few of us worked remotely, and while I know many people found teaching over Zoom to be tedious, isolating, and full of challenges both big and small, I had a wholly positive experience. I am not camera-shy, I keep things lively, and on the whole, my students responded to that. The peace of mind from getting to teach from home isn’t lost on me."
30th Sep 2021 - Healthline
Zoom edtech chief: Universities face digital disruption investment
The “Zoom Boom” of the last 18 months has seen more of us work and play in video calls, leading to a much-discussed sea change in employment and entertainment. But the impact of virtual conferencing on the future of education will be just as great as on the future of work, and there’s growing investment in edtech as a result. Former head of public sector for Zoom in UK and Ireland Jane Ross believes technology that is introduced into classrooms will need to add to the learning experience and be simple to use so that teachers can focus on teaching. She also believes Zoom’s edtech presence goes beyond children and lockdown-afflicted schools.
30th Sep 2021 - Verdict
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe new era of education is high-tech and high-touch
We’re starting to see the promise of digital learning take hold; teachers can use software to differentiate and personalize instruction. But we can’t stop here. Over the last 18 months, “technology” has been a synonym for “virtual,” where many kids felt isolated, sitting behind a device and craving connection with their peers and teachers. We now have the opportunity to take what we have learned and use it to usher in a new era of education — one that is powered to a meaningful degree by technology yet centered on human connection, and one where we reject the false choice between engaging software and an incredible teacher. As we return to school this fall, we can blend the best of technology with the best of the classroom experience.
29th Sep 2021 - TechCrunch
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe post-pandemic future of college? It's on campus and online.
Across America, students are back on campus and online at the same time. They like having the choice. For many, education is defined less by the mode of instruction than by how well it meets their needs. Despite the hoopla this fall over the return to campus, what was considered a normal academic routine at many colleges and universities is gone. In its place is emerging a remarkable blend of teaching methods that are face-to-face, online or a hybrid of the two. This trend, born of necessity earlier in the pandemic, may outlast it.
28th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullSurge in remote learning overwhelms L.A. public schools
A surge of parents seeking remote learning for their children has overwhelmed public school programs in Los Angeles, causing teacher shortages, administrative snafus and enrollment delays that in some cases have kept students out of school for weeks. The L.A. Unified School District program, called City of Angels, was an already existing independent study program that was adapted this school year to serve parents unable or unwilling to return their children to in-person classes due to ongoing pandemic-related safety concerns. The program has been sought out by many parents who have children with special needs as well as health issues.
27th Sep 2021 - Los Angeles Times
Huge New Demand for Remote Learning, Rethinking Bans on Virtual Options
During the spring, COVID-19 cases were on the decline, vaccines were being distributed and most states made bold commitments to fully reopen schools in the fall. In a bipartisan rush to incentivize in-person learning, some states restricted virtual options. However, this fall, districts across the country are pivoting to create remote options for families facing complicated health decisions and those not yet comfortable sending their unvaccinated children back to school. Still, these options are not available to all students. And many districts are setting enrollment caps on online classes.
27th Sep 2021 - Yahoo News
Why lockdown and distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to increase the social class achievement gap
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers and parents to quickly adapt to a new educational context: distance learning. Teachers developed online academic material while parents taught the exercises and lessons provided by teachers to their children at home. Considering that the use of digital tools in education has dramatically increased during this crisis, and it is set to continue, there is a pressing need to understand the impact of distance learning. Taking a multidisciplinary view, we argue that by making the learning process rely more than ever on families, rather than on teachers, and by getting students to work predominantly via digital resources, school closures exacerbate social class academic disparities. To address this burning issue, we propose an agenda for future research and outline recommendations to help parents, teachers and policymakers to limit the impact of the lockdown on social-class-based academic inequality.
27th Sep 2021 - Nature.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullBaltimore City Public Schools Has A Plan To Help Students Who Struggle With Online Learning
It’s been one of the biggest impacts of the pandemic, students struggling in school because of online learning. In Baltimore City, public school leaders have a plan to help those students who have fallen behind get back on track. Baltimore City Public Schools said its plan to help students includes personalized learning plans which look at the academic performance for each of their 77,800 students. The district said the extensive plan also seeks to gather details from students and their family about students’ personal needs. School officials also said there will also be more tutoring options and every school will now have a tutoring partner.
25th Sep 2021 - CBS Baltimore
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullData shows drop in work covered via remote- learning by deprived children compared to affluent kids
In England, children in schools serving the most disadvantaged pupils covered fewer learning materials when studying at home than their peers in schools with more affluent intakes, an analysis suggests. The difference between remote and in-class learning during the pandemic was 'particularly acute' at schools with a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Remote learners at these schools covered a smaller fraction of in-class learning materials than remote learners at schools in less deprived areas.
23rd Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
Asynchronous Learning Gains Popularity Following Pandemic Education Adjustments
A year and a half of online and hybrid learning showed the nation that there is more than one way to learn. Many students found that online education suited their learning style and opted to stick with it even after classrooms reopened their doors. Virtual-only schools saw a rise in admissions, and traditional schools created their own permanently virtual options. With this shift to distance learning came an additional insight: School doesn’t need to be in session for eight hours a day, from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. In a poll of K–12 educators in August, a majority of respondents said that self-paced or asynchronous learning was the No. 1 element they would like to see carried into the classroom this school year. Students, too, have lauded the benefits of asynchronous learning
23rd Sep 2021 - EdTech Magazine: Focus on K-12
Bullying, racism and being 'different': Why some families are opting for remote learning regardless of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a public debate about the value of learning online for elementary school students. Much of this dialog has been negative, with a focus on the experiences that children are missing by not being a part of in-person classrooms. While this year's version of online learning must be contextualized as "emergency remote teaching,", a study found that many still found advantages to this format. Specifically, some students found the lack of bullying, peer pressure and social anxiety were a welcomed change that allowed them to better focus on learning.
23rd Sep 2021 - Phys.org
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning ‘partial substitute’ for classroom, with disadvantaged pupils hit hardest, analysis finds
In the UK, remote learning was “at best a partial substitute” for classroom lessons, with schools with more disadvantaged pupils particularly hard hit, according to new analysis. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that students on the whole covered “substantially less material” at home compared to peers physically in school. The difference between remote schooling and in-person learning was “particularly acute” in schools with more pupils eligible for free school meals, the ONS analysis found. “Remote learners at these schools covered a smaller fraction of in-class learning materials than remote learners at schools with a lower proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals,” the statistics body said.
22nd Sep 2021 - The Independent
University of Exeter and Learning on Screen launch virtual field trip software InVEnTA
The @UniofExeter and Learning on Screen (@LearnonScreen) are holding an online launch event of innovative software tool InVEnTA to the academic market on Friday 22 October 2021 at 3pm. Developed with support from Exeter's Education Incubator, InVEnTA (Interactive Virtual Environments for Teaching and Assessment) uses geospatial and visualisation technology to create and explore immersive free-roaming interactive virtual environments. It offers "virtual field trips" where students can visit locations such as the Arctic Circle or the Patagonian glacial sheets without leaving home.
22nd Sep 2021 - fenews.co.uk
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullUK staff to gain right to request flexible working from day one
Employees in the UK will have the right to request flexible working from the moment they start a job, with companies obliged to explain their reasons if it is then refused, the government will propose in a consultation document this week. The plan would also oblige employers to respond to such requests more quickly, and is being billed as a major reshaping of the way people work in a post-pandemic world, making flexible work the default. But before the release of the document, unions are warning that the proposals do not go far enough and that rather than obliging people to ask for flexible working, job adverts should set out what sort of options are available for the role.
21st Sep 2021 - The Guardian
Virtual medical school: Burnout and a path forward
Medical students share their experience of virtual learning at medical school: "Our cohort of 140 students had imagined embarking on this path toward physicianhood together but, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we started several time zones apart. Our class started school eager to connect with others answering the call to medicine but, like many professionals who were forced to pivot to remote work during the pandemic, we were confronted with new, lonelier routines. Instead of learning how to use stethoscopes by listening to each others’ hearts in Columbia’s high-tech simulation rooms, we’ve struggled to learn medicine by watching YouTube videos alone. Day after day, interactions via black Zoom boxes have displaced forming real connections with classmates and teachers and distanced us from our budding profession and passion. This disconnection has led to burnout."
21st Sep 2021 - STAT
Zoo charity partners with tech firm on virtual learning experience for children
The Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA) has teamed up with edtech firm KidsLoop on the launch of a brand-new virtual learning experience for children, focused on the theme of nature and conservation. The online club is the first of its kind in Europe, providing a fully immersive experience for children through interactive activities, animated video and recorded footage from the zoo. Families can currently participate in the learning club from home, but from early 2022 the platform will be rolled out to schools across the country, supporting teachers in integrating conservation- and nature-based topics in their lessons
21st Sep 2021 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat will Covid-19 mean for Technology Enhanced Learning in our beloved FE sector?
Jamie Heywood, Academic Developer, Anglia Ruskin University, writes about digital pedagogy. "As an FE teacher educator, I am particularly curious on what digital pedagogy will look like when our Colleges reopen, our staff rooms are full, and our students are back in the F2F classroom (however long that may be). Digital pedagogy can be defined as the approach and method of digital elements to change ways of delivering teaching and learning. It is more than just the use of digital technologies and rather a more encompassing approach in how teaching practice is shaped, influenced and approached using digital elements."
20th Sep 2021 - fenews.co.uk
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullEd Tech Access and Competency Make Virtual Learning Options Equitable
Many factors go into a family’s decision to learn virtually or in person. For example, some students have found their niche in online learning, while for others the pandemic proved their need to learn in a classroom. A more logistical challenge for many K–12 students, though, is digital equity. Students should be able to choose their learning environments based on the former consideration, although many are forced to pick based on the latter. When students don’t have access to devices and the internet, or competency using educational technology, it may feel as though the choice is being made for them.
19th Sep 2021 - EdTech Magazine
Singapore to Move Students to Virtual Classes Before Exams
Singapore will move students through grades one to five -- typically 7 to 11 years old -- back to virtual learning as older ones take their national examinations later this month as a precaution against viral transmission. The move is aimed at protecting children who aren’t medically eligible for vaccination, as well as reduce the number of students placed on quarantine orders or leave of absence prior to the exams, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post.
19th Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullNew data offer sense of how COVID expanded online learning
It won't be clear for a good while whether and how much the last year's grand, unplanned experiment with remote learning has permanently altered the landscape for using technology to deliver college instruction. A first step, though, is getting good data on how patterns shifted during the last year -- and that is beginning to arrive. New data from the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics, and additional information from the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), offer an initial picture of how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped postsecondary enrollments patterns last fall.
16th Sep 2021 - Inside Higher Ed
Most parents believe kids are falling behind from virtual learning, study shows
This fall many students are back in the classroom for the first time in 18 months. But a new nationwide poll shows many parents are worried about the pandemic’s impact on their child’s education from online learning. “I’m not optimistic about how she’s going to catch up to the level that she needs to be in at this school level, seventh grade honors,” said Cassandra Cottingham, a middle school parent from Michigan. Cottingham said her middle school daughter struggled during online learning and she isn’t the only one. A new USA Today/IPSOS poll shows 55 percent of parents believe online learning caused their child to fall behind. Brown University professor Kenneth Wong said the majority of kids are about four to six months behind.
16th Sep 2021 - Boston 25 News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat Will Online Learning Look Like in 10 Years? Zoom Has Some Ideas
This week at Zoom’s annual conference, Zoomtopia, a trio of education-focused Zoom employees speculated wildly about what hybrid Zoom learning might look like 10 years from now, given the warp speed advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning expected.
15th Sep 2021 - EdSurge
Behind the Curtains of Virtual Classrooms Across Nations
India Currents spoke to teachers to understand the challenges they have been facing since being forced into online classrooms in April 2020. While parents have been raising concerns and the government is busy formulating rules and policies on online teaching, the teaching fraternity has been stoically reinventing and upgrading themselves, notwithstanding personal hardships. “First of all, the pandemic forced us, teachers, into technology. It was very difficult – especially for the senior ones – to take that path, but there was no choice,” says Mohua Gupta, primary school teacher, BD Memorial International School, Kolkata, India.
15th Sep 2021 - India Currents
Tips on how to create a successful Virtual Learning Environment
There is much in the public domain about the projected growth of the online learning or e-learning market globally. Across both the education and workplace learning sectors, there has been a significant adoption of online learning over the last decade and increased understanding of the benefits a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) can provide in learning retention rates, learner engagement and efficiency in delivery. The pandemic has only accelerated this pace of adoption and many organisations and education institutions now recognise that success is much more than simply having a VLE (also termed a learning management system, LMS or e-learning platform), but that “the challenge lies in how the platform is being used, rather than the technology itself”.
15th Sep 2021 - Moodle
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullMany of the changes wrought by the pandemic helped the disabled. They're not ready to give them up
Some disabled people say they're hesitant about going back in person and want to keep virtual services that began during the pandemic. But the practicality of whether that's possible remains uncertain, and other disabled people say they want to return to in person activities. Changes to which virtual services are offered also impact local schools. People with disabilities are among those whose households have the lowest incomes, and many students lacked the technology and access to participate in virtual learning. For example, a lack of closed captioning or interpreters continues to be a problem, and screens are not always useful for the visually impaired. But despite the challenges, "virtual life is generally positive for people who have mobility issues because it alleviates the stress that can come with traveling," said Rachel London, executive director of the MDDC.
14th Sep 2021 - Medical Xpress
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullOnline learning falls short in Covid era
Even before Covid, online learning was touted as an opportunity for all students, who could access pools of knowledge and information. How come the platform touted to be the future of education for all has turned into such an unsatisfactory experience for many? The problem is not confined to Thailand. Other countries have found a way to solve the problem such as lending computers at home or paying extra money for families to afford online education. Others provide tailor-made home visits to help students or create community centres for students with fewer means to study. These solutions have not taken hold in Thailand.
13th Sep 2021 - Bangkok Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullUniversity of Hertfordshire responds to petition calling for end to virtual learning
The University of Hertfordshire has responded to a petition signed by more than 400 people after students found a significant amount of classes would remain online this year. Students at the university have started to receive their first timetables for the new academic year, and some claimed they only have online classes scheduled. The university has said timetables have not yet been finalised, and “all students will receive in-person, on-campus” teaching. They added the decision to continue online teaching will allow students to benefit from more flexibility. The petition comes as Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said that universities should be teaching in person where possible.
12th Sep 2021 - Hertfordshire Mercury
Rethinking the improvement of teaching and learning in a virtual environment through unseen observation
With institutions having to make a rapid transition to online delivery, Covid-19 has left an indelible mark on the educational landscape. Understandably, some are concerned about how the quality of teaching and learning is being assured, along with supporting teachers to adapt and thrive in this new environment. How can this be done remotely? ‘Unseen observation’ is an innovative method that is increasingly being embraced by a growing number of colleges and schools, with practitioners acknowledging its positive impact on attitudes to observation and reporting significant improvements in their critical reflection on their professional practice, subsequently feeding into improvements in their teaching and their students’ learning.
12th Sep 2021 - fenews.co.uk
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow a community of practice can foster virtual collaboration
Globalisation and technological developments are changing the private and working lives of students and educators. It is now essential to be able to use technology to collaborate in culturally diverse international teams. Collaborative designs such as online co-teaching or peer learning can support this development. But how can we foster virtual collaboration within and across higher education institutions? To answer this question the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) developed the International Virtual Academic Collaboration (IVAC) programme. IVAC gives instructors at German institutions the opportunity to develop virtual exchange courses in cooperation with international partners.
9th Sep 2021 - Times Higher Education
Remote learning setting back millions of S Asian children: UNICEF
Hundreds of millions of children in South Asia are suffering because their schools have been closed due to coronavirus but they lack online devices and connections for remote learning, UNICEF says. Authorities should prioritise the safe reopening of schools because, even before the pandemic, nearly 60 percent of children in the densely populated region were unable to read and understand a simple text by the age of 10, the UN children’s agency said. “School closures in South Asia have forced hundreds of millions of children and their teachers to transition to remote learning in a region with low connectivity and device affordability,” said George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF’s regional director for South Asia.
9th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullLarge number of children deprived of virtual learning, UNICEF survey shows
In Nepal, despite claims by the government to have increased students’ access to virtual learning platforms, an overwhelming number of students still remain deprived of virtual learning opportunities. A survey carried out by UNICEF across the seven provinces shows textbooks are the only source of information for 63 percent of children ever since the country went into a lockdown in March last year to stem the spread of Covid-19. The number is higher in public schools with 70.5 percent of students relying solely on the textbooks while it is 61. 5 percent for the private schools. The report showed only 27 percent students have access to online classes — 18 percent at community schools and 43.5 percent at private schools.
8th Sep 2021 - The Kathmandu Post
COVID remote learning eroded mental health by race, age, income, data indicate
A study in JAMA Network Open reveals a small link between COVID-19–related school closures and worse child mental health, particularly among older and Black and Hispanic students and those from low-income families. The researchers said that a host of factors related to remote education could chip away at children's mental health, including isolation, decreased access to mental health services, loss of free and reduced-cost meals, disrupted routines, decreased physical activity, lack of structure, stress due to technological limitations, and lack of identification of abuse and neglect. For racial minorities and students from low-income families, the interruption of their schooling may be compounded by racism, poverty, food insecurity, and home instability.
8th Sep 2021 - CIDRAP
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat young kids say worked - and didn’t work - for them during virtual learning
A Ph.D. student in learning sciences and a math education researcher who believes that young children are perceptive, reflective and brilliant, embarked on a project to collect children’s stories of schooling during the pandemic. 'Throughout 2020, I talked to 30 children, ages 5-8, across gender, race and ethnicity, enrolled in public and private, urban and suburban schools throughout the Chicago area, about their recent school experiences. The focus of our conversations was on their math learning specifically, but the takeaways are much broader. Children’s stories of what they missed about being physically in school, and what they didn’t, painted a complex picture of joy and frustration, relief and stress.'
7th Sep 2021 - The Conversation
How a communications app has helped digitise education in Nepal
The Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns have caused one of the biggest disruptions for formal education in Nepal. As the pandemic grew, the Nepali government attempted to digitise education by providing educational classes on radio and television but virtual classrooms turned out to be the most effective means to continue learning. InGrails, a software company, started Veda as a communications app to connect educational institutions with students and parents back in 2015. Today, the software solution provides the backbone for digital education for more than 700 schools (with 1.2 million regular users) across Nepal.
7th Sep 2021 - The Kathmandu Post
Northwest Arkansas demands for virtual learning options continue to grow
The covid-19 pandemic has changed education, leading some Northwest Arkansas school districts to permanently expand the virtual learning options they offer, administrators say. Districts featured a variety of in-person, virtual and blended learning opportunities for the 2020-21 school year to help mitigate the spread of the covid-19 virus, administrators said. Schools are fully open for traditional, in-person learning this school year, yet administrators note enrollment in virtual learning options is surpassing pre-pandemic numbers. Administrators say families choose virtual education for a variety of reasons, with the covid-19 pandemic being just one of them.
7th Sep 2021 - Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullWith first week of school done, parents and lawmakers continue to press D.C. mayor for a virtual option
With the first week of school completed, parents and elected officials in D.C. are still ramping up calls to for the mayor to allow more families to opt in to virtual learning. They say they are anxious about children who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus learning in school buildings that are operating at full capacity and that the city’s recently eased health guidance for schools — which aligns with CDC recommendations — make little sense as the virus’s more contagious delta variant continues to drive an uptick in cases. It’s a shift from last year, when the District’s plans to offer in-person learning changed repeatedly because of public pressure from parents and teachers.
6th Sep 2021 - MSN.com
After Covid-19 Lockdowns, Children Struggle to Rekindle Close Friendships
Children need to share experiences such as school lunchtimes, sports practices and hanging out for close friendships to thrive. Those things went away during the pandemic. Months into virtual school last year, Elyssa Katz witnessed her son Noah, age 9, start to lose interest in his best friend. Since the two couldn’t see each other as often, it was harder for them to keep in touch; she worried he felt lonely without his go-to friend by his side. However their next playdate was awkward and they had forgotten how to play together
6th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Virtual classrooms need to be more imaginative: Sudha Murthy
Author and Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, Sudha Murthy feels that the virtual classes being held by schools need an overhaul in order to make them more interesting, and children more receptive. “What we are witnessing right now is just a ‘translation’ of a physical classroom into a virtual one, something which is not working at all. We need to improvise and use our imagination to ensure that children receive what is being taught and do not get bored,” she explains. A committee comprising child psychologists, education experts and sociologists needs to come together to devise a teaching methodology
6th Sep 2021 - The Statesman
Home learning experiences through the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a monumental blow to the education of English school children. Over the past 18 months, English school pupils experienced two long periods of nationwide school closures. Even when schools were open outside these periods, in-school provision was hampered by social distancing protocols, staff shortages and self-isolation. There is growing evidence that disruption during the pandemic has undermined children’s education and increased inequalities between those from disadvantaged backgrounds and their better-off peers. The findings of this report can help shape policies aimed at helping students ‘catch up’ as schools return to more familiar modes of education delivery, as well as ensuring appropriate access to education in a likely future of continued disruption because of self-isolation
6th Sep 2021 - ifs.org.uk
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullFor many Michigan colleges, virtual learning is here to stay. That's dividing students
In Michigan, more than a year after colleges and universities were forced to offer nearly all classes online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some schools are continuing to offer significant numbers of hybrid and online courses as an alternative to in-person classes. Officials say offering fewer in-person courses is part of the future for some higher education institutions, a change that is being driven not just by the pandemic but by student demand. "We have always wanted to offer courses online," said Ora Pescovitz, president of Oakland University, where nearly a third, or 29%, of classes are being offered virtually this semester. "One of the things we learned from the COVID year was that (online) was a good modality for the courses themselves, and it was the preferred way of learning and teaching (for some courses)."
4th Sep 2021 - The Detroit News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullSchools reopening in India despite fears from some parents
More students in India will be able to step inside a classroom for the first time in nearly 18 months, as authorities gave the green light to partially reopen more schools despite apprehension from some parents and signs that infections are picking up again. Schools and colleges in at least six more states are reopening in a gradual manner with health measures in place throughout September
2nd Sep 2021 - HeraldScotland
French children are back to school, wearing masks
Twelve million children in France went back to school Thursday for the new academic year, wearing face masks as part of rules aimed at slowing down the spread of the coronavirus in the country. In France as in other European countries, many fear the end of the summer break will see a new surge in COVID-19 infections fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. French media cite the example of Scotland and Germany where reports of new cases increased after schools reopened. France is one among countries around the world that have maintained the highest rate of in-person classes during the COVID-19 crisis.
2nd Sep 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullCollege students say they're 'cautiously optimistic' about heading back into the classroom after feeling isolated for over a year
Colleges students across the US are heading back to campus for the new school year. Many students are slated to attend in-person classes after 18 months of virtual or hybrid learning. Students who spoke to Insider said they were optimistic about in-person classes, but anxious around continued uncertainties.
1st Sep 2021 - Yahoo News
Virtual learning frustration: Parents wonder if college students are getting money's worth
Many college students in the Bay Area are back to school in person. However, some parents are questioning if their kids are getting the quality education they're paying for. One San Jose mom whose son attends a UC school doesn’t understand why many of his classes are virtual given vaccine and masking requirements. It’s not completely back to normal. Many universities including the UC and CSU systems require students and staff to wear masks indoors and be vaccinated or get tested. Classes are also online, hybrid and in person.
1st Sep 2021 - KTVU
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullNational Museums Liverpool expands series of 'Virtual Classrooms' for schools
Created for schools for the new academic year, National Museums Liverpool’s interactive curriculum-linked workshops – led by museum experts – bring learning to life and inspire the imaginations of pupils by engaging them in activities based on real artefacts. Mummification, Greek gods and transatlantic slavery are some of the subject’s school children can learn about in the comfort of their classrooms, thanks to virtual workshops developed by National Museums Liverpool.
31st Aug 2021 - The Guide Liverpool
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning helped parents and teachers relate to each other, study suggests
The COVID-19 pandemic caused major upheaval, sending students home to remote learning and leaving teachers and parents scrambling to adapt. But it also created the opportunity for a deeper appreciation of their respective roles and challenges, according to a study led by a University of Alberta researcher. Whether it was teachers witnessing parents deal with pandemic-caused stresses like job loss, or parents struggling to help their children with at-home lessons, the situations people found themselves in gave everyone a chance to empathize
30th Aug 2021 - Phys.org
How Teachers Are Taking Lessons Learned From Virtual School Back to the Classroom
In the past 18 months, educators across the U.S. learned how to adjust their instruction to online learning environments; many had to completely rethink how they would approach their content to meet the needs of all learners. Digital Promise recently spoke with educators from Lone Star Middle School in Nampa, Idaho, an HP Spotlight School. Thanks to district-provided HP Laptops and digital hotspots, learning never stopped at Lone Star throughout the pandemic. Now, teachers are preparing to take the lessons learned during virtual learning back into the classroom.
30th Aug 2021 - EdSurge
Texas House works to fund limited virtual learning to prevent Delta Variants from returning to normal at school
Texas legislators have been struggling for months with the expansion of virtual learning, as pandemics have proven to be a threat to families who are still worried about sending their children back to the classroom. Texas House has now approved Senate Bill 15 with 115-3 votes. The first approval of the bill will give parents some peace of mind that there may be more virtual learning options as the pandemic again weighs on state resources.
30th Aug 2021 - Texasnewstoday.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning about nature leads to outdoor experiences for nursery children
The Virtual Nature School (VNS) is a non-profit programme created in response to the needs of children and families during the Covid-19 pandemic. The programme was set up during the first lockdown in March 2020 to provide home learning support for non-keyworker families, and initially funded by not-for-profit organisation Living Classrooms. VNS is led by Claire Warden, manager of Auchlone Nursery and the creator of Living Classrooms and Mind Stretchers Academy.
29th Aug 2021 - Nursery World
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullUnicef points out effects of missing in-person classes on Filipino kids
The Philippines is among only five countries in the world that have not resumed in-person classes since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared last year, and the prolonged closure has infringed on the right to learn of more than 27 million Filipino students, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said. Citing the Unicef report and that of the United Nations Development Program, the National Economic and Development Authority said “remote education may worsen inequality as some households have limited access to reliable internet and necessary devices.”
26th Aug 2021 - Inquirer.net
Teachers Assess What Students Lost During Virtual Learning and How to Lessen Those Gaps
As students across D.C. return to the classroom this month, News4 asked teachers to assess what their students missed out on most during virtual school and how they will begin to make up those losses. Most said they plan to spend the first few weeks of the school year by assessing the academic level of each student. They said that's something they do every year, but they know those assessments will be even more critical now, and some worry the gaps they find between students may be larger. "Our biggest fear is that there's going to be a student going to the next level who's not ready for it," said Ilana Hand, a high school teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia. She said virtual tutoring could certainly be helpful for students who need extra help going forward, but for daily learning, it allows too many unknowns.
26th Aug 2021 - NBC4 Washington
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual Learning Campus launched for Higher Students across Dumfries and Galloway
Secondary schools in the southwest of Scotland, led by Dumfries and Galloway, are working together to provide a more equitable curriculum for pupils in the senior phase through a virtual learning campus. 140 senior pupils, including 63 from Dumfries and Galloway, have started to study for their Advanced Highers through remote learning. Courses are being delivered through @South-West Connect, e-Sgoil and Glasgow Caledonian University Advanced Higher Hub. They will will mainly be delivered digitally but face-to-face or lab time will be built into the course plans when needed.
25th Aug 2021 - dgwgo.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullStudy: One year later, students and educators in Asia Pacific are beginning to crack the code for online learning
As schools cross the one-year mark since the rapid shift to virtual classrooms, a new study has found that both students and educators see enormous potential in online learning, but are just beginning to enjoy its advantages. The biggest barriers to success in online learning have not been a lack of technology access, but low use of available solutions and social challenges stemming from extended periods of remote learning.
24th Aug 2021 - Taiwan News
Faculty members describe a mix of hope and fear as they return to classrooms during delta spike
With students returning to college campuses across the U.S. for in-person classes after a year of pandemic disruptions, many faculty members describe a mix of hope and fear as they weigh the fast-changing science of covid-19. With the help of coronavirus vaccines, this fall was supposed to be the joyful return to campus traditions after so many months of isolation, restrictions and stuttering Zoom connections. But now many feel uncertain that resumption of normal routines is safe. “It’s really unknown what will happen next week,” when classes resume in person, said Eric Chicken, a professor of statistics and the president of the faculty senate at Florida State University. “It’s a big concern for faculty.”
24th Aug 2021 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat Do Students Think About Reading on Screens? Boring!
Naomi Baron
Mon, August 23, 2021, 7:01 PM·5 min read
As schools strategize their fall opening, COVID-19 challenges are never far from the classroom door: Will in-person classes be safe? What if schools need to pivot back to virtual classrooms and overwhelmingly digital learning materials? But another challenge also belongs on schools’ planning radar: How to regain a balance between digital and print reading. New research underscores the critical role of print in students’ own eyes, especially given their prolonged slog with distance learning because of the pandemic. After so much enforced reading on screen, students’ perspective about digital reading can be summed up in one word: boring.
23rd Aug 2021 - Yahoo News
How Will Delta Affect Schools?
Since early summer, three pandemic clocks have been ticking. The first pertains to the coronavirus’s Delta variant, which has sent daily case numbers soaring more than tenfold since June. The second clock is more predictable: The school year starts, as it always does, in late August or early September. The third clock counts down to the authorization of vaccines for children under 12, which was optimistically supposed to come this fall. After the FDA pushed for a larger trial to collect more safety data in kids, it will likely take longer.
23rd Aug 2021 - The Atlantic
Dubai private schools to end all distance learning on October 3
There will be a gradual return from the first day of term on August 29, when children can return to classrooms or learn from home. Five weeks into the term, in-person classes will be obligatory for all, the Dubai Government Media Office said. Officials said 96 per cent of Dubai's private schoolteachers have now been vaccinated, and that 70 per cent of children aged 12 to 17 have received coronavirus shots.
23rd Aug 2021 - The National
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullMake online teaching a catalyst for better classroom teaching and learning
Online instruction en masse has gone through its trial by fire for almost two years and has proved its viability. Sure, it has drawbacks — screen fatigue, family fracture, unequal access to technology, widening performance gaps — but, by and large, remote education succeeded as a practical and scalable alternative to in-person teaching. Besides, there were advantages to virtual classrooms: “anytime, anywhere” flexibility, dispensing with the need to get ready and arrive in schools on time, and similar school-day overheads. Second, and more importantly, online teaching has raised the bar for classroom teaching. If online teaching was good, in-person teaching must be better, a fervent wish of parents heightened by the pandemic.
22nd Aug 2021 - The Mercury News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual Learning Was Better for Some Kids. Here's What Teachers Learned From Them
Most students didn’t make much progress—or flailed—in online learning during the pandemic. But a subset who may have struggled with in-person learning in the past actually thrived. Now many of those students, some of whom have learning and thinking differences or mental health conditions like social anxiety, must return to the traditional classroom, an environment that did not work for them before COVID. So educators around the country are thinking about how they can adjust their practice, or their approach with individual kids, to help these students retain the success they experienced online now that they are back in school.
19th Aug 2021 - Education Week
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning numbers vary across province as boards prepare for back-to-school
Ontario's largest school board says 14 per cent of its students have opted to learn remotely come September, as the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic takes hold. The Toronto District School Board's numbers are roughly in line with its neighbour to the west, the Peel District School Board, where about 18 per cent of elementary students and 20 per cent of high schoolers have opted for virtual learning. But some other boards are reporting vastly different numbers.
18th Aug 2021 - CTV News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID: S. Carolina school district back to virtual classes
COVID-19 cases have prompted the largest South Carolina school district already back open to return to virtual lessons as students in more than 60 other districts prepared to return to class. Pickens County school officials made the decision at an emergency meeting Friday, after nine days of in-class learning for the system’s15,000-plus students, the Greenville News reported. “We don’t know if it’s safe to continue as is,” and other districts should pay attention, district spokesman Darian Byrd said during the meeting.
16th Aug 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullStudents who are more adaptable do best in remote learning – and it’s a skill we can teach
The speed and scale of the shift to remote online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has really tested students’ adaptability. Our study of more than 1,500 students at nine Australian high schools during 2020 found strong links between their level of adaptability and how they fared with online learning. Students with higher adaptability were more confident about online learning in term 2. And they had made greater academic progress by term 4. The important thing about these findings is that adaptability is a teachable skill. Later in this article we discuss how to teach students to be more adaptable.
16th Aug 2021 - The Conversation
'Hybrid learning’ — teaching kids in-person and online at the same time — robs children of quality education
With an eye on back-to-school during the COVID-19 pandemic, some education advocates in the Greater Toronto Area’s York and Peel regions have been calling for school boards to say no to hybrid learning. In May, the York Region District School Board announced it would be adopting a hybrid model where by “students attending face-to-face and students attending remotely will be taught simultaneously by the same educators.” The Peel District School Board plans to follow the same model in secondary schools. Other boards across the province are weighing options now that families have opted for in-person or virtual schooling. What these decisions don’t show is that the hybrid learning plan for schooling in the COVID-19 pandemic is more about politics than what’s best for kids.
16th Aug 2021 - The Conversation Africa
Some kids don't want to return to in-person schooling
As schools reopen across the US, many children are excited to get back into classrooms with their friends. But for some others, especially kids with social anxiety, online learning was a welcome respite from bullying and the stress of trying to fit in. For them returning to school, with its classroom dynamics and cafeteria social pressures, can feel daunting. The pandemic has taken a toll on children in different ways. A recent study found that rates of depression and anxiety among youth doubled during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. After an unprecedented year filled with uncertainties, a return to pre-pandemic life -- whatever that may look like -- is overwhelming for a lot of people, said Robyn Mehlenbeck, clinical psychologist.
16th Aug 2021 - CNN
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullExploring World Language Classes with Educational Technology
Spanish and STEAM teacher Rachelle Dene Poth shares how she uses invigorating tech lessons to immerse students in language and culture. Using the technology at their disposal to choose the way they want to engage with the class materials during virtual and in-person classes creates a meaningful learning environment for students. They are able to process and retain the material in a way that makes sense to them, making it easier to apply it later.
14th Aug 2021 - EdTech Magazine: Focus on K-12
Pandemic spurs boom in virtual offerings for US schools
Despite the challenges of distance learning during the pandemic, public school systems across the U.S. are setting up virtual academies in growing numbers to accommodate families who feel remote instruction works best for their children. A majority of the 38 state education departments that responded to an Associated Press survey this summer indicated additional permanent virtual schools and programs will be in place in the coming school year. Parent demand is driven in some measure by concern about the virus, but also a preference for the flexibility and independence that comes with remote instruction. And school districts are eager to maintain enrollment after seeing students leave for virtual charters, home schooling, private schools and other options -- declines that could lead to less funding.
14th Aug 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullPandemic spurs boom in virtual offerings for US schools
Despite the challenges of distance learning during the pandemic, public school systems across the U.S. are setting up virtual academies in growing numbers to accommodate families who feel remote instruction works best for their children. A majority of the 38 state education departments that responded to an Associated Press survey this summer indicated additional permanent virtual schools and programs will be in place in the coming school year. Parent demand is driven in some measure by concern about the virus, but also a preference for the flexibility and independence that comes with remote instruction. And school districts are eager to maintain enrollment after seeing students leave for virtual charters, home schooling, private schools and other options -- declines that could lead to less funding.
12th Aug 2021 - Yahoo Finance
38 States Setting Up Permanent Virtual Schools After Pandemic Sparked Interest
Thirty-eight states have approved permanent virtual learning schools after the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased interest in at-home learning, the Associated Press reported. The AP obtained the data via a poll conducted with state departments of education, though it was unclear how many of the agencies answered the query from the media outlet. "It is the future. Some of these states might be denying it now, but soon they will have to get in line because they will see other states doing it and they will see the advantages of it," said American Association of School Administrators Executive Director Dan Domenech.
12th Aug 2021 - MSN.com
Blended learning is so bland − we need to punk things up
Universities have survived more than a year of the pandemic, with its smorgasbord of severe trials: the move online, questions concerning our value proposition and price points, an accelerated imperative to create innovative ways to educate digitally, and pressures to deliver greater efficiency at scale. Blended learning has been presented as a panacea. But there’s a real risk that universities will lose the colour and texture of subject disciplines, compelling USPs and market differentiators in pursuit of a cookie-cutter approach to education that revolves around platforms with off-the-shelf solutions and templates for uploading content. We need to think more seriously about a comprehensive multimedia approach to university education
12th Aug 2021 - Times Higher Education
ASCD Launches New Virtual Learning Community
On June 24, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development announced the launch of a new virtual community. The goal of the ASCD Professional Learning Community is to connect educators from all corners of the country in a “vibrant, collaborative online space for professional growth and exploration,” according to the press release. The platform is designed to make connections among more than 10,000 educators. Aimed at supporting professional development, members will find forums with discussion topics, advice and opportunities to network. ASCD launched the resource during its annual conference this year, an event with more than 4,000 virtual participants. The organization plans to continue adding community groups for educators over the next couple of months.
12th Aug 2021 - EdTech Magazine
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullCPS parents say they want remote learning option, aren’t ready to send kids back for in-person school with delta variant surging
A group of Chicago Public Schools parents on Wednesday called on the district to provide a “serious” remote learning option as the highly transmissible delta variant drives a surge in COVID-19 cases in Chicago. CPS plans to welcome students back to classrooms for full-day in-person learning starting Aug. 30, except for a small group of “medically fragile” children accepted into the Virtual Academy. The parents who spoke out on Wednesday dismissed that new remote learning option as unsuitable because it’s only available to children with certain health conditions, and questions remain about how the program will work.
11th Aug 2021 - MSN.com
Some kids thrived in remote learning. Their parents look for options as in-person class resumes.
A new school model, born out of necessity due to COVID-19, proved to be the academic break one 9-year-old Burlington student needed to be successful. Remote learning engaged Nicole Twohig's son in ways that public- and private schools and home schooling hadn't. "It was amazing and perfect for him," Twohig said of the Edmunds Elementary School remote program which helped her son, who has a sensory processing disorder, thrive during the last school year. Because the Agency of Education is promoting a return to full in person instruction this fall, Chittenden County schools aren't offering the remote option again. But, parents are still asking for it
11th Aug 2021 - Burlington Free Press
6 high-school students on virtual learning in the pandemic
There's no denying education has been upended amid the coronavirus pandemic. For most of 2020, once-bustling hallways were silent; classes, proms, and graduation ceremonies were canceled or held online, with millions of students denied rights of passage that generations past cherished. Yahoo Finance spoke with six students from White Plains High School in Westchester County, NY, and got their thoughts on virtual learning, what it has been like going to school wearing masks, and their hopes for the 2021 school year and beyond.
11th Aug 2021 - Yahoo Finance
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullAfter mixed experiences with distance learning, disabled California college students want flexibility
The 2020-21 academic year, featuring mostly distance learning, was a mixed bag for disabled students. Taking courses online was a struggle for some, such as students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, many of whom missed the structure of in-person classes. But there were also positive elements of distance learning for some students, including many with physical disabilities. With most classes held on Zoom, students said they appreciated that lectures were often recorded, allowing them to re-watch and catch up if they missed some or all of a class.
10th Aug 2021 - EdSource
Pandemic prompts changes in how future teachers are trained
Changes to standards and curricula happen slowly, but the pandemic is already leaving its fingerprints on the education of future teachers. Many U.S. educator preparation programs are incorporating more about digital tools, online instruction and mental and emotional wellness in their courses to reflect takeaways from the pandemic. While school system leaders are hoping to offer in-person instruction as widely as possible this year, experts say the emphasis on technology will have benefits regardless of the pandemic’s course. Across the country, teaching programs are giving more emphasis on how to plan and implement quality virtual learning.
10th Aug 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 has widened Australia's educational digital divide. But one program is closing the gap
Heading into the pandemic, Anne Hampshire from The Smith Family knew remote learning would widen the digital divide. "With COVID, we were particularly concerned that students who were already struggling with literacy and numeracy might fall further behind," she said. In an Australian first, Anne Hampshire organised for tutors to reach about 100 students in two hours of literacy and numeracy schooling for six months. They wanted to see if overseas success stories using this model would work in Australia. The group selected students already behind their classmates prior to the pandemic — the average for numeracy was three years behind. The experiment found not only did the students stop falling further behind, but in literacy six out of 10 students caught up to or surpassed their classmates.
9th Aug 2021 - ABC.Net.au
Embracing virtual GCSEs
As the scope for digital learning continues to evolve, schools and educators alike are starting to recognise the true potential for the future of learning online and how it could add a new dimension in terms of providing support for children with specific individual needs and requirements. Experts are also considering how we might use learning platforms in the future to boost how we teach in the classroom, how we engage pupils using varied techniques and also how we can provide a more personalised approach to educating the young.
9th Aug 2021 - Education Technology
Schools Brace for More Cyberattacks After Record in 2020
Cyber criminals are targeting U.S. schools at an increasing rate after remote learning during the pandemic left them more vulnerable to hacks, and the risk shows no sign of abating as students and teachers head back to the classroom this month. The number of publicly disclosed computer attacks on schools has exploded since 2016 to a record 408 in 2020, according to the K-12 Security Information Exchange, a nonprofit that tracks such incidents, and those figures are almost certainly an undercount because many go unreported. While schools are opening back up across the country for in-person instruction, many are expected to retain virtual learning as an option and that means more access points for potential intrusion with financial consequences for districts that are already facing increased costs to bring students back.
9th Aug 2021 - Bloomberg
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullCould video gaming hold the key to better learning?
In 2013, Shawn Young co-founded Classcraft, a technology platform that helps teachers “gamify” their classrooms. Instead of extrinsic motivators that coerce students into positive learning behaviors — for example, grades — Classcraft nurtures intrinsic motivators like those inherent in video games. Now is the perfect time for educators to also master self-determination theory, argues Barry Fishman, a professor of information and education at the University of Michigan, where he has built his own gamified-learning platform, called GradeCraft. The COVID-19 pandemic, he points out, has ushered in a new era of online learning that will likely endure in some fashion for decades to come. But online learning is a “terrible game,” Fishman says. “The reason it’s a terrible game is that it tries to replicate the basic elements of school but fails to recognize the added elements of difficulty,” explains Fishman
8th Aug 2021 - USA Today
Leading UK universities have refused to end online learning when autumn term starts
Prestigious UK universities including the London School of Economics (LSE) will continue with online lectures in the autumn term, sparking a backlash from former government ministers and students who are calling for refunds in £9,250 tuition fees. University College London, Imperial College as well as the University of Cardiff and the University of Leeds have also refused to have face-to-face teaching in lectures despite the government saying they can lift restrictions. The top universities said they will hold many of their seminars and lectures online and some will make mask-wearing mandatory on campus while others are enforcing social distancing rules.
8th Aug 2021 - Daily Mail
Edinburgh University students 'not guaranteed' face-to-face learning this year
Students at Edinburgh University are unlikely to return to lectures in person full-time at the start of the new academic year, according to a report. The institution is among 20 Russell Group universities named by a Times report as being ‘unable to guarantee’ how much face-to-face teaching time students will receive in the Autumn despite the lifting of almost all coronavirus restrictions from Monday. Instead Edinburgh, along with Warwick, Nottingham, Manchester and Glasgow, will offer “blended learning” - defined as a mixture of in-person teaching and online presentations.
8th Aug 2021 - edinburghlive
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe New Digital Classroom
For a year and a half, faculty members have worked quickly and tirelessly to learn about online teaching and online teaching tools. In fact, 91 percent of professors and instructors surveyed told The Chronicle their role required a greater understanding of technology than before. Now that colleges are reopening the classrooms that have long sat vacant, what will faculty do with their newfound knowledge? And how are colleges equipped to meet the needs of faculty who may wish to incorporate new teaching technologies in their physical classrooms? In this virtual forum, The New Digital Classroom, a panel of technologists and academic leaders will join Ian Wilhelm, an assistant managing editor at The Chronicle, for a discussion of the campus classroom’s digital future.
5th Aug 2021 - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Vatican Encourages Distance Learning
The Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education is urging ecclesiastical universities to expand distance learning to reach students who cannot attend in-person classes but can take courses online, the National Catholic Reporter reported. "By making use of distance learning, ecclesiastical faculties could broaden the academic formation they offer, to reach those who, in one way or another, are involved in evangelizing activities," the congregation said in new rules and guidelines for distance education. The new rules and guidelines, developed over three years, are intended to help ecclesiastical universities integrate distance learning into their programs.
5th Aug 2021 - Inside Higher Ed
Schools Expected to Leave Virtual Learning Behind in the Fall, but the Delta Variant Is Forcing a Change in Plans
Public school leaders in Des Moines, Iowa had planned on teaching all their elementary school students face-to-face this fall. But weeks before classes are set to begin, the district’s youngest students remain ineligible for vaccination against COVID-19, Iowa schools are prohibited from requiring students to wear masks in class, and the Delta variant is spreading rapidly. That combination of challenges led the Des Moines School Board to vote Tuesday to offer a virtual learning option for elementary school families who are concerned about in-person classes during another pandemic school year. “We wanted to provide an option to stay with the district, keep their child at home,” school superintendent Thomas Ahart said at the board meeting Tuesday.
5th Aug 2021 - TIME
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe Unexpected Benefits of Remote Learning for Neurodivergent Students
Learning disruptions have been an unfortunate but all-too-frequent sight during the pandemic. But not every student felt those effects evenly as schools shifted between remote and in-person options. Even under typical circumstances, learners with autism or other neurological differences are often more sensitive to changes in their environments. So given the lingering uncertainties about COVID-19’s impact on schooling this fall—and the trajectory of the fast-spreading delta variant—perhaps it’s no surprise that many families with neurodivergent children are opting to continue with remote learning.
4th Aug 2021 - EdSurge
Whanganui schools part of virtual learning exchange with Japan
Covid-19 travel restrictions mean international students have become a distant memory in Whanganui, but a new, virtual learning exchange is giving young people around the world the chance to connect online instead. This week, 23 high school students in Whanganui and Manawatu began the New Zealand Global Competence Certificate exchange with 20 high school students in Tokyo, Japan. Animated videos, quizzes, assignments and weekly live facilitated dialogue sessions allow learners to talk with each other online in real time.
4th Aug 2021 - The New Zealand Herald
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullStudent Laptops For Virtual Learning Are Also Helping Parents Learn English
At the start of the pandemic, schools rushed to get laptops into the hands of students at home. In Nashville, Tenn., those laptops created new opportunities for parents who want to learn English. Prior to the pandemic, Nashville's English learning program for parents was fully in person. At the time, any virtual options would have been limited to families who could easily get online. But that access boomed during remote learning when Nashville schools distributed nearly 60,000 devices to their students. In the spring, the district began offering English-language classes online for adults for the very first time, and sign-ups more than tripled.
3rd Aug 2021 - WBAA
Kenya: Make Virtual Learning More Efficient, Magoha Tells Varsities
In Kenya, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has challenged universities to allocate more resources to improve the efficiency of virtual learning by acquiring more electronic resources. The CS said universities need to work with the Commission for University Education (CUE) and ensure that while engaging and teaching learners through virtual learning, standards are not compromised. Prof Magoha noted that the Covid 19 pandemic was a wakeup call for learning institutions and thanked universities for swiftly shifting to virtual learning that kept learning ongoing despite the suspension of physical learning.
3rd Aug 2021 - AllAfrica.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Aug 2021
View this newsletter in full'Outstanding' Manchester teacher named 'best in UK' for innovative approach to remote learning
A Greater Manchester teacher has been named Teacher of the Year at the Aspiration Awards by Educational charity NCFE. Gary Rayworth is the curriculum leader for Technology and Computing at the Manchester school. He was given the award following his innovative approach leading online lessons during lockdown - in his own department and across the school as a whole.
2nd Aug 2021 - Manchester Evening News
West Norfolk classrooms connect around the world
A major new programme is linking schools in West Norfolk with counterparts around the world in an international initiative to raise global awareness. The schools are broadening their horizons with an international project to connect classrooms. A successful funding application by the 11-strong West Norfolk Academies Trust means that each primary school is linked to another in India and each secondary school has a different school in Nepal it is working with. Grant funding from the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme has enabled the schools to start working with their partners in laying the foundations for joint projects to learn about another country and its people.
2nd Aug 2021 - Lynn News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullMost Parents Think Kids Focus More With Remote Learning
A new survey is showing that the majority of parents felt that their child was more focused when doing school virtually. Most of the discussion between parents has been about school over the last 18 months, and how much virtual school has held back their children. COVID-19 changed how schools looked for everyone, and schools went to virtual learning to help stop the spread and protect the children from contracting the virus. However, there are always positives to take from any situation, and a new poll may be highlighting a different opinion when it comes to virtual learning. According to Study Finds, a survey was done that shows that the majority of some parents actually felt that their child focused more on school when they were completing it virtually as opposed to in-person.
1st Aug 2021 - Moms
Textbook Publisher Pearson Bets Big on Online Learning
Andy Bird joined education-resource company Pearson PLC as chief executive officer at a time when education was undergoing an upheaval—the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. With students around the world suddenly learning from home, the company’s online business saw big growth: Enrollment at Pearson’s online K-12 schooling offering, Connections Academy, grew by 40%, says Mr. Bird. Now that many students are returning to their classrooms, Mr. Bird thinks that growth rate will likely slow. Even so, the CEO is betting that some of the popularity online learning gained during the pandemic is here to stay—and Pearson is betting big on virtual offerings. It is launching a mobile app for college students called Pearson+ that will offer audio content, note-taking and other study tools.
1st Aug 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual exchange will be a key part of internationalizing education even after COVID (opinion)
As COVID vaccine distribution increases globally and we begin to imagine a world post-pandemic, many educators are starting to consider what their classrooms may look like in the coming year. In particular, practitioners of virtual exchange and other technology-enabled forms of learning may naturally ask the question of whether or not we’ll still need the practice after the pandemic. Virtual exchanges, which provide educational pathways for young people to connect with their global peers online, was around and well established long before the pandemic as a way to bring a global perspective into a classroom experience. But paradoxically, in some respects, global learning became more accessible for some during the coronavirus pandemic
29th Jul 2021 - Inside Higher Ed
New York City Public Schools Parents At Odds As Group Demands In-Person Learning Only
There’s a tug of war between parents concerned about how COVID-19 will impact New York City schools in September. There are those calling for a remote learning option and those who want full-time, in-person learning, CBS2’s Andrea Grymes reported Wednesday. On Wednesday, a virtual hearing was held at Manhattan Supreme Court Downtown where parents demanded no virtual learning at all in September. They filed a lawsuit – calling for full-time, in-person learning for all students – against the city in May.
29th Jul 2021 - CBS New York
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 Learning Online for Undergraduate Medical Students
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical colleges in China had to use online teaching. This study explored the effect of COVID-19 knowledge learning online in a flipped classroom based on micro-learning combined with case-based learning (CBL). A flipped classroom based on micro-learning combined with CBL showed greater effectiveness in COVID-19 knowledge gain in undergraduate medical students and made their attitude toward clinical practice more positive.
28th Jul 2021 - Dove Medical Press
Parents reveal the good study habits their kids picked up from remote learning during the pandemic
Almost seven in 10 parents think their kid focuses better while learning remotely, new research indicates. According to a recent survey of 2,000 American parents with school-aged children, which also gathered responses from the children of those polled, found one in three kids are excited by a remote system of learning. And 72% of parents think virtual learning is a game changer that will be around long after the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning remotely has given rise to good study habits; in addition to focusing better, parents said their child has started asking more questions (46%) and multitasking more effectively (43%).
28th Jul 2021 - Yahoo Finance
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullDubai: University students create AI tool to boost online education
Eyebrow raising, eyelid tightening, and mouth dimpling are facial expressions that indicate the highest level of a student’s engagement. Students at a Dubai university have created a tool using artificial intelligence (AI) for increasing the effectiveness of online education, which will come handy amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic. Learners at Murdoch University Dubai under the mentorship of their faculty have created a prototype AI tool that could hold the key to enhancing the delivery and effectiveness of virtual learning.
27th Jul 2021 - Khaleej Times
Technology-based learning during Covid-19: A revolution in education or missed opportunity?
Africa is no stranger to disruptions in face-to-face teaching and learning. From protests like #feesmustfall, to natural disasters, and pandemics. The severity of the Covid-19 Pandemic’s impact, however, has taken all by surprise. Forcing institutions and schools to think fast and adjust at record speeds, this pandemic has shifted the delivery of education from face-to-face to virtual. This reactive state was dubbed ‘Emergency Remote Teaching.’ The consequence of this global state of education has been a dramatic shift from instructors teaching in class or in blended learning scenarios, to a mostly distance or online education. The rapid shift was, unfortunately, not as seamless as many would have hoped and many, including digital education professionals were challenged by the prolonged experience
27th Jul 2021 - CNBC Africa
Homeschooling is drawing many more Black and Asian families
As the new school year approaches in the U.S., millions of parents are eager to deliver their children back to teachers and put remote schooling — which wrought anger, frustration and financial turmoil for parents who needed to return to work — behind them. But for other parents, particularly parents of color, the pandemic and last summer’s national reckoning over race prompted them to pull their children from traditional schools entirely, moves that helped fuel an explosion in popularity of home schooling.
27th Jul 2021 - The Washington Post
Want to Make Virtual Learning Work? Get Parents Involved in Meaningful Ways
For years, the biggest players in teaching and learning were students, teachers, and instructional materials. But with the pandemic and the resulting explosion in online learning, another key group has emerged: Parents. In fact, students can learn just as much virtually—if not more—than they would have in a typical, in-person school year, if they are given access to high-quality content and have support from a parent or caregiver, according to a report released July 27 by the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University.
27th Jul 2021 - Education Week
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullThese Virtual Learning Pranks Showcase Students’ Tech Skills
The switch to online learning was a difficult transition for many students and educators. In the past year, however, many have gotten more comfortable with using Zoom, Microsoft Teams and other videoconferencing platforms as their classroom. Some students have gotten so proficient in the applications that they’ve begun to experiment with little tricks and funny alterations, playing “pranks” on their classmates and teachers. “Humor is a tool that can be used to help kids learn how to cope in extreme circumstances,” says Elizabeth Englander, a child psychology expert and founder of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center. “It can help them learn how to cope with their own feelings.” Creating these humorous moments for their classroom can be a way for students to exercise social-emotional learning skills and cope with the difficulties of the pandemic, Englander explains.
26th Jul 2021 - EdTech
These N.J. parents are pushing for virtual learning in September
Parents who want to make virtual learning a permanent reality in New Jersey schools are seeking support this weekend at a popular balloon festival. Their group, New Jersey Parents for Personal Choice, is asking Gov. Phil Murphy to reverse course and allow virtual learning, which was in place starting in March 2020 and throughout the 2020-21 school year due to the coronavirus pandemic, to resume when classes return in September. Karen Strauss, a co-founder, said that while the pandemic was the impetus for virtual learning in New Jersey, some parents found that it worked better for their children and would prefer having that option even if COVID-19 was no longer a concern.
26th Jul 2021 - NJ.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID Gives Virtual Learning A Stronger Foothold In Michigan As Most Students Return To Classrooms
Most students are expected back in classrooms this fall, but the number of students learning via computer will likely remain well above pre-pandemic levels. Many Michigan families and educators experienced virtual learning for the first time last school year. That exposure — combined with ongoing COVID concerns — is likely to shape virtual learning in Michigan this fall and for years to come, experts say. Questions remain about online education, from inequities in access to poor academic results. Students in fully online schools are disproportionately from low-income families, and have historically struggled. Some observers worry, too, that expanding online learning will boost profits for charter school companies. Nonetheless, Michigan’s virtual learning landscape is changing rapidly.
25th Jul 2021 - MSN.com
Access to technology is changing the U.S. education system for good
Prior to COVID-19, the Pleasanton Calif. Unified School District (PUSD) was already issuing a digital device to every middle and high school student. During the pandemic, the district expanded its 1-to-1 policy to all elementary-level students, as well. “Anybody who needed a device got a device,” says Patrick Gannon, the district’s communications and community engagement coordinator. Thanks to that rapid deployment, “We were able to pivot 14,500 students from in-person to remote instruction in the course of a week.” PUSD isn’t alone: Around the nation, virtual learning needs spurred rapid adoption of 1-to-1 policies across K-12 education.
25th Jul 2021 - USA Today
The future of virtual teaching is all about school funding
The virtual classroom was a necessity during the pandemic, and data suggest it’s here to stay for the long-term: The global virtual classroom market is expected to reach $19.6 billion by 2024 according to a report by researcher Market Data Forecast. There is a growing post-pandemic appetite for virtual instruction among school leaders. In a 2020 report titled “Remote Learning is Here to Stay,” the RAND Corporation surveyed 375 school district leaders from across the country and found that over a third of them are interested in continuing some form of virtual learning after the pandemic subsides.
25th Jul 2021 - Fortune
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullScaling use of tech in learning at all levels can no longer wait
Before the pandemic, Uganda grappled with low-quality education characterized by low levels of staffing, poor infrastructure, high rate of teacher–pupil absenteeism thus leading to low literacy, numeracy, and high levels of school dropout. The school closures have therefore added to the burden of the already frail systems by disrupting learning and widening structural inequalities. While children from affluent families and a few in urban areas have leveraged technology in learning as they have access to the internet and can afford to pay for virtual tutors, for others, the situation is bleak.
22nd Jul 2021 - Observer.ug
Department of Education reveals distance-learning options amid pandemic
In Hawaii, the state Department of Education on Wednesday unveiled a list of about 100 schools offering a distance-learning option for parents uneasy about sending their child to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the department said it will team up with some complex areas where demand is low to provide a distance-learning option, but spots for students will be limited.
22nd Jul 2021 - Yahoo News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullOnline and in-person students in university classrooms cause concerns for teachers, teaching assistants and students
Unions representing faculty, teaching assistants and students at the University of Ottawa are concerned about the effectiveness of teaching students attending classes in-person and online. The Inter-Union Coalition of the University of Ottawa says it believes teachers will not be able to properly engage with students, especially in large classes. Robert Johnson, president of the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa , says the university is offering 30 to 50 per cent of all courses bi-modally this fall and he’s concerned.
21st Jul 2021 - MSN.com
Some Parents Pushing For NYC Schools To Offer Fully Virtual Learning This Fall
In New York, there are calls for school officials to have a COVID backup plan before kids head back to school this fall. There's a push to have a fully virtual option available for New York City school students
21st Jul 2021 - CBS New York
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow to stop remote working from harming apprenticeships
Restrictions are easing and society is starting to open up again, but many workers and their employers want to keep working remotely. So what does this mean for apprentices and how can employers continue to deliver purposeful and effective training?
20th Jul 2021 - TES News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullTennessee approves 29 new virtual schools
The Tennessee Department of Education has approved 29 new virtual schools for upcoming 2021-22 school year. According to a release, this addition brings the total number of virtual schools in Tennessee to 57. “While research shows that students benefit most from in-person classroom instruction, districts are ensuring families who prefer a virtual education setting for their students have those options and can continue to make the best choices for their children,” said Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn in a statement.
19th Jul 2021 - Associated Press
Boosted by the federal stimulus, these virtual learning companies are fighting to keep their new place in US education
If parents weren't familiar with Canvas or Schoology before the pandemic, they likely are now. The two biggest remote learning providers -- or, more officially, "learning management systems" -- became household names as schools scrambled to help students learn online at home, but they're now fighting to keep their foothold as most districts plan to fully reopen for in-person learning in the fall. School districts nationwide licensed the platforms so that their students could log in to virtual classes, communicate with their teachers and submit schoolwork from home. Usage surged immediately.
19th Jul 2021 - CNN
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullUAE universities embrace hybrid learning as students thrive during pandemic
Online learning looks set to be a crucial tool for universities long after the Covid-19 pandemic has been overcome as students continue to thrive in a new digital age of education. In May, tens of thousands of university students in the UAE took on-site exams with strict Covid-19 regulations in place. But lessons have been learnt regarding the benefits of digital teaching to university life. According to a growing body of research carried out in the Emirates, the outcomes for students may be better as a result. Heriot-Watt University Dubai, for example, “will continue to offer blended learning,” according to Prof Ammar Kaka, the provost and vice principal. He said the campus had always planned to bring in more digital teaching and insisted there were benefits for the students
18th Jul 2021 - The National
Some parents are seeking out permanent virtual school for the fall
After more than a year of pandemic living, the frustrations and downsides of online learning are well-known to countless households. A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 25% of parents whose children received virtual instruction or combined instruction reported worsened mental or emotional health in their children, compared to 16% of parents whose children received in-person instruction. They were also more likely to say their children were less physically active, spent less time outside and spent less time with friends. In addition, virtual instruction contributed to emotional distress for parents. But as many school districts forgo virtual learning options and bring students back to classrooms this fall, in line with recent CDC guidance to make it a priority, some parents are seeking out remote-only options from new and existing schools.
18th Jul 2021 - CNN
Funny memes and other ways to encourage students to keep their cameras on
“I can better pace if I can see your face!” “Many students report that having cameras on makes class more enjoyable!” These are two of the reasons we gave to students in our introductory biology laboratory course this past semester to encourage them to turn on their cameras during synchronous remote classes introduced as a result of the pandemic. I often used the above phrases of encouragement in a slide shown at the start of Zoom classes along with an explicit request: “Please turn on your cameras for the entire class, if you are comfortable doing so.” To capture student attention for this repetitive message in lab after lab, I also included a humorous meme of the week relating to student camera use, often created by past students of the course. These slides helped to accomplish at least four things: make an explicit request for students to use their cameras; provide reasons for the request to gain student buy-in; establish the social norm from the get go; and maintain that norm throughout the semester.
18th Jul 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Digital learning is real-world learning. That’s why blended on-campus and online study is best
Social distancing and lockdowns have disrupted university study for the past 18 months. Students are understandably stressed as shown by a dramatic drop in student satisfaction across Australia reported in the annual Student Experience Survey. Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has drawn attention to this in calling for a “return” to on-campus study. But the world is increasingly digital. Old notions of lecture halls will not help graduates to thrive in their careers. We need university study that supports students to succeed by preparing them for a digital future. Many studies have reported that work will become more blended, with less time spent in the office as working from home increases. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated this trend.
18th Jul 2021 - Australian Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullILEARN data reveals deep learning loss during pandemic, recovery could take years: 'The pandemic really took a toll on us'
In Chicago, spring state assessment data released Wednesday showed a stunning decline in performance, underscored by unprecedented low pass rates in Lake County’s urban districts and charter schools. Secretary of Education Katie Jenner told the State Board of Education the data confirmed what everyone already knew — months of remote learning or returning to schools in COVID-19 pandemic conditions accounted for a staggering academic setback. “This data cannot be an indictment on anyone, on anything, on any school,” Jenner told the State Board of Education Wednesday. “The reality is, all of us had a global pandemic.”
15th Jul 2021 - Chicago Tribune
COVID, distance learning caused major educational harm
The pandemic and the related need for children to do a significant amount of their timetable via distance learning has had a major impact on Italian pupils' education, a report said on Thursday. The report said the damage was especially severe in Italy's high schools, with close to half of the nation's youngsters leaving school this year without the necessary skills. The 2021 report on the 'Invalsi' tests, which are not used to grade pupils but to to evaluate how schools and the system itself is performing, said 44% of high-school leavers did not have an adequate level in Italian and 51% were not up to scratch in mathematics
15th Jul 2021 - Agenzia ANSA
Student watchdog concerned about mental health help
The head of the Office for Students (OfS) is concerned that more than half of UK university and college students feel their mental wellbeing has not been supported enough this year. OfS head Nicola Dandridge said more must be done to look after students. This year's annual National Student Survey, run by the OfS, found only 42% felt enough was done to help them. But England's Universities Minister Michelle Donelan said universities had access to up to £256m to help.
15th Jul 2021 - BBC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullU.N. urges schools to quantify learning losses, implement remedial programs
Only one-third of countries -- mostly high-income ones -- are taking necessary steps to measure learning losses in schools, the United Nations reported Tuesday. During UNESCO's Global Education Meeting, Director-General Audrey Azoulay and UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore issued a statement explaining that 19 countries still have their classrooms closed. The closure affects more than 156 million students, which could result in children missing out on education that can't be recovered. School closures also affected parents and caregivers, they said. The U.N. urged countries to implement remedial programs and get children back into classrooms as soon as possible.
14th Jul 2021 - UPI News
How idea sharing increases online-learner engagement
Sharing ideas in an online learning environment has a distinct advantage over sharing personal details in driving learner engagement in massive open online courses, more commonly known as MOOCs, says new research co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign expert who studies the intersection of marketing and digital environments. Online learning engagement can be increased by nearly one-third by simply prompting students to share course ideas in a discussion forum rather than having them share information about their identity or personal motivations for enrolling, said Unnati Narang, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business.
14th Jul 2021 - Phys.org
The Times view on the attainment gap caused by the Covid-19 pandemic: Catch Up
Boris Johnson promised at the start of the pandemic that everything possible would be done to help children who missed schooling catch up later. It sounds a hollow promise today. Fewer than one in five schools in England is planning to run summer catch-up sessions. The money set aside for recovery, £1.4 billion, is way below the sum proposed by policy experts and prompted the resignation of Sir Kevan Collins as head of the government programme. The pandemic has also had a disproportionate impact on poorer and disadvantaged children. Not only are many more pupils now missing school in the north and north-east than in the richer south because of high infection rates, but they will need much more help if they are ever to narrow the growing attainment gap.
14th Jul 2021 - The Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullNSW parents and teachers brace themselves for online learning
Term three begins today in New South Wales, and schools in greater Sydney are scrambling to deliver their classes online, as the COVID outbreak forces most kids to learn from home. But while Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she hopes online learning will only be a one-week event, many fear students will be in a virtual classroom for far longer.
13th Jul 2021 - ABC.Net.au
How one-to-one online learning will disrupt the education industry
Last April, a World Economic Forum report suggested 1.2 billion children, globally, had to attend virtual classrooms due to the pandemic. Whilst the UK saw its students move to an online learning system, reports of the loss of learning, particularly by children studying in the public school system, raised concerns. In another report, the NFER stated how students from poorer backgrounds struggled more than their economically well-off counterparts. The report noted the average learning loss for poorer students was 46% greater than a year earlier.
13th Jul 2021 - FE News
Researchers are looking for parents of autistic children for Covid-19 school study
University College London (UCL) is looking for 1,500 parents of autistic children and children with learning difficulties for a big Government-funded study into the effect of Covid-19 on their education. The researchers will investigate the educational experiences of children aged five to 15 across the UK with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) in the past year. Study leader Dr Vaso Totsika, said: “While everyone is debating longer days and extra tuition, let’s take a moment to talk about the elephant in the room.” Dr Totsika, associate professor in intellectual developmental disability at UCL, was referring to the disproportionately high detrimental effects of Covid-19 on the 1.3 million children with NCDs, which she says is not being properly addressed
13th Jul 2021 - iNews.co.uk
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullPupils have been going in to space and seeing a human heart thanks to virtual reality
A junior school has helped its students travel in to space and even see a beating human heart thanks to the wonders of virtual reality (VR). With school trips out of the equation thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, Race Leys Junior School in Bedworth has been creative in its solution to keeping children engaged. Race Leys introduced VR headsets at the beginning of the school year and since then over 20 hours of VR lessons have taken place. Children can explore 360-degree photos, videos and even live experiences with pupils currently learning about the human heart.
12th Jul 2021 - Coventry Live
One lesson from virtual learning - kids need their physical textbooks
Everything students use to learn, digital and hard copy, fall under the broad category of instructional materials. And the people in charge of those budgets in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties tell CBS12 News, students are not ready to succeed without physical textbooks. "Sometimes it’s difficult to align what’s on screen and what’s on paper," says Dr. Helen Wild, the Chief Academic Officer of St. Lucie Public Schools. "Our students are really in a place right now where they need to learn both." School districts across the state have spent millions on materials for the new English Language Arts curriculum that starts next month. And a lot of that money went to textbooks students can write in and keep.
12th Jul 2021 - CBS12
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullWe need a revolution in university teaching – and online-only lectures could start it
Simon Jenkins writes: "Lectures are rubbish education. They should have gone out when printing was invented and students learned to read. The vanity of monks and preachers kept them going and set them up for university education ever since. Lectures have nothing to do with teaching, which is an interactive process. They are academic showbusiness. Yet 3,000 Manchester University students have signed a petition to save their lectures after the pandemic and stop them going online under what is called “blended learning”. They seemingly prefer to have to attend a draughty lecture hall at a fixed time and snooze through a ritual hour of note-taking, as if attending high mass. They are sceptical of the university’s statement that a new “online default model of teaching” will not diminish their “contact time”, even if it offers the comfort and convenience of tuning in to lectures wherever and whenever they choose."
11th Jul 2021 - The Guardian
6 Ways to Effectively Use Virtual Reality in Education
Virtual reality technically refers to a computer-generated simulation, wherein an artificial surrounding comes into existence. This realistic environment is accessible to the user in all directions and provides an immersive experience. Naturally, educationists observed great potential in this technology and have, by now, made several attempts to successfully incorporate it into the classrooms and learning modules. Here, in this compilation, we will look into some of the most effective implementations of Virtual Reality in Education.
11th Jul 2021 - FE News
Judge dismisses Yale student's virtual learning lawsuit
A federal judge has dismissed a Yale University student’s attempt to sue the university for partial compensation for virtual online learning during the height of the pandemic last year. The Yale undergraduate student Jonathan Michel filed a class-action lawsuit against the university for the full tuition payment he and other students made to the school in the spring 2020 semester before the pandemic forced universities across the country to switch to remote virtual learning, the Hartford Courant reported. The judge dismissed the suit because the school is protected from giving tuition reimbursements due to regulations that give it approval to close programs and not issue refunds during a “public health or security concerns.”
11th Jul 2021 - Associated Press
U.S. CDC updates school guidance to emphasize in-person learning
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday updated its guidance for U.S. schools reopening in the fall, recommending masking indoors for everyone who is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and three feet of distance within classrooms. The agency said school administrators can require indoor mask use even for students and educators who are vaccinated, depending on the needs of the community. Reasons would include schools with children under age 12, who are not currently authorized to receive COVID-19 vaccines, or high rates of COVID-19 transmission in the region.
10th Jul 2021 - Reuters
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullUniversities to defy government advice and keep online learning
Lectures will be online at most selective universities next year despite the education secretary’s declaration that they can return to in-person teaching, a survey for The Times has found. Nearly all Russell Group institutions said that they would adopt “blended learning” in the academic year starting this autumn, with a mixture of face-to-face and virtual teaching. Undergraduates will pay £9,250 a year in fees. Most universities said that they hoped to provide in-person contact for small groups, tutorials, seminars and lab work but either omitted to mention lectures or said that these would take place online.
8th Jul 2021 - The Times
New research center to explore future of online learning
The U.S. Department of Education is investing $10 million in a research center to explore what strategies teachers can use or digital tools to offer to help college students better manage online learning.
8th Jul 2021 - EdScoop
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullStudent nurses complete work placements on virtual wards
A Midlands HE institution has been helping remotely train nurses unable to complete work placements because of the pandemic. Coventry University’s simulation team accelerated the provision of virtual simulated placements (VSPs) for students at its School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, allowing recreations of hospital wards and patients’ homes, as well as scenarios they might expect to face. In some ways, say the people behind the initiative, the virtual alternative is a more useful learning aid than the real thing. “VSPs allow us to provide complex decision-making training that we cannot guarantee our students would get on an actual placement,” said Dr Natasha Taylor, curriculum lead and associate professor for simulation.
7th Jul 2021 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullGetting Disconnected Students Access to Their Online Classrooms
Scott Muri is superintendent of the Ector County Independent School District in Texas. He writes about the ways in which his school district tackled moving to remote learning: "We had always known that technology could enhance the learning experiences that teachers provide. That is why, before the pandemic, our team developed a years-long master plan to put devices into the hands of every student, from pre-K through 12th grade, and to facilitate broadband access to all of our families. But in March 2020, we did not have years to solve this problem. At best, we had months. So, driven by this deep “why” to do better for our students, we accelerated that work. We purchased 37,000 new devices within six months. We immediately and diligently searched for quality short- and long-term broadband solutions for our students."
6th Jul 2021 - EdTech Magazine
Teachers warn that school rules already limit phone use, a ban may hinder virtual learning
Iain Rankin, head of drama at a north-west London secondary school, is unimpressed by the Government proposal to ban smartphones in schools. He says there is already a no-phone rule in most schools, so this is a pointless initiative. Mr Rankin says there are also times when smartphones can be useful in lessons. “Schools have been thrust into digitising learning because of lockdowns, and I’ve realised how to integrate that sort of thing into my lessons in the physical classroom and for homework, too. I suspect I am not the only one.”
6th Jul 2021 - iNews
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual School & Equity: Why Online Classes Challenge Kids With Autism
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that one in 54 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder by age 8. People on the spectrum persistently have difficulty communicating and interacting with others and are prone to restrictive or repetitive behavior. Online learning, with impersonal factors such as having to watch a small screen and not having a teacher present, amplified the problem during the pandemic. The Autism Research Institute, in San Diego, recommended several actions to take with students on the spectrum who had to switch to online learning. They included explaining the situation to the child doing the learning, creating reasonable expectations, setting a schedule, involving the entire family and setting up support that relates to online learning.
5th Jul 2021 - Yahoo News
New report aims to improve VR use in healthcare education
A new report that could help improve how immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are used in healthcare education and training has been published with significant input from the University of Huddersfield. The report argues for greater standardisation of how to use immersive technologies in healthcare training and education. As Professor Peebles explains, "It's about developing a set of principles and guidelines for the use of immersive technology in medical treatment. Immersive technology is becoming increasingly popular and, as the technology is advancing, it's becoming clear that there is great potential to make training more accessible and effective."
5th Jul 2021 - Phys.org
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullBack to virtual school: How to develop a growth mindset for your child
The second wave of COVID-19 has hurled us into yet another year of virtual schooling. However, this time we are all geared up and well-equipped with a plan and strategies, incorporating blended learning techniques into our teaching practices. We would like to share some of our learnings that will equip parents with adequate measures for the academic year 2021-2022. This checklist will ensure children are positively motivated as they start school and will also build a growth mindset in your children.
4th Jul 2021 - The Indian Express
Parents Plan To Use Learning Apps To Continue Kids' Education This Summer
A new survey has revealed that parents are still planning on using learning apps to continue their child’s education throughout the summer. Summer is meant to be a time for fun and excitement. A chance for families to get out there and spend some time together and have fun. While school may be out for the year, a lot of parents still want their child to learn and grow and a great method to encourage this is by using electronics and technology to your advantage. Since children have now had some experience navigating online learning, they are more familiar with this method of learning.
4th Jul 2021 - Moms.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow to Support Student Mental Health in a Remote Learning Environment
Student mental health has evolved as a critical issue in the remote learning process. In a traditional classroom environment, teachers have the ability to observe students directly and interact face to face. This visual contact allows teachers to perceive the early warning signs of their students’ mental health issues. In the online setting, direct sensory contact is significantly reduced. Thus, the dangers to student mental health, as well as the remedies, must be well assessed and consistently worked on. Online teachers need to develop strategies to identify crucial individual or group psychological issues in their classes. Furthermore, a set of institutional policies addressing mental health and student performance should be applied to guarantee a consistent and steady remote learning environment.
1st Jul 2021 - iLounge
‘I don’t think you are ready’: Boys of color fell furthest behind at school amid COVID
In Chicago and across the country, there is growing evidence that this year has hit Black and Latino boys – young men such as Derrick, Nathaniel and Leonel – harder than other students. Amid rising gun violence, a national reckoning over race, bitter school reopening battles and a deadly virus that took the heaviest toll on Black and Latino communities, the year has tested not only these teens but also the school systems that have historically failed many of them. It has severed precarious ties to school, derailed college plans and pried gaping academic disparities even wider. But in this moment of upheaval, educators and advocates also see a chance to rethink how schools serve boys of color. With billions in federal stimulus funds on the way, the crisis is fueling a patchwork of efforts to bring diversity to the teaching cadre, support college-bound teens and more, though a bolder, wholesale overhaul is yet to emerge.
1st Jul 2021 - USA Today
Damage to children’s education — and their health — could last a lifetime
After more than a year of isolation, widespread financial insecurity and the loss of an unprecedented amount of classroom time, experts say many of the youngest Americans have fallen behind socially, academically and emotionally in ways that could harm their physical and mental health for years or even decades. "This could affect a whole generation for the rest of their lives," said Dr. Jack Shonkoff, a pediatrician and director of the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University. "All kids will be affected. Some will get through this and be fine. They will learn from it and grow. But lots of kids are going to be in big trouble."
1st Jul 2021 - News-Medical.Net
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Jul 2021
View this newsletter in fullWEA: 69% of students reported that their online course experience was the same when compared to face to face learning
In a new survey by @WEAadulted, the UK’s leading adult education charity, 69% of students reported that their online course experience was the same when compared to face to face learning. Over one in four (28%) felt their virtual course was better compared to face to face learning. These figures supporting virtual learning are impressive considering 61% of these students reported on having none or little experience using virtual learning prior to the pandemic. According to the survey, the top benefit of virtual learning cited by over two-thirds of the students (67%) is the lack of travel, while 64% highlighted the accessibility of courses irrespective of the location and tutor, making it easier to learn than ever before
30th Jun 2021 - FE News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullLearning setbacks coming into focus with new testing results
The scores from the first U.S. standardized tests taken during the pandemic are offering an early glimpse of just how far students have fallen behind, with some states reporting that the turbulent year has reversed years of academic progress.
Texas education officials offered a grim report Monday as the state became one of the first to release full results from its spring exams. The percentage of students reading at their grade level slid to the lowest levels since 2017, while math scores plummeted to their lowest point since 2013. In total, about 800,000 additional students are now behind their grade level in math, the state said.
29th Jun 2021 - The Associated Press
COVID-19: Virtual camp set up for disadvantaged children
Unable to hold an in-person summer camp this year, a doctoral student has designed a virtual camp where disadvantaged students can not just learn about, but also practice biology, music, programming and more, free of charge. Born in Taichung’s remote Sinshe District, Chou Chiao-chi knows what it is like to lack certain resources and the time to use them.To help students experiencing similar conditions, she spends most summers holding summer camps for disadvantaged children. Many might view the shift to online classes this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak as a blow, but Chou saw an opportunity. “This is a chance to expand the multicultural knowledge of young people in remote areas,” she said.
29th Jun 2021 - The Taipei Times
Brooklyn Teacher Who Made His Own Remote Learning Site Wins $25K
A Brooklyn teacher who built an entire website to help his special education students learn remotely during the coronavirus crisis has won $25,000 for his "teaching excellence," organizers announced this week. Andrew Chiapetta, who teaches second grade at Carroll Gardens' Brooklyn New School, was one of five teachers chosen this year for the FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence top prize, which is awarded to one educator who went above and beyond in each of the five boroughs. Chiapetta's prize comes after he used his self-taught coding skills to build a virtual classroom that is now used by the entire grade. His prize includes $25,000 cash and a $10,000 award for his school.
29th Jun 2021 - Patch.com
How can speech recognition technology support children's learning?
The last 12 months have changed the world in a way that we could never have predicted, and no one can attest to this more than schools. While it was expected that e-learning would play an important role in education in the future, it was completely unexpected that it would replace classroom teaching across the world so soon. Because of this, video conferencing has become an essential tool for teaching, whether delivered through language apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools, or online learning software.
29th Jun 2021 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullNew Mexico home schoolers drive drop in enrollment, funding
Home schooling nearly doubled in New Mexico last year as thousands of parents opted out of virtual learning programs offered in public schools. The unprecedented defection from the public school system is putting a strain on school budgets, which are rooted in student enrollment. Parents with the time and patience to school at home said they love the flexibility of home school and have learned how to give their children a more tailored education. The number of children registered with the state as home schoolers nearly doubled from around 8,800 before the pandemic to around 15,400 this past school year, according to Public Education Department data.
28th Jun 2021 - Associated Press
'Giving all kids a go' - Bridging gap between city and country in virtual learning
In Australia, a new Victorian Government online program is helping bridge the education gap between regional and metro students. The program will boost the ability of VCE teachers to deliver best practice virtual learning and teaching
Post-COVID schools and students are more reliant on virtual learning so this program will assist teachers advance online education and learning
28th Jun 2021 - Mirage News
Virtual reality can help boost brain rhythms linked to learning and memory
A new discovery in rats shows that the brain responds differently in immersive virtual reality environments versus the real world. The finding could help scientists understand how the brain brings together sensory information from different sources to create a cohesive picture of the world around us. It could also pave the way for "virtual reality therapy" for learning and memory-related disorders ranging including ADHD, Autism, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and depression.
28th Jun 2021 - News-Medical.Net
Ambitious tech project brings whole class virtual learning to Shropshire school
An ambitious project to enable whole class virtual learning at a small Shropshire school has become reality following the generous donation of 36 new iPads. Teachers and parents at Tibberton CE Primary School, near Newport, set about raising funds for the new devices earlier this term and thanks to the support of local businesses and others in the community they have reached their goal ahead of schedule. It means, from September, each child in class will have access to their own iPad and associated digital resources to support whole-class learning during lessons.
28th Jun 2021 - Shropshire Live
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe Rise of Virtual-Only K–12 Schools
When officials at Fort Smith Public Schools in Arkansas began preparing an online-only option for fall 2020, they expected to have about 500 sign-ups from the district’s 14,000 students. Instead, online enrollment hit 3,500. “As we got closer, we were surprised to see our estimate keep growing,” says Gary Udouj, director of career education and district innovation for FSPS. “We were very quickly training staff and getting our resources together to make sure all of our students had the technology they needed.” The district paid teachers a $500 stipend to complete a virtual training program standardized on a single learning management system, and it implemented a third-party online curriculum. “We were definitely building the airplane as we were taking off,” Udouj says.
25th Jun 2021 - EdTech Magazine: Focus on K-12
4-H Clubs uses pandemic to repurpose training programmes
Jamaica's 4-H Clubs, which have been significantly impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, say they have used the opportunity to repurpose their training programmes to accomodate online use, adding, a number of its usual face-to-face events are also now utilising a virtual platform component.
25th Jun 2021 - Jamaica Observer
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow edtech is facilitating jobs and learning
Edtech’s growth trajectory has been simply unparalleled throughout the pandemic. While e-commerce took several years to gain traction, edtech rose to prominence almost overnight. The last 12 months could well be described as a tipping point for edtech, as the ecosystem has expanded leaps and bounds. The sector has attracted investments worth more than US$2.2 billion and continues to dominate headlines. Compared to 2019, the edtech user base in 2020 had doubled from 45m to 90m across k12 and post-k12 sectors. Average time spent using such services or devices is up 50%, from 60 to 90 minutes.
24th Jun 2021 - Education Technology
This honors student considered giving up when he had to learn on his phone. He is far from alone, experts fear
Schools in Camden, one of the poorer areas of New Jersey, were closed for more than a year while in other parts of the country classes got back sooner. And that could impact students. "What we anticipate is the longer students have been out, the longer they've been faced with virtual instruction, the more severe the impact is likely to be," said Sandy Addis, Chairman of the National Dropout Prevention Center.
"The long-term impact of this pandemic shutdown is going to be much more than one year. Students across all grade levels have experienced learning loss. And it's not just the learning loss for this current year. Many of them have lost ground developmentally, particularly younger kids," he warned.
24th Jun 2021 - CNN
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhy higher education must evolve to support the hybrid workplace
The global pandemic has impacted all corners of society, but higher education has faced one of the biggest overhauls in its history. Above all, the pandemic has shone a spotlight on the need for universities to offer a consistent learning environment between the campus and those accessing lessons remotely to ensure future success and resilience. Once achieved, this will enable universities to prepare the next generation of talent for a hybrid world of work, that will no doubt be in place by the time they enter the workforce
23rd Jun 2021 - FE News
The Pandemic Accelerated Online Learning, But It Also Exposed Its Inequalities
We talk to Gen.T honourees Anna Alejo, an education consultant for the World Bank, and Henry Motte-Munoz, the founder of Edukasyon.com, about how the pandemic has impacted education. “Virtual learning has great potential, but it is crucial that this does not result in learners being left behind,” says Alejo. She has noticed widening disparities, saying that “students in disadvantaged contexts are more likely to encounter challenges, and this may lead to a worsening of performance among those who were already behind even before the pandemic had begun.” In less developed nations, there is danger that a move towards more online learning could in fact widen the learning gap
23rd Jun 2021 - Tatler Philippines
Virtual training helps middle schoolers hone social skills
Middle school, a time when children's brains are undergoing significant development, is often also a time of new challenges in navigating the social world. Recent research from the Center for BrainHealth at UT Dallas demonstrates the power of combining a virtual platform with live coaching to help students enhance their social skills and confidence in a low-risk environment. In this study, BrainHealth researchers partnered with low-income public middle schools in Dallas. Teachers recommended 90 students to participate in virtual training sessions via questionnaires, testing their ability to accurately identify students who are struggling socially. Importantly, participation was not limited to students with a clinical diagnosis.
23rd Jun 2021 - Phys.org
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullFather Asks School If Son Can Repeat Grade Due to Virtual Learning Inconsistencies
A father in North Carolina is asking his son's school if he can repeat the sixth grade due to virtual learning inconsistencies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brad Dills said his son Tommy, 12, did virtual learning for the entire school year at Camden County Intermediate School and "struggled" with it despite setting him up with a spot to work online, according to WAVY. Tommy barely passed and Dills is concerned about his son's preparedness for the seventh grade. "Virtual learning alone is not a reason to retain a student," Camden County Schools Superintendent Dr. Joe Ferrell told Newsweek. "We were in school in-person in some way starting in October and every student had the opportunity for in-person instruction/learning."
22nd Jun 2021 - Newsweek
What edtech can learn from Fortnite
The past year has been transformational for the edtech industry. Initially, traditional educational institutions were forced to take their classes online, but many are now choosing to make virtual learning a permanent offering once we fully emerge from the pandemic. One third of Russell Group universities say they intend to continue with blended learning, while the University of Buckingham’s Education MA, for example, at is now fully online. And it’s not only institutions turning to online learning, individuals are too. Polling commissioned by online social learning provider Learning with Experts showed that over half of Brits have started or intend to start an online course during the pandemic.
22nd Jun 2021 - Education Technology
Virtual pupils make for more confident teachers
Teacher training students who practised teaching virtual pupils developed greater confidence in their teaching ability, according to a study from Linköping University. In the long term, simulation can make the students better prepared for their workforce debut. Teacher training programmes often have difficulty offering their students sufficient teaching practice for their future profession. Many teaching graduates feel unprepared when they start working, and some decide to change career path, despite good employment prospects caused by a teacher shortage. A group of researchers at Linköping University investigated whether teaching virtual pupils could make teacher training students better prepared for teaching in a real classroom
22nd Jun 2021 - EurekAlert
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow higher education institutes can deliver a category defining experience
Before the pandemic, for many HE institutes, engagement and attendance were often synonymous: a student’s participation in a course was measured by whether or not they turned up in person to lectures or classes. When no one can be physically present, we were forced to redefine what engagement truly means. As we move forward, the focus needs to be on finding the right mix of hybrid teaching which enables the best of digital convenience with rich face-to-face experiences. Done well, these innovations can also help in other areas, for example, social mobility where a hybrid style of teaching can be more accessible to students with limits to their travel.
21st Jun 2021 - Education Technology
What will public school look like for US students this fall?
As mask mandates are dropped in many public places in the United States and coronavirus vaccines become available for Americans aged 11 and up, many parents are wondering if their children will finally head back to the classroom this fall. There are still plenty of variables. Despite the fact that clinical trials are under way in younger children aged six months to 11 years, there’s no firm timeline as to when vaccines will be widely available for kids — and some parents have been hesitant to have their young children receive COVID-19 shots at all.
21st Jun 2021 - AlJazeera
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jun 2021
View this newsletter in full‘Blended learning has the potential to meet the challenges in nurse education’
The current challenges in nurse education are to make programmes convenient, accessible and attractive to a wider and more versatile cohort of students. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has enhanced this need even more so and has demonstrated that, on many levels, blended learning does have the potential to meet this challenge. Online can offer a very rich virtual workspace in which interactions can occur among students in real time or through discussion boards. Students have reported appreciating the flexibility and convenience of being able to work in their own time and location, and fitting this around the demands of, for example, childcare.
20th Jun 2021 - Nursing Times
From Virtual Spectator to Participant: Engaging Students in Synchronous Online Learning Activities
Students have different experiences for each course they complete in an online environment. We should not assume that students will know what we expect regarding their performance in our courses. Forbes suggests a simple strategy to promote student success is to clearly identify for the student what it will take to succeed in your course (Forbes 2018). This means we should routinely communicate with students what is expected of them for completing all course related learning activities. Explaining expectations will help prevent students from taking on the role of a spectator when they should be prepared to be a participant.
20th Jun 2021 - Faculty Focus
New online syllabus to save teachers hours of ‘opening multiple web pages’
The NSW government will commit $196 million in next week’s state budget to develop a new school syllabus, and that will include money for an online system that will allow teachers - as well as parents and students - to find what they need in seconds. The aim is a syllabus that serves teachers, rather than the other way around. It will let them call up exactly what they need across multiple subjects, as well as provide resources such as sample assessments, advice on lesson planning, and examples of different standards of student work. “The platform will save teachers countless hours of time opening multiple web pages and documents within web pages to access the information they need to teach our children the curriculum,” said NESA chief executive Paul Martin.
19th Jun 2021 - Sydney Morning Herald
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow can universities maintain hybrid education across the UK as network demands become increasingly complex?
At the beginning of the pandemic, UK higher education institutions had to abruptly shift to online learning formats to guarantee some form of educational continuity for their students. This process was not easy, with universities confronted with the challenge of how to provide comprehensive learning within the limits of a purely online learning environment. Given the rapid pace of events during the opening stages of the pandemic, universities could be forgiven for any technological teething issues. However, the UK is now over a year into pandemic restrictions and, with partial online teaching set to continue for many universities into the 2021 autumn term, students will expect their education be delivered as seamlessly as possible. The onus is on universities to support the COVID generation of students as best they can, and so they must manage their complex IT infrastructures as efficiently as possible to avoid hampering class time with brownouts and outages.
17th Jun 2021 - FE News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullMost educators want to keep virtual schooling for students with long-term illness, survey shows
The idea of virtual schools for students who have a long-term illness seems to have been a very positive experience among educators, with 93.3% of educators agreeing that it should be kept. This emerged from a survey conducted by the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT). Following the reopening of schools in October 2020, a host of new practices were introduced as mitigation measures due to the pandemic. The MUT has evaluated these practices, which were introduced in Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary schools, with the aim of understanding their impact and to be in a better situation to assess whether there are grounds to keep some of them in the post pandemic period.
15th Jun 2021 - The Malta Independent
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullConsider This: Why Some Black And Hispanic Parents Want To Keep Remote Learning
As the risk from COVID-19 declines, many public school students and parents in Boston are embracing the return of in-person learning. But for some parents of color, remote learning is a matter of keeping their students psychologically safe. A recent survey by the Boston Public Schools found that more than half of Black families would likely send their child to a virtual school next fall. Forty-seven percent of Hispanic families said the same thing. Just 15 percent of white families showed a high level of interest.
14th Jun 2021 - WBUR
Virtual School Opens a Divide That U.S. Parents Fill With Fury
From the moment that Covid forced schools across the U.S. to close and go virtual, warnings rang out about the toll on children. Now, as most school districts promise a full return in the fall, the country’s two largest are testing out contrary approaches. New York City Public Schools, the biggest district with 1.1 million students, is sending students back to school with no alternative for remote learning, which Mayor Bill de Blasio says is “the way education was meant” as he’s promised “gold standard” classroom safety measures. Los Angeles Unified School District, which serves more than 600,000 students, is offering everyone in-person attendance with continued masking and Covid testing, but it’s also allowing students to log on from home if that’s what works for their family.
14th Jun 2021 - MSN.com
Research from Europe points to online tutoring as a potent weapon against learning loss
During the early days of the pandemic, with students around the world shut out of school buildings and many struggling to succeed in virtual classrooms, academics and philanthropies in several countries embraced a novel solution: online tutoring. In recent months, the first research studies on those initial efforts — one based in the United Kingdom, the other in Italy — have emerged, showing significant evidence of effectiveness.
14th Jun 2021 - LA School Report
Socialising is hugely important, but virtual campuses help learning, too
The social elements of university help students succeed academically, so we must start transplanting them online, says Elizabeth Lehfeldt. "We should also encourage students to create their own backchannels for conversation and chat. We know that students are sometimes hesitant to speak or ask questions in class, so group texts where they can exchange ideas, ask questions or even discuss things wholly unrelated to class, without instructor mediation, may provide an outlet for more spontaneous and forthcoming interactions. These can become useful spaces for community building, and we might create other kinds of open-ended spaces within our courses, too."
14th Jun 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow an exodus of young Nigerians spurred a rethink on schools
In Edo State, in southern Nigeria, the extent of human trafficking and irregular migration that peaked in 2016-17 was our call to action. With thousands of young boys and girls undertaking perilous trips across the Sahara desert in the hope of reaching Europe, we were forced to focus on the root causes propelling them to migrate at any cost. One factor was the difficult economic and social circumstances of parents in some rural communities. The breakdown of the education system — particularly at the basic level — also resulted in a significant learning deficit among young people, which made them unemployable and desperate to find a future elsewhere.
13th Jun 2021 - Financial Times
'It Feels like I'm Talking into a Void': How Do We Improve the Virtual Classroom?
The COVID pandemic precipitated a major shift to virtual learning—an unplanned test of whether these technologies can scale effectively. But did they? Researchers in the UC San Diego Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) wanted to look beyond the anecdotal evidence to better understand where remote education fell short and how we might improve it. In a study presented at the Association for Computing Machinery’s Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), the team examined faculty and student attitudes towards virtual classrooms and proposed several technological refinements that could improve their experience, such as flexible distribution of student video feeds and enhanced chat functions. “We wanted to understand instructor and student perspectives and see how we can marry them,” said CSE Associate Professor Nadir Weibel, senior author on the paper. “How can we improve students’ experience and give better tools to instructors?”
13th Jun 2021 - UC San Diego Health
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual Learning Helped Push Caltech Physics Labs into Future
Of all the classes to adapt for remote learning, a physics lab might seem among the most difficult considering that its purpose is to provide students hands-on experience with the tools and techniques of a real lab. But even before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and caused classes to go online, Caltech senior physics lab manager Eric Black had a plan in hand that would allow his students to learn from home.
10th Jun 2021 - Mirage News
Education expert talks challenges of virtual learning for students, mental health supports
Many students struggled with virtual learning and some fell behind. While many focus on academics, Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said children were also impacted emotionally. She spoke with 7News On Your Side's Lindsey Mastis about some of the things parents can do to help get their students the help they need. In some cases, it may mean advocating for additional help. She recommends reaching out to teachers to begin a conversation first by asking how best to communicate and when, and share what works best for parents too. But she warns that holding kids back a grade is often not necessary
10th Jun 2021 - WJLA
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullThousands of WRDSB students register for virtual summer school
In Canada, the end of the school year is just a few weeks away, but the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) will welcome thousands of students back again in July for summer school programs. This is will be the second year in a row that the WRDSB will offer summer school virtually, using both asynchronous and synchronous learning platforms. There are more than 2,500 secondary students registered, and just over 1,000 students registered for transition support programs in Grades 6, 7, 8
9th Jun 2021 - CBC.ca
More students than ever will attend summer school this year. That might not be enough to close the COVID-19 achievement gap.
After a school year punctuated by coronavirus quarantines, Zoom lessons and days away from her friends, Caia Rivera, 7, will be spending at least part of her Florida summer back in the classroom. Her classes and other enrichment activities at her Miami-area elementary school come courtesy of her mother's desire to keep her mind sharp – and more than $1 billion in federal funding to dramatically expand summer learning for millions of kids. Millions of children this summer will participate in what's expected to be the largest summer-school program in history, powered by more than $1.2 billion in targeted federal post-pandemic assistance from the American Rescue Plan. But experts warn these much-needed summer enrichment programs aren't a panacea – and worry the students most in need of extra tutoring won't get it.
9th Jun 2021 - USA Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullHere’s how one Philly school kept kids engaged through a long year of virtual learning
This pandemic year has been tough for educators and students alike. But for many Philadelphia schools, which function as lifelines in their communities and largely have not had children back inside buildings for most of the year, keeping connections with families has been especially crucial. That the school succeeded in a corner of the city once overrun with virus cases and despite broad concern that vulnerable children might slip through the cracks amid the chaos is even more remarkable. Sending a large fuzzy mascot through North Philadelphia is just one of the things William Dick Elementary teachers and staff did this past year to help the school’s 450 students and their families survive a year of virtual learning.
8th Jun 2021 - MSN.com
Ontario students are up to 3 months behind in their learning due to COVID-19 lockdowns: Science Table
Ontario public school students are likely two to three months behind in their learning because of school closures brought on by COVID-19, leading to life-long losses in their expected earnings as adults if efforts aren’t made to bring them up to speed, says a new analysis by the COVID-19 Science Table. Citing research from the U.S., Holland and the UK, epidemiologists advising the Ontario government say that pupils are anywhere from 1.6 to 3.3 months behind where they would have been academically if in-person learning was not shut because of COVID-19 starting last March.
8th Jun 2021 - CTV Toronto
Pandemic teaching transitions back to classroom with lessons learned
The COVID-19 pandemic created numerous changes and challenges for many people. In the education field, teachers were asked to re-create lesson plans and student interactivity in a virtual realm, something many had never experienced. During the 180th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held virtually June 8-10, Andrew Morrison, from Joliet Junior College, will reveal lessons learned by educators during remote teaching caused by the pandemic and what techniques they can use in the return to classroom instruction. Morrison said many adaptations for pandemic teaching likely will not transition to classroom, but he felt some, such as the use of online collaboration tools, should be retained to increase the equity of access to the course or to increase student engagement.
8th Jun 2021 - EurekAlert
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow COVID changed schools outreach
Pandemic lockdowns around the world have created challenges for researchers who want to inspire the next generation of scientists. Closed laboratories have prevented them from hosting work-experience students, and emptied classrooms and museums have limited or barred opportunities to share stories and experiments in person. Outreach organizers have been under particular pressure to adopt creative solutions because many programmes are targeted at groups that are under-represented in science, or at schools in deprived neighbourhoods. Students in many such schools have missed out on crucial lab experience because of closures, the challenges of home schooling and cancelled exams. As happened with conference presenters and university lecturers’ switch last year to virtual sessions and classes, respectively, outreach organizers’ adoption of digital formats was abrupt and unprecedented. But they have learnt that virtual outreach schemes can engage participants just as much as in-person activities can, can offer more flexibility and can also draw larger audiences.
7th Jun 2021 - Nature.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullGraduation Rate Expected to Stall This Year at Some High Schools
In the U.S., some larger school districts expect graduation rates to stall or fall because many seniors struggled during online learning, even as states and schools nationwide have dialed back graduation requirements to account for hardships brought by the pandemic. States have waived standardized exit exams and let students repeat 12th grade to make up for pandemic-related learning loss. Teachers and school administrators made home visits to find students on the cusp of graduation who have shown low engagement in class. Projections show that the efforts may not be enough to shore up graduation rates.
6th Jun 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
For some former college students, the pandemic opened a door to finish their degrees
The shift to virtual learning during the pandemic made college more accessible to millions of students who juggle school with full-time jobs, caregiving responsibilities or health issues. When Kelly Martin Broderick, 40, left the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2014, she was just five classes short of graduating. School stayed on the back burner until the pandemic hit and Broderick lost her job at a Baltimore theater. Then she got a letter from UMBC inviting her back to finish her degree in gender, women’s and sexuality studies. Broderick’s return to UMBC came as some universities began turning more attention to students who left school before earning a degree, in part, as a way to turn around enrollment declines during the pandemic. For some former students, the push came at the right time.
6th Jun 2021 - The Washington Post
After a tough year, schools are axing virtual learning. Some families want to stay online.
As fall approaches, many schools are ending virtual programs and trying to return children to classrooms five days a week. New York City, the nation's largest school district, eliminated remote options for next year. New Jersey's governor announced schools must fully open in fall with no remote learning. Illinois public schools must do the same for almost all students, the state board of education voted last month. Many education experts say in-person instruction is the best way to help hasten an academic recovery for those who fell behind and to address emotional and social consequences after two disrupted school years. But the orders may deny many families, especially parents of color, the choice to continue an education style they say was working for them
6th Jun 2021 - MSN.com
Clinical psychologist offers advice on pros and cons of online learning
With online schooling, some children get aching eyes, headaches, and body aches. They believe they are given too much work, they are having difficulties getting help when they do not understand a topic, and they still have to be on the computer doing homework long after classes are done for the day. Clinical and counselling psychologist Nidhi Kirpalani said, “Kids are craving to go back to school! Go back to seeing their peers, being out of the house, learning to be themselves and playing in after-school activities or team sports.”
6th Jun 2021 - TT Newsday
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning helping students living with a disability learn vital skills and gain confidence
Tymekka Locke would love to be a barista when she leaves school, but like many of her classmates at the Mackay District Special School, she is not sure where to start. But a virtual learning program, helping teach vital skills from the safety of a classroom, might just be the answer. Over the past six months, students have been using headsets and screens to learn pedestrian safety skills, how to withdraw money from an ATM and the art of making different coffees. "We do coffees, or road safety, or [go to] the bank," Tymekka said. Mackay District Special School teacher Ria Erlank said the program was giving students like Tymekka the chance to gain skills and confidence for the workforce.
2nd Jun 2021 - ABC.Net.au
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learners and the impending security risks they face
The pandemic has left behind a level on uncertainty for many, and for students in particular. Schools, colleges and universities were forced to close for extended periods of time. Physical contact hours were replaced with virtual learning, while the university aspirations of many are now in question as institutions are making fewer offers as a result of budgetary constraints. Video meetings and collaboration platforms have been a lifeline over the past year, but this has made educational institutions vulnerable to the rising cybersecurity threat landscape. A single data breach costs £3.1 million on average. The impacts from the pandemic have meant that education facilities cannot afford the severe financial and reputational repercussions from a successful ransomware attack. Students’ learning environments must remain productive both on and offline, as a matter of priority.
1st Jun 2021 - FE News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Jun 2021
View this newsletter in fullCalls for virtual tutors to become part of national strategy to combat learning loss during lockdown
Virtual tutors should be funded to help children catch up with learning lost during the pandemic, a leading provider has said. Most children across the UK will have missed more than half a year of normal, in-person schooling, thanks to the pandemic, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Government funding to stem the gap should be used for virtual tutors which are cost-effective and can provide help on the mass scale needed, said Whizz Education, provider of virtual tutor Maths-Whizz.
31st May 2021 - MSN.com
We had a year to experiment with online learning. What did we learn?
Before schools nationwide moved millions of students from classroom seats to screens, educators at Highline Public Schools in South King County wanted to expand online learning. Back then, Highline saw an opportunity: Online education might be good for students who want more flexibility and independence than a traditional classroom setting. Now, more than a year after districts nationwide Frankensteined their way through remote instruction, Highline sees even more reason to make good on its initial plan. The district’s first full-time virtual school, Highline Virtual Academy, is scheduled to open this fall as an all-remote option for middle and high schoolers who want to spend traditional school hours working or helping support family at home, or who might need more frequent midday breaks from classes. District leaders promise the school has been better researched and planned than the pandemic-era model they threw together.
31st May 2021 - Seattle Times
Is remote learning here to stay? Many, but not all, Colorado schools will offer online classes this fall.
Thanks to online programs and open enrollment policies, remote learning won’t entirely disappear from Colorado schools next year or even once cohorting and social distancing have become practices of the past. District leaders, educators and state officials anticipate that many schools will continue to offer a remote learning option to students, some of whom have thrived in an online school environment. Educators point to a variety of reasons to keep remote options alive long past the pandemic. Some students are simply more successful learning through digital platforms. Others, shouldering family responsibilities to care for siblings or working a job, benefit from the flexibility that online schooling offers. And some have family members with health conditions that put them at a greater risk for diseases like COVID-19, so they feel safer at home.
31st May 2021 - The Colorado Sun
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning let some NJ kids log in from around the globe. Is that a sign of the future?
Hundreds of New Jersey students have logged in to classes on their laptops over the past year from the Dominican Republic, Portugal, Bangladesh, Egypt, Australia and elsewhere. The ultra-remote instruction was a concession to the illness and disruption of the pandemic. But after Gov. Phil Murphy announced this month that remote learning would end in the fall, many districts are pulling the plug on the option. With COVID-19 forcing education systems around the world to provide alternatives to in-person instruction, some students from immigrant families chose to go abroad due to family emergencies or because they had no one to take care of them while school buildings were closed, school officials said.
27th May 2021 - NorthJersey.com
As schools reopen, some are keeping all-virtual options
Teaching to the middle has historically been the approach taken by many schools nationwide, where a one-size-fits-all model is the norm and students must figure out how to fit in or fail. When COVID-19 hit and schools quickly pivoted to distance learning, challenges and disparities—many already present but ignored—were revealed for teachers, parents, and students. Yet, as the pandemic raged on, some students actually thrived in this at-home learning environment. One lesson is that many students experience stress due to daily instances of racism. This occurs especially when they do not feel a strong sense of belonging in their school setting, which research shows can lead to reduced academic confidence and performance. Taking classes online eased some of the pressure that students, including Black, immigrant and indigenous kids, felt to assimilate in classrooms and schools.
27th May 2021 - MSN.com
Oxford students reveal preference for virtual learning
In Oxford, college students have expressed a desire to carry on with virtual learning after the pandemic. More than 500 Oxford Business College students were surveyed, revealing a preference for virtual or blended learning (a mixture of virtual and classroom learning). Results from the survey showed 83 per cent preferred virtual or blended options. The remaining 17 per cent would like to see a classroom return.
27th May 2021 - Oxford Mail
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullMexico university designs classrooms for post-pandemic hybrid classes
With intelligent spaces that allow students to interact and feel they are in a classroom, Mexico’s Monterrey Institute of Technology has resumed hybrid classes after almost a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Given the health emergency, the university implemented a program of Hybrid Simultaneous In-Person Remote classes, known as HPRS, with cutting edge technology so that students taking virtual classes can interact with their professors in real time as if they were present in the classroom. The director of academic services at Tec de Monterrey’s Guadalajara campus, Veronica Rangel, told EFE on Tuesday that they had created the learning system using educational platforms with audio and video technology.
26th May 2021 - La Prensa Latina
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullStates and cities across the U.S. debate the future of online learning.
As the coronavirus pandemic ebbs in the United States and vaccines become available for teenagers, school systems are facing the difficult choice of whether to continue offering a remote learning option in the fall. When Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City took a stance on Monday, saying that the city will drop remote learning in its public schools, the move may have added to the pressure on other school systems to do the same. Some families remain fearful of returning their children to classrooms, and others have become accustomed to new child care and work routines built around remote schooling, and are loath to make major changes. But it is increasingly clear that school closures have exacted an academic and emotional toll on millions of American students, while preventing some parents from working outside the home.
25th May 2021 - The New York Times
Technology can't replace face-to-face teaching, says INTO
Teachers should not be living in fear of being replaced by technology, a union has said. The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has called for a standardised policy on the use of remote learning to ensure jobs are safeguarded for the future. It follows claims that some teachers are growing concerned that new technologies could potentially replace fundamental areas of their work and potentially jobs. The union’s annual Northern Conference heard how teachers coped with a multitude of problems during Covid closures, but deserve praise for the way they managed to provide continuing education for young people in Northern Ireland.
25th May 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullNew York City to send all students back to school this fall, following U.S. trend
New York City's school system will require all 1.1 million of its students to attend classes in person this fall after more than a year of pandemic-induced disruption, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday, joining a nationwide back-to-school trend. The city's plans to abandon virtual learning come as states and cities across the United States ease restrictions designed to slow new coronavirus infections
24th May 2021 - Reuters
Virtual classes proving très difficile for French immersion teachers
Trying to get French immersion students to speak French in school was often challenging before the COVID-19 pandemic, but some teachers are concerned that with everyone now online, the problem has only gotten worse. "I'm not hearing that the kids are always speaking French," said Kim Doucet, who's currently teaching Grade 2 French immersion with the Ottawa-Carleton Virtual School. Doucet, a French immersion teacher for the better part of 25 years, said with the proliferation of Google Translate, virtual meetings and online breakout rooms, it's becoming more and more difficult for educators to enforce language rules during class time.
24th May 2021 - CBC.ca
Microsoft reveals changes it’s made to enable its employees to work both at home and in the office
After sending its employees home last year to reduce the spread of coronavirus, Microsoft has decided how it will operate with some employees on-site while others continue to contribute remotely. It’s part of the company’s new hybrid approach to work after it began to welcome some employees back to its U.S. headquarters in late March. The company recently shared some of the practices it has put in place for its hybrid plan. Governments and companies have been eager for advice on how to approach returning to the office because missteps could cause problems. Simply ditching the tools that workers used at the height of the pandemic might lead to higher costs than necessary, and employees who don’t feel supported in the new way of work might want to take other jobs. So, Microsoft is providing guidance. In doing so, it’s emphasizing how its products can be critical even after the worst of the pandemic is over.
24th May 2021 - CNBC
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullWe're back to school, but should we go back to business as normal?
Remote learning tools have been used since before the emergence of COVID-19, particularly for alternative provision and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) students, but there’s now an urgent need for local authorities and educators to consider how the benefits of these platforms can be extended to all students in mainstream education, regardless of their background. Although students and teachers are happy to be back in the classroom, there’s a risk that the positive lessons from remote learning might be lost if there’s not consideration of what has worked, and what has not, during the past year.
23rd May 2021 - Education Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st May 2021
View this newsletter in full'Just evil': Spotty internet an added stressor to virtual learning for rural Ontario students
Some families in rural parts of Waterloo region and nearby counties in southern Ontario say unreliable internet access has made a difficult pandemic school year even more complicated. Seager Grubb, 15, and his sister Sarene Grubb, 18, who live near Wellesley, often face frozen computer screens and lengthy download times while taking classes online. "It's hard to hear what my teacher is saying … It's just really frustrating," said Seager. "It's really slow and takes a lot more time than it should," said Sarene. Unreliable internet access was also identified as a problem by respondents to a recent CBC questionnaire, which invited educators across Canada, including in Waterloo region and Wellington County, to detail their experiences.
20th May 2021 - CBC.ca
How America failed students with disabilities during the pandemic
More than a year after the pandemic began, officials in school districts across the country concede they failed during the crisis to deliver the quality of education that students with disabilities are legally entitled to receive. The consequences of this failure are likely to linger for years, if not decades, advocates and experts warn. More than 7 million students are eligible for special educational services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These children, each of whom follow an individualized education program that spells out what extra or different services they need at school, account for an estimated 14 percent of all U.S. schoolchildren. While some thrived while learning from home during the pandemic — including a boy whose wheelchair left him feeling out of place at school but who became indistinguishable from his classmates on Zoom — most did not, and advocates and educators say many have suffered significant developmental setbacks.
20th May 2021 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullMetro Vancouver teacher connects to students through TikTok
How do you walk from Hatzic to the PNE? By joining TikTok in April 2020. At least that's how it started for Mykael Koe. Koe is a teacher in Mission at the Fraserview Learning Centre; it's an alternative high school where he teaches 15- to 18-year-olds. As TikTok took off and Koe looked for a way to connect, he turned to the short video social media app to show his students the "other side of being a teacher." In one of his early videos he created a challenge for himself, with input from TikTok. He told them for every like, share and follow he'd walk a certain number of laps. "1,160 laps were given to me," he says. "I started April 4 and finished it October 21, I think."
19th May 2021 - Vancouver Is Awesome
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullResearchers discuss the 'cost' of virtual learning
After about a year of virtual learning, researchers are now beginning to publish data on how learning online has impacted students; and their findings go against all expectations. From the beginning, education officials acknowledge that- in general- the benefits of in-person learning far outweigh digital schooling. But, given the unique circumstances, remote learning was a safe alternative for children to continue their education. But what officials didn’t expect was which subject saw the biggest loss: Math. So, what could be causing such a significant drop in learning? Well, one study out of Georgia State University, “Student Achievement Growth During the COVID-19 Pandemic“, is pointing the finger at pacing.
18th May 2021 - KLKN
Teachers in northwestern Ontario emphasize burnout concerns, student issues with virtual learning
Providing technical support, collapsing lesson plans to fit into new timeframes, and building new, interactive activities are just a few of the challenges teachers throughout northwestern Ontario continue to face during the COVID-19 pandemic. A CBC News questionnaire, sent to educators across Canada with publicly accessible email addresses, highlighted concerns over burnout from constant change, as well as a desire for educators to be vaccinated as early as possible.
18th May 2021 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullUN agencies invest $11.6 million to improve virtual learning in West Kingston
More than 200 students in five West Kingston communities are receiving improved access to virtual learning spaces and equipment under a combined $11.6-million investment in tablets and technology centres donated by agencies of the United Nations in Jamaica.
17th May 2021 - Jamaica Observer
Companies head to the classroom as demand for virtual education grows
The past year of education has been tough for Natalie. The 15-year-old was bullied at her London state school but, even after lockdown kept pupils at home, what she regarded as her school’s poor standard of remote learning left her miserable. In January, she switched — to a fully online private school. Natalie, who asked for her real name not to be used, is now studying for her GCSEs at King’s College Online, an international virtual school launched in January by UK-based Inspired Education. Her new school day consists of recorded lectures and video classes, not with other local teenagers but with pupils in Asia or Europe, as well as walks listening to educational podcasts.
17th May 2021 - Financial Times
Why We Need To Flip The Narrative That The Pandemic Has Damaged Education
Children out of school, months of lost learning and widening gaps between students: it’s become fashionable to see Covid-19 as having been a disaster for education. But perhaps we need to flip the narrative and look at how education will benefit from the pandemic, opening more doors than it closed and providing an opportunity to take a leap forward in how we teach our children.
16th May 2021 - Forbes
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullStudent survey shows students less engaged in virtual learning
In Virginia, one local student conducted her own survey and found students who are less engaged in virtual learning had lower grades. Cameras off and muted mics are two frustrations all teachers faced with virtual learning this past year. Western Albemarle High School junior Jenna Stutzman conducted a survey among almost 90 of her own classmates about how much they pay attention during virtual classes. Stutzman says those who are more engaged with their teachers, peers, and class material thrived, and those who didn't participate saw their grades suffer.
13th May 2021 - CBS19 News
How the Camera Has Changed the Dynamics of the Classroom
Over the past year of online teaching, instructors and students have struggled, not just with the digital divide but with a tense binary: online classroom work versus privacy violation. A recent study from Cornell published in the journal Academic Practice in Ecology and Evolution found that some students felt it was a violation of privacy (because their personal settings, their homes and family were visible), possible distraction when watching others on screen, self-consciousness, among others. Class, race, ethnicity and appearance were factors in their reluctance, the study found. Another report by Margaret Finders and Joaquin Muñoz, deemed the practice of asking students to turn on the cameras to be a form of surveillance. (Although it seems odd that for a generation of Instagrammers and Facebookers, the camera, of all things, is a source of anxiety!)
13th May 2021 - The Wire
Covid-19 has reinforced China's role as global leader in edtech
What made the transition to online learning in China in early 2020 relatively successful was not only being able to build on the existing edtech ecosystem but years of investing in infrastructure, forward-looking policies and ICT tools for colleges and universities. For starters, there are about 1 billion internet users in China, according to the government’s own figures. And while internet networks across the country are fairly impressive, one of the immediate steps by the authorities was to involve the telecom companies to ensure capacity to provide bandwidth-heavy online education services. In some cases, the universities themselves have negotiated deals with telecom providers to subsidise the data plans of their faculty and students.
13th May 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th May 2021
View this newsletter in full'Cold and sterile': Outcry arising among educators over disengaging distance learning
Many teachers and guidance counsellors are feeling like they are lacking motivation and simply trying to survive and get through the pandemic. "School culture is non-existent," declared one longtime educator, who asked to remain anonymous because teachers' contracts don't allow them to make comments on the school board. "Little or no chance to interact with other students leads to very little positive cultural development. The teacher student relationship has been affected the most," the guidance counsellor told yorkregion.com. He worries that schools switching back and forth have caused major problems -- issues ranging from lack of student participation, to poor and inconsistent internet service, to an alarming trend of more students working full-time jobs and disengaging from their studies.
12th May 2021 - Toronto Star
Analysis: As schools begin to reopen, some are developing all-virtual options to meet students' diverse needs. Here are 6 examples
Teaching to the middle has historically been the approach taken by many schools nationwide, where a one-size-fits-all model is the norm and students must figure out how to fit in or fail. When COVID-19 hit and schools quickly pivoted to distance learning, challenges and disparities — many already present but ignored — were revealed for teachers, parents and students. Yet, as the pandemic raged on, some students actually thrived in this at-home learning environment. Who are these students, and why are they flourishing? What can we learn from them?
12th May 2021 - LA School Report
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullWith school likely to remain virtual for many students this year, focus should be on the fall: expert
Another school year will be coming to an end in less than two months, but it’s unlikely that children currently attending remotely in Ontario will be back in classrooms before summer, experts say. Students in Ontario have been attending classes virtually for more than a month, and provinces such as Manitoba and Alberta have announced recent shifts to remote learning as case numbers climb. Some of these closures have planned end dates, but Dr. Anna Banerji, an infectious disease specialist, told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday that while the situation will vary region to region, hard-hit areas such as Ontario will probably remain virtual through the end of the school year.
11th May 2021 - CTV News
Virtual Classrooms: How One Teacher Is Connecting With Her 6th-Graders Via Zoom
Julie Welch starts each school day by heading down the stairs to her basement. Last summer, she turned her guest room into a classroom for the La Crosse School District’s Coulee Region Virtual Academy, an online charter school created as an alternative to in-person classes this year. Welch checks email and opens the day’s online lessons for her 6th grade class before starting their morning meeting on Zoom. “Just like if we were in person when kids arrive, we start the day in a circle, greeting each other and just kind of doing that check in, like ‘Hey, how are you doing? What’s new? What do you have to share?’” Welch said. For some of her more self-sufficient students, Welch said the 30-minute meeting may be the only time she sees them for the day.
11th May 2021 - Yahoo News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual schooling has been a challenge. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn anything from it.
As of now, we’ve spent more than a year in quarantine. That’s more than 180 days of harrowing recalibration for teachers, students and families trying to navigate virtual learning. Now, on what we hope is the tail end of a year of remote instruction, there is an undeniable temptation to close the book on a system that has led to increased learning gaps, put more pressure on parents working full time, and led to a host of technology-related health concerns. This has been a year of silver linings and of reckoning. We’ve been forced to ask ourselves where we need to make changes and how. So before we shut the book on virtual learning, we should ask ourselves: What have we learned from it?
10th May 2021 - The Seattle Times
Should California allow distance learning in fall? Lawmakers, educators battle over how education should work
Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have been emphatic that public schools in California must reopen for full-time, in-person learning this fall. But that push has inspired a new debate in Sacramento: Should they create an exception for students who prefer to stay remote or who learn better outside the classroom?
10th May 2021 - San Francisco Chronicle
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullSeattle Teacher Treats Students to Virtual Field Trips — He Even Taught from the Aquarium!
Hang on, hold tight: Kindergarten teacher Garett Talcott is about to take his kindergarteners — and about 2 million TikTok fans — on the flight of their lives.
When the Redmond, Washington kindergarten teacher's school went remote last spring, he wondered how to "take the magic of kindergarten and put it through on a screen," he tells PEOPLE. His solution? Virtual field trips everywhere from the aquarium to the zoo — with a few dance parties, simulated plane flights and roller coaster rides tossed into the mix.
8th May 2021 - PEOPLE
Teachers reflect on educating during COVID-19 pandemic
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the way teachers educate their students had changed drastically. At the beginning of 2020, they were in the classroom. But they switched to 100 percent virtual learning in the spring and then moved to hybrid learning models. This means teachers are chasing a constantly moving target. Beverly Kerr, a third-grade teacher at Carysbrook Elementary School in Fluvanna County, said the pandemic has teachers "changing 100 percent of how we teach, especially at primary level." It's her 15th year as a teacher, but she says it's unlike any other.
8th May 2021 - CBS19 News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullRemote learning is helping some Black students affirm their identities, excel in school
The pandemic is having an undeniable impact on education, as the remote classroom has caused students and teachers to alter their learning methods and philosophy. But for some Black students, the distance-learning environment has brought an unexpected benefit: They can evade the biases and institutionalized racism often found in a traditional classroom setting. In addition, parents of Black students are finding opportunities to observe more and advocate when necessary. Students are also dodging negative race-based interpersonal interactions that may have harmed them emotionally and hindered academic performance.
6th May 2021 - NorthJersey.com
New report provides reality check on virtual schools
Online education has been at the center of the national education discussion since the coronavirus pandemic forced schools last year to close and teachers to find ways to teach virtually — often online. While some students thrived learning virtually, educators and parents around the country have said that most did not. But online learning has been with us for years before the coronavirus pandemic in the form of virtual schools, many of them operated by for-profit organizations. The growth of these schools has been tracked since 2013 by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a nonprofit education policy research center located in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
6th May 2021 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th May 2021
View this newsletter in full‘I Used to Like School’: An 11-Year-Old’s Struggle With Pandemic Learning
By one estimate, three million students across the US, roughly the school-age population of Florida, stopped going to classes, virtual or in person, after the pandemic began. A disproportionate number of those disengaged students are lower-income Black, Latino and Native American children who have struggled to keep up in classrooms that are partly or fully remote, for reasons ranging from poor internet service to needing to support their families by working or caring for siblings. Many are homeless or English language learners. Others whose parents work outside the home have struggled in the absence of adult supervision.
5th May 2021 - The New York Times
'Extremely troubling': Ontario teachers' unions slam province for considering permanent online learning option
Ontario teachers’ unions are sounding the alarm after the provincial government announced its holding consultations on whether or not to make online learning options a permanent choice for families once the pandemic ends. Union leaders and parents voiced their concerns during a news conference on Wednesday, saying the plans will undermine Ontario's publically funded education system and will harm students. “Their plan to make online classes permanent means a student could go from Kindergarten to Grade 12 without ever setting foot inside a school,” Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), told reporters.
5th May 2021 - CTV Toronto
'There's only so much we can do': Virtual learning is taking a toll on kids
More than a year after COVID-19 pushed education online, teachers and students have worked to find their rhythm, though it hasn't come without difficulties. Many people have encountered issues with productivity and an array of mental and physical side effects that have hampered their daily lives. Online exhaustion has caused migraines, heightened anxiety and self-consciousness for many online learners, as Stanford University’s Jeremy Bailenson and Jeff Hancock have learned over the last year. The two psychologists-turned-communications professors published the first comprehensive study exploring the causes of "Zoom fatigue" last month after observing strange behaviors from their ten-year-old daughters.
5th May 2021 - IndyStar
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullSome Black parents say remote learning gives racism reprieve
As schools reopen across the US, Black students have been less likely than white students to enroll in in-person learning — a trend attributed to factors including concerns about the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on communities of color, a lack of trust that their schools are equipped to keep children safe, and the large numbers of students of color in urban districts that have been slower to reopen classrooms. But many Black parents are finding another benefit to remote learning: being better able to shield their children from racism in classrooms
4th May 2021 - The Independent
Harris Poll finds 82% of parents have a greater appreciation for teachers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically disrupted the education system for all involved: teachers, students and their parents. Learning modalities have mostly shifted online and remote learning has become commonplace. As part of recognizing Teacher Appreciation Week, May 3-7, University of Phoenix commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct a survey of more than 2,000 Americans to better understand their perceptions of the education systems’ shift to online learning for K-12 students, and the job teachers and administrators have done, since the pandemic began. The online survey found that 82% of parents of K-12 virtual learners polled said they have a greater appreciation of the work teachers do to teach K-12 now than they did before the pandemic. Americans polled also agree (81%) that teachers have done the best they can to teach children under the unprecedented circumstances.
4th May 2021 - Business Wire
Ontario will continue to offer option for virtual learning next year
Parents and students in Ontario will continue to be offered the option of virtual learning next year, officials confirmed as they outlined their education funding allotments for the 2021-22 year. Speaking on background at a technical briefing Tuesday, officials said that school boards will be required to continue offering virtual learning next year and promised to release more details at a later date. It is unclear when parents will have to make decisions on whether their children will begin school in September in-person or remotely.
4th May 2021 - CTV Toronto
Forget everything you think you know about online engagement
During the seismic shift to online and blended formats that we’ve all attended to, much of the focus has been on technological capabilities and solutions. Within this, even finer focus has been placed on online behaviours as a way of understanding student engagement. However, lessons from cyberpsychology may be central here. To explain a little, cyberpsychology focuses on the psychological experiences of our interactions with new technology and the internet and seems to be entirely relevant to many discussions about online learning.
4th May 2021 - Times Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th May 2021
View this newsletter in fullComments on: Lessons from a year of remote education
As students head back to the classroom, the framework for traditional education has changed considerably. Schools have invested heavily in digital technology and although the pandemic has highlighted issues of digital inequality, when given the right environment, it has been proven to have huge benefits for students; for example, research shows that schools using a virtual learning environment have higher general pupil engagement level than schools not using them. More than a year into the pandemic, it’s important to think about the lessons schools can learn from remote learning and consider a more digitally focused strategy that optimises learning and student engagement to create more of a blended approach.
2nd May 2021 - Education Technology
New Teaching Jobs May Emerge With Continued Demand for Virtual Learning
In the U.S., as scenes of parents protesting for schools to resume in-person instruction played out in some communities, a quieter, but no less ardent parent demand was building: Keep virtual learning going beyond the pandemic. School district officials have heard these families, and many are responding in the affirmative. One of them is Maryland’s Montgomery County public schools, where more than half of students remain in full-time remote classrooms after the district resumed limited in-person learning this spring. The school district was among the slowest to get back to in-person instruction. “Some families have seen their kids grow in ways they hadn’t before,” said Montgomery County district administrator Kara Trenkamp, referring to online schooling during the pandemic.
2nd May 2021 - Education Week
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid Scotland: Schools to have blended learning 'after lockdown', says Glasgow education boss
The use of blended and digital learning will have a permanent role to play in schools after lockdown, Glasgow Council’s education director has signalled. Maureen McKenna said platforms such as the West Online School - which features hundreds of recorded lessons - offered a potential means of teaching pupils who may struggle in a conventional classroom.
29th Apr 2021 - HeraldScotland
U.S. will launch $3.2 billion temporary broadband subsidy May 12
The Federal Communications Commission said it will launch on May 12 a temporary $3.2 billion program to provide lower-income Americans with discounts on monthly internet service and on purchasing laptops or tablet computers. The discounts, which were funded by Congress in December, are worth up to $50 a month for internet service, and up to $75 on federally recognized Tribal Lands. "In less than two weeks, we will have a new way for disconnected Americans to access the internet to carry out their day-to-day life, so they can reach the virtual classroom, take advantage of telehealth, and seek new employment opportunities," said Acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement.
29th Apr 2021 - Reuters
Blog competition: students’ experiences of lockdown learning
If coronavirus has been painful for families, employers and governments alike, some of the heaviest — and often hidden — burdens have weighed on children pushed out of classrooms around the world. So the FT free schools access programme, in partnership with the World Bank, asked students worldwide for their experiences, and for their advice to policymakers on how to improve learning. More than 420 students from 62 countries replied, describing difficulties ranging from parents losing their jobs to accessing food and taking care of younger siblings. They expressed mixed views on technology as a substitute for in-person teaching. Some highlighted variations in access to digital devices, the internet and electricity; others the need for a different pace when learning online, given the absence of social interaction and the stimulation of their peers.
29th Apr 2021 - Financial Times
Rethinking remote labs to deliver during Covid and beyond
Remote science and engineering labs can never replace the in-person lab experience in which direct interaction and hands-on experience nurture student learning; this has been widely agreed. However, being forced into delivering remote learning by the pandemic spurred our faculty to devise truly innovative methods. “The process of teaching remotely forced the team to be much more thoughtful and purposeful about how we present the material and specifically what goals we have for the students at different stages of the course,” Dr Gerbode reflected. “Currently, we’re talking as a department about creating a hybrid version of the lab in the autumn.”
29th Apr 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullHybrid instruction means changes, challenges for students in distance learning
The Oregon Department of Education does not keep track of how many students are in distance learning. As of last week, more than 400,000 students were in-person at least some of the time, leaving at least 160,000 students in distance learning, assuming the rest of the state’s schoolchildren are still enrolled in Oregon public schools receiving instruction from home. When Gov. Kate Brown mandated that schools open classrooms to hybrid learning, state officials also required that schools continue to support distance learning for families that wanted or needed that approach. As school districts are offering multiple learning models, families made their choices. Students heading back to physical classrooms have found the experience isn’t the same as they remembered before the pandemic. And even for the students finishing the year at home, some things have changed.
28th Apr 2021 - OPB News
Online classroom: How students can build an engaging virtual experience
The online classroom may take some getting used to, but after a successful transition, you will find that courses can be exciting, engaging and a rewarding experience overall. Studies have revealed that students who learn online perform just as well as their peers in brick and mortar classrooms, as physical location is not the only determining factor of a holistic learning environment. Given the right tools and approach, learners will be able to participate in a robust educational experience in an evolving instruction paradigm.
28th Apr 2021 - India Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullSurvey reveals positive outlook on online instruction post-pandemic
When colleges switched to emergency remote instruction last year, some online learning advocates feared the hasty transition would leave students with a negative impression of online learning. While more pre-pandemic online courses resulted from months of careful planning and significant financial investment, few instructors enjoyed these luxuries last spring. Despite the challenges and shortcomings of this emergency transition to remote instruction, a majority of students want the option to keep studying online, according to new survey results.
27th Apr 2021 - Inside Higher Ed
How Covid has reshaped the way we learn and why online classes are here to stay
While online learning is by no means a new concept, Covid-19 acted as a catalyst in its growth, leading to a widespread adaptation by schools and universities across the world. Students and teachers alike have adapted to the mass migration of classrooms to the digital medium. Today, online classes are the norm, not an option. It’s not just K-12 education that has seen this shift. Many competitive exam aspirants have now entirely switched to digital learning.
27th Apr 2021 - ThePrint
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullParents may continue with online learning indefinitley
The school year is coming to an end and it’s now time for parents to start making decisions for next year. Families across the US have been forced to adapt to the ways of online learning due to the pandemic, but some parents and students have found they prefer virtual learning. Even if you like virtual, a lot of school districts might not offer it. The majority of parents that WAFF spoke to that would continue with virtual are those with students in middle school and younger. “They never would have chosen virtual, unless the pandemic had happened. But Since they did, they have found it is a pretty good fit for their students,’ says Melissa Larson, Head of School at Alabama Virtual Academy.
26th Apr 2021 - WAFF
Why our distance learning programme has been described as 'faultless'
Noel Neeson, headmaster at The Blue Coat School, Birmingham, discusses the benefits of creating their own distance learning programme. "When the crisis came, and fluent communication between community elements became more vital than ever, urgent consideration was given to the children ‘on the outside’. Pastoral care provision had to be heightened; safeguarding concerns to be managed and met. With fortnightly phone calls, form tutors supported all children and their families, staff recording the outcomes and reporting daily to the leadership team. Meanwhile, risk assessments enabled us to track children’s welfare and suggest any necessary intervention, including asking children to return to school. If all this suggests that ‘life around lockdowns’ has been merely crisis management, there have been some notably happy consequences of a plague which has thrown so many young lives into disorder. There is evidence, for example, that our children have been spending more time engrossed in their books; guided reading, four times a week, certainly went down well with the vast majority."
26th Apr 2021 - Independent Education Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullMany children with autism struggling with virtual learning
While many of the London area’s 100,000 school kids face challenges learning from home, amid a two-week shutdown of the area’s two major school systems because of COVID-19’s third-wave flare-up, the fallout of not being in school can be especially tough for children with autism. A recent study by the Hospital for Sick Children found children with autism reported the highest rates of depression, irritability and hyperactivity, as well as a reduced attention span, among students affected by the pandemic. Sick Kids researchers have concluded the changes could be due to greater online learning challenges, a reduction in home care and disruption to normal routines
25th Apr 2021 - London Free Press
Several St. Louis-Area School Districts Will Keep Online Learning After Pandemic Ends
Thousands of Missouri students likely will continue to learn online from their homes next school year — and after — by choice, as virtual school becomes a permanent option after the pandemic subsides. Several school districts in the St. Louis region are making their online programs permanent for children as early as kindergarten in an effort to offer more flexibility and choice. But some critics worry the isolation could have negative social and emotional effects on kids. With no COVID-19 vaccine yet approved for children under age 16, school administrators say it’s highly likely some amount of virtual learning will be necessary next school year. But they also say their online schools are here to stay.
25th Apr 2021 - St. Louis Public Radio
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat did parents find out about their kids and learning during the pandemic? A lot
Over the past year, Victor Bell and many other parents like him got a taste of what it was like to be on the front lines of their children’s education. Dining rooms became classrooms, and parents became teachers. As the school year draws to a close, parents reflected on what they have learned about the way their children learn during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a year of some combination of virtual and in-person learning, parents said they were astounded by their children’s independence, resilience and compassion. While some families were eager to return to in-seat learning, others had a good experience at home.
22nd Apr 2021 - Missourian
People with disabilities worry about losing virtual options
Eiryn Griest Schwartzman spent years fighting for academic accommodations at their Maryland college with little success, but the coronavirus pandemic changed everything: In-person classes became virtual, with closed-captioning features, making it possible for them to follow what was going on in class. "That's been a game changer for me," said Griest Schwartzman, 23, who uses they/them pronouns. "... Now I actually have the ability to understand material that I couldn't get before." However, now that the world is looking towards "the new normal"' Griest Schwartzman and other people with disabilities are worried that accommodations that became standard in 2020 will not be available. Remote classes and work have opened doors for many, and virtual activities and gatherings expanded social bubbles even as many stayed home.
22nd Apr 2021 - TODAY
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Apr 2021
View this newsletter in full5 TikTok Teachers Share Behind the Scenes of Virtual Teaching
In a matter of just a few years, TikTok has forged itself a spot at the front of the pack in regards to social media platforms. People from all over the world and all walks of life have begun turning their lives into clips lasting under one minute for viewers to see. Teachers—many of whom have had their work turned upside down amid the pandemic—have used the app to show what goes on behind the scenes of virtual teaching. From a kindergarten teacher who wanted to give more representation to Black, male educators to a fifth-grade teaching assistant who wants to show the resilience of his students, these five teachers will warm your heart and give you something to laugh at.
21st Apr 2021 - Newsweek
Will Fall 2021 On Campus Look A Lot Like Fall 2019?
We have reached the critical moment when organizations of all types and sizes are putting the finishing touches on Plan A (and B and C) for fall 2021. The stakes are different, however, for a university. It is a cliché that the pandemic accelerated trends that were simmering all along. That is certainly true in higher education, where the public health emergency collided with deeply held assumptions about the irreplaceable value of the in-person experience. And then Zoom ate the classroom. After decades of sputtering adoption, during which asynchronous online learning was marginalized at the edges of higher education, real-time video filled the void left by the virus. Now that vaccines are more widely available, we can plan for a future after lockdowns. This should begin with an honest evaluation of what we gained, and what we lost, during this forced year of virtual learning.
21st Apr 2021 - Forbes
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat the Future of Learning Should Look Like
We know that the abrupt shift to online learning last spring took many teachers, districts, parents and students by surprise. A recent report revealed that during the past year, only 22% of teachers used commercial materials designed for remote instruction, which tend to cater to asynchronous learning, and only 16% of teachers report using online learning "a lot" before the pandemic. The next school year is just around the corner, which means it's time for school districts to identify the programs and methods that foster student success in an online environment. In my experience, that means finding a personalized, adaptive curriculum. When used appropriately, all of these ingredients work together to help students grow and learn.
20th Apr 2021 - MSN.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual-only schooling drops below 10% for 1st time
The share of school districts in the US continuing to offer virtual-only instruction to students fell below 10 percent for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to statistics on pandemic schooling compiled weekly by Burbio. That signals a tenuous return to normal for all but a few regions on the West Coast and in the Northeast. “That virtual ring is narrowing,” said Burbio co-founder Dennis Roche. “That is a big deal.” Those holdouts, however, are among the most densely populated regions of the country, while many districts have returned only haltingly, with only a few hours of in-person instruction per week. And some parents who have been given the option to have their children back in the classroom have kept them at home for now.
19th Apr 2021 - Yahoo News Australia
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullPrimary school pupils learned 'little or nothing' from online lessons during lockdown and lost a fifth of the progress they would have made in the classroom, study finds
Primary school pupils learned 'little or nothing' from online lessons during lockdown and lost a fifth of the progress they would have made in the classroom, a study has found. The report from Oxford University says that while remote teaching was often of a high quality, youngsters' education still suffered. Lower levels of learning were even greater in families from disadvantaged backgrounds.
18th Apr 2021 - Daily Mail
Mumbai colleges all set to upgrade tech for another online academic year
In Mumbai, while last year the virtual classroom system was forcefully thrown at the institutes, this time colleges are already busy preparing for the 2021-22 academic year, and the idea is to enhance the system which is already in place rather than make do with the routine. “Technology is so advanced now, we have started the process of upgrading our software to make it more fool-proof and avoid hacking in any way possible,” said Ashok Wadia, principal. He added that while their college was one of the handful of institutes that managed to train their teachers on how to conduct virtual classes last year, this year they have put together a platform exclusively for their teaching staff in order to ensure better team building among the staff.
18th Apr 2021 - Hindustan Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullIndependence teacher earns national recognition for innovative approach to virtual learning
Although virtual learning proved difficult for many educators, Jill Wagner, a veteran teacher with the Independence Local Schools, embraced the challenge wholeheartedly. Now, her innovative online teaching methods are receiving national recognition. Wagner earned a place in “Portraits of Awesome,” an initiative related to Ted Dintersmith’s book, “What Schools Could Be.” A profile of Wagner and her work will soon be viewed by educators nationwide. In addition, Wagner received a $250 educational grant, a certificate of recognition and a swag bag for teachers.
15th Apr 2021 - cleveland.com
Virtual learning furthers challenges for students with hearing and speech difficulties
Amid months of virtual instruction in Jefferson County Public Schools and partner institutions, students with hearing and speech impairments encountered exceptional challenges learning online. At the Heuser Hearing and Language Academy in Louisville, education director Debbie Woods said only two students will graduate from a program that nearly 15 students complete in a normal year. “When they leave we test them to see if they have reached their peers who are typically hearing. A lot did not reach that milestone this year and that is because of the pandemic,” she said.
15th Apr 2021 - WAVE 3
UNC students are learning in professor's new virtual reality classroom during pandemic
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing university students and faculty off campus, UNC-Chapel Hill professors are taking unique approaches to online and remote teaching, which began last week. A UNC law professor went viral for sending students a prerecorded lecture he gave to a Pinocchio doll. Others are hosting Zoom calls with more than 100 students and pets tuning in. One mailed virtual reality headsets to his students so they could meet in a virtual classroom he built. Steven King, an associate professor at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, made the switch to remote classes into an experiment by creating a virtual reality experience that kept his students in the classroom.
15th Apr 2021 - MSN.com
Covid-19 changed education in America — permanently
A year later, it’s clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed education in America in lasting ways, and glimpses of that transformed system are already emerging. School districts are developing permanent virtual options in the expectation that after the pandemic, some families will stick with remote learning — even for elementary school kids. Hundreds of colleges have, for the first time, admitted a freshman class without requiring SAT or ACT scores, potentially opening admissions to the most selective colleges to more low-income students. And thousands of educators across the country, from preschool to college, are finding new ways to spark their students’ creativity, harness technology and provide the services they need to succeed. The pandemic has unleashed a wave of innovation in education that has accelerated change and prompted blue-sky thinking throughout the system.
15th Apr 2021 - Politico
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow to support students in virtual learning environments
The mass migration to virtual learning that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic led to a profound change in student learning. While it presented many challenges, it also created opportunities for documenting responses. Two researchers from the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) gathered student perspectives on the move to remote learning to determine best practices going forward. Based on their research, Humphrey and Wiles developed a list of recommendations for instructors to support students in virtual learning environments
14th Apr 2021 - Phys.org
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullNew virtual learning rules could keep TN students from participating in sports, activities
The Tennessee State Board of Education is considering changes to next school year that would require districts to have a separate online school for virtual learning. Students at the online school would not be allowed to participate in sports or activities through in-person schools, but homeschooled students still can. The online schools could have their own graduations, proms, and other traditions. Virtual students would not be a part of those traditions for the local school near them. The changes could prove challenging for students vying for scholarships through sports, music, and more.
13th Apr 2021 - WCYB
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullKids are returning to classrooms. But what will happen to those who stay at home?
As children across the country return to classrooms this spring, greeted by principals and teachers with air hugs, fist-pumping dances and “Welcome Back” videos, many students have chosen to remain just where they’ve been all school year: sitting in front of their computers at home. But those students who are continuing with virtual learning have found that the remote experience is suddenly different in ways both big and small. It is one more instance in which the pandemic is siloing students into varied and sometimes unequal methods of instruction. The difficulties experienced by some virtual learners are setting off alarm bells in households and administrative offices alike, as parents and school officials plan for the fall and ponder how the online experience should fit in.
12th Apr 2021 - Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullThousands of Michigan students will get free WiFi hotspots and internet for remote learning
With most Michigan schools still conducting some form of remote learning due to COVID-19, the internet has become an essential component of getting a quality education. But not every family can afford it. Thousands of Michigan students like those at Godfrey-Lee still continue to grapple with remote learning challenges due to unreliable internet connect, even a full year into COVID-19 pandemic learning. But a donation from AT&T and nonprofit Connected Nation seeks to help close the nation’s digital divide by providing thousands of at-risk students with free mobile hotspots and internet connectivity to help with remote learning.
11th Apr 2021 - mlive.com
‘It feels so real’: Madison College brings virtual reality into the classroom
Students and families have become all too familiar with the phrase “remote learning” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning through virtual reality is not so common, but for many students at Madison College, it might soon become the norm. Madison College is bringing VR technology into several different programs. Bill Ballo, part of the Academic Technology Wing, said one of the biggest benefits is that teachers can see students learn, think and react in real time, even if they are not physically in the classroom.
11th Apr 2021 - MSN
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullBalancing in-person and virtual learning during the pandemic takes toll on teachers
Roughly 80 percent of K-12 teachers and staff in the U.S. are now at least partially vaccinated. But educators in many districts are still expected to teach students both in-person and online, and stress remains high for some.
8th Apr 2021 - PBS NewsHour
COVID-19 pandemic's effects on Pennsylvania's education system have yet to be measured
More than a year into the pandemic, how students are faring, and how much they’re learning, has drawn intense attention. Billions in federal aid are coming to schools to address “learning loss” — an academic concept that has seeped into the national consciousness as educators, families, and students measure the impact of the unprecedented disruption. There is little dispute that children’s schooling has suffered. The data are still spotty, but what’s there shows students nationally are performing worse on assessments than peers in years past — particularly in math, though, for younger children, also in reading. The drops are not uniform: Black and Hispanic students and those from lower-income families are falling further behind.
8th Apr 2021 - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullTeachers warn that some students have 'checked out' of school, and it will be hard to get them back
Toronto-area high school teacher Kirby Mitchell has long focused his attention on students who've been labelled as having behavioural issues, who are often racialized, marginalized and teetering on the edge of dropping out of school completely. He works to identify, support and re-engage them in the school system, and amid COVID-19, he's grown increasingly concerned about them. "Students that I'm used to seeing wandering the halls, they're no longer there," said Mitchell. "Students I'm used to seeing acting out in class, they're no longer there." Enrolment figures have fluctuated this school year, with students who were expected to attend missing from in-person as well as virtual classes. It's not clear exactly how many are unaccounted for
7th Apr 2021 - CBC.ca
How the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed university teaching and testing for good
As of mid-March last year, governments worldwide imposed quarantines and social distancing practices as health measures in response to the spread of COVID-19.These restrictions disrupted millions of university students' education worldwide and significantly altered university operations. Universities changed their teaching, including a rapid switch to online learning. But what will the long-term effects be of universities' new approaches? After this past year, universities will revise their contingency measures. By incorporating online and distance learning as crisis response measures, universities can normalize this alternative by anticipating future crises.
7th Apr 2021 - Phys.org
After COVID Blew Up Our Assumptions About Digital Learning, Here’s How We Can Move Forward
In the world of digital education, which I’ve devoted much of my career to developing, we recognized as early as March 2020 that last year would come to represent the largest-ever field experiment ever conducted. So we put some major hypotheses to the test around how we learn best remotely. Some succeeded, others failed, and we’re just now beginning to unpack the learnings. This article explores lessons for digital learning with a primary focus on learning in the workplace.
7th Apr 2021 - Forbes
Survey: Even as schools reopen, many students learn remotely
Large numbers of students are not returning to the classroom even as more schools reopen for full-time, in-person learning, according to a survey released Wednesday. The findings reflect a nation that has been locked in debate over the safety of reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic. Even as national COVID-19 rates continued to ebb in February, key measures around reopening schools barely budged. Nearly 46% of public schools offered five days a week of in-person learning to all students in February, according to the survey, but just 34% of students were learning full time in the classroom.
7th Apr 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullOnline learning is here to stay in the post-pandemic education system
Paul W. Bennett is the director of the Schoolhouse Institute in Halifax and the author of The State of The System: A Reality Check on Canada’s Schools. He writes: "News that Ontario’s Education Minister Stephen Lecce is considering legislation to make remote learning a permanent part of the K-12 public school system has reignited a subterranean education debate over the intrusion of e-learning." "COVID-19′s emergency measures have let the genie out of the bottle, and it will not likely ever be contained as a supplement to regular programs again. After all, in the case of Ontario, about 400,000 of the province’s two million students (20 per cent) have already experienced online learning during the 2020-21 school year. While regular in-person learning is far superior for most students, there’s a good argument to be made for expanding course offerings online."
6th Apr 2021 - The Globe and Mail
CDC survey highlights concerns with virtual learning
A recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports what many parents already felt about doing school online from home over the course of several months – concerns that "virtual learning" takes a toll on a child’s mental and emotional health. A recent CDC survey looked at more than 1,200 parents with children between ages 5 and 12. Researchers found those involved with full-time virtual learning or even a hybrid model were more likely to struggle with mental, emotional and physical health. The survey found parents also dealt with emotional distress, job stability issues and child-care worries.
6th Apr 2021 - WRAL.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow COVID distance learning hurt California English learners
More than 1.1 million students in California, nearly 20%, are considered English learners. By almost every measure of academic success — graduation rates, college preparation, dropout rates, state standards — these students rank among the lowest-achieving groups. And that was before pandemic-forced campus closures. One year later, this massive population of students is at great risk of intractable educational loss, experts said. “It’s an educational pandemic,” said Martha Hernandez, director of Californians Together, a nonprofit that advocates for English learners. “We already had issues of an achievement gap, opportunity gaps, lack of access, lack of equity. Now that’s just exacerbated, and it will be a huge challenge. It will have a big impact for many, many years.”
5th Apr 2021 - Los Angeles Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Apr 2021
View this newsletter in fullTeaching in the hall of mirrors: should faculty ever mention appearance?
In a traditional classroom, teachers and students didn’t have to see themselves while learning was taking place. That power of invisibility could be liberating, allowing everyone to focus on the subject matter. Now, people are learning in environments more akin to ballet studios, in which everyone can see themselves. The issue of appearance is almost impossible to avoid. Holding up mirrors to ourselves can be uncomfortable. And with teleconferencing technologies such as Zoom, the ugly behaviour of teachers might also be on display. For example, a video went viral recently that showed an instructor berating a disabled student. In this case, having the camera on made visible the abuse of authority, just as it might reveal a lack of deference from students joining class from beds or cars. To imagine alternatives to the surveillance paradigm, educators should pay attention to why young people are using platforms that allow social interaction without visual scrutiny.
31st Mar 2021 - Times Higher Education (THE)
Virtual classes make hunt for missing students harder
A year into the pandemic, the struggle with chronic absenteeism exacerbated by virtual schooling is being felt across the country. Data showing higher levels of absenteeism have increased concerns that school closures and a turn to remote learning will widen academic achievement gaps between poor students and others. It's not necessarily long-term absences from school that are most worrying to school officials. According to the Georgia Department of Education, "missing more than five days of school each year (...) begins to impact student academic performance."
31st Mar 2021 - CNN
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullParents get to choose online or in-person for their children for 2021-2022 school year
School boards across the country have been planning for the next school year and many have decided to continue with online learning. Both Edmonton public and Catholic school boards announced they will continue to offer online classrooms in the new school year. Edmonton Public Schools said it offered a choice for the first half of the year and if a full return to in-person learning is not possible for the second half, families will once again select their preferred learning option.
30th Mar 2021 - Global News
Virtual school resulted in 'significant' academic learning loss, study finds
After a year of school closings and distance learning amid the coronavirus crisis, more than half of public school K-12 teachers said the pandemic resulted in a “significant” learning loss for students, both academically and from a social-emotional standpoint, according to a report by Horace Mann. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggested that virtual learning “might present more risks than in-person instruction related to child and parental mental and emotional health and some health-supporting behaviors.”
30th Mar 2021 - CNBC
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullDigital Education Center To Allow Virtual Learning Indefinitely
In Maryland, to help accommodate students who have discovered throughout the coronavirus pandemic that they actually learn better virtually from home, the Howard County Public School System will be creating a Digital Education Center. The Digital Education Center is intended to function as an additional, separate, full-time kindergarten through 12th grade virtual center, which will continue to operate even after fully in-person learning resumes across the district, explained HCPSS Superintendent Michael Martirano during a recent work session.
29th Mar 2021 - Patch.com
How parents are climbing the virtual academic curve with child-led learning methodologies
Traditional education underwent monumental changes from the time the pandemic closed schools a year ago. Amidst such challenging times, there were parents who saw it as an opportunity to bring about a change in their approach to parenting. They climbed the virtual learning curve with child-led learning methodologies, homeschooling techniques and other alternative learning methods. As an educator, Chennai-based Vaishali BK has seen a growing interest among parents in homeschooling/child-led learning during the past one year.
29th Mar 2021 - The Hindu
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullNon-White Students Twice As Likely To Desire Virtual Internships, Jobs Upon Graduation
The global pandemic continues to reveal important new insights and amplify pre-existing challenges and inequities in education. And few statistics are more revealing on this point than these: non-white college students are more than twice as likely to desire a virtual internship (27% are ‘extremely interested’) compared to white students (12% ‘extremely interested), and they are also more than twice as likely to say they are extremely interested in taking a fully remote job upon graduation (22% non-white vs. 10% white). These findings from the latest college student survey as part of Inside Higher Ed’s Student Voice initiative provide us all with an awful lot to unpack here. There could be any number of drivers behind these astounding differences by race on student interest in virtual internships and fully remote jobs. These findings beg for more research and understanding.
28th Mar 2021 - Forbes
CDC Study: Virtual School Can Be Damaging To Children’s Mental Health
Virtual instruction may pose more risks to the mental health and wellness of children and parents than in-person learning, according to a study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More support may be needed to deal with the effects of the pandemic. Parents whose children received virtual instruction or a combination of virtual and in-person instruction were more likely to report increased risk on 11 of 17 indicators of child and parental well-being, according to the new CDC study.
28th Mar 2021 - CBS Baltimore
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullOntario government considers making virtual learning permanent
Two of Ontario’s teachers’ unions say the provincial government is considering making virtual learning a permanent fixture of the post-pandemic world. The minister of education didn’t rule out the option and says no decisions will be made without first consulting with all stakeholders.
26th Mar 2021 - Yahoo News
Wrexham school's virtual reading sessions help students' progress and wellbeing
Students at Ysgol Bryn Alyn, in Gwersyllt have not let the pandemic stand in the way of their reading progress, by taking part in virtual one-to-one reading sessions with dedicated reading coaches during lockdown. Each day, participating students meet with their coaches for 20 minutes to read the sometimes gruesome and often funny, Kay's Anatomy - a non-fiction science book by Adam Kay. Deputy headteacher Alison Kipping is delighted with the impact of the sessions. She said: "Encouraging reading of all our students is a key to developing successful learners. Maintaining provision at home for our vulnerable learners is part of our innovative online learning provision at Ysgol Bryn Alyn, which is ensuring students are receiving high quality provision at home that matches our in-school provision
26th Mar 2021 - The Leader
COVID-19 remote learning is an opportunity to adopt active learning in STEM
Research published in Cell suggests online teaching presents an opportunity to develop and integrate new active learning approaches in STEM. The research team, led by Dr Stefano Sandrone and Dr Gregory Scott from Imperial College with colleagues from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, advocate a global adoption of active learning in STEM education. Integrating active learning tools into teaching practice has the potential to transform long-term educational practice in-person and online as well as improving standards of educational delivery.
25th Mar 2021 - imperial.ac.uk
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullStudents of color more likely to be learning virtually during pandemic: survey
Students of color are more likely to be engaged in virtual learning this year as more schools reopen for in-person classes, according to data released Wednesday by the Department of Education. The survey, the first in the department's series of national studies on learning during the coronavirus pandemic, measured attendance and method of instruction among fourth and eighth graders nationwide as of January into early February. At the time, about 68 percent of Asian students were only learning remotely, as well as 58 percent of Black students and 56 percent of Hispanic students. Comparatively, just 27 percent of white students were receiving all-virtual instruction.
25th Mar 2021 - MSN.com
A year of online classes, exams: COVID-19 prompts shift to 'new normal' in teaching and learning
A year of learning in 'smartphone class rooms' and appearing for 'WhatsApp exams', virtual campus tours to Zoom placement drives and ultimately massive increase in 'screen time', the last academic session will go down in history as beginning of the "new normal" prompted by coronavirus-induced lockdown. While students miss going to schools or colleges, experts say the "new normal" has opened doors for blended learning which is going to stay in the future and is not just a "stop gap arrangement". The new normal also exposed the digital divide in the country where students, parents and teachers scrambled to find ways for those who did not have access to internet or digital devices.
24th Mar 2021 - The New Indian Express
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullAP-NORC poll: Learning setbacks a top concern for parents
Parents across the U.S. are conflicted about reopening schools. Most are at least somewhat worried that a return to the classroom will lead to more coronavirus cases, but there’s an even deeper fear that their children are falling behind in school while at home. Sixty-nine percent of parents are at least somewhat concerned that their children will face setbacks in school because of the coronavirus pandemic, including 42% who say they’re very or extremely worried about it, according to a new poll from The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
23rd Mar 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Mar 2021
View this newsletter in full'This is the future': 16 new virtual public schools approved in past year to operate in Iowa; pandemic speeds growth
Since March of last year, the Iowa Department of Education has approved 14 new virtual public schools. But many say the pandemic only accelerated a trend toward online school that has been growing for decades. This school year may have unearthed a new understanding of virtual learning for many Iowa families that hadn't tried it before — and the possibility that more students will learn online next fall in one of the 16 virtual schools that have received state approval in the past 12 months.
22nd Mar 2021 - Iowa City Press Citizen
Students, teachers and parents climb the virtual learning curve
A year after schools statewide were forced to close their doors by a rampant virus, teachers and students alike have learned a ton about how to do online learning. Yet while studies have shown substantial learning loss during the pandemic, especially for students of color, local leaders expect some virtual learning will be with us for a while even as the vaccine reduces the toll of COVID-19 and more students return to classrooms. Rockford Superintendent Michael Shibler recently emailed parents that the district will continue to offer Rockford Virtual next school year, citing “very positive” feedback from parents.
22nd Mar 2021 - School News Network
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullLearning from Lockdown: During COVID, a few education changes were for the better
The closing of schools across the U.S. has been a disaster for most students, families and teachers. But in some places, educators are making things work, and even finding ideas that could outlast the pandemic and transform schooling for the better. Earlier this year, The Seattle Times reported on how a strategy called acceleration is moving all children ahead in the Highline School District, and took a look at a learning center created by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Port Angeles School District. Today, as part of the collaboration, we are printing a story by The Hechinger Report — a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education — that looks at how schooling may change forever even after the pandemic ends.
21st Mar 2021 - Seattle Times
A year after COVID shut schools, students and teachers share what shook them — and what strengthened them
From grade school to graduate school, developing young minds in close physical proximity halted abruptly in mid-March 2020. What happened next to schools and families was devastating and electrifying, thought-provoking and quieting, unifying and isolating. Homes became entire worlds. Working parents juggled daytime teaching. College students studied from childhood bedrooms. Millions of kindergarteners started school in a format previously unfathomable: on Zoom. Teachers shifted to nurturing and encouraging through screens — with little training. Many hunted down students in person to ensure they were safe, fed and outfitted with resources to learn
21st Mar 2021 - USA Today
As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, Reuters survey finds
As public school closures stretched into a full year, students across the United States many times encountered short-term or lasting mental health harm. Teachers were affected, too, Reuters found in a national survey of school districts. Nearly 90% of responding districts cited higher rates of absenteeism or disengagement, metrics commonly used to gauge student emotional health. The lack of in person education was a driver of these warning signs of trouble, more than half of districts said. The stresses didn’t affect only students: 57% of responding districts reported an increase in teachers and support staff seeking assistance.
21st Mar 2021 - Reuters
Covid closures: how teachers adapted to working remotely
During the first lockdown, teachers had to pull remote learning solutions out of a hat, says Mark Enser. But, while it’s clear that no amount of digital wizardry can replicate the magic of the classroom, tools such as Zoom have transformed the way we think about pedagogy for good
20th Mar 2021 - TES News
Parents with kids in virtual school are more stressed, some use drugs and alcohol to cope, CDC study shows
Parents with kids stuck home during the pandemic will tell you how stressed they are, but now the CDC has scientific evidence that virtual schooling is taking a real physical and emotional toll — driving some parents to drugs and alcohol to help cope. The findings, published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggest that virtual learning “might present more risks than in-person instruction related to child and parental mental and emotional health and some health-supporting behaviors.”
20th Mar 2021 - CNBC
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullUS schools prepare summer of learning to help kids catch up
After a dreary year spent largely at home in front of the computer, many U.S. children could be looking at summer school — and that's just what many parents want. Although the last place most kids want to spend summer is in a classroom, experts say that after a year of interrupted study, it’s crucial to do at least some sort of learning over the break, even if it’s not in school and is incorporated into traditional camp offerings. Several governors, including in California Kansas and Virginia are pushing for more summer learning. And some states are considering extending their 2021-22 academic year or starting the fall semester early
18th Mar 2021 - The Independent
Remote Schooling Strains Parents and Their Children, CDC Survey Suggests
In the U.S., parents whose children received virtual instruction were more likely to report poorer well-being for themselves and their kids, a federal government survey found. The parents were more likely to report that they were emotionally distressed, concerned about job stability and struggling to balance work and child care if their children were learning virtually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey released Thursday. Some of the parents also reported the mental and emotional health of their children had worsened, while their physical activity had decreased.
18th Mar 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullWill Classroom Social Distancing Rules Change?
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that the agency might revise its guidance calling for at least six feet of distancing between students in schools in areas with high coronavirus transmission. But one major stakeholder, the American Federation of Teachers, is staunchly opposed to changing the guidance now and plans to try to persuade the agency not to do so.
17th Mar 2021 - New York Times
How Business School Students Network During Covid: Virtual Hangouts
A key selling point of business schools is their ability to bring together students of various nationalities and backgrounds, who forge friendships in the hallways and lounges that pay dividends decades later. “The network is a close second, if not as important as the academic experience,” says Minya Nance, assistant dean for student experience strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. But in an era of online learning, MBA students are struggling to make such connections—spurring schools around the world to develop new avenues to those crucial relationships via virtual campuses, Slack channels, and Zoom roadshows.
17th Mar 2021 - Bloomberg
Virtual Learning Might Be the Best Thing to Happen to Schools
Our tenuous experiment with virtual schooling could have a silver lining: Some children may end up being more resilient on the other side of the pandemic. Innovating on the fly, navigating uncertainty, maintaining hope for the future, communicating effectively, and relying on networks of people and community resources to overcome challenges are just some of the skills kids are developing during this time. These types of competencies—ones that children of color have typically brought to the classroom with little acknowledgment—are part of what Tara Yosso, an education professor at UC Riverside, calls “community cultural wealth.” The pandemic could usher in an increased appreciation for what students who have faced significant hardships have had to master throughout their life: developing strengths from dealing with an untenable set of challenges. For many students, learning from home can also be healthier than in-person schooling. Deepening one’s bond with parents, for instance, sets foundations for trust and empathy, bolsters cognitive development, and even increases one’s life expectancy.
17th Mar 2021 - The Atlantic
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullFamilies of students with disabilities face new challenges in the era of distance learning
This past year has brought massive change for Oregon and Washington students. For students with both intellectual and developmental disabilities, learning at home brings added difficulties for families, as they’re forced to recreate school environments at home, with unfamiliar tools and without receiving services they’re accustomed to. And as schools are ramping up in-person instruction for students, families are concerned that some children have fallen behind and may not get the support to catch back up. OPB stayed in touch with a few families through the difficulties of the last year to learn more about their recent school experience and the decisions they’ll make going forward.
16th Mar 2021 - OPB News
The teens who clean homes during Zoom classes: juggling work and school in the pandemic
In the U.S., for many teens, a year of the coronavirus has meant not only the loss of in-person learning and time with friends, but added shifts at convenience stores and retail shops to help keep their families afloat during the recession. As kids adapt, many of their teachers and schools are improvising as well, extending deadlines and creating new ways to stay in touch. The huge workload is leaving many students stressed out, and some teachers worry they’re in danger of becoming a statistic: the estimated one out of 20 teens who drop out of high school each year, according to federal data. Jay Novelo, a dean at Tyee high school, near Seattle, was hired to handle student discipline. But with schools closed, his main job is keeping tabs on students and encouraging them to not give up on school.
16th Mar 2021 - The Guardian
Psychologist Says Virtual Learning Has Left Many Kids Anixous, Overwhelmed
A year into the coronavirus pandemic, doctors say they are seeing an increase in students who are struggling with mental health. Dr. Erica Lee is a psychologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Kids aren’t really sure how to adapt to remote learning. They can’t pay attention,” she said. “We are seeing a lot of frustration, anxiety, and overwhelmed kids.” Since the pandemic began, the need for mental, behavioral health services has skyrocketed, Lee said, and parents should look for warning signs and some cases seek help.
16th Mar 2021 - CBS Sacramento
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow the pandemic is reshaping education
The coronavirus pandemic upended almost every aspect of school at once. It was not just the move from classrooms to computer screens. It tested basic ideas about instruction, attendance, testing, funding, the role of technology and the human connections that hold it all together. A year later, a rethinking is underway, with a growing sense that some changes may last. “There may be an opportunity to reimagine what schools will look like,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told The Washington Post. “It’s always important we continue to think about how to evolve schooling so the kids get the most out of it.” Others in education see a similar opening. The pandemic pointed anew to glaring inequities of race, disability and income. Learning loss is getting new attention. Schools with poor ventilation systems are being slotted for upgrades. Teachers who made it through a crash course in teaching virtually are finding lessons that endure.
15th Mar 2021 - The Washington Post
What does educational innovation look like in the post-Covid world?
There is a growing sense that education is on the cusp of significant change. Anthony Seldon’s book, The Fourth Education Revolution, offers a compelling vision for the ways in which artificial intelligence will transform our schools and universities, enabling a more personalised digital experience that will free up teacher time to focus on the emotional, social and physical development of our students. Seldon’s book was published in 2018, in that heady pre-Covid era in which Zoom and Teams were barely in our peripheral vision. Over the last decade, most schools have come a very long way to build capacity and develop expertise in digital learning; however, it has been the more recent and pressing necessities of Covid that will have a lasting and significant impact on education.
15th Mar 2021 - Independent Education Today
The Cost Of COVID: One Year In The Virtual Classroom
Teachers across Connecticut have started to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. And while vaccination brings a sense of hope, it doesn’t erase the traumas they and their students have experienced over the last year of teaching -- a time when many educators had to reinvent what it meant to be in school. “This is really one of the few professions where we’ve really turned around what we’ve done,” said Claudia Tenaglia, a middle school social studies teacher in Hartford. Tenaglia is one of the many educators across the world who were thrown into disarray when teaching went virtual. In Connecticut, the shift happened on March 15, 2020, when Gov. Ned Lamont ordered all schools around the state to shut down as the coronavirus threat grew. At that time, the shutdown was expected to last only two weeks. But it turned out to be just the start to a yearlong journey.
15th Mar 2021 - Connecticut Public Radio
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus pandemic restrictions can help or hinder schoolchildren with anxiety disorders
Parents fear children stuck at home for almost a year during the coronavirus pandemic, will lose critical social skills. And children with selective mutism, a severe form of anxiety, will lose even more. As schools reopen, everyone will wear masks, students will sit far apart and teachers may stay behind plastic barriers. In many schools, students will eat at their desks. Forget about normal recess. And parents are concerned about how their children will manage. Virtual learning has helped some children with selective mutism. Students can use chat boxes to communicate. Some upload recordings of themselves, avoiding the anxiety of live participation. For children who’ve adjusted positively to the new learning environment, parents are choosing home school or distance learning over in-person school.
14th Mar 2021 - The Conversation CA
'It's exhausting.' A year of distance learning wears thin
At first, many schools announced it would last only a couple weeks. A year later, the unplanned experiment with distance learning continues for thousands of students who have yet to set foot back in classrooms. Comfortable homes and private tutors have made it easier for those with access. Expectations are higher at some schools than others. And growing numbers of students are being offered in-person instruction at least part time. But students of all backgrounds have faced struggles with technology, the distractions of home life, and social isolation. The Associated Press followed four students on a typical day to find out how they’re coping a year into the coronavirus pandemic.
14th Mar 2021 - ABC news
'Big burden' for schools trying to give kids internet access
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools, educators had to figure out how to get kids online. Fast. In a patchwork approach born of desperation, they scrounged wireless hot spots, struck deals with cable companies and even created networks of their own. With federal relief money and assistance from state governments and philanthropists, they have helped millions of students get online for distance learning. Still, a year into the pandemic, millions of others remain without internet because of financial hurdles and logistical difficulties in getting students what they need. There will soon be more money for schools to provide internet, as well as programs that aim to make internet more affordable.
14th Mar 2021 - ABC news
Hamline Anthropology Professor Teaches Virtual Classes In ‘Minecraft’
The pandemic and social distancing have put some separation between us and the rest of the world. That’s especially true at college campuses where many classrooms have been replaced by Zoom. But a professor at Hamline University has found a way for his students to get together that doesn’t involve being in-person, in the classroom or on Zoom. Using the game “Minecraft” to teach anthropology students is a bit of a social experiment, and it took some getting used to. Instead of gathering at the Old Main or Drew Science Center for class, student-avatars gather at the virtual versions of those buildings — buildings that they helped make.
14th Mar 2021 - CBS Minnesota
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullCalifornia schools aren't reopening quite how we expected
Middle and high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will head back to campus two days a week in late April or early May, assuming various stars align. Under L.A. Unified’s agreement with teachers, which is similar to those in other large California districts, students will still be taught remotely, but roughly half the time they’ll sit in classrooms on campus, if that makes any sense. Instead of traveling from classroom to classroom for each subject, they will stay with their advisory teacher — in the modern version of homeroom — and learn online from other teachers in other classrooms. Students at home on those days will be in the same virtual classes as those at school, both groups learning online.
11th Mar 2021 - Los Angeles Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe Technology 202: Coronavirus relief bill includes $7.6 billion to target the 'homework gap'
The coronavirus relief bill expected to get the final green light today in Congress sets aside $7.6 billion to help students and teachers get online, in an ambitious effort to address the “homework gap.” The pandemic exacerbated long-running inequality in access to the Internet throughout the United States. The funding will allow elementary schools, high schools and libraries to purchase Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, and routers for students, and also fund the Internet service that those devices use. It will be distributed through the FCC’s E-rate program, which has long helped schools and libraries obtain affordable Internet access.
10th Mar 2021 - Washington Post
Love in Music offers virtual instrumental music classes
Since October of last year, the Love in Music Santa Ana Branch has been holding virtual music lessons every week. Love in Music, a nonprofit public charity organization based in Southern California, has been providing children from under-served families with free music education for nearly 14 years. The organization’s high school volunteers teach children the basics of their instruments and foster their love for classical music. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Love in Music has had to put traditional in-person classes on hold and move lessons online for the 2020-21 season. Despite this drastic shift, both students and teachers have continued to make the most of their resources and demonstrate their dedication to music.
10th Mar 2021 - Los Angeles Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullDelhi Government To Introduce Virtual Model Of Education; Chief Minister Says ‘Dream Project’
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday announced the government’s plans to introduce a first-of-its-kind “virtual model of education”. The initiative is an outcome of education going online over the last year in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Sisodia said the “unique experiment” would make education accessible to students in any part of the country, or even globe. “The Delhi government has decided to introduce a new category of schools in Delhi, the Virtual Delhi Model School, that is, a school that will not have four walls or a building, but there would be children, teachers, learning, examinations and assessments, and studies shall be completed. It will be a unique experiment in itself, and will probably be the first virtual school in the world."
9th Mar 2021 - NDTV
Remote learning shows the power of the cloud to transform education
Using a range of cloud-based applications and tools, educators have delivered online lessons, set assignments, shared educational resources, marked assessments and communicated with both students and parents. “The pandemic has raised awareness of the vast range of digital options and materials available to support education, leading to an increase in innovation and specific tools,” says Jonathan Seaton, chief executive and co-founder of Twinkl Educational Publishing, an online academic publisher. However, a survey by the UK’s National Union of Students found shortcomings in this e-learning, with 38 per cent of student respondents saying they were unhappy with the quality of their online learning provisions and 27 per cent experiencing inadequate access to academic resources online.
9th Mar 2021 - Financial Times
Not working: More US moms dropped out in remote-school states
Women have dropped out of the U.S. workforce at a faster pace in states where most students are learning from home, risking a reversal of decades of gendered advancement. Before the pandemic, the participation rate of mothers in the labor force was about 18 percentage points lower than fathers’. From 2019 to 2020, the gap widened by 5 points in states offering mostly remote instruction, and shrunk less where traditional school continued, according to a paper slated to publish soon in Gender and Society, a peer-reviewed academic journal. “The fear in the pandemic, in the context of parenthood, was that the added care giving burden as a result of school and daycare closures was going to land primarily on women’s shoulders” said Caitlyn Collins, an assistant professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, and an author of the paper. “Unfortunately, that is exactly what research has found.”
9th Mar 2021 - AlJazeera
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullCould virtual learning continue post-COVID? For some students, the answer may be yes
Howard County, Maryland, schools Superintendent Michael Martirano believes the coronavirus pandemic has taught the system several lessons. The biggest one, which he’s repeated for the past 11 months, is that “there’s more to the educational process than curriculum” — something he says when emphasizing the importance of in-person learning. However, he also recognizes there are some kids in the 57,000-student school system who have fared better in a virtual environment than they did before the pandemic.
8th Mar 2021 - Yahoo News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullAttention in e-classes wanes after 40 minutes, says survey
In India, after almost a year of remote learning, experts mapping the academic impact of that shift have noticed a reduced attention span among children attending e-classes. A survey of 200 Marathi schools conducted by the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM) in Pune showed that students got bored after 40 minutes of the online teaching sessions. The research also highlighted lack of internet and background disturbances as challenges during online education.
7th Mar 2021 - Times of India
Students are struggling to read behind masks and screens during COVID, but ‘expectations are no different’
Too many children may be falling behind in the reading game during the pandemic, teachers and experts say. The USA TODAY Network visited a handful of classrooms in different states to see how schools are adapting at a time when the teachers' axiom about students learning to read in early grades so that they can read to learn the rest of their lives has never been put to a greater test. Lost time from when schools shut down, inconsistent schedules since then, the limitations of teaching over video conference or even in person with masks and social distancing — these handicaps are likely to have a greater effect on children learning to read than those at other grade levels, said Anjenette Holmes, a professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Picard Center for Child Development & Lifelong Learning.
7th Mar 2021 - USA Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullWest Lothian schools have made huge strides in quality of remote learning
Councillors and teaching officials have praised the “huge strides” forward in the quality of remote learning delivered by schools across West Lothian during the latest lockdown. In older primary age children what had most impressed was the way that the age group had positively engaged with remote learning. The only downside had been from the children who prefer to learn in school environments. At secondary level that feeling of wanting to be with the peer group was also reflected in responses frompupils as was the need for access to practical lessons in senior subjects.
4th Mar 2021 - MSN.com
As schools reopen, Asian American students are missing from classrooms
As school buildings start to reopen, Asian and Asian American families are choosing to keep their children learning from home at disproportionately high rates. They say they are worried about elderly parents in cramped, multigenerational households, distrustful of promised safety measures and afraid their children will face racist harassment at school. On the flip side, some are pleased with online learning and see no reason to risk the health of their family.
4th Mar 2021 - The Washington Post
1 in 3 N.J. students could need ‘strong support’ after virtual learning, state data says
An optional exam that about 90,000 New Jersey students participated in this fall suggests that roughly 1 in 3 may need “strong support” academically after spending months away from the classroom. It’s only one test with a small sample size — about 10% of the students who typically participate in state exams — but the results of the state’s “Start Strong” assessments offer the first official state data on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected student learning.
4th Mar 2021 - NJ.com
Living and Learning in a Virtual World
We’ve come a long way in recent years with the introduction of various online learning platforms and more diversified course content. We’re truly living in a virtual world and this has become even more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical distancing is currently the norm and it has infiltrated all aspects of our lives, including the way we learn. The delivery of virtual learning has been put to the test as we navigate the demands of educating students outside of the walls of the classroom. The results of this experiment have yet to be revealed and there are many unanswered questions still hanging in the balance.
4th Mar 2021 - Psychology Today
Professors need to make their virtual classes more inclusive
As we progress through another semester of virtual learning, it’s vital that college professors create an equitable learning environment. An equitable classroom is perhaps one of the most important components of online learning and can be defined simply as giving the students what they need to succeed in a particular course. However, what each student needs varies based on their lives. There is no way for a professor to know what a student needs unless they ask. Student surveys are a great way for professors to gain the information about the obstacles their students face that’s necessary for making their virtual classroom more equitable.
4th Mar 2021 - The Daily Orange
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow Virtual Learning Is Falling Short on Preparing Students for Future Careers
The shift to widespread virtual learning has made it clear that students need more help with certain skills that will likely be essential to the digital workplace of the future. For instance, more than 60 percent of educators thought students needed more help learning how to work independently, manage their time, and/or show self-motivation. More than half of educators said their students needed to get better at paying attention in a remote context. Also high on the list: communicating and collaborating in a virtual context.
3rd Mar 2021 - Education Week
Bill Would Allow Maryland Students To Enroll In Tuition-Free, Public Virtual School
As some Maryland students begin to head back to the classroom nearly a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, some state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would give students the option to take part in a full-time online public school program.
3rd Mar 2021 - CBS Local
In virtual classrooms, UW–Madison instructors find meaningful ways to connect with students
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic forced many courses online last year, UW–Madison instructors have been investing great thought and effort into making their virtual classrooms engaging and inclusive. A campus project is now collecting some of those stories. The project provides a forum for instructors to share what has worked for them while spotlighting some of the hard work undertaken by faculty members during a challenging time. “While we look forward to the end of the global pandemic, it has forced us to rethink how we work with our students,” says Steve Cramer, vice provost for instructional continuity and academic affairs. “As difficult as this time has been for everyone, I truly believe most instructors will come out of this time as better and more effective teachers.”
3rd Mar 2021 - news.wisc.edu
CoSN2021: Tips to Support Students with Special Needs in Virtual Learning
Special-needs education has traditionally taken a predominantly student-to-teacher, face-to-face approach. But when K–12 schools switched to virtual formats last year, students with special needs had to rely more heavily on parents and teams to succeed. “Continuity of learning for students with disabilities and support for their families and teachers are critical,” said Christy Carucci, director of special education in Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit 5, to a CoSN2021 audience attending a session titled “Continuity Planning for Special Needs Students in a Virtual World.”
3rd Mar 2021 - EdTech Magazine
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullTeacher Transforms Old Treehouse into Stunning Virtual Classroom: It 'Has Made My Year'
Nellie Williams of Fairfax, Virginia, says she is "up a tree" at school — and she is loving every minute of it! The Haycock Elementary School teacher spent much of the 2019-2020 school year teaching remotely. Over the summer, Williams learned she would continue teaching out of a virtual classroom to start the 2020-2021 school year and decided to spruce up her daughters' old treehouse into something special. She was able to transform the structure into a bright, inviting classroom complete with insulation, flooring, and Wifi. "My students love it," Williams adds of the reactions she received from her class.
2nd Mar 2021 - PEOPLE.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullFor Some Black Students, Remote Learning Has Offered A Chance To Thrive
In the U.S., middle school is tough for just about everyone, but for Black students like Josh, school can be even harder. That's because, in addition to learning algebra and coping with social awkwardness, they're often navigating an educational system that historically hasn't supported them. In Oregon, where Josh lives, Black students have lower graduation rates. They're also less likely to be identified as "talented and gifted." All that can take a toll on kids. But for some students like Josh, remote learning during the pandemic has offered an escape.
1st Mar 2021 - NPR
Online learning is not a compromise — it's the future
The pandemic has forced universities to completely reshape their delivery of learning and teaching. But this shift gives us the opportunity to take stock and reassess fundamental assumptions about how students learn and how universities should teach. There are undoubtedly huge positives to on-campus, face-to-face learning. For certain areas of study, such as dentistry or music, “hands-on” learning is essential. However, we are beginning to understand how to forge and preserve this connection online. Throughout the pandemic online learning has frequently been compared with face-to-face. We need to reframe this debate. It’s not a question of which is better: it’s about what is best for you.
1st Mar 2021 - The Times
5 tips for successful virtual learning, according to a local academic
If you were already a virtual student or had experience working remotely, moving the majority of your activities online has likely been challenging. Here are five tips for virtual learning: Prepare your mind for virtual learning; Decompress from virtual learning; Start a reviewing routine; Take good notes; Protect your eyes
1st Mar 2021 - WDIV ClickOnDetroit
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Mar 2021
View this newsletter in fullDoes remote learning kill the art of feedback?
Mark Enser is head of geography and research lead at Heathfield Community College in East Sussex. He writes about the ways in which giving feedback to pupils has changed during the pandemic because of virtual learning: "Every lesson, every day, for the past 18 years has involved me getting and giving feedback. Now it feels like I’ve been teaching in a sensory deprivation tank. Whether in live lessons or pre-recorded ones, the quick and automated flow of feedback and response has been stymied as body language is obscured, pupils slowly reach for the unmute button or we try to look through hundreds of pieces of work to glean clues as to what has and has not been learned. And we continue to be ingenious, of course. We find workarounds, we explore new ways of using technology and we make the best of it, but there is no getting away from the fact that it is not as good and it is not as easy."
28th Feb 2021 - TES News
School cooks up a treat with virtual half term holiday club as head praises staff's handling of pandemic
In England, a primary school cooked up a treat for families by hosting a virtual holiday club over half term. Children at Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School enjoyed everything from kids' yoga and street dance sessions to scavenger hunts and scratch games thanks to the online activities hosted throughout last week.
Parents and staff at the Unsworth school gave up their time to put on the sessions and even headteacher Claire Simon got involved, showing children how to make her 'staffroom favourite' florentines.
28th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
Unprecedented numbers of students have disappeared during the pandemic. Schools are working harder than ever to find them.
School districts across the U.S. that closed buildings in mid-March in response to the coronavirus pandemic handled the transition to remote learning with varying levels of success. During the disruption, schools lost track of students. Many students who were present in the classroom in early March could not be found online. And others who showed up in the spring haven’t been seen since. Many districts, cognizant of the damage that lost school time can cause, have employed extraordinary efforts to track down students to ensure that they are safe and have devices to learn. Others, like Detroit and Miami, have kept students on rosters even after they failed to show for an entire month. North Dakota began tracking attendance for all schools on a daily basis, and several schools used coronavirus aid to hire family liaisons to find missing students.
28th Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
Global education has permanently changed
Japan has for the most part made the shift to what was initially seen as “emergency remote teaching” but has been slower to adapt to the new education environment compared to other countries, such as South Korea. The experience with shifting rapidly to online education has had a forcing effect, shaking things up that badly needed shaking. It is amazing how Japan can change when absolutely forced to, although Japan could have been more proactive with reforms rather than being forced grudgingly into them. Had it been more experimental with its education prior to COVID-19, the disruption it caused would not have been as painful as it has been for schools, families, companies and society as a whole. There are still problems with virtual classes but for the most part people have become comfortable with them, or at least the idea of them, as they have with teleworking.
28th Feb 2021 - The Japan Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in full11 tips to help you make the most of online learning
Most of us are no longer strangers to some form of online learning. During the first lockdown we became a nation of students, whether it was through virtual PE lessons with Joe Wicks or attempting to perfect a new skill while furloughed. But as Covid-19 continues to devastate the economy, with 1.74 million people now out of work, virtual education is more than just the preserve of those wanting to expand their minds. It is also a vital tool in the arsenal of anybody seeking work, with courses on just about anything available to help you land your next job. Here, we have compiled ten top tips on how you can get ahead when it comes to online learning.
25th Feb 2021 - Big Issue
Could Ed Tech and Virtual Learning Help Schools ‘Go Green’?
Every year, the Environmental Protection Agency releases a report detailing solid waste generation, greenhouse gas emissions and landfilling across the U.S., and paper waste in schools and the public sector has been a key concern. In 2018, the most recent year for which complete data is available, paper products comprised the largest proportion of municipal waste at over 23 percent. However, the EPA saw a decline in paper waste from 87.7 million tons in 2000 to 67.4 million tons in 2018 as work increasingly moved online. Whether institutions were recycling paper or avoiding it altogether by going digital, paper waste has been cut drastically over the past decade. Now ed tech experts say the massive virtual shift that occurred as a result of coronavirus school closures could help schools reduce their carbon footprint even further.
25th Feb 2021 - Government Technology
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in full“It’s Changed My Teaching” - The Remote Education Environment
Education has continued throughout the UK’s COVID-19 lockdowns and in light of the government’s plans to bring all pupils back to the classroom on March 8th in England, I’ve spoken to a Science teacher about the challenges posed and opportunities provided by online learning. Dr Naorin Sharmin is a Science teacher, Year 12 tutor and Learning Leader. She has been one of the many teachers who have been working tirelessly to move education online. With all lessons now being run through Google Meet, Dr Sharmin spoke about the ways in which she has changed her style of teaching in order to adapt to this new medium of education: she engages students by asking “lots of questions”, which makes for a more interactive online experience.
24th Feb 2021 - The Argus
SMU president believes virtual learning could be a long lasting legacy of COVID-19
Around a year ago, the world started changing in ways many of us couldn't have imagined possible at the time. As the pandemic ramped up, governments, businesses and schools turned to the internet to implement increased online shopping, working and learning. And according to the president of Saint Mary's University, the digital component of education will be long lasting legacy of COVID-19. "We've been in a virtual operation for almost a year," Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray told NEWS 95.7 fill-in host Jordi Morgan. "The result of that learning has been more investment into the digital environment and a better understanding of what virtual learning looks like."
24th Feb 2021 - HalifaxToday.ca
Compounding failure: Virtual learning setting students on dangerous course
Data shows many students in Kern County are struggling with virtual learning. Failing grades nearly doubled this Fall -- compared to last Fall. There are a lot of factors. Some kids don't have a quiet place to learn. Others have a bad internet connection. Some don't have anyone else home to keep them focused or to help when they're confused. "With distance learning you can't just ask the teacher to help you," one young student said. Many students are struggling to learn in the virtual classroom. In Kern County it's leading to a significant increase in failure.
24th Feb 2021 - Bakersfield Now
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullWho am I now? How the academic identity changed through Covid
When dramatic change takes place, it is inevitable to ask questions about identity. Covid-19 has certainly provoked us to ponder “Who are we now?” after we’ve been forced to adapt to online learning and teaching approaches almost overnight, pushing most of us to our limits. Previously, live lectures allowed chats before and after lectures – interactions that we and our students thrive on. Now, our lectures are often pre-recorded, scripted, bite-size and accessible for students on demand. Scripting and recording lectures in such a format requires different skills and technical videography know-how for editing.
23rd Feb 2021 - Times Higher Education
The best apps and tools to help students with distance learning
When I was sent home from school in March at the onset of the pandemic, I didn't realize I'd be learning remotely for almost a year. As a low-income student living in a two-bedroom apartment, I encountered unexpected challenges in virtual learning and feared I wouldn't keep up academically. Knowing I had to adapt to a new learning model, I quickly scoured the web for the best resources to succeed in remote learning. I already used many of the apps, but found unexpected new ways to use them. I learned I don't need to compromise my sleep or mental health to succeed in an online curriculum. By taking my education into my own hands and making a few adjustments to how I learn, I put my mother's words into action: to salir adelante, or get ahead. As I finish my last semester of high school, these eight apps have made distance learning easier during a time of dramatic upheaval.
23rd Feb 2021 - Business Insider
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullIn World of Online Learning, Students of Color Are Getting Left Behind
All over the Delaware Valley, parents have struggled with the coronavirus pandemic and online learning. Education experts fear that virtual learning will widen the education gap even further between students of color and the white students who tend to come from better socioeconomic backgrounds. So far, attendance records for the Red Clay School District and the School District of Philadelphia show a drop in attendance during the virtual learning period for students of color – while in some cases attendance actually improved for white students.
22nd Feb 2021 - NBC 10 Philadelphia
One professor takes his virtual classes on the road
This generation of students is more than familiar with remote learning. But, what about “extreme remote learning?” Troy Hale, a professor of practice at Michigan State University, came up with the idea to keep his students engaged through the screen. “I kind of looked at it in a different way,” Hale said. “How do we take advantage of this?” With the ability to pre-record his classes, Hale fixed up a camper, loaded up his cat, and set off to film his series “Professor on the Road”. Hale hopes he can help his students see this pandemic not as a stop in the journey, just a detour.
22nd Feb 2021 - KLKN
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow virtual field trips are bringing animals, art, music and more directly to students
The coronavirus pandemic has stopped many classes from venturing out on trips and halted groups making in-school visits, but some Canadian cultural institutions are revamping their educational programming to offer virtual field trips that reach students in nearby neighbourhoods, across the country and beyond. Among her childhood artistic inspirations, spoken word artist and singer I.M.F. recalls visitors at her school assemblies. Seeing performers and spoken word artists at a young age boosted her confidence to pursue that path; she's hoping to come full circle with virtual field trip experiences she's taken part in this month with the Art Gallery of Ontario.
21st Feb 2021 - CBC.ca
More teachers are asked to double up, instructing kids at school and at home simultaneously
Simultaneous teaching — also called simulcast or concurrent — is what many districts across the U.S. have settled on in an attempt to solve the logistical jigsaw puzzle involved in bringing back some students for in-person instruction while others continue learning from home. And it’s about to get ramped up in dramatic fashion. Under pressure from President Biden and governors, and facing mounting evidence that schools can reopen if safety measures are followed, districts in the Washington region and nationwide are embarking on the difficult mission of returning hundreds of thousands of children to classrooms that have been shuttered for nearly a year
21st Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
Remain Virtual or Move to Hybrid Learning? Parents Face Tough Choices
The debate on when to send students back to school has been heated for almost a year now. With many Northern Virginia school districts set to expand hybrid learning to more students, parents are making tough choices about what to do with their kids. What's best for one school district might not be best for another. In fact, what's best for one student might not what's be best for their own sibling. "I am parenting two extremely different human beings, and their needs are different," said Arlington County parent Lara Daly-Sims, "and that's why you'll see that I have a different decision for each of them."
20th Feb 2021 - NBC4 Washington
Learning as avatars may become new school norm in Japan
Virtual reality (VR) classrooms may become the new normal for schools of the future, given that some universities have already begun experimenting with classes using student avatars in school buildings created in virtual spaces. With online learning becoming more widespread amid the prolonged novel coronavirus crisis, the virtual classroom paradigm is attracting attention as it is easier to raise students’ sense of participation than with videoconferencing or watching videos. The system makes it possible to switch between spaces. The class experienced a series of 360-degree worlds based on actual images, including the laboratory, the campus, and the shopping street in front of the university.
20th Feb 2021 - The Japan News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in full'You and your friends are making history': Mom's post on virtual learning goes viral
A mother's viral post explaining how she's encouraged her son through remote learning is hitting home for parents on Facebook. Christine Derengowski, a writer from Michigan, shared with her followers the unique perspective she gave her 7-year-old son when he was recently struggling with an assignment. "I said, 'You won’t get in trouble and you can’t fail first grade. In fact, you’re kind of a superhero yourself,'" Derengowski wrote in the Facebook post. "I said, 'Do you know that no kids in the history of kids have ever had to do what you’re doing right now? No kids in the history of kids have ever had to do school at home, sitting in their bedroom, watching their teacher on a computer. You and your friends are making history.'"
18th Feb 2021 - ABC news
DIY education: Greek teacher creates TV classes for inmates
Setting up a television channel from scratch isn’t the most obvious or easiest thing for a math teacher to do — especially without prior technical knowledge and for use inside a prison. But that is exactly the task Petros Damianos, director of the school at Greece’s Avlona Special Youth Detention Center, took on so his students could access the lessons that coronavirus lockdowns cut them off from. Greek schools have shut, reopened, and closed again over the past year as authorities sought to curtail the spread of the virus. Like their peers across much of the globe, the country’s students adapted to virtual classes.
18th Feb 2021 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullBrent's teachers, parents and pupils on school in lockdown
Headteachers, parents and pupils in Brent have spoken of their frustration with virtual teaching and learning, which is "stressful" and "tedious". Newman Catholic College headteacher Daniel Coyle explained his school accommodates around 55 children in these categories, while another 800 pupils are taught virtually at home. Mr Coyle said: “We are desperate to get back to school. Teaching is at heart a human activity and is rooted in the quality of our human relationships. Remote teaching does not support this principle.” He continued: “However, the health of our nation must come first. If we have to maintain this provision until Easter, then teachers will continue to do their best.”
17th Feb 2021 - Brent & Kilburn Times
This AI reads children's emotions as they learn
Before the pandemic, Ka Tim Chu, teacher and vice principal of Hong Kong's True Light College, looked at his students' faces to gauge how they were responding to classwork. Now, with most of his lessons online, technology is helping Chu to read the room. An AI-powered learning platform monitors his students' emotions as they study at home. The software, 4 Little Trees, was created by Hong Kong-based startup Find Solution AI. While the use of emotion recognition AI in schools and other settings has caused concern, founder Viola Lam says it can make the virtual classroom as good as — or better than — the real thing. Students work on tests and homework on the platform as part of the school curriculum. While they study, the AI measures muscle points on their faces via the camera on their computer or tablet, and identifies emotions including happiness, sadness, anger, surprise and fear.
17th Feb 2021 - CNN
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullMinnesota schools plan to continue virtual learning options in fall 2021
Stillwater Public School leaders have helped many of their staff get vaccinated. They’ve reopened their elementary schools for in-person learning. But as they plan for the next academic year, they are still planning to make online learning a part of regular life. “Those are the questions we are asking on a daily basis: What is next year going to look like?” said Carissa Keister, spokesperson for Stillwater Area Public Schools. “We’re hoping that we can be back to a more regular schedule and get our kids in front of our teachers every day. We know that’s what’s best for them. But we certainly know we have to plan for anything, which is the one thing we have learned this year.”
16th Feb 2021 - Minnesota Public Radio News
Virtual learning works for some kids, so N.J. district will offer new hybrid program next fall
A South Jersey school district has announced plans to offer a hybrid remote and in-person instruction curriculum to about 100 top-achieving high school students in the fall. The plan is to offer the combination of remote classes and in-school instruction even if state emergency orders that allowed remote instruction during the coronavirus pandemic response are repealed, officials said.
16th Feb 2021 - NJ.com
The future of online learning: the long-term trends accelerated by Covid-19
For Prof John Domingue, director of the Open University’s pioneering research and development lab, the Knowledge Media Institute (KMI), the “online genie” is out of the bottle and won’t go back in. “It’s slightly galling to see some universities trying to replicate online almost exactly what they delivered face-to-face before Covid. Standing before a camera and broadcasting is not online teaching. You need to do things differently,” he says. So what can universities undertake to make online learning more than just a heavy focus on streaming and recording technology? Domingue points to artificial intelligence (AI) and the concept of an online library for educators based on a Google search engine dedicated to education, and a Netflix-style recommendation tool that tracks down content to suit a lecturer’s own field, based on previous searches.
16th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning is stressing students out
A new study from NBC News and the nonprofit Challenge Success looked at 10,000 students across the country and found that virtual learners are more stressed, working longer hours, and getting much less sleep than their peers who go to the classroom at least one day a week. There’s no easy answer for how to get all students back in the classroom in the middle of the pandemic, and the study’s authors aren’t necessarily arguing that all students should go back right away. But they did say that the need to figure out a solution is “urgent.” And the numbers definitely make it seem that way. More than half of the all students surveyed (remote or not) were more stressed out about school in 2020 than in years past. But 84 percent of remote students said they’ve suffered from exhaustion, headaches, and insomnia this school year.
15th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
Lessons from a Year of School, Interrupted
After a whole year of on-again, off-again schooling in Hong Kong, it’s probably safe to say that schools have entered a new normal during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that the virtual or a hybrid model of teaching is here to stay...perhaps for longer than anyone anticipated. As an educator at The Harbour School (THS), a K to Grade 12 US-curriculum international school based in Ap Lei Chau, this last year has been a ride like no other since I started teaching. Reflecting back on 2020, we have endured much in a year of uncertainty, but there are also valuable lessons learned which I believe will inform and shape the future of education for years to come.
15th Feb 2021 - South China Morning Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow remote learning is creating virtual field trips
Even though people aren’t traveling as much as they used to, virtual trips have come to offer an alternative, allowing students to explore the world from home. Marisa LaScala is the parenting and relationships editor with Good Housekeeping. She said online field trips offer the perfect combination of education and fun. There are plenty of options to satisfy young curious minds.
14th Feb 2021 - WPIX
The pandemic’s psychological toll on our children
Katie Peterson has two perspectives when it comes to seeing the psychological toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on children. In the evaluations her Eastern Michigan University graduate psychology students are doing for children with learning disabilities, she’s seeing an increase in the number of referrals for teenagers who think they might have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. As the mother of a 15-year-old boy with special needs, she’s seeing her son’s frustration in not having face-to-face interactions with peers and his struggles to focus while learning from a screen.
14th Feb 2021 - MLive.com
Shaftesbury School trials virtual reality course with students
A new type of classroom with a technology focus could be the future of education, with a school in Shaftesbury now leading the way forward as a testing site. Back in October Shaftesbury School launched the ‘Future Classroom’, which transformed the traditional learning environment into a futuristic space with touch screens, a green screen, augmented reality and more. Last week new virtual reality software was introduced to the school, making it the only establishment in Europe testing this particular kit.
14th Feb 2021 - Salisbury Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullTeachers On The Push To Return To The Classroom
President Biden wants to reopen schools across the country within his first 100 days in office and has already signed executive actions to free up funding and increase personal protective equipment and testing for school districts. This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release new guidelines about how schools can reopen safely. And on Wednesday, Chicago's teachers' union agreed to restart in-person classes in a deal that includes COVID-19 vaccine priority to teachers and staff who are returning to school buildings. Across the country, teachers are beginning to face the reality of returning to their classrooms in person and all that comes with it
11th Feb 2021 - NPR
Seeds of Literacy needs more tutors to handle influx of students in virtual classroom
As children in Ohio are starting the process of moving back to in-person learning, hundreds of adult students are working towards their own education goals through Seeds of Literacy’s virtual classroom. Staff members there said they desperately need more volunteer tutors to step up and help out. “We made YouTube videos of our lessons. And that was all effective, and now we're able to meet in Zoom, use Zoom breakout rooms for one-on-one lessons with students, so that's been very helpful.” Seeds are looking for more tutors like Cook to teach the basic adult education seeds students need to get their GED or just to simply better themselves.
11th Feb 2021 - News 5 Cleveland
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullLearning remotely at Wey Valley Academy in Weymouth
Students at Wey Valley Academy in Weymouth are getting stuck in with their online learning, despite the challenges faced by young people during this lockdown. Since returning to their studies in January, students have attended live lessons in a bid to recreate the classroom and keep their learning on track. Teachers at Wey Valley are delivering online lessons using Microsoft Teams. It means that students can access their expert teachers, continue to ask questions and discuss complex ideas together. Student engagement is excellent with attendance above the national average.
10th Feb 2021 - Dorset Echo
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat does mental-health support look like in Ontario's virtual classrooms?
Last June, the Ontario government announced $10 million in additional mental health support for the 2020-21 school year. Metroland contacted 14 Ontario school boards and each indicated funding has gone toward hiring mental health support staff, including social workers and child and youth-care workers, though the number of staff and their role varies from board to board. While there are opportunities for students to connect directly with these staff, oftentimes it is up to the homeroom teacher to first identify any mental-health issues. "It absolutely is a concern that mental-health issues can really fly under the radar in this virtual learning environment," Lindsay Malloy, an associate professor of Forensic Psychology at Ontario Tech University, said.
9th Feb 2021 - toronto.com
Officials concerned virtual learning stunting early development
Virtual learning is presenting challenges for many of the youngest students and a recent national study shows it could be impacting their level of success. Elementary school provides many of the most important foundations for students; crucial skills like reading, writing and math. There's continued concern the limitations of the virtual setting could be holding those students back. “Parents expressed some very legitimate concerns about students, their mental health, about their safety [and] their inability to perform online,” said Dr. Danny Webb, superintendent of the Everett Area School District. “That’s impacting all of our kids in a different way."
9th Feb 2021 - WJAC Johnstown
One district's creative approach to 'COVID slide?' Night classes for elementary students
In the face of COVID-19, Henry County Schools, a suburban county of 218,000, took a solution adults have been using for decades to further their education and applied it to elementary students: Night classes. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended learning and student life for almost a year now, and across New England, remote learning engagement continues to be one of the greatest challenges, resulting in noticeable achievement gaps. Over summer break, when it became apparent that COVID-related remote learning would play a big part in the upcoming school year, Henry County parents were the ones to request the early evening virtual classes, saying it would enable them to fully supervise their child’s remote learning from home after their own work day.
9th Feb 2021 - Burlington Free Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullSchools plan for potential of remote learning into the fall
After seeing two academic years thrown off course by the pandemic, school leaders around the U.S. are planning for the possibility of more distance learning next fall at the start of yet another school year. “We have no illusions that COVID will be eradicated by the time the start of the school year comes up,” said William “Chip” Sudderth III, a spokesperson for Durham, North Carolina schools, whose students have been out of school buildings since March. President Joe Biden has made reopening schools a top priority, but administrators say there is much to consider as new strains of the coronavirus appear and teachers wait their turn for vaccinations
8th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Report shows struggles of disadvantaged pupils in lockdown
Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds found remote learning significantly more difficult than other students last year, a new study has found. Non-profit body ImpactEd monitored 62,000 pupils in England through eight months of 2020 to assess the effect of online schooling during the pandemic. Their report, Lockdown Lessons, found that among pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds – those at schools eligible for the Government’s Pupil Premium grant – only 45% said they understood their schoolwork in lockdown, compared with 57% among other students.
8th Feb 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullAfter nearly a year of virtual learning, school psychologists worry about the mental health effects
As students near a year of virtual learning, school psychologists are worried about the mental health effects. Julia Rutkowski, School Psychologist at Muskego High School in Racine, thought her students would love the idea of attending school without having to physically be in school. However, once it became unclear when the lockdown would be lifted, some students began to struggle with the lack of interaction that came with virtual learning. Student support staff try to connect with students that are struggling to suggest positive mental health activities. However, during winter months, there are not many suggestions to give students.
7th Feb 2021 - WMTV - NBC15
Pandemic learning takes another turn: Will teachers be in person in classrooms?
After nearly a year of online learning, parents in the Washington region were thrilled to hear announcements from public schools that in-person learning will resume next month for students who choose it. But families quickly discovered that in-person learning will not necessarily mean sitting in a classroom and being taught by a teacher. Instead, school officials in Maryland and Virginia have been hiring “classroom monitors” who will fill out school staffing — in some cases supervising classrooms as students continue to do online lessons. For some parents, it’s the latest disappointment in pandemic-era learning: more virtual learning, no teacher in the room. School officials across the region say the strategy is necessary to reopen in the near future, while accommodating legitimate requests from teachers who must continue working virtually for health reasons
7th Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning adds to university students' skills, says economics professor
Online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed university students to develop a wide array of new skills, says an associate professor of economics at the University of Toronto. Many students thrive on human interaction, but Elizabeth Dhuey says many of her students are benefiting from taking university classes online. "This is really going to help them in the long-term because this is the future of their work," she told Information Morning Moncton.
4th Feb 2021 - CBC.ca
It Takes a Village: How School Librarians Support Virtual Learning
It’s no secret that virtual learning has been a challenge in the United States. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, many K–12 students have been engaged in some version of distance education since March 2020. Whether hybrid or entirely remote, the learning curve has been steep for teachers, caregivers, and students. However, teachers are not alone in their efforts to provide supports to students and families. Across the country, library media specialists are finding innovative ways to support virtual learning. From sharing digital resources to collaborating on instruction, school librarians are stepping up to meet this new challenge.
4th Feb 2021 - Book Riot
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe keys to virtual kindergarten? Good planning and puppets ... lots of puppets
Delaware has spent the year pushing schools to offer some form of in-person learning. Students learn better in the classroom, Gov. John Carney has said repeatedly, especially Delaware’s youngest learners. But some of those youngest learners have already opted to study from home for the rest of the school year. At Joe Parrett’s own school, Wilbur Elementary in Bear, only 41% of families chose to return for in-person learning. Parrett and other teachers are left trying to solve a challenge that would have been unheard of a year ago – how do you teach five year olds to read and count through a screen? The answer includes plenty of dance breaks, silly names and voices, perfectly planned slideshows, and lots and lots of puppets.
3rd Feb 2021 - Delaware Online
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullHertingfordbury parents send messages of thanks to school
The staff from a school in Hertingfordbury have been delighted to receive many messages of thanks from parents as remote learning returns in lockdown at the start of 2021. Parents of pupils at St Joseph’s In The Park have sent messages of thanks to teachers for a good start to remote learning as the new year begins in lockdown. The school introduced a custom-tailored distance learning strategy in response to the first lockdown and including using Google Classrooms as a learning platform for Years 1 to 6 to ensure continuity of education and to deliver innovative and engaging lessons. Each week a child from each class is nominated by their teacher to receive the Headmaster’s Award for outstanding work or for their positive attitude to online learning.
2nd Feb 2021 - In Your Area
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullOntario elementary school teacher on the highs and lows of virtual learning
In January, schools in Ontario moved to online learning in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19. Schools in the northern part of the province reopened on Jan. 11, and several more regions will reopen classrooms starting Monday, Feb. 1. Schools in four regions with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, including Toronto and Hamilton, will remain virtual until at least Feb. 10. For elementary school teacher Michelle Davis, the most challenging part of teaching children online isn't the hours of preparation or the new computer programs — it's being a voice of calm for her students. Though most of the work they do is online, Davis is constantly giving her students breaks away from the computer. She encourages them to dance, stretch and even go on scavenger hunts.
1st Feb 2021 - CBC.ca
Kenya: Majority of Universities Not Fit to Offer Virtual Learning
In Kenya, a majority of universities have not complied with accreditation requirements for their virtual learning programmes despite a mandatory stipulation that they acquire new accreditation before offering the courses through blended learning or via e-learning. The new regulations by the Commission for University Education (CUE), the professional body mandated by the Ministry of Education to inspect the quality of university programmes before accrediting them for teaching by the institutions of higher learning in Kenya, aim to ensure that universities offer high quality education institutions around the world shift to virtual learning in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. A preliminary report by the commission shows that most universities, especially the public ones, lack the relevant infrastructure and digital material to support blended learning.
1st Feb 2021 - AllAfrica.com
FETC 2021: Rebuilding Learning Beyond the Classroom
The shift to remote and hybrid learning environments has not been easy for educators to manage. That’s especially the case when their lessons lean heavily on interactive learning approaches. This is a particular challenge for STEM-based educators, who often rely on hands-on learning approaches. Despite this, many have found a way. In a Tuesday session at the 2021 Future of Education Technology Conference, educators highlighted ways that they have been keeping their students on track despite all the changes.
1st Feb 2021 - EdTech Magazine
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullChicago parents say remote learning isn’t working and want their voices heard in a city still grappling with a plan
As the Chicago teachers union and the school district continue to argue over reopening terms for in-person instruction, parents have organized to express frustration with the standoff and make their voices heard. For weeks, the district — third largest in the nation — and union have gone back and forth over what should be done. The union contends that not all schools have been given proper equipment or ventilation, and it wants an agreed-upon Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health metric, among other things. It also said teachers and staff should be able to work remotely, voluntarily coming to work in person, until they receive the vaccine.
31st Jan 2021 - The Washington Post
Here's Why Your Kid Suddenly Clams Up On Camera During Virtual Learning
Hiccups during online learning are to be expected: Dropped internet, slow apps, and frozen screens are all tech issues that come with this new territory. But tech issues are nothing compared to a kindergartener who refuses to speak on camera. Understanding why your kid gets shy and clams up during virtual learning can help ease frustrations, experts say. "'Stage fright' is a common feeling among children when they are expected to give a presentation at school, compete in a sporting event, or perform in a recital. So it's only natural that children may experience similar feelings with cameras on during the virtual school year," Kelly Beck, certified child life specialist (CCLS) with Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, tells Romper.
31st Jan 2021 - Romper
The racial disparities over who is returning to D.C. classrooms puts equity spotlight on reopening plan
Washington D.C. schools are set to reopen this week for the first time in nearly a year, with schools in wealthier wards at maximum capacity while seats remain empty in the city’s poorest neighborhoods, because families there have opted in high numbers to stay home and continue with virtual learning. The partial reopening is a relief to families of all incomes, but the mismatch across the city has teachers and parents questioning whether the city should be pouring resources during the pandemic into an in-person learning program that White students are disproportionately enrolling in. Across the country, Black and Hispanic communities have been hit hardest by the virus, and many of these families have told their school districts they do not feel safe sending their children back to school buildings
31st Jan 2021 - The Washington Post
Keeping Your Students Engaged in the Virtual Classroom
During the current times of social distancing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning has become more commonplace. As such, educational institutions, teachers, and other entities in the industry have been doing their best to transition classes online. However, it’s no secret that it’s harder to pay attention to a computer screen than to in-person lectures. There are plenty of distractors that can cause students to lose focus. Educators need innovative approaches that can keep students engaged until the day ends.
31st Jan 2021 - Literacy Daily
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID schools crisis: Will virtual classrooms catch on?
On Wednesday, Boris Johnson expressed hope that it will be safe to reopen schools in England from 8 March at the earliest. But it's not that straightforward. The full return of face-to-face learning is heavily dependent on the success of the vaccine rollout and a decline in COVID-19 cases. Teachers, parents and pupils have had to re-adjust to remote learning during this lockdown but could online lessons have a permanent place in the education structure in future? On this edition of the Sky News Daily podcast, teacher Mathury Jeganathan shares her experience of swapping the traditional school building for a virtual classroom.
28th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhere the top US school districts stand with virtual vs. in-person learning
In the effort to balance health, jobs and quality education, the U.S.'s biggest school districts are divided on how to teach students this semester. Of the 20 largest school districts: -- 9 are teaching entirely online. -- 8 offer fully in-person learning and a choice of fully online learning. (Several of these districts are in Florida, where the governor ordered schools to offer classroom learning.) -- 2 have a hybrid plan, with some virtual and some classroom instruction. -- 1 has a combination of plans, depending on the infection rates
27th Jan 2021 - CNN
Virtual teaching during COVID-19 has been fraught with challenges. But it's also led to innovation and growth
Ten months into the global pandemic, physically closing schools and shifting to a virtual learning format has proven laboriously difficult for students, teachers and parents alike. Logistical problems persist, many students are falling behind – especially those who are economically disadvantaged – and it’s nearly impossible to account for the pandemic’s impact on students’ mental health and well-being. But for all the frustrations and hardships – and safety concerns as 52% of elementary students return to in-person classes next week – it’s also been a year of innovation, of resourceful teachers adapting, improving and finding new ways to connect with students, and helping them grow in the process.
27th Jan 2021 - Chesterfield Observer
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullHuge £1m gift to help Britain's poorest pupils working from home without pens and books
Today the Mirror launches a campaign to help lockdown pupils with an enormous donation of £1million from Britain’s biggest teaching union. We are aiming to raise much needed cash for kids left working from home without the most basic items such as colouring pens, books and notepads. All the money raised will go towards stationery and essential equipment for younger children still too young for online learning. Our “Help a Child to Learn” campaign aims to help every child get the education they deserve during the Covid crisis.
26th Jan 2021 - Mirror Online
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullStudents with autism grapple with challenges of virtual learning
Virtual schooling has impacted every family and educator; however, those with children who have autism or other intellectual disabilities have had to face down unique challenges. Parents and guardians have had to take on additional responsibilities, technology has presented its own hurdles, and there is concern about how the absence of in-person communication will affect interpersonal skills. That’s not to say there haven’t been successes. Students with special needs have adapted to the technology, and some have even thrived.
25th Jan 2021 - Metro US
Chicago Said Teachers Needed To Return In Person. The Teachers Voted No
Teachers at Chicago Public Schools were slated to return to the classroom on Monday, in preparation for the return of students to the district's K-8 schools next week. But on Sunday, a majority of the Chicago Teachers Union's membership voted in favor of a resolution to continue to work remotely. The union said 71% of its voting members had voted to conduct remote work only, with 86% voter participation.
25th Jan 2021 - NPR
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullAfter Covid, will digital learning be the new normal?
Will schools continue their digitally enhanced approach, post-pandemic? Investors certainly think so. Global investment of venture capital in edtech more than doubled from $7bn in 2019 to a record $16.1bn in 2020, according to market intelligence consultancy HolonIQ. Others too believe the shift will be permanent. “Covid has given an impetus to schools to adopt, roll out and use more of the functionality of edtech tools,” says Hannah Owen, of the Nesta innovation foundation. “It’s likely, and optimal, that we’ll move to blended models, where remote and digital platforms support in-person classroom teaching, and contribute to minimising teacher workload.” Many school leaders are concerned that more tech-based teaching may add to the relative advantages already enjoyed by wealthier pupils. Research by the Sutton Trust found, for example, that 30% of middle-class pupils were doing live or recorded online lessons at least once per school day, compared to 16% of working-class pupils. Those at private schools were more than twice as likely to do so than those at state schools.
24th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Teacher turns her dining room into classroom for virtual lessons
Lockdown means many people are creating make-shift offices at home, but one Barnard Castle teacher has gone a step further by turning her dining room into an early years’ classroom. Nic Linsley has recreated her classroom environment in her dining room, which now has dinosaur bunting, phonic visual aids and reading materials so remote lelessons have a resemblance to normality. She said: “It is only the first week but all the parents have been so supportive. We are trying to make lessons as practical as possible so that the children are not sat in front of screens all the time. Having all the visual aids helps the children so they still feel like they are in a classroom.”
24th Jan 2021 - Teesdale Mercury
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullImpact of virtual learning on children's eyesight
In Canada, Dina Pugliese speaks with Dr. Ivy Koh, optometrist at Specs and Spines Optometry and Chiropractic, about how online learning and computer screens strain your eyes and how parents can identify if they’re children are struggling with their eyes.
21st Jan 2021 - CityNews Toronto
Rural students facing internet problems with virtual learning
In Canada, Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) students will soon be returning to classroom based learning following their second round of virtual, remote classes. While the change to virtual learning for some students living within town hasn’t been a large issue, those who live in rural areas are facing problems due to poor internet connection. Similar to their response last spring the UGDSB has provided students and families with Chromebooks and other devices, internet support, as well as printed packages and asynchronous learning options.
21st Jan 2021 - Yahoo News Canada
Covid-19: More Northern Ireland special schools limit pupil attendance
In Northern Ireland, more special schools have said their pupils can only attend part time for two days a week on a temporary basis. The Education Minister, Peter Weir, decided on 5 January that special schools should remain open for all pupils. Some parents of pupils with special educational needs had previously warned of the damaging impact of school closures on their children during the lockdown from March to June 2020. Attendance data published by the Department of Education (DE) has shown that a significant number of pupils and staff have not been able to attend special schools since the start of the new term in January.
21st Jan 2021 - BBC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullEducation must act on advances made during lockdowns
Jamie Beaton is the founder of Crimson Education and CEO of Crimson Global Academy, New Zealand’s first registered online high school.He writes "The Government must now focus on the opportunities the Covid-19 pandemic has provided our country, not just the threats. In an education sense, we’ve heard about the disruption the pandemic caused to students and teachers, and its impact on assessments. At the same time, many capital projects across schools and universities will be deferred. We’ve heard less about just how clever our education providers and students have been in advancing their digital capability. By that, I mean successfully fast-tracking their ability to educate and learn online."
20th Jan 2021 - Stuff.co.nz
School attendance in England higher than first lockdown
School attendance in England is five times higher than during the first lockdown, official figures show. One in five (21%) primary school pupils and one in 20 (5%) secondary school pupils went into school last week, the Department for Education reports. Only 4% of state primary school pupils and 1% from state secondaries were in school during closures last year. The increase has been driven in part by children without laptops or tablets being allowed to attend school. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of Schools and Colleges, said schools were "under tremendous pressure" as they juggled pupils learning in school and online.
20th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullChester academies trust in mission to ensure all Cheshire school pupils have access to laptops
In England, a Chester-based academies trust is spearheading a campaign to help ensure children across Cheshire have access to a laptop for home-schooling. North West Academies Trust decided to act when, despite distributing all school-owned laptops to pupils, an audit revealed there was still a substantial number of children without the necessary equipment to join the virtual classroom. NWAT appealed to fellow schools, businesses and individuals asking them to donate devices which could make a huge difference to families in the area. Now NWAT have extended the campaign with the aim of helping pupils at other local schools across Cheshire and Shropshire. They have offered to pay for used laptops to be reconditioned, and act as a distribution centre.
19th Jan 2021 - The Chester Standard
Māori-medium education thrived during lockdown, leading the education sector by example
In New Zealand, a new report from the Education Review Office found that while schools will feel the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown into 2021, one group in particular thrived: Māori-medium education. The report found some students had lost a term in learning as a result of the lockdown, and the impact would be felt into the 2021 academic year. But the review into Māori-medium education – where students are taught all or some curriculum subjects in the Māori language for at least 51 per cent of the time – found staying connected and using resources creatively, allowed students to succeed. One student who was interviewed for the report said they were able to plan their own learning programme, and their kaiako (teacher), encouraged them to be adventurous.
19th Jan 2021 - Stuff.co.nz
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullPoland's youngest return to school as depression rates grow
Poland’s youngest children returned to school on Monday for the first time in over two months but most pupils will remain in virtual classrooms as experts warned of a growing psychological toll. Poland has seen some of the longest school closures in Europe due to Covid-19 but many parents are concerned that children may be returning too soon. Psychologist Beata Trzesniewska said long periods away from the classroom were having a negative effect. “Cases of depression among pupils and students are going up,” she said.
18th Jan 2021 - Macau Business
Free fast broadband offered in UK to support home schooling
Thousands of families struggling with home learning are being offered free high-speed broadband following a partnership between internet provider Hyperoptic and dozens of local authorities across the UK. Families in 37 local authority areas, from Tower Hamlets in London to Newcastle and Leeds that are struggling with remote learning due to poor or no internet will be offered the chance to have a high speed connection installed with no usage charges until the end of the summer term. At that point there is no obligation to stick with the service. Telecoms regulator Ofcom has estimated that more than 880,000 children live in a household with internet access only via mobile phone.
18th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual classroom at farm varsity opens
In India, HK Chaudhary, Vice-Chancellor of CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, inaugurated an ultra-modern virtual classroom facility yesterday. He said that under the prevailing circumstances, it would prove to be a boon to students sitting in the safe environs of their homes. They would no longer miss classes and would also attend virtual practicals too, he added.
17th Jan 2021 - The Tribune India
Maharashtra educator gets award for novel teaching method in lockdown
A Maharashtra teacher, who did not allow coronavirus-induced lockdown to come in the way of continuing his classes for his students in rural areas, has won recognition for his efforts that involved use of conference calls and storytelling. Balaji Baburao Jadhav (35) has been selected for the Honey Bee Network Creativity Inclusive Innovation Award 2020. So far, Jadhav has received more than 70 state, national and international awards. "My project is followed in 20 districts of Maharashtra, 24 states in the country and 14 countries in the world. The benefit of people is my real satisfaction than an award," he said.
17th Jan 2021 - The New Indian Express
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullSchool offering online lessons to support Herefordshire children with home learning
In the UK, a Herefordshire school is launching lessons and free academic assessments to children whose SATS have been cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic. The Elms School in Colwall is offering the assessments, conducted by an experienced team to help identify areas where extra learning support may be needed, to all children, regardless of their connection to the school. The school is also is providing a separate support package for children up to Key Stage Two. Headmaster Chris Hattam said the school is keen to offer this service to families in the county who may be concerned about the virtual learning experience their children are currently receiving.
14th Jan 2021 - Hereford Times
Covid-19: Expat teaching to an empty classroom in UK lockdown
The rapid spread of the new Covid-19 variant has forced the United Kingdom to enter into its third lockdown. Brittney Deguara speaks to Kiwi expats stuck at home, enduring the pandemic and the new wave of restrictions. Throughout the pandemic, expat teacher Paul Tannahill and his colleagues have streamlined their lessons. At first, teachers were recording voice-overs to accompany slide shows, now everything is done through video calls. The new wave of restrictions didn’t impact Tannahill’s life and work too much, but it’s been devastating watching the impact the pandemic has had on his students.
14th Jan 2021 - Stuff.co.nz
Vision problems arise in young school kids in COVID-19 quarantine
The prevalence of near-sightedness, or myopia, increased 1.4 to 3 times in Chinese children aged 6 to 8 years during COVID-19 quarantine, according to a study today in JAMA Ophthalmology. Schools in China were closed from January to May 2020, during which time online learning was offered for 1 hour a day for students in grades 1 and 2 and for 2.5 hours for those in grades 3 to 6. A substantial shift toward myopia (about -0.3 diopters) was identified in the 194,904 test results (389,808 eyes) from 2020 included in the analysis, compared with those from 2015 to 2019 from children ages 6 (-0.32), 7 (-0.28), and 8 (-0.29).
14th Jan 2021 - CIDRAP
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullThese Scotland university lecturers are experts of 'remote learning' after doing it for decades - here's how they do it
Educators at Scotland’s University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) have provided online courses since the early 90s which makes many of them highly experienced in ‘remote learning.’ So much that in the wake of the pandemic, UHI lecturers said they have received requests from other universities asking for advice on the online structure that their careers have survived on for decades.
13th Jan 2021 - The Scotsman
Schools CEO: More students failing in virtual learning
More Baltimore City School students are failing in virtual learning, according to Baltimore City Schools CEO Sonja Santelises. Santelises shared the new figures with the city school board commissioners during Tuesday night's meeting. She says they looked over the first quarter grades of 2019 and compared them to the first quarter of the new school year and found the numbers went up from 38% to 60% among students in grades six through 12. Ninth graders had the biggest percentage of students failing at least one class, according to Santelises. Santelises says students need to go back to school buildings and be with their teachers in person before their losses in learning and education cannot be repaired.
13th Jan 2021 - WBAL Radio
'Teachers are our heroes': Mum praises school staff after Gavin Williamson urges parents to report poor remote learning to Ofsted
In England, a mum has praised a High Wycombe school for its “high quality virtual learning” after parents were asked to report schools to Ofsted if remote lessons were deemed to be poor during the third national lockdown. Natalie Lateu-Robinson said she wants to thank teachers and staff at Wycombe High School, which her daughter attends, after education secretary Gavin Williamson provoked anger by suggesting parents should report schools to Ofsted if they felt the online learning provided was not good enough.
13th Jan 2021 - Buckinhamshire Free Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in full‘Be kinder with deadlines’: What teachers learned from remote teaching last time
As teachers take part in another round of remote teaching, many are using the lessons they learned during the previous lockdown to inform their work. We spoke to educators on what works and what doesn’t based on their experiences last year.
13th Jan 2021 - The Irish Times
Virtual learning will stick around after COVID fades
About two in 10 U.S. school districts have already adopted, plan to adopt or are considering adopting virtual learning after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The survey of district leaders indicates that virtual learning was the innovative practice that most district leaders anticipated would continue, citing both student and parent demand for continuing various forms of online instruction. District leaders who mentioned plans to continue offer virtual learning and instruction after the COVID-19 pandemic has abated said they want to do so to offer students more flexibility, meet parent or student demand, meet the diversity of students’ needs, and maintain student enrollment
12th Jan 2021 - eSchool News
Covid-19: Williamson promises 300,000 extra laptops
An extra 300,000 laptops and tablets have been bought to help disadvantaged children in England learn at home, says Education Secretary Gavin Williamson. Mr Williamson said the devices would be delivered to schools. He also pledged to publish a remote education framework to support schools and colleges with delivering lessons during the latest national lockdown. It comes as research says children from poorer families are likely to struggle more with remote learning.
12th Jan 2021 - BBC News
British school children in lockdown get hours of free TV education
Parents in Britain may be relieved to hear that the BBC launched its new educational offering on Monday, meaning that school-aged children will be able to access hours of curriculum-based learning on television every day. The broadcaster announced its initiative last week in response to new lockdowns in England and Scotland, to “ensure all children can access curriculum-based learning, even if they don’t have access to the internet,” it said. Katie Thistleton, who presents BBC Bitesize Daily Secondary, an hourly show for children aged 11 and over that was made last year in response to the pandemic, said the aim is to make her show and others available to a wide audience.
11th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus in Scotland: Remote working may mean the end of school uniforms
School uniforms have long polarised opinion. Supporters say they create a group identity, iron out differences between pupils and smarten up their wearers for the world of work. Critics say they are an expensive hangover from a rigidly enforced, mythical golden age of education. The latter camp is gaining ground. An academic is suggesting that it may be time to downgrade the importance of school uniforms as the pandemic has revealed they are no barrier to learning, or any sort of preparation for a rapidly changing workplace.
12th Jan 2021 - The Times
COVID-19 fuelling education's tech disruption, deepening digital divide
The COVID-19 pandemic deepened inequities in accessing and benefiting from education but the future of learning could be a more equal one, participants told Reuters Next panels on Monday. The pandemic hastened a rise in virtual learning and a disruption of the status quo already under way but probably won’t eliminate in-person instruction for good, they said. COVID-19 forced the University of Oxford and myriad other schools online amid COVID lockdowns. “We surprised even ourselves” in their ability to do it, Vice-Chancellor Louise Richardson said. But in-person learning is not a thing of the past.
12th Jan 2021 - Reuters
After Nearly A Year Of Remote Learning Parent’s Fears Grow About Physical Health
In an attempt to gather information about families realities and concerns when it comes to remote learning a joint venture between The Harris Poll and Nestlé Waters North America was created. The survey they conducted aimed to get a sense of how Covid-19 has influenced kids’ education and physical health over the past year. The results indicate the vast majority of parents in the U.S. are concerned about the toll remote learning is having on their children – both mentally and physically. For example, some children are more vulnerable to become anxious or depressed during this time, and children with pre-existing conditions like ADHD, anxiety or depression, are no longer getting the support or structure they typically would get in a classroom setting.
12th Jan 2021 - Forbes
Lockdown Learning: BBC puts school materials on TV, iPlayer and online
The BBC is helping school children keep up with their studies amid the latest lockdown to control Covid-19 in the UK. Primary and secondary schools are closed to most pupils, and from Monday 11 January, lessons and programmes will start to be broadcast on TV - on BBC Two and CBBC - as well as on iPlayer, with additional content online. The curriculum-based TV programmes will run alongside the BBC Bitesize collection of educational resources, which will continue to provide online learning at home for pupils in Years 1 to 9, and those studying for GCSEs and Nationals. On TV, there will be three hours of primary school programming on CBBC, and two hours for secondary pupils on BBC Two.
11th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Headteachers in England forced to ration on-site lockdown learning
Nearly half of England’s headteachers are being forced to prioritise class places among vulnerable students and the children of key workers because of a huge increase in demand, according to a survey of school leaders. The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), which carried out the survey, said the government’s “confused” messages to parents on school attendance risks defeating its aim of suppressing the virus. Thirty-four per cent of school leaders said they had 31% or more of their normal roll attend school in person on Thursday, and 48% said they had had to prioritise places in their school because of excess demand, suggesting heads are being forced to make difficult assessments of which parents and children have the greatest need.
11th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Covid-19: The challenges of home-schooling
As England enters another lockdown that could last until the February half-term or beyond, the government wants even more online learning - with schools mandated to provide at least three hours per day and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson calling on parents to report schools who are not providing enough resources. It is estimated that 2.6 million schoolchildren live below the poverty line in England alone, and Ofcom estimates that about 9% of children in the UK - between 1.1 million and 1.8 million - do not have access to a laptop, desktop or tablet at home. More than 880,000 children live in a household with only a mobile internet connection.
11th Jan 2021 - BBC
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: Children of working poor hit hardest by remote learning, as schools struggle to meet demand
A survey by Teacher Tapp seen exclusively by Sky News shows that primary schools in England have faced higher demands for children to attend than secondary schools. And this has increased dramatically during the latest lockdown. This week 80% of primary schools said more than 5% of their children were attending compared to 28% of secondary schools. Some schools are seeing over half their students coming in. The prime minister told the Commons that over 600,000 devices have been provided to schools since the pandemic - but many head teachers are still reporting a huge shortfall in the numbers needed, with Ofcom estimating 1.5 million children are without digital devices on which they can learn.
10th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Covid in Scotland: Pupils face disparities in remote learning
Live-streamed lessons will not be offered to all children in Scotland when the new school terms begins on Monday, according to BBC research. Plans for remote learning during the latest lockdown reveal big disparities between Scotland's 32 councils. Many say live online lessons will be part of a mix of different learning tools offered to pupils but some have ruled it out. The Scottish government said a uniform approach would be "counterproductive". Instead the decision on the best approach has been left to individual schools and teachers.
10th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Saskatchewan post-secondary students concerned over missed experiences from virtual learning
Student unions from three of Saskatchewan’s largest post-secondary institutions are concerned about how much students are getting out of their classes through virtual learning. Institutions have adjusted since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March and students applaud the changes made to keep staff, faculty and their peers safe. However, they only see learning virtually as a part-time solution and believe they’re missing something with courses taking place from living rooms and kitchens instead of classrooms and laboratories.
10th Jan 2021 - Global News
Teachers are on the front lines with students in the coronavirus pandemic
With the rise of COVID-19 cases, teachers are taking on this front-line fight as they continue to cultivate their learning about teaching online and in hybrid contexts and their strategies for managing risks in schools. As teachers continue to teach in both physical classrooms and online, the uncertainties around the pandemic continue. If COVID-19 has any bright silver lining, it has made the public vitally aware of children’s socio-emotional needs and the critical and growing role of teachers as heroes in the pandemic.
10th Jan 2021 - The Conversation CA
'I've nothing left to give': parents on home schooling in lockdown
After the government decided to announce a new lockdown in England and close schools to most pupils, parents have been juggling working and home schooling once more. From practical issues such as broadband and printing, to concerns surrounding mental health, four parents spoke about how they have been coping this last week.
9th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirtual university experience 'not worth it' as students left feeling 'isolated' and 'trapped'
Welsh university students said their learning experience is "not worth it" and that studying from home is taking its toll on their mental health. Megan Horn - a student in her second year at Cardiff University - said learning remotely has been "isolating" while Finlay Bertram from Newport said he feels as though students have been "forgotten". Where possible, universities have moved learning online to avoid the risk of spreading coronavirus among students and staff.
8th Jan 2021 - ITV
Remote learning: 9 safeguarding issues to focus on
We learned a lot during the last lockdown and, while the most vulnerable children will be in school, we know from experience that this does not mean safeguarding issues will remain within the school. Here, designated safeguarding lead (DSL) Ceri Stokes outlines nine key areas for schools to consider.
8th Jan 2021 - TES News
North-east council offers virtual English language courses
Aberdeenshire Council’s community learning and development team (CLD) is offering free courses taking place virtually using Google Meet and Google Classroom for speakers of other languages who want to learn English. The sessions last up to two hours and are offered at various times to fit in with work and childcare.
Around 40 different languages are spoken by English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) learners in the region, who are offered an initial assessment to determine their level of English, and then matched with the best provision for them.
8th Jan 2021 - Aberdeen Evening Express
Promoting equity in virtual learning
Over the past nine months, we've witnessed the largest disruption of the U.S. education systems in history. As parents review report cards and face another semester of learning amid a global crisis, Jennifer Darling-Aduana, assistant professor of learning technologies at Georgia State's College of Education & Human Development, is looking at what we've learned about virtual instruction and what is possible for the future.
8th Jan 2021 - Phys.org
8 ways to create virtual classroom routines
In the classroom, routines support student learning and build efficiency. The same is true with online and distance learning. At a time when students — and parents — may be feeling a little anxious, overwhelmed, or uncertain about the new school year, classroom routines can provide a sense of structure, stability, and control. Classroom routines let students and parents know what to expect and when. This predictability not only reduces stress, but it improves students’ learning and their relationships with their teachers. Here are eight ways to create more clarity and consistency in online classrooms, and help students feel at ease and valued in an online learning environment.
8th Jan 2021 - eSchool News
COVID: Schools are in lockdown and e-learning is a struggle
Germany is notorious for lagging behind in digitalization. Now, students have technical troubles as schools remain closed. But even countries with a better track record are having problems with remote learning. German schools have long been struggling with digitalization, says Nina Brandau from German IT and telecommunications industry group Bitkom. An existing school digitalization plan was ramped up in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in July 2020, bringing the joint state and federal efforts to about 7 billion euros ($8.6 billion.)
7th Jan 2021 - Deutsche Welle
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullSchools in England 'much better prepared' for home-learning than last March
Schools in England are “much better prepared than last March” to implement home-learning, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told the Commons. He said: “We are far better placed to cope with it than we were last March. On laptops, he said: “We’ve purchased more than one million laptops and tablets and have already delivered over 560,000 of those to schools and local authorities with an extra 100,000 being distributed this week alone. By the end of next week, we will have delivered three-quarters-of-a-million devices.”
7th Jan 2021 - Wales Online
BBC to provide biggest education offering as England begins new lockdown
The BBC said it would be providing its biggest education offer in its history as England and Scotland entered new lockdowns, which will see most children out of school. On Monday, England said most students would have to learn remotely and Scotland extended provisions that keep schools closed to all children, except those of key workers, as a variant of COVID-19 leads to soaring cases. From next week, the BBC’s children brand CBBC will have a three-hour block of programming for primary school pupils and BBC Two will focus on content for secondary school students. Other educational shows and resources will also be available.
5th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Homeschooling leaves parents with 'fatigue and anxiety' after schools close in England again
The closure of schools in England has turned the lives of millions of families upside down for the second time in less than a year. Boris Johnson's announcement means parents are now left trying to balance their jobs with childcare and homeschooling for at least another six weeks. Less than 48 hours after the prime minister's address, traffic on the search engine childcare.co.uk was up by 314% on last year and employment law specialists have seen a "massive increase" in demand for advice for parents.
5th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullHome-schooling: How to help your child’s online learning
With schools once again closing their doors to most pupils in England, parents, many juggling work and childcare, are having to step in to fill the gap. If your child's school already puts work online, via Google Classroom, for example, this will probably continue. But these sort of tools tend to be used more by secondary schools than primaries. So older pupils are more likely to be in the routine of checking their school's chosen platform and completing work.
6th Jan 2021 - BBC News
The National Museum of Computing offers free remote learning package to 400 underprivileged students
A plan to offer its remote learning programme to 400 students in deprived areas from across the UK has been announced by the independent charity - The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC). The remote learning packages extend the highly successful in-person programmes, reimagined for the online learning world, giving students an interactive and fun experience with STEM subjects during a difficult time for teaching.
6th Jan 2021 - In Your Area
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullOntario students return to virtual school as part of lockdown measures
Students across Ontario returned to the virtual classroom Monday as part of a provincewide lockdown. The measure ends for all students in northern Ontario and elementary students in southern Ontario after the first week back from winter break. High schoolers in southern Ontario will continue online learning until Jan. 25.
4th Jan 2021 - City News
Schools’ shift to online learning now more ‘meaningful’, says education director
In Canada, all elementary and secondary school students in Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton began online classes on Monday as part of the province-wide shutdown. Lessons will be more “meaningful” than back in March when students first had virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the directors of education for the two largest local school boards. “This is different than in the spring,” said John Howitt, director of education with the Lambton Kent district school board. “Programming is continuing and students are expected to be online. “Teachers will be online supporting them for up to 75 per cent to 80 per cent in the junior, intermediate and senior grades. In the kindergarten, about 50 per cent of the day there will be live interaction.”
4th Jan 2021 - Chatham This Week
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullPrimary schools reopening: Call for remote learning as Covid cases rise
In England, pressure is growing on the government to keep all schools closed for two weeks after the Christmas break amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Teaching unions have told primary school staff it is unsafe to return to work, and called for remote learning. Head teachers have begun legal action to force ministers to reveal data behind the decision for some schools to reopen on Monday. The government said decisions are based on new infections and NHS pressure.
3rd Jan 2021 - BBC News
Covid: Keep primaries closed call - as NEU members told of 'legal rights'
A teaching union in England is calling for the closure of Isle of Wight primary schools for at least a fortnight, from Monday. The government announced this week (Wednesday, December 30) that most would reopen as normal from January 4 (though some in the worst affected areas of England would remain shut). London primary schools will now also stay shut after a government u-turn after nine followed a letter to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, from nine local authority leaders in the capital. Now, teaching unions are calling for all primary schools in England - including the Island's - to move to online learning for at least 2 weeks.
3rd Jan 2021 - Isle of Wight County Press
10 team-building activities to help during virtual learning
As a teacher, team building is something that comes naturally. We do it to break the ice at the beginning of the year, to build a community in our classroom, and as a brain break when our kids (or the teachers) need a break. Now that we are all learning and teaching from home, building a community and connecting with our kids is a little harder with distance learning factored in. Here are 10 excellent team-building strategies to keep the kids engaged and having fun all while learning a little more about their classmates and building a better community.
3rd Jan 2021 - eSchool News
Virtual learning a ‘nightmare’ for special education students amid pandemic, parents say
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted education for every student in Michigan this year as K-12 schools have transitioned in and out of remote learning since March in response to the pandemic. While educators have recognized that all students struggle with remote learning, there has been one group of students for whom they say online learning has proven to be virtually impossible – students with special needs. At school, special needs students rely on personal, hands-on attention from trained specialists. The tools that other children are using for remote learning such as Zoom often aren’t accessible.
3rd Jan 2021 - MLive.com
Frustrations of a CPS special ed parent: ‘Why are other kids reading and not my son?’
Remote learning has opened a window for parents to peer into their students’ classrooms, which was difficult to do before the coronavirus pandemic. At Chicago Public Schools, some parents of children with disabilities say they are disheartened by services they believe fail to meet students’ needs and are upset by the low expectations some educators have for their children. Mo Buti, who founded a Chicago advocacy organization, AiepA, for people with autism and other disabilities, said her clients observing their children’s virtual classes are realizing they aren’t always being challenged in school.
3rd Jan 2021 - Chicago Sun-Times
Transitioning from virtual, in-home learning to hybrid or full-time classroom learning
This month, some Minnesota students will be going back to learning in the classroom instead of all virtual learning at home. KSTP's Brandi Powell talked with a mental health expert about how to help kids with the transition. Dr. Anne Gearity is with the University of Minnesota Department of Psychiatry and is a mental health practitioner. "Some children are not looking forward to coming back. There are children who I know who say academically it's hard, but for some children socially it was hard," Dr. Gearity said.
1st Jan 2021 - KSTP
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow 2020 Shaped Education, And What It Means For 2021
In 2020, several new educational practices saw the light of day, outlining a possible blueprint for tomorrow's education. Multimedia content and gamification became teaching tools and could well become the norm in 2021. Teaching methods are set to evolve in 2021, with increased use of online platforms and audio, image and video technologies. In France, a recent survey conducted by the Observatoire de la vie étudiante, published in September 2020, showed that 69% of student respondents had taken part in classes or meetings in video conferences, but only 39% of them were satisfied by the educational resources put in place.
30th Dec 2020 - Tatler Philippines
Remote learning report card - is virtual learning here to stay?
In Ontario, as thousands of students who enrolled in remote learning classes this fall enjoy their first break since mid-September, discussion of whether the virtual format has been successful are already underway. Education directors across the province have also been talking to one another about whether remote learning will have a future in a post-pandemic world. "I’ve had discussion with other directors across the province about, potentially, is it a possibility of running some sort of virtual school in the future, and rolling that into our existing staffing processes and protocols. Because, if it’s done well and intentionally, with the right teachers, for some students it’s working very well," says Mark Fisher, director of education at the Thames Valley District School Board.
30th Dec 2020 - CTV News London
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning may stick around in some form after pandemic
Enrollment in public schools in the US has gone down during the pandemic. According to data obtained by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press, enrollment dipped by about 2% since last year. Experts say several factors are to blame. Many students struggled to attend classes online, so they have been expelled from school for missing too many days. Also, kindergarten isn't required in some states. Surprisingly though, remote learning is more popular among parents than originally thought, according to a Pew survey.
28th Dec 2020 - The Denver Channel
Black, Latina and immigrant mothers are losing jobs as COVID-19 child care crisis grows
Since March, Black and Latina moms have stopped working, either voluntarily or due to layoffs, at higher rates than white moms. Many are single moms who need childcare but can’t access it during the pandemic. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, single moms had higher rates of unemployment than their childless counterparts in the second and third quarters of 2020. During the pandemic, mothers were more likely than fathers to reduce hours and leave the workforce altogether to take care of kids who are home.
28th Dec 2020 - USA Today
Tamil Nadu: New lessons as classrooms go virtual
In India, from kindergartens to universities, traditional classrooms have made way for digital learning. Changes that would have taken five to ten years happened in months. Students stayed home but attended classes, completed assignments and wrote tests: unthinkable at the beginning of the year. Education experts say hybrid learning -- a mix of online and traditional -- will be the way going forward for all educational institutions. There are huge gains from the pandemic experience as institutions start producing video content for students
28th Dec 2020 - Times of India
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullStudents aren’t showing up for virtual learning. ‘Are they well cared for? Are they safe?’
In virtual school, on any given day in New Jersey, one in four Camden public school students is absent. Nearly 1,700 students, or about 25% of the student enrollment in the state-run district, are not showing up for class, said Superintendent Katrina McCombs. Average daily attendance has fallen during the pandemic from about 92% last year to about 75%. McCombs and state educators who oversee Camden schools want to know why so many kids are missing school. The district has been fully remote since schools were shut down by the coronavirus last spring. “It is something we’re taking very seriously,” McCombs said.
21st Dec 2020 - The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Grade Depression: more students failing due to virtual learning
Due to restrictions on social distancing, remote or online learning in the U.S. became the logical alternative for many schools. But as the new school year began in August, it became apparent that this new platform was having a negative impact on student’s grades. Randolph County Schools has seen a marked increase in the number of students from third grade through high school and early college who have failed at least one course in the first nine weeks. The district reported 37.2 percent of the student population between third and 12th grade failed at least one course in the first nine weeks of the 2020-2021 school year, compared to 11.1 percent in the same time period the previous year.
21st Dec 2020 - Lexington Dispatch
Rural P.E.I. students learning English virtually through pilot program
In Canada, an educational pilot program on P.E.I. aims to make learning English more accessible for students in rural parts of the Island by offering classes virtually. The program started this September and offers English as an additional language (EAL) classes to 17 high school students living in rural communities on P.E.I.
21st Dec 2020 - CBC.ca
Affluent Families Ditch Public Schools, Widening U.S. Inequality
One is thriving after switching from online public school to in-person private education. The other is struggling, stuck in her virtual classroom. The lives of these two girls, Ella Pierick and Afiya Harris, encapsulate the growing divide in U.S. education as more affluent parents flee public schools. In Connecticut, enrollment fell 3%. Colorado reported a similar decline, with the steepest losses in one of its wealthiest counties. Chicago’s rosters dipped 4.1%, the most in 20 years.
21st Dec 2020 - Bloomberg
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 Is Costing Visually Impaired Students Time That Can’t Be Made Up
As parents and educators continue to navigate remote learning, children with visual impairments have the added burden of learning in virtual classrooms that aren’t designed for them. Hybrid and socially distant in-person classes present challenges of their own. And looming overhead, there’s the worry about the time their children have lost in academic and life skill classes. Each parent knows there's a limit on the years their children have left in school, and the clock keeps ticking away no matter how much the pandemic has halted everything else.
20th Dec 2020 - EdSurge
A tech expert's advice on how to best approach virtual learning
With more students potentially moving to online learning platforms, parents are having to navigate their way through virtual classrooms. While many schools across Canada begin their winter break on Monday, some school boards are uncertain if students will return to an in-person classroom in the new year. On Wednesday, the Toronto District School Board sent a letter to parents warning them to prepare for the possibility that students may not return to classes following the winter break. The Ontario government also echoed the warning. According to tech expert Amber Mac, parents need to prepare to adjust to e-learning just as much as students do in order for there to be an effective learning experience
20th Dec 2020 - CTV News
Teachers virtually unheralded for mastering COVID-19 curveballs
Society has acknowledged the devotion and sacrifice of medical staff and first responders, but we seem to have neglected the important role teachers and school support staff are fulfilling during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the pandemic raging across the land, the profession has only become more difficult. Teachers are being taken for granted now more than ever. Teachers have always spent their own money on their classrooms and students. But, with remote learning, many teachers have had to invest dollars into setting up a home-based remote classroom. Then, they have to manage all this new technology. There are also issues teachers cannot control from their virtual classroom. The skill set needed to manage “classrooms” with teachers in one location and students in other locations is complicated. The more teachers do, the more school districts and parents seem to demand.
20th Dec 2020 - nj.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullMore than schoolwork: Why distance learning is so challenging for Fresno County students
The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab interviewed nearly two dozen students, parents, and teachers about their struggles and challenges navigating school during the coronavirus pandemic. Some students said they’ve been getting better grades since distance learning but technology and broadband issues have interfered with learning for others. During an Ed Lab listening session, Joe Barron, a Fresno Unified high school teacher, said technology issues “occasionally” interfere with learning, especially when older siblings have to leave their virtual classroom to help their younger siblings with technology issues.
17th Dec 2020 - Fresno Bee
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullA Mesquite teacher saw her virtual students struggling — so she came up with a plan
Every school day, Anna Drake logged onto her online learning platform and worried. Drake, who teaches 6th grade reading and writing at Frasier Middle School in Mesquite, saw few virtual students turning in assignments or even showing up for class. With about 40 percent of her students attending school virtually, she knew it would be disastrous if she could not find a way to reach them. So she hatched a simple plan. After school every day, she brings a favorite drink from Sonic and snack to a student’s home, and the two chat outside, with the parent’s permission. Drake is working her way through her entire virtual roster. The plan is working even better than Drake had imagined. None of her virtual students are behind on assignments, an almost complete turnaround from just a few weeks ago.
17th Dec 2020 - Dallas Morning News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullSchools Work to Speed Up Internet in Rural Homes for Remote Learning
In the U.S., school districts and cities are racing to bridge a digital divide that has existed for decades. According to data collected before the pandemic, approximately 30% of U.S. K-12 public-school students lived in households without either an internet connection or a device adequate for distance learning. That is 16 million children. At least 39 states have said they would use funds from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (Cares) Act to help school districts close the tech gap, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The hardest part is determining exactly who needs access. School districts survey parents about their internet needs but don’t always get a high response rate.
16th Dec 2020 - Wall Street Journal
Despite virtual learning era, some Pennsylvania schools opt for snow day ahead of winter storm: 'Just be a kid'
In Pennsylvania, nearly every school district in the Delaware Valley has a few snow days baked into the calendar just in case Old Man Winter decides to unload on the region during the academic year. But is there ever a real need to cancel classes now that so many students are already learning remotely courtesy of COVID-19? It turns out several of those school districts still say, yes.
16th Dec 2020 - 6abc News
Home school parents have some tips for school districts and parents on how to improve virtual instruction
With more school districts switching to virtual learning because of COVID-19, and many encountering challenges with the transition, parents whose children have been doing virtual learning from home since before the pandemic started — via home schooling — have some tips for both for schools and parents.
16th Dec 2020 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Boston Public Schools officials report rise in students missing classes as course failures increase
The coronavirus pandemic forced Boston Public Schools students out of the classroom and onto a computer screen, but nearly a quarter of them did not log into classes on any given day this fall and there was an increase in course failures across all four core subjects, according to school data presented during a Saturday meeting that hints at ongoing academic disengagement. Moving to virtual and distance learning during the public health crisis raised a myriad of concerns last spring, from waning student performance, to deteriorating mental health, to widening gaps in educational inequality as nearly all students need access to technology, internet service, and parental support from home.
16th Dec 2020 - Boston.com
English Learners Are Falling Further Behind In The Virtual Classroom
In the U.S., English learners are receiving D’s and F’s at higher rates than other student groups during distance learning, according to recent data released by several San Diego County school districts. While all student groups are failing classes at higher rates than they were before the pandemic, the English learner population is in some classes receiving twice as many D’s and F’s this school year compared to the 2019-2020 school year.
16th Dec 2020 - KPBS
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullTeachers Reveal Their Funniest Virtual-School Bloopers — and They're So Good
Teachers are making it happen. They’re sharpening their No. 2 pencils and creating lesson plans for in-person students, remote learners or a combo of the two. For many educators, this has doubled their workload and their stress levels, but it hasn’t dampened their senses of humor. Video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Classroom are a staple for remote learners this year, and teachers are celebrating their virtual classrooms by pausing to enjoy the funnier moments students bring to this wacky medium.
14th Dec 2020 - GoodHousekeeping.com
How To Survive Virtual Learning Guide For Teachers
This fall, we’ve been following Chicago-area educators as they navigate teaching remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. For most of them, the transition to virtual learning came with completely new challenges — and required creative solutions. As winter break approaches, we asked them to reflect on what they’ve learned. Here’s advice for teachers, written by teachers, on everything from working with parents to managing burnout.
15th Dec 2020 - WBEZ
4 ways hybrid learning gives the traditional classroom a run for its money
Earlier this year the United States, just like most countries across the globe, witnessed the life-altering impact of COVID-19 first-hand. In particular, students and educators saw their usual routine completely turned upside down as they were unprepared for the vast impact the virus would have on how students learn and how education settings operate. Unfortunately, with the majority of children still not back in the classroom and a second wave upon us, it is vital that schools, students, and educators are ready for the further impacts this will have. As part of this, they need to be aware of the options and solutions available to them to ensure teaching and learning can continue as seamlessly as possible, whatever the future holds.
14th Dec 2020 - eSchool News
Pandemic collides with concerns about LGBTQ students' mental health
Thousands of LGBTQ students are navigating their gender identities while their critical supports like friends, teachers and school groups have been thrown onto the Zoom-sphere due to the pandemic. Some of them are grappling with having to reel back their gender identity and exploration while at home because they’re not out to their parents. Others are dealing with being misgendered or being called by the wrong name in virtual classrooms because the technology doesn’t allow them to change their legal name. Students are also unable to linger after class to develop relationships with teachers who often become some of their greatest advocates.
14th Dec 2020 - Politico
‘It’s been tumultuous’: Covid-19 stress takes toll on teachers in England
Teachers in England have described a nightmarish term in schools in which Covid has triggered soaring anxiety levels, exhaustion and fear, driving many to consider quitting and even self-harm. There was also support for union calls for schools in England to follow Wales’s lead and move learning online for the last week of term to stem rising infection rates and avoid staff and pupils having to self-isolate from family over Christmas.
14th Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullStudents are falling behind in online school. Where's the COVID-19 'disaster plan' to catch them up?
The goalposts are constantly shifting on a return to in-person learning, and about half of U.S. students are attending virtual-only schools. It's becoming increasingly clear districts and states need to improve remote instruction and find a way to give individual kids special help online. At the moment, plans to help students catch up are largely evolving, thin or non-existent. The consequences are most dire for low-income and minority children, who are more likely to be learning remotely and less likely to have appropriate technology and home environments for independent study, compared with their wealthier peers. Children with disabilities and those learning English have particularly struggled in the absence of in-class instruction. Many of those students were already lagging academically before the pandemic. Now, they're even further behind — with time running out to meet key academic benchmarks.
13th Dec 2020 - USA Today
Weirdest term ever: How students have coped, from primary to third level
The principal of St Audoen’s National School in Dublin’s south inner city, Eilish Meagher, is starting the day as she has done every morning since September. She gulps down a quick cup of tea in the school kitchen and is outside the gates by 8.30am, standing with home school liaison officer Geoff Finan and special needs assistant Dawn Treacy. Since schools reopened in September under the shadow of Covid-19, parents can no longer go inside the school, so “that important part of the day, where a mammy or daddy or a parent or carer meets teacher and has a big chat about their concerns – if somebody has had a bad weekend, or something has happened – is missing. School is a huge part of the community. And we would always be very reliant on that information.”
13th Dec 2020 - The Irish Times
Panoramic view of digital education in COVID‐19: A new explored avenue
The Covid‐19 pandemic has forced restructuring in several sectors to ensure the delivery of services are accomplished to the greatest possible extent. The Indian Government has imposed rigorous lockdown regulations, which has had an impact on all aspects of the economy and promotes the adoption of digital technology. The lockdown has accelerated adherence to online platforms for effective accessibility of the teaching and learning process without compromising on quality. Democratisation of technology has been a significant critical issue of the hour.
13th Dec 2020 - BERA Journals
'A different twist': how school nativity plays have adapted to the Covid era
As the unfamiliar becomes familiar amid the pandemic, the nativity is no different – with schools across the UK getting creative in their depictions of the traditional play. “We didn’t want it to look like a filmed stage show, or a bit ‘naff’. We wanted it to be as realistic as possible,” said Jo Goode, headteacher of Grasmere Primary School in Cumbria. Unable to hold the traditional play in church due to Covid-19 restrictions, the school took 70 schoolchildren to the Lake District countryside, in their local area, to shoot the 20-minute film. In a revamped script, the play follows Mary and Joseph living in an inner city urban area. Fearing the repercussions of the pandemic they decide to run away to the countryside, rather than the usual trek across the desert. The film will be broadcast to local hospitals within the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay on Christmas Eve.
13th Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Amid coronavirus, students forced online, but Lebanon won't recognize online degrees
For students in Lebanon, obtaining a recognized degree during the coronavirus pandemic can be challenging. Where classes have moved online, and some students are seeking to pursue their studies entirely online, local laws don't recognize online learning. In Lebanon, online degrees are not recognized by the government, meaning students – even during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – cannot pursue online studies if they wish to enter the job force in Lebanon after graduation. At the end of February, Lebanese schools and universities were forced to move classes online as the novel coronavirus continued its rapid spread.
11th Dec 2020 - AlArabiya.net
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullBowling Green Schools Reach Out to Students Who Drift Away from Virtual Learning
Educators across Kentucky, and the nation, are facing the challenge of keeping students engaged during virtual learning. The Bowling Green Independent School District has staff members who reach out to make sure students stay connected during the pandemic. “We have a lot of adults who are going out in the community every day, knocking on doors, tracking down students and families and trying to figure out where they’re living and why they’re not participating in virtual learning,” said Gary Fields, superintendent of the Bowling Green School District.
11th Dec 2020 - WKU Public Radio
Camden Sees a Drop In Virtual Learning Participation Amid Pandemic
School leaders in Camden, New Jersey, are trying to encourage students to attend their virtual classes after noticing a decline in student participation amid the coronavirus pandemic. NBC10’s Cydney Long talks to Camden superintendent about possible solutions.
11th Dec 2020 - NBC 10 Philadelphia
Skills HR will need in 2021: Delivering classroom training online
Most practised face-to-face trainers can spot if someone isn’t paying attention. Foot tapping, fidgeting and other tell-tale signs alert the facilitator to a dip in engagement, allowing them to react swiftly and re-engage the group. But how can you keep an eye on your attendees when you can’t see them? This is just one of the many skills virtual trainers have had to develop in the new world of virtual learning brought about by the Covid crisis, where you’re more likely to understand the idiosyncrasies of your learners through online chats and polls than via body language and facial expressions, and trainers have had to relearn their craft to make sure it’s fit for an online classroom.
10th Dec 2020 - People Management
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullProtecting privacy while learning from home
Millions of students across the U.S. are navigating the challenge of being "at school," while "at home." And even though learning may be happening from the privacy of the home, the Assistant Director Media Relations at the Lee County School District, Rob Spicker, says parents can't blur the lines when kids are "in class." "The rules as if they were in school apply," he said. And for parents, that means you can't record audio or video of your child's class, even if you're home.
10th Dec 2020 - Fox4now
How virtual connected classrooms can transform learning in rural India
The rural Indian population was not as fortunate as the urban population in terms of access to a quality education environment and information and communication technology infrastructure as in cities. But today, with the advent of virtual classrooms, education in rural India has metamorphosed into learning that is prompt, online, self-driven, and on the go.
10th Dec 2020 - India Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullDes Moines Refugee Students Struggle with Virtual Learning
Even before the pandemic hit, Boaz Nkingi spent countless hours helping refugee students in his after school program. Now, 12 hour days have become inevitable for him, in order to meet his community’s growing needs. As a Congolese refugee himself, Nkingi is familiar with the steep learning curves that come with adapting to a new country and a new education system. Add an unrelenting virus that has caused a large portion of the state’s schools to switch to 100 percent virtual learning, and it only makes the challenges greater. Des Moines Public Schools has spent almost entirely of its semester all online. A spokesperson for the district said 21 percent of its students are still learning English as their second language. Nkingi said missing the face-to-face interaction in the first year for new refugee students can be devastating.
9th Dec 2020 - KDSM
Virtual learning takes physical toll on students at home
We know virtual learning is mentally hard on kids, but what about physically? If your child is having persistent neck or back pain, it might be related to poor posture and poor body positioning. At some point during the pandemic, most children across the country were doing some sort of computer-assisted learning. At Children's Hospital of Orange County in Southern California, pediatric physical therapist Ruchi Bagrodia covers posture and seating with kids who are of age. There are many things they should be doing.
9th Dec 2020 - The Denver Channel
Screen Time Due to Distance Learning Affecting Children's Eyesight
Doctors are concerned about a potential long-term impact of distance learning in children - damaged eyesight due to hours of screen time. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many schools have changed the classroom for a virtual classroom. Children are now spending their time looking at their screen for longer than usual. Optometrists say they're seeing more fatigue, discomfort, blurry vision, and increased near-sightedness, especially among kids, since distance learning started.
8th Dec 2020 - NBC Bay Area
Why are teachers’ faces covered in stickers? To get kids engaged in remote school — and it’s working.
Diane Moon tried everything she could think of to get her students to participate in virtual learning: random name calls, breakout rooms, competitions for extra credit, movement breaks. Nothing worked. Moon, 27, a middle school math teacher in Prospect Heights, Ill., was desperate. When a colleague sent her a TikTok video of a teacher putting stickers on her face every time a new student participated, she figured it was worth a shot. Right away, she saw children couldn’t resist it. Students who typically stay muted during class suddenly were speaking up and sharing. The teaching tactic was so helpful, in fact, that Moon decided to post a short video demonstration on Twitter, hoping other teachers might find it useful.
8th Dec 2020 - Washington Post
How did rural India learn during lockdown?
In India, school closures due to the nationwide lockdown in March 2020 meant that children were disengaged with formal education for a prolonged period. The resulting talks around e-education exposed India’s digital divide, with only 24 percent of households having access to the internet. Children studying in government schools were hit particularly hard, with a recent study indicating that more than 80 percent of government school students (in Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh) hadn’t received any educational materials during the lockdown.
8th Dec 2020 - Times of India
Covid-19: Wolverhampton aims to 'bridge digital gap' for pupils
Children with no access to computers or wi-fi are being loaned devices and 4G sim cards as part of a scheme to cut "digital poverty". The initiative by Wolverhampton City Council hopes to stop pupils falling behind if they are forced to isolate because of Covid-19. During the first lockdown in March, teaching could only be delivered online. Likewise it provided a way to stay in contact with friends. Figures released by Ofcom in August estimated between 1.14 million and 1.78 million children in the UK did not have access to a laptop or other device at the time.
8th Dec 2020 - BBC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullThe Challenges Black America Face With Distant And Virtual Learning During COVID-19
Students, teachers, parents, and administrators face ever-rising challenges as the coronavirus pandemic continues to force changes in how young people receive their education. The challenges are particularly pronounced in the African American community, where access to the internet, working parents, and a haphazard learning model have undermined pre-pandemic gains. Education experts have agreed that when students of color in underserved schools must go to blended or fully remote learning models, the digital divide gets broader, more profoundly affecting them.
8th Dec 2020 - Seattle Medium
Champlain College professor creates online virtual platform
Some educators are making bigger online virtual platforms work, others are creating their own. InSpace was the idea of a data science professor at Champlain College after some other online platforms weren’t cutting it. So far it is being used at 52 colleges with more on board for a trial. “It’s so much more engaging than typical video conferencing platforms,” said Kylie King, a professor of businesses and entrepreneurship at Champlain College. King says battling low student engagement in the virtual classroom was a challenge, until one of her colleagues right here in Burlington, presented a solution.
8th Dec 2020 - WCAX
Virtual Classroom Series: Milwaukee Teacher Works To Keep Students Engaged
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many teachers and students out of their classrooms, and onto their computers. But K-12 education wasn’t built to be virtual. So how have teachers adapted their in-person instruction for the computer screen? WUWM's Emily Files visited virtual classrooms to find out, and will tell those stories this month. In this first installment, we learn how a Milwaukee fourth grade English teacher breaks up a 90-minute class to keep kids engaged. It’s 9 a.m. the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. TinaMarie Tate, who teaches at Stellar Elementary, greets about 25 students as they pop up in her Zoom online classroom.
7th Dec 2020 - WUWM
Is the pandemic our chance to reimagine education for students with disabilities?
Special education was imperfect before the coronavirus crisis. As districts contend with the fallout from slapdash online classes for kids with disabilities, will the pandemic prompt a reckoning?
7th Dec 2020 - The Hechinger Report
Educators finding creative ways to help students interact in virtual classrooms
As virtual learning continues across the Commonwealth, families and educators are worried about the lack of social interaction that comes with virtual learning, and finding ways to keep young people engaged and connected. “You’re in contact with the teacher, but it’s really hard to get the kids to connect with each other in a virtual environment - how do you get them to socialize in that virtual space? They need that as much as the pedagogy, the learning,” said Anne Marie, a Richmond resident.
7th Dec 2020 - Richmond-Petersburg WWBT on MSN.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullNYC parents protest virtual classes for older kids as K-5 students set to return
In NYC, a group of Big Apple parents rallied outside City Hall on Sunday to demand the return to hybrid learning for all grades — the day before only K-5 students were set to head back into classrooms. Joining a recent wave of protests across the country calling for more in-class instruction, about 70 parents and kids waved signs that said things such as, “Safest place for children is in school” and “Home detention is not education.” The debate over the re-opening of schools to more in-person learning is heating up across the US, where there have been protests in at least nine cities in the past week
7th Dec 2020 - New York Post
Doctors seeing more eye strain and headaches from virtual learning and screen time during pandemic
Between online learning and self-isolation, school-aged kids that are homebound are inevitably spending more time with their digital screens. Doctors say kids are paying a price - citing an uptick in everything from eye strain to migraines. "I feel that a lot of kids today have more dry eye,” said Dr. Kim Le, Pediatric Ophthalmologist at Henry Ford Health System. Across the country, doctors citing an uptick in children complaining of everything from eye strain to head pain.
7th Dec 2020 - WXYZ
Virtual learning tips stress well being and establishing new routines
As frazzled households adapt to the challenges of virtual learning during the pandemic, the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit is offering a free webinar to help parents cope and make it easier for children to succeed in school from home. “The greatest challenge for families is the fact that they need to juggle many different responsibilities including their job, their child’s access to a consistent, conducive environment for learning, as well as, assessing the mental wellness of their children during a pandemic,” said Jason Conway, executive director for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit.
7th Dec 2020 - TribLIVE
What Teachers Have Learned About Online Classes During COVID-19
Few people would tell you that online kindergarten was a good idea, or frankly even possible. That was before 2020. The number has fluctuated as cases rise across the U.S., but throughout this fall pandemic semester, between 40% and 60% of students have been enrolled in districts that offer only remote learning. We are still starved for data on what this all means. The earliest standardized test scores coming out show modest learning loss for students in math, but there are worries that the most at-risk students are not being tested at all. For this story, Anya Kamenetz talked to educators in six states, from California to South Carolina. For the most part they say things have improved since the spring. But they are close to burnout, with only a patchwork of support.
6th Dec 2020 - NPR
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullLeading in Crisis: What K-12 Schools Learned From Switch to Virtual Learning
Like so many professionals in 2020, K-12 educators have spent much of the year improvising. That was especially true last March, when, thanks to the coronavirus, nearly every school in the country was forced to close doors on Friday the 13th.
4th Dec 2020 - University of Denver
London maths teacher wins £33,000 global prize for 'Covid hero' award
A maths teacher from a school in south-west London has won a global Covid Hero Award for his efforts during the pandemic. Jamie Frost, who works at Tiffin School in Kingston upon Thames, received a one-off prize of £33,000 for going above and beyond in the coronavirus crisis to help keep pupils learning. Mr Frost, whose free online learning platform was used by students around the world, was one of 10 finalists shortlisted for the sixth annual Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize. Comedian and actor Stephen Fry announced on Thursday that Ranjitsinh Disale, a village primary school teacher from India who was praised for improving the education of girls, had won the million-dollar (£742,000) prize.
3rd Dec 2020 - ITV News
The challenges of keep families engaged through virtual learning
“At one point I told my husband we have to choose to be his teacher or his parents, we can’t do both,” said Jamie Jensen, whose son is a sophomore at Southwest High School. Jensen says he was a good student until he started virtual learning. “He went from a gifted student who went to Leonardo da Vinci and excelled, and now, he’s not excelling,” Jensen says as she shakes her head. It’s a problem some staff at Green Bay Public Schools have also noticed. “It’s been more than a challenge. A highly motivated student, during this virtual environment...not so much,” said Luis Franco, the district’s family engagement coordinator. He has worked for the district for the last 23 years, connecting families with resources to keep them engaged with their child’s education.
3rd Dec 2020 - WBAY
They know the pain of online learning. Here’s what teachers, parents and students did about it
Nearly nine months and counting — that’s how long more than 1 million L.A. County students have been out of school. It’s only a guess when campuses will reopen amid the alarming surge in coronavirus cases. But talk to educators, parents and students and they invariably know someone who has made a difference. Someone who identified a pain point with distance learning, attempted to fix it and moved schooling forward during this unprecedented disruption to education. They are brothers, worried mothers, creative teachers and college professors inventing new ways to teach familiar lessons. They are community builders who motivate students isolated behind computer screens. These are some of their stories.
1st Dec 2020 - Los Angeles Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullSimulation Lab Works To Expand Potential of Virtual Instruction
With nearly $1 million in national and local grants, Marjorie Zielke PhD’07 is developing a platform that will deliver virtual teaching via augmented reality and holograms. “The need for high-fidelity virtual teachers is compelling and certainly growing,” she said. “Emergent virtual teachers can be delivered at home, in schools, in special situations, in a variety of languages and with specific skill sets.”
Zielke, research professor and director of the Center for Simulation and Synthetic Humans, recently won the $20,000 5G Grand Challenge from the Tech Titans, the largest technology trade association in Texas. She also is part of a UT Dallas team that has been awarded a three-year, $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and three $10,000 grants from the NSF’s U.S. Ignite/Smart and Connected Communities.
3rd Dec 2020 - University of Texas at Dallas
Building Self-Efficacy: How to Feel Confident in Your Online Teaching
Now that we are into the realities of teaching in a COVID-world, I keep hearing similar sentiments from my colleagues, something to the effect of, “It’s going fine, but I don’t feel like a good teacher anymore.” What I hear in these statements is not a bad teacher but one who has lost confidence in their teaching. Whether teaching fully online, a hybrid model, or in-person with social distancing requirements, everyone has had to make changes to the way they teach. The pedagogical style and practices that we previously relied on are either no longer an option or are not as effective given the current constraints. So, we have adapted, learned the technology, and made necessary adjustments. We’re doing it, but we don’t feel like we’re doing it well.
2nd Dec 2020 - Faculty Focus
GAO Report Shows Virtual Learning Disparities for Disabled Students
When the pandemic closed schools in March, perhaps nobody was impacted more than students with disabilities. These classes, and ancillary therapies that reinforce and expand on class work, benefit from close interaction. So how has distance learning changed things? A new report out from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) gives the first look into how schools managed two unique situations: special education and instruction for English language learners (ELL) during the spring 2020 term. The study was conducted as part of the GAO’s requirements for the CARES Act to identify and track the impact of money received and spent. Both groups of students struggled significantly with learning, the study showed.
2nd Dec 2020 - The Mighty
Broward Students Push Back on Policy to Keep Cameras on During Virtual Learning
A new policy requiring Broward County Public Schools students to keep their cameras on during virtual learning is getting pushback from thousands of students in the district. “I know personally people that are not in home environments that are as nice so by showing their house to everybody in their class, by showing their parents and their siblings running around in the background, I know that’s really embarrassing,” said Kayla Bello, a sophomore at Fort Lauderdale High School. Bello is one of thousands of Broward County students who signed a petition on Change.org titled “Cameras Should Not Be Required In Broward County Schools.” The petition has more than 8,000 signatures.
2nd Dec 2020 - NBC 6 South Florida
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullBusy parents, bad equipment and a lack of internet meant 'many children did not do' the remote work they were set during the coronavirus crisis, says Ofsted as it warns the ...
Ofsted annual report says education 'losses have been significant' during Covid
It warned 'lost learning' by pupils will be 'reflected in widening attainment gaps'
It highlighted flaws in remote learning because 'many children did not do' work
1st Dec 2020 - Daily Mail
Virtual Learning Boosted Well-being for Some Students, Study Finds
The potential detrimental implications of the COVID-19 shutdowns have dominated headlines since social distancing precautions were first instated. Thus far, mental health-oriented research paints a more complex picture of the varying implications of the stay-at-home measures on children. The impact on mental health and well-being appears to be highly dependent upon place, resources, and various other factors. A recent survey study by Emily Widnall and colleagues involving secondary students in South West England was conducted to evaluate “the impacts of COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown on adolescent mental health and wellbeing, social connections, and social media activity.” The results, described in a report released by the NIHR School for Public Health Research, reflect nuance in the implications of COVID-19 and highlight some of the positive implications for wellbeing experienced by many students following the implementation of disease containment precautions.
1st Dec 2020 - Mad in America
Putting the ‘virtual’ in virtual learning: SFU instructors create immersive classroom using virtual reality
Simon Fraser University professor Jeremy Turner has bright pink hair and can fly across his classroom, and some of his students look like animal-human hybrids.
All of this is possible because Turner teaches in a virtual reality classroom. “It has that immersive feel to it,” Turner said. He wears a virtual reality headset and uses a platform called Tivoli Cloud VR, which allows him to move around in the virtual environment, using an avatar. His students can choose where they sit, converse with each other, and even choose their own avatars. "I actually forget that I’m teaching inside of a cartoon and that I’m actually teaching a real physical class, that’s how it feels to me,” Turner said.
1st Dec 2020 - CTV News
Distance learning not working? Here are strategies to try.
When virtual school began in August, Brandi McPherson initially followed the remote-learning guidelines from her 13-year-old daughter’s school. “They told the kids to sit at a desk or table and leave the cameras on all day,” she said. “Classes are taught from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in 45-minute blocks with five-minute breaks.” It was too much for Tanner, a seventh-grader in the Northridge area of Los Angeles, who is twice exceptional — she is gifted and struggles with ADHD and generalized anxiety disorder.
1st Dec 2020 - Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullNorth Jersey districts weigh whether to preserve snow days amid virtual learning
For some, remote learning represents a chance to stay connected. That's not something to overlook, given the youngest generation's penchant to connect electronically, Borden cautioned. For a number of North Jersey school districts, the decision on whether to close schools will remain moot for most of this winter. Districts such as Passaic Valley Regional, Clifton and Passaic are remote until the end of January. Future years are less clear. Could snow days be over?
30th Nov 2020 - NorthJersey.com
School psychologists are more important than ever
As National School Psychology Week (Nov. 9-13) came to an end, I thought about this year’s theme, The Power of Possibility. While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how school looks for the 1.5 million public school students in North Carolina, school psychologists continued to find creative ways to connect with students to provide support and familiarity during these challenging times.
30th Nov 2020 - EdNC
‘Heartbreaking For These Kids’: Virtual Learning Struggles May Leave Some Students Behind, Parents Say
More schools are making the move to remote learning as the level of community transmission continues to rise. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s recommendations, all but one county in the state should be using full-time remote learning. As coronavirus case numbers continue to rise, parents are concerned that students are not getting an education. “It’s been heartbreaking for these kids, especially for the little learners,” said Cait Riley. Riley’s daughter is in the first grade at North Allegheny School District. “If you can’t read by the time you are in the second grade, you have problems for life. You are proven to become basically a failure in society if you cannot learn to read,” Riley said.
30th Nov 2020 - CBS Pittsburgh
As virtual learning continues, here's how to help kids unplug from screens
Kids are spending more time in front of their screens due to virtual learning, but how do you find a balance between being connected and unplugging? 7 On Your Side talked with a teacher and psychologist who are collaborating to share strategies with parents on how to get kids outside, increase their social-emotional learning and break a screen addiction. As part of National Geographic’s back-to-school efforts, they encouraged educators to join the “Nat Geo Education” community on Twitter and use the #TeacherStrong to share strategies that help students learn and grow. One example is the collaboration between Byron McClure, a psychologist at Anacostia High School in D.C., and Kelly Koller, an elementary school teacher in Wisconsin.
30th Nov 2020 - Fox Baltimore
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in full'Scrapping my plans was the best thing I've ever done'
Teaching plans were thrown out of the window in lockdown – but this primary teacher says it was a positive experience
29th Nov 2020 - TES News
Virtual learners struggle to adapt
Earlier this month, approximately 362 virtual students had returned to on-site instruction. Kristy Sanders, chairman of the Ready for Learning Committee, said during the November school board meeting that the district had engaged numerous staff members in an effort to track down students that were having trouble with virtual learning and talked to them and their parents to encourage the students to come back to school for on-site instruction. Guess said he noticed a struggle with the district's virtual learning after the first nine-week grading period ended on Oct. 15. During that time, 24% of the elementary students receiving virtual instruction were failing one or more instructional areas, and 40% of secondary students receiving virtual instruction were failing one or more subjects. Guess said an alarming percentage of students had D's and were approaching failure.
29th Nov 2020 - Arkansas Online
How a hands-on, student-led schooling model translated into the virtual learning environment
Lake Ridge Elementary’s Montessori program took disruptions from coronavirus in stride, carefully planning how to shift its curriculum for at-home students.
27th Nov 2020 - The Dallas Morning News
Her classroom is a school change room. Here's how she's making online teaching work
She's hunkered down in the girls' change room at St. Mary's Catholic School, in Elora, Ont., converted into her Grade 5 virtual classroom. She lives with her parents, who are older and more vulnerable to COVID-19, so she opted to teach online this year. "It's strange because I am kind of just in here talking to a computer," she said. But she's made it work. "I have my en suite, which is my own private bathroom, and I'm set up in here pretty well." The province estimates as of mid-October, some 450,000 students were learning online. O'Drowsky, or Ms. O as students call her, is one of the teachers making it happen. It's been a steep learning curve, as teaching online is an entirely new concept for most teachers and many of Ontario's school boards. For the first few months, O'Drowsky was working and planning lessons pretty much whenever she was awake. She's now mentoring in-class teachers in case everyone has to pivot.
27th Nov 2020 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullHands-on virtual labs? U of T Engineering profs get creative with remote learning
A camera and a bottle of Gatorade were the key pieces of equipment for a recent virtual lab in Jennifer Farmer’s applied chemistry course. “We told students that they’d have to determine the amount of food dye in the drink,” explains Farmer, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in the University of Toronto’s department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. Any other year, students would learn to operate a spectrometer to find the answer. “Well, we don’t have spectrometers at home – or do we?” During the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) across U of T Engineering have been forced to create new, engaging and equitable ways to conduct labs – a traditionally hands-on and collaborative in-person learning experience – without using on-campus equipment, software or space.
26th Nov 2020 - University of Toronto
Virtual learning may keep your child up at night
As students settle into the routine of virtual school, excessive screen time for kids has become common. You've probably heard the old wives' tale about how sitting too close to the TV screen can hurt your eyes but Dr. Katherine Duncan says sitting in front of a laptop likely isn't bad for your vision. Dr. Duncan is a general pediatrician at Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital at Navicent Health. When first learning of schools moving from in the classroom to online, she had concerns because excessive screen time can affect children's health.
26th Nov 2020 - wgxa.tv
Virtual Learning: Here's how you can find your center during Covid-19
We have heard this time and again that children grow up to be the adults they experience around them. This is not only true for skills and behaviours they develop but also for certain deeper faculties of the mind such as the ability to pay attention, building resilience, discernment and so on. In times of a pandemic when there is a sense of uncertainty and everyone is operating from a space of anxiety and fear, it is even more critical that we as parents and educators intentionally take time out to center ourselves and find out tools, methods and practices to consciously tune inwards each day.
26th Nov 2020 - India Today
Stanford University study finds Illinois students years behind in math, reading during online learning
New research suggests remote learning is putting students behind in reading and math. Researchers at Stanford University estimated the virtual classroom has put many kids behind in their studies. In Illinois they found on average, students have lost more than a year in reading progress. Illinois students are about a year and a half behind in math as well. Like most kids, 6-year-old Persephone and 4-year-old Ezekiel are active and love to play. Sitting in front of a computer screen for school has been tough for them.
26th Nov 2020 - WLS-TV
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullIt's not just ABCs – preschool parents worry their kids are missing out on critical social skills during the pandemic
As researchers who study children’s educational development, we know that preschool helps children develop important academic and social skills they will need for later school success. In April, we surveyed 166 parents of preschool children to examine what they felt was working – and not working – with distance learning. While the data haven’t been published yet, they give us important insights into virtual preschool. Of the 166 parents who responded to our online survey, 73% said their preschool children were provided virtual learning opportunities during the COVID-19 crisis. The children were expected to devote 30 to 60 minutes a day to virtual classes. Two-thirds of parents said they supplemented the school lessons with in-home learning activities, although these primarily focused on reading, not math.
25th Nov 2020 - The Conversation US
For Iowa Schools, More Virtual Learning Brings Challenges
First-grade teacher Robin Nelson at Garfield Elementary School spends part of her day reminding students to mute and unmute their microphones, raise their hands and take turns speaking as she navigates how best to teach and engage students in virtual school. The Iowa Department of Education on Tuesday approved a second virtual waiver for the Cedar Rapids Community School District, allowing virtual learning to continue in the district beyond Thanksgiving break through Dec. 11. If conditions improve, students could possibly return to in-person class Dec. 7. Families will be alerted by Dec. 3.
25th Nov 2020 - GovTech
Failing grades spike in Virginia’s largest school system as online learning gap emerges nationwide
A report on student grades from one of the nation’s largest school districts offers some of the first concrete evidence that online learning is forcing a striking drop in students’ academic performance, and that the most vulnerable students — children with disabilities and English-language learners — are suffering the most. Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, which has been mostly online since March, published an internal analysis this week showing that, between the last academic year and this one, the percentage of middle school and high school students earning F’s in at least two classes jumped by 83 percent: from 6 percent to 11 percent. By the end of the first quarter of 2020-2021, nearly 10,000 Fairfax students had scored F’s in two or more classes — an increase of more than 4,300 students as compared with the group who received F’s by the same time last year.
25th Nov 2020 - The Washington Post
Three ideas for more effective online teaching (opinion)
Many students alchemize participating in distance learning with sitting in front of an optically and audibly challenged neophyte substitute. Moreover, some act as if they can easily evade engaging in chats, polls and discussions. Pandemic-era instructors, much like the lobsterman who drops a beacon into Long Island Sound at night, luring his valuable catch toward the shimmering light, need newfangled pedagogical beacons to lure their students toward enlightenment. At the start and middle of the term, by clearly explaining and consistently enforcing a series of post-traditional classroom rules, you can create more of a safe, productive and freewheeling remote learning environment and less of a rigid digital panopticon.
I’ve listed below 10 rules I’ve developed for the students in my classes. Any that you establish for your own classes can, of course, be more or less rigorous.
25th Nov 2020 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullWhy Boys Are More at Risk of Falling Behind During Remote School
Remote school has exposed a number of inequities in education, from rural residents who don’t have high-speed internet service to low-income families who don’t have laptops. Boys could be another student group that falls behind during virtual learning, according to some researchers. Studies conducted before the coronavirus pandemic reveal an academic achievement gap between boys and girls, with girls ahead. Now, some pediatric researchers say they expect the disparities to only increase. A 2018 meta-analysis of more than 200 mostly U.S. studies of teacher-assigned grades found that girls had significantly higher grades in elementary school through college than boys, including higher grades in the subjects of science, technology, engineering and math. The findings showed that while males are overrepresented in STEM careers it isn’t because they are outperforming females in those subject areas.
24th Nov 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
New Book Helps Teachers Excel in the Virtual Classroom
The sudden shift to remote learning in 2020 was not only a struggle for PK-12 students and their parents, but also for teachers. Even the most seasoned instructors were left scrambling to adjust their approach to a virtual classroom, often for the first time and with little training or support. With virtual learning options likely to continue growing in demand, it’s vital for our nation’s teachers to gain the necessary skills to deliver high-quality online instruction that supports student success. The National Virtual Teacher Association (NVTA) is on a mission to help teachers transition from the brick-and-mortar classroom to the virtual classroom, with the goal of providing online instruction that’s even more engaging and effective than in-person learning. Their new book, "Virtual Instruction Standards: Optimizing Teaching & Learning" (October 2020), is a comprehensive guide based on current research, proven best practices and the expertise of virtual instructors across the country that addresses all learners and learning environments, as well as the evolving needs of students, educators and schools.
23rd Nov 2020 - EIN News
Colleges pivoting classes to prepare future educators to teach students online
Adeena Wilcox took a class about digital technology in the classroom as part of her master’s program in early childhood education at Ohio State University over the summer. Now the 22 year-old from Elizabeth, West Virginia is putting what she learned into practice as she student-teaches second graders at Bluffsview Elementary in the Worthington City School District. “That class was very, very necessary for my success this semester,” Wilcox said. “I’ve used so many things that I’ve learned in that class. I think this sort of class should be a necessity.”
23rd Nov 2020 - The Columbus Dispatch
Most Parents Spending More Than 2 Hours a Day on Kids’ Virtual Learning
Students across the country have had to adjust to conducting their classes online because of the pandemic, but their parents are feeling the pressures of virtual schooling too. More than 3 in 4 parents (78%) report spending an additional two hours or more each day helping their children with schoolwork, according to new research from consumer product manufacturer BIC. In fact, 25% of those surveyed said they spend four or more extra hours a day helping their children compared to what they did before the pandemic. And besides having to juggle educational duties with their work, parents also find they need to reacquaint themselves with long-forgotten academic subjects, as well as deal with higher-than-usual school supply costs.
23rd Nov 2020 - Yahoo Finance
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullLearning in a pandemic proves difficult in Alabama
At the beginning of the school year, virtual school seemed like the safest option for Oak Mountain High School junior Quest Agee. Agee and his parents worried about the health of grandparents who lived with them at the time and family members suffering from asthma. His mother, Jarralynne Agee, believed he could handle the extra responsibility required to complete assignments outside the structure of a regular classroom. For a while, everything seemed to be going well. Then Agee began getting calls from teachers that her son, who had previously been an A/B student, was in danger of failing. It caught them both off guard. “How we kind of got behind is we would ask my son ‘How are you doing?’ and he would say, ‘Great,’” Jarralynne Agee said. “Even though they feel like they are doing all right, you really have to go back and make sure they are doing it all.”
23rd Nov 2020 - al.com
Atlantic City students return to virtual learning this week
Atlantic City students will go back to virtual learning this week, as a deep-cleaning of all the schools is conducted. Superintendent Barry Caldwell said the decision was “out of an abundance of caution.” Hundreds of teachers and staff called out last week in protest of the return to in-person schooling. They said many of the buildings were not safe, citing issues including the ventilation system. But at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, Director of Operations Atiba Rose gave a presentation assuring the public that the proper precautions were taken. When board member Al Herbert suggested the board vote to halt in-person teaching until certain necessities were delivered, Caldwell said instead that, with the holidays coming up, that the students could go to school and then the decision could be readdressed after the holidays.
23rd Nov 2020 - breakingac.com
Upholding academic integrity also key in virtual classrooms’
Although many schools in the Philippines and Southeast Asia have adapted to the new learning environment by introducing new methods of distance learning and blended learning, an official from an educational-software company recently pointed out that educators and students—even parents—need to develop academic integrity to make learning a relevant and substantial undertaking. “Despite sudden changes in [education deployment] system-wide, academic integrity is still a key concept to discuss and establish with all students,” Turnitin Southeast Asia Head of Business and Partnerships Jack Brazel said. According to Brazel, educators can start teaching integrity in the syllabus by defining it, while pointing out the consequences of submitting plagiarized work. He said the next step is to continue teaching tangible lessons around it throughout the class.
23rd Nov 2020 - Business Mirror on MSN.com
Can AR be the antidote to virtual classroom shortcomings?
Schools across the country are well into their second go-round of distance learning at this point. Things seem to be running more smoothly than the first attempt last spring–however, we are still experiencing growing pains to say the least. Students, parents, and educators have all expressed serious concerns regarding distance learning. In a survey done by The Education Trust, a statewide poll found that 90 percent of parents are worried about their children falling behind academically due to coronavirus-related school closures. One of the most difficult adjustments to this change, especially for teachers, has been the adoption of digital tools that aid distance learning. We’ve all become much more acquainted with Zoom and Google Meets.
23rd Nov 2020 - eSchool News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning can work but requires time and professional training, experts say
While some parents are imploring school systems to return students to classrooms, experts argue that the sudden disruption to traditional schooling provides teachers a unique opportunity to educate in new ways. But it will require time, expansion of broadband internet and long-term investment in professional development for educators. Trying to recreate the old model of learning, which was developed in the late 19th century, into remote instruction “is like cramming a square peg into a round hole. It’s just not compatible,” Ryan Schaaf, an assistant professor at Notre Dame of Maryland University, told state lawmakers during a virtual education briefing Thursday afternoon.
22nd Nov 2020 - WTOP
Connectivity headaches as students adjust to virtual learning
As Nigeria navigates through a devastating pandemic strike and striking lecturers adamant about returning to the classroom, Mojisola Alabi requires no rocket science to realise she will need an extra year to wrap up her Mass Communication programme at the University of Lagos. “I am supposed to be on industrial training now,’ gripes the 300 Level student, ‘but that will have to wait till next year again because higher institutions are still on strike.” The budding broadcast journalist isn’t the only one nursing her frustration. Several millions of youths scattered across the nation’s 174 universities, 134 polytechnics and monotechnics, and 220 colleges of education are watching helplessly as their lives continue in a tailspin until the coronavirus strikes ebb and the federal government reaches a compromise with striking lecturers.
22nd Nov 2020 - The Nation Newspaper
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 Is Forever Changing How Students Experience Libraries
There’s a ritual that kicks off every new quarter in Michelle Luhtala’s library at New Canaan High School, one where English teachers send a gaggle of students through her doors to pick a new batch of books. It looked different when the campus reopened in mid-October, when she had students select their books through an online portal to be delivered to their classrooms the next day. “We can’t have kids pluck books off the shelves,” says Luhtala, the library department chair for her Connecticut school and an expert in emerging library technology. “Typically droves of kids come down and get fresh books, and it’s a whole time for exchange and fun and conversation about what they read, and having to do that virtually is not nearly as fun as it is in person.”
19th Nov 2020 - EdSurge
Addressing the Demands of Virtual University Classrooms
For some students and professors, the loss of in-person contact has disrupted higher education and the experiences that often accompany it. #“I have found that distance learning is riddled with challenges,” said senior Sophia Jaimes, a psychology major at Marymount University. “Personally, I am very much a student who learns best when I am in a learning environment with a teacher who I can ask immediate questions to. When I have to use Zoom I find myself often being distracted or, at times, feeling awkward to talk on Zoom since I may not know my peers.” As Marymount and other universities and colleges prepare for all-remote learning after Thanksgiving, students and professors are pondering the ways in which academics will be affected. Linda McKenna Gulyn, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Marymount, has written a paper that addresses some of the problems that her colleagues and students might be experiencing in the uncharted territory of virtual campuses. #“Colleges and universities are faced with the need to adapt and evolve without a script,” said Linda Gulyn, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Marymount University in Arlington. “Hundreds of experienced and highly regarded professors feel like clunky beginners as they redesign and deliver their courses online.”
19th Nov 2020 - Alexandria Gazette Packet
Closing the digital divide for all NC students
Significant numbers of students have had challenges connecting to their virtual classrooms. Our students should be zooming. But instead, many are losing. Today, almost 17 million school-age students do not have access to high-speed home internet. One-third of Hispanic and African American households do not have access to high-speed internet at home, and 17% of Hispanic and African American households do not have a computer. There is a practical fix to this. Public school systems could provide each student with a computer or tablet. Internet providers could expand their low-cost and no-cost internet offerings.
19th Nov 2020 - EdNC
Principal’s Desk: ‘Virtual teaching can not replace classroom teaching’
“It is a supplement to classroom teaching and not a substitute to in-person teaching. The virtual classroom cannot replace the traditional classroom because it is by its very essence or nature is not completely ‘real’.”
19th Nov 2020 - Hindustan Times
‘Remote Learning Is Not Working’: Shutdown Hurts Children, Parents Say
Laura Espinoza took an hourlong subway ride on Thursday morning from her Brooklyn neighborhood to City Hall, where she joined several dozen families gathered to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to shut down the nation’s largest school system as virus cases have surged across the city. Ms. Espinoza has 6-year-old twins, both of whom have disabilities. They were attending school five days a week, a rarity for city students, but now they will have classes at home indefinitely. “They don’t adapt to change quickly, all this back and forth has not been good for them,” Ms. Espinoza said. She added that remote instruction is also taking a toll on her 15-year-old daughter.
19th Nov 2020 - New York Times
Commissioner Indicates Virtual Learning Will Still be an Option in 2021
Parents and school districts in Central Florida are feeling some relief after waiting months for a decision from the state about how kids will be learning next year. While we still don't have a final decision, State Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran gave some signs at Wednesday's State Board of Education meeting for those who want virtual hybrid learning options to continue. Orange County mom Kristine Harris said although her kids are already attending school in person, she’s still been waiting anxiously to know whether all kids will going back to brick and mortar schools next year. “Wondering what’s happening and stressing, it’s not fair for us to have to worry about that,” she said.
19th Nov 2020 - News 13 Orlando
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in full7 College Students on the Joys (+ Nightmares) of Virtual Learning
For most of the country’s universities right now, digital learning is the name of the game—which got us thinking: What’s it really like inside these virtual classrooms? We spoke with several college students who dished on the high highs and low lows of transitioning to remote curriculums.
18th Nov 2020 - Backstage
Students call for lowered tuition amidst online school
Students who may have envisioned their post-secondary experience sitting in lecture halls, forming in-person connections with their professors or joining clubs are now experiencing all of university through a computer screen. While some may have accepted the fate of online school—particularly the fact that it costs the same as the in-person alternative—some students are letting their university administrations know they aren’t happy. Jasmine Doobay-Joseph, who is in her second year of the cognitive science program at Carleton, is one such student. In June, she started an online petition after being unsatisfied with her winter semester, which moved online due to COVID-19.
17th Nov 2020 - The Charlatan
Fairfax delays in-person instruction as Virginia teachers’ groups ask Northam to return state to all-virtual school
Virginia’s largest school system is pausing plans to return thousands of children to classrooms — an announcement that came the same day Northern Virginia teachers’ unions urged Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to switch the state to online-only learning. Fairfax County Public Schools, which serves 186,000 students, was supposed to send 6,800 pre-kindergartners, kindergartners and special education students back into school buildings on Tuesday. They would have joined the roughly 8,000 young children, special education students, and career and technical students who have already returned to classrooms.
16th Nov 2020 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullWVa education group seeks virtual learning until year's end
West Virginia’s largest teacher organization called on the governor Monday to take public schools online-only through year’s end because of the coronavirus pandemic. The plea comes after the state recorded a high of 4,404 confirmed virus cases over the past week from Nov. 9 through Sunday, a 63% increase from the previous week. The state health department reported 632 new cases and three more deaths on Monday, bringing West Virginia’s total confirmed cases to more than 30,000 and the death toll to at least 562.
18th Nov 2020 - Associated Press
International Students Confront Challenges Of Virtual Learning | Boston
When the University suspended in-person classes in March, Jiayi Wang, MCAS '22, returned home to Henan, China to finish out the semester in a different hemisphere, and because of U.S. travel restrictions barring entry to those coming from China, she was unable to return to campus for the fall semester. Roughly half of BC's 1,872 international students are attending classes from their home countries this semester, according to Adrienne Nussbaum, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS). But students hailing from China have been among the most affected by travel restrictions, she said.
17th Nov 2020 - Patch.com
Students Must Adjust As Universities, Colleges Pivot Back To Virtual Learning Due To Surging COVID-19 Cases
Many of the colleges and universities in Maryland are pivoting back to virtual learning, ramping up testing or sending students home until the surge in COVID-19 cases is under control. Gov. Larry Hogan gave college students a warning as the holiday season approaches, to get tested especially if you have been living away from your family. “If you’re a college student planning on returning home, get a test,” he said. “If you are planning to spend any time around your grandparents, get a test. If you are returning from any out-of-state travel, get a test.”
17th Nov 2020 - CBS Baltimore
Teachers say Scots school closures should be on the cards as Level 4 lockdown is imposed in 11 council areas
School closures should be on the cards in the 11 local authority areas - including Glasgow - that face Scotland's toughest Covid restrictions on Friday. The level four rules will see the closure of non-essential shops, pubs, restaurants and gyms. They will be imposed in East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire.
17th Nov 2020 - Herald Scotland
Building parent-teacher relationships is hard. Remote learning makes it harder.
Several years ago, I sat in a parent-teacher conference and observed a teacher speak to a student from a place of compassion and concern. Once the teacher finished, the parent turned to the child and reiterated the same sentiments. I thought to myself, that is the power of a stable parent-teacher relationship. It was a joy to see and feel no need to intervene. I’ve also been thinking about the beginning of last school year, when my wife and I took our children to school on their first day. The opportunity to meet their teachers face to face brought a sense of relief that my children were in good hands. As an educator, every year I see parents’ eyes fill with tears of joy on that day.
17th Nov 2020 - Chalkbeat Colorado
Connecting with students in online classes: It's all about camera angle
College students, especially recently, are wondering: Will I actually be able to form a connection with my professor if my classes are online? ODU Online’s assistant vice president for technology, Miguel Ramlatchan, conducted a study to find out.
In a recent article, “Enhancing Instructor Credibility and Immediacy in the Design of Distance Learning Systems and Virtual Classroom Environments,” which appeared in the Journal of Applied Instructional Design, Ramlatchan detailed what he and his co-writer discovered.
17th Nov 2020 - WYDaily
Bots Grade Your Kids’ Schoolwork—and They’re Often Wrong
Some parents might be in for an unpleasant surprise when report cards come out this fall: lower-than-expected grades. But that might be less an accurate reflection of their children’s work than a glitch in the automated systems many schools are using to check schoolwork. Unless parents and teachers review students’ tests, the problem can be easy to miss. I discovered the problem only when my fifth-grader bombed a science test for which I knew he was prepared.
17th Nov 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Teacher mentoring still adds PD value in remote learning
When schools shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, South Dakota's statewide teacher mentoring program shifted to virtual platforms like Zoom and Google Classroom so participants could continue to benefit from the insight of their peers — both for virtual instruction and mentoring, Waubay School District Superintendent Alan Neville and school improvement specialist Janeen Outka write for Edutopia. Participants observed new teachers as they taught live remote lessons by either adding mentors as students or including mentors as co-teachers. Mentors were also able to collaborate on lessons with new teachers and share strategies, tech tools, resources and feedback online.
17th Nov 2020 - Education Dive
Medical schools increasingly turn to virtual reality amid COVID-19 pandemic
Amid enhanced safety precautions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools across the country are relying more on virtual reality to help train future doctors and health care workers. Multiple monitors in large classroom spaces at Kansas City University allow for social distancing, but students also are required to wear masks and time spent on campus is limited. Most lectures have moved online.
Access to in-hospital clinics often is limited as well because of COVID-19, which has led to an increasing reliance on virtual reality to teach future front-line health workers.
17th Nov 2020 - KSHB Kansas City
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullAn 8-bit classroom? Professors try new methods of virtual engagement
Catherine Ott, senior in Engineering, sits at her desk working on her project while her professor walks around the classroom checking in with students and answering any questions they may have. However, like many other things this year, this classroom has moved online into a virtual meeting space that resembles an old 8-bit video game. “It’s pretty much like you’re in a classroom,” Ott said. “Just you have a little person on a computer.” Dr. Andre Schleife, professor in Engineering, teaches MSE 404: Laboratory Studies in Materials Science and Engineering MIC/MAC, a project-based course centered around students working individually under the guidance of their instructor.
16th Nov 2020 - Daily Illini
Remote Students Prefer Active Learning and Communities: Study
A survey of more than 3,000 college and university students has found students continue to have reservations about their remote learning experiences as the fall semester progresses. Seven out of ten students feel that online learning is not as effective as in-person instruction. While more than half (57 percent) of students reported their opinion of their school remained the same or improved, 47 percent believe that it has gotten slightly or significantly worse. Additionally, students voice a strong preference for instructors who make active learning, as well as a sense of community and belonging, a top priority in the virtual classroom.
16th Nov 2020 - The College Post
Virginia Beach schools return to all-virtual learning after coronavirus cases spike
Virginia Beach public schools are returning to all-virtual learning Tuesday after a sudden spike in coronavirus cases was reported Monday. It means all students will resume virtual learning five days a week. The district had just brought back the remaining five grades — 7th and 8th graders as well grades 10, 11 and 12 — last Thursday. The system’s reopening plan, one of the most aggressive in the region, has been guided by the status of two metrics throughout eastern Virginia: the number of new cases reported each day and percent of tests that come back positive.
16th Nov 2020 - YAHOO!News
Alabama schools go virtual: Rising COVID-19 cases prompt closures
A growing number of Alabama schools are transitioning back to virtual learning due to a rising number of coronavirus cases. In Birmingham, officials said the number of positive COVID-19 cases at Hudson K-9 prompted a shift to remote learning until after Thanksgiving break. A total of 6 positive cases were recorded among staff members last week and several others were quarantined. In-person classes will resume Nov. 30. Meals will be available for students with curbside pickup each school day from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
16th Nov 2020 - MSN.com
WVa education group seeks virtual learning until year's end
West Virginia's largest teacher organization called on the governor Monday to take public schools online-only through year's end because of the coronavirus pandemic. The plea comes after the state recorded a high of 4,404 confirmed virus cases over the past week from Nov. 9 through Sunday, a 63% increase from the previous week. The state health department reported 632 new cases and three more deaths on Monday, bringing West Virginia's total confirmed cases to more than 30,000 and the death toll to at least 562.
16th Nov 2020 - Houston Chronicle
Some New Jersey Schools Reverting To Virtual Learning As Health Officials Express Concern About Possible COVID-19 Spike After Thanksgiving
With cases rising, some school districts in our region say they have no choice but to go back to all-virtual learning. Haddonfield is one of a few high schools in Camden County going all-virtual until after Thanksgiving because of a COVID outbreak. “Halloween was our ground zero, I think, here,” said Haddonfield Superintendent Chuck Klause.
16th Nov 2020 - CBS Philly
Non-English speakers face challenges in virtual learning
As coronavirus cases surge in her new city, the refugee wants to help her sons learn virtually, but she can’t read the lessons. “I’m really worried for what my children are missing,” she said through a Swahili translator last week in her West Scranton apartment. “How can I explain to my children when I don’t know English?”
As virtual learning continues in much of northeast Pennsylvania, including the Scranton School District, families struggle with technology issues and child care and worry about children falling behind. For the city’s refugee community and other families not fluent in English, the challenges are far greater.
16th Nov 2020 - Sentinel Colorado
Special needs students are falling behind. Can US parents manage more lockdowns?
For months, little Jordi thrived. Although Covid-19 had prompted shutdowns in Los Angeles this March, the five-year-old, who has severe autism, was able to receive behavioral therapy at home. Meanwhile, Jordi’s parents were working from home, so he was around them all day. In June, after safety protocols were in place, Jordi resumed speech and physical therapy at an early-intervention clinic. These therapies were through their private insurance. “I’d never seen this kid blossom so much,” his mother, Carla Suarez-Capdet, told the Guardian.
15th Nov 2020 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullSchoolcations Are All the Rage, Here's How to Take One
The pandemic has turned many parents into teachers, making remote learning challenging for the entire family. It’s especially tough for those who may still be going into their office and can’t be home to supervise, or if the homeschooling responsibility lies on the shoulders of one parent who may also be juggling working from home. The stress is tremendous. A new national poll of the U.S. workforce by Eagle Hill Research found that 65 percent of employees with children in remote learning situations are feeling burnout. Mom and dad need more than a “Calgon take me away” relaxing bath moment. Parents looking to exhale are finding relief with “schoolcations.” Families are loading up backpacks with school supplies, packing the laptop and hitting the road. Online learning can be done anywhere.
15th Nov 2020 - The Daily Beast
KT Debate: Are virtual classrooms better than campus ones?
Face-to-face learning or virtual one? This is a hotly debated topic among parents and educators. While the current situation demands the power to choose either of the two options, some stress the need to embrace the digital path as the new normal amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Some parents remain concerned about their children missing out on extra-curricular and physical activities and the impact on their mental health. Virtual classroom is definitely the new learning experience for the future, especially for the secondary and tertiary sector. The alpha generation will be more comfortable with the virtual education world. It will be difficult for parents and teachers to accept, but it is their future and who are we to control it. We need to embrace it and change ourselves for it. Virtual classrooms are not going to substitute school education. The walls between the classrooms will disappear but the community learning space for social and emotional skills will stay and transform the school education.
14th Nov 2020 - Khaleej Times
Rochester in Focus: Tech education Jedi helping teachers succeed in virtual classrooms
Teachers and students are spending a lot of time online these days, but transferring teaching skills from the classroom to virtual learning isn't easy for everyone. Some teachers are frustrated and think they are getting a failing grade.
News10NBC's Lynette Adams spoke with a man who is referred to as a technology education Jedi. Jon O'Keefe works for Logical Operations in Brighton. He has studied the impact of technology on students and has designed curriculum and trained more than 3,500 adult educators who have become certified virtual educators.
14th Nov 2020 - WHEC
Coronavirus: France to restart remote lessons after threat of strikes over safety
Sixth-form colleges in France were ordered to draw up plans for the reintroduction of remote learning yesterday as President Macron sought to head off a revolt by teachers and pupils. Hardline teachers’ unions are calling strikes over what they say are inadequate health protocols and sixth-formers are organising sporadic blockades of their lycées to protest against crowded classrooms. Some demonstrations turned violent, notably in poorer Paris suburbs.
13th Nov 2020 - The Times
Blue Valley sending older students back to online-only class after COVID-19 surge
The Blue Valley school district will transition older students back to online-only classes on Nov. 30 as the Kansas City region reports record COVID-19 cases.
District officials announced Friday that middle and high schoolers will return to remote learning after Thanksgiving, from Nov. 30 through Dec. 22, the last day before winter break. Elementary school students will remain in in-person classes five days a week. The district will allow middle and high school winter sports and activities to begin on Nov. 16, with safety precautions.
13th Nov 2020 - Kansas City Star
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullTeachers in Pennsylvania demanding virtual learning as COVID-19 cases surge
The largest teachers union in Pennsylvania is demanding that school districts in nearly two dozen counties with the worst coronavirus outbreaks have students temporarily learn from home. State officials recommend virtual instruction in counties with a “substantial” level of community transmission. There are 23 such counties at present.
13th Nov 2020 - Fox 4
Ag in the classroom goes virtual
Ontario’s Agriculture In The Classroom program, called AgScape, delivered more than 600 lessons about agriculture and food to nearly 15,000 students in the province in 2019. That’s a whopping three times as many as 2018. And it certainly helps give more students factual, science-based insight into where their food comes from and how the multi-billion-dollar industry here works. “Teachers are hearing about us and asking for our services,” new executive director Taylor Selig said in an interview earlier this week. But surprisingly, requests for 200 more lessons went unfulfilled because this non-profit charity didn’t have the resources to deliver them.
13th Nov 2020 - ObserverXtra
How to manage kids’ attention during virtual learning (and prevent meltdowns)
For many families, the transition to virtual learning during the pandemic comes with some challenges. Students may be struggling to stay focused, resulting in distracted or unproductive behavior. To help resolve these issues, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt education innovators launched Family Room, a family-friendly online space that makes at-home learning more manageable for parents and students.
12th Nov 2020 - Motherly Inc.
Distance learning is straining parent-teacher relationships
Renee Enyart, 28, was across the room from her sixth-grader when it happened. She glanced over and saw her daughter Emi, who was virtually attending science class at their home in Winter Haven, Fla., reaching for her laptop’s power cable. Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out from the speakers. “It was just an instant scolding: ‘I told you to look at the screen. You know what you’re supposed to be doing. I shouldn’t have to tell you guys,’ ” Enyart recalled.
12th Nov 2020 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullShould all N.J. schools go virtual? Some teachers unions and experts say yes as cases continue to rise.
As New Jersey prepared to reopen its schools in August, East Brunswick Superintendent Victor Valeski sat alongside Gov. Phil Murphy at a press conference outlining the state’s plan to return students to the classroom safely. East Brunswick was held up as a model of a public school district that had its social distancing measures in place with a hybrid model to bring students into their classrooms a few days a week on a rotating basis.
11th Nov 2020 - NJ.com
Is the hybrid classroom here to stay?
As is the case every year, this autumn thousands of students set their sights and ambitions on a brand new academic year. However, unlike previous years this just so happened to be during a global pandemic. And while the typical social and extra-curricular activities that schools are renowned for had to be significantly reduced and in some cases canceled, lecturers and teaching faculty members assured nervous students, and their families, that their academic experience would remain uncompromised. Despite these uncertain and challenging times, many academics and university lecturers are choosing to view this as an exciting opportunity for never before seen large-scale digital transformation. While unusual, these circumstances present the perfect opportunity to create and revise existing content to ensure it is, not only engaging and challenging for students, but has long-term potential.
11th Nov 2020 - fenews.co.uk
Curricular Counsel: Parental support crucial to maximize virtual learning
To ensure learning continued amid coronavirus-related school shutdowns that began in spring, districts built in a fair bit of flexibility around not just where learning could take place, but when. While there were some synchronous learning opportunities, "the bulk of the day was perhaps spent with students simply doing an activity, doing the assignment, and then turning it back in to their teachers," said Clay Hunter, interim associate superintendent of curriculum and instructional support for Georgia's Gwinnett County Public Schools.
11th Nov 2020 - Education Dive
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow educators are overcoming virtual learning challenges
When K-6 special ed teacher Leanne Wu had to take her class remote, she knew she was going to face challenges getting her students—all of whom have developmental delays or sensory challenges—to fully benefit from the lessons she was presenting.
10th Nov 2020 - National Geographic news
These teachers aren’t just enduring the remote education era — they’re thriving
The Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner once built what he referred to as a “teaching machine.” Based around the principle that positive reinforcement was crucial to teaching, Skinner’s machine allowed students to pull different levers in order to indicate their answers to questions. When the correct lever was pulled, a light switched on to show that the right answer had been given. In some versions, Skinnerian teaching machines dispensed pieces of candy when a sufficient number of right answers had been provided. Skinner was right about the positive reinforcement aspect of teaching. Think back to your favorite teachers at school and, chances are, they motivated you and your classmates by giving you positive feedback and encouragement. Heck, maybe they even handed out candy on occasion after a particularly well-done test. Today, there are no shortage of great learning apps that apply some of the Skinnerian principles to learning. But, while edu-tech is booming, so too is the importance of real, live teachers.
10th Nov 2020 - Digital Trends
‘Telepresence’ robots are making virtual school feel a little more like real school
It has been a year full of the unexpected for families who have had to quickly adjust to masks, quarantines and virtual and hybrid learning, all thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. For Eliza Engel and her son Thomas McKnight, one of the surprises 2020 has brought is that the sixth-grader at Burgundy Farm Country Day School in Alexandria, Va., now attends class with the help of a robot.
10th Nov 2020 - The Washington Post
Tips to help your student stay physically active during virtual learning
For some students, virtual learning has been ongoing for several months now, which means they most likely have been doing a lot of sitting. Pediatricians say the lack of movement could be having an impact on your child's health. While there may be advantages for some when it comes to virtual learning from home, a pediatrician from Texas Children's Hospital reminds students and parents that movement is still necessary throughout the day. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends about an hour of physical activity for kids per day. "Lack of movement, in general, is a big concern," said Dr. Tiffany Nguyen, a pediatrician at TCH. One of the issues is poor circulation while sitting, which can be a problem if your student is virtually learning and not getting up to move around between classes.
10th Nov 2020 - KTRK-TV
Schools increasingly return to online learning as Covid-19 spikes across the U.S.
Schools around the country are returning to virtual learning or delaying in-person classroom plans as coronavirus cases continue to soar nationwide in record-breaking numbers. Some school districts that had been engaging in hybrid learning — with some days of virtual schooling alternated with in-person class days — are switching to a full virtual model through the end of the year. Maryland’s Hartford County Public Schools announced Monday that it was making the transition by Friday due to the new cases.
10th Nov 2020 - NBC News
Non-English speakers face challenges in virtual learning
Aporine Shabani escaped violence in Congo to find a better life for her children in Scranton. As coronavirus cases surge in her new city, the refugee wants to help her sons learn virtually, but she can’t read the lessons. “I’m really worried for what my children are missing,” she said through a Swahili translator last week in her West Scranton apartment. “How can I explain to my children when I don’t know English?” As virtual learning continues in much of northeast Pennsylvania, including the Scranton School District, families struggle with technology issues and child care and worry about children falling behind.
10th Nov 2020 - Associated Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullCan keeping kids active help virtual learning?
As novel coronavirus cases surged, many schools switched to virtual learning. While learning online helps lessons continue during the pandemic, students could face severe inactivity while learning from home, and a desk-bound learning system is leading to complex emotions such as anxiety, fear, loneliness and grief, experts say. Sandra Sims, associate professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Education, suggests that an activity as simple as walking can help students.
10th Nov 2020 - Kaleido Scope
You need to be Sesame Street or a teen therapist, because there’s no age where virtual learning is easy
Kindergarteners can’t read what’s on the computer screen and high school students are at risk of depression from isolation and loneliness. Younger and older students alike face challenges with virtual school, said Andrea Smith, an early childhood education professor in Western Michigan University’s College of Education and Human Development. “Is it harder to bike 100 miles or run 50 miles?” Smith asked. “When you’re going that far, it doesn’t matter. It’s different but it’s hard.”
10th Nov 2020 - MLive.com
4 Tips for Enhancing STEM Engagement in a Hybrid Classroom
COVID-19 upended virtually every aspect of business and society this year. Unfortunately, education hasn’t been spared. But there is an upside to the situation. As we continue to live in a more contactless world, innovation in education prevails. For instance, STEM educators are finding creative strategies to engage students remotely. I wrote about some of these strategies in a higher education context, but they also apply to today’s K–12 schools. The four best practices below can help STEM educators at all levels keep their classes engaging and effective, no matter where they’re teaching from.
10th Nov 2020 - EdTech Magazine: Focus on K-12
Study abroad officials to offer virtual exchange program in spring
Study abroad officials will offer a virtual exchange program for incoming international students this spring. Jennifer Donaghue, the director of the International Services Office, said international exchange students will connect with domestic GW students through virtual classes and programming to replicate the experience of an in-person program. She said the program is designed for exchange students who can no longer study abroad in the spring due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donaghue said students who participate in the program will not be charged any additional fees, and officials have yet to finalize the number of students who can participate in the program. She said students involved with the program will attend a virtual orientation but declined to elaborate what virtual programming students will participate in. “Students will be able to experience the excellent academics GW offers and have an opportunity to engage with domestic GW students in the virtual academic setting,” Donaghue said in an email.
10th Nov 2020 - GW Hatchet
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullEncouraging family engagement during virtual learning -
With many students continuing to learn virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, education officials say family engagement is more important than ever. Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane announced Thursday that the state Board of Education has designated November as Family Engagement in Education Month. According to a release, this is encouraging school divisions to develop plans and policies to enhance parental engagement in the school work of children.
8th Nov 2020 - CBS19 News
Javier Miyares and Jim Rosapepe: Virtual learning was better option for some even before pandemic
As educators are well into the school year, the national debate about the efficacy of online learning continues. Now, though, the stakes are higher. As the economy emerges from the current health crisis, an educated and motivated workforce will be needed to fuel its recovery. Education is not one-size-fits-all, and for many students, online education may be a perfect fit. Educators who embrace the creative use of the online modality may find that they can now accommodate a surprising number of students who are high achievers, even if they don’t fit the traditional mold.
8th Nov 2020 - TribLIVE
6 ways to make virtual learning interesting and effective for children with special needs
With the closure of regular schools due to Covid-19 and disruption in the daily schedule, it is difficult for children with special needs with autism, ADHD, dyslexia to follow their individualised plans. Here are certain tips by Dr Puja Kapoor, Pediatric neurologist and Co-Founder of Continua Kids for parents on how to make virtual sessions interesting and effective.
8th Nov 2020 - India Today
Aiken County superintendent talks future of virtual learning
A demand for virtual learning may remain after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, said King Laurence, superintendent of the Aiken County Public School District. The superintendent delivered a presentation – titled “Brick and Mortar or Virtual – We’re Building for Today and Tomorrow” – on school upgrades, the penny sales tax and the future of virtual learning at the Aiken Chamber of Commerce’s November First Friday breakfast.
8th Nov 2020 - Charleston Post Courier
The Building Blocks for Special Needs Kids
As school districts across the nation have adopted remote learning, children with special needs will be the ones to experience the greatest challenges, often without the crucial resources normally available, and mandated by law, in a typical classroom setting.
8th Nov 2020 - Psychology Today
Distance learning isn't failing Anchorage high school students
Anchorage School District Superintendent Deena Bishop recently announced her intent to return all ASD students to the classroom despite rising COVID-19 numbers, stating that “the mission of our school district is to prepare our students for success,” and “(w)e are not meeting that mission.” As neighbors with daughters beginning their second quarter of online school through Service High School, we disagree with the superintendent’s broad, generalized message and her back-to-the-classroom plan for high schoolers. Our experience with high school distance learning thus far is not the colossal failure the superintendent asserts, thanks to the Herculean efforts of high school teachers and staff. Rather than sending high schoolers back to class in person with COVID-19 cases rising – which we believe would be irresponsible, reckless, and unnecessary – we suggest staying the course and building on the online framework currently in place
8th Nov 2020 - Anchorage Daily News
Virtual students can be ordered back to campus if they're struggling, TEA says
A virtual learning student who is struggling academically can be required to return to the classroom, according to new guidance issued Thursday by the Texas Education Agency. "I work full time, Monday through Friday, eight to five," said Stephanie Rosa, whose daughter attends Driscoll Middle School. "My kid stays home alone to do her work. But it's been chaos." Rosa said her daughter would benefit from switching to in-person classes as opposed to virtual learning. "She's taking Spanish for the first time," Rosa said. "I think definitely needs to be done in person. So she can actually hear the teacher and she can see the paperwork."
8th Nov 2020 - WOAI
What schools need to know about safeguarding while teaching remotely
Policies, infrastructure, communication and trouble-shooting: these are the four crucial things to consider as online teaching becomes increasingly common, writes Charlotte Aynsley. The Department for Education’s (DfE) recent temporary continuity direction, which requires all schools to provide “immediate access to remote education” is likely to be interpreted in large part as a call for schools to provide learning online.
8th Nov 2020 - Schools Week
Covid-19: Monday executive meeting to look at current restrictions
Cafes and restaurants could be allowed to reopen from Friday but not bars, the deputy first minister has suggested. Michelle O'Neill said it was "something we are considering" ahead of the executive meeting to discuss easing some Covid-19 restrictions. Current measures are due to end on Friday, and ministers have been advised pubs and restaurants should remain closed for another two weeks. Ms O'Neill said there could be some "flexibility" for easing restrictions. Speaking to the BBC's Sunday Politics, she said any decisions would be taken in a "graduated" manner. Meanwhile, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has confirmed it has closed its training college at Garnerville in Belfast for two days for a deep clean.
8th Nov 2020 - BBC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullClass sizes were major source of concern when Hamilton school’s reopened. What about online class sizes?
It’s the size of online classes, not in-person classes, that are posing problems for teachers and students, says the head of a local teachers’ union. “All online classes are as big as they can be,” said Jeff Sorensen, president of the public board’s elementary teachers’ union. “Full-day kindergarten classes are around 29 students per class. In Grades 4 to 8, where there are no class caps, we’ve been told that nearly all of them have at least 30 students. “Handling 30 kids in a physical space is difficult enough. It’s virtually impossible to keep track of so many 13-year-old kids online and manage to make sure they’re attentive and doing the work.”
5th Nov 2020 - Yahoo News Canada
Orange County Public Schools' Medical Advisory Committee urges Florida to extend virtual learning
Orange County Public Schools' Medical Advisory Committee sent a letter to Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Wednesday, strongly urging that Orange County's schools be allowed to continue with virtual education as an option through the balance of the 2020-21 school year. The School Board here in Orange County established the Medical Advisory Committee back in July, with 10 members – from areas like nursing, infectious disease, emergency medicine, developmental-behavioral pediatrics and nursing – to advise on district policy as the coronavirus pandemic continued in Florida. And as coronavirus numbers rise throughout the county, this committee is strongly on the side of virtual learning staying on the table, believing it to be "a medical necessity for many of our students, especially those who have underlying medical conditions that would place them at high-risk."
5th Nov 2020 - Orlando Weekly
OCPS medical committee asks education commissioner to allow virtual learning in spring
Due to the rising coroanvirus cases throughout the U.S. and in Central Florida, the Orange County Public Schools medical advisory committee wrote a letter Wednesday asking Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to consider allowing the school district to continue offering virtual learning for the rest of the school year. In July, the Orange County school board established a medical advisory committee made up of infectious disease experts, pediatricians and nurses to help the school district evaluate how to deal with the ongoing pandemic.
5th Nov 2020 - WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando
The Pandemic Hit Education Hard, But Opens the Door to a Bright New Future
Move over New Math and Common Core: some of the most disruptive educational trends of their time have now been dwarfed by our current pandemic issues. As before, we look to our educational professionals to help us adapt. How are teachers helping to manage our collective societal stress while dealing with their own personal impact? What is the role for technology in the equation, and what lies ahead for our teachers, the students and their parents?
5th Nov 2020 - CMSWire
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullHuge virtual careers festival to launch
More than 1,400 students will get the chance to take part in the first ever virtual careers festival of its kind, thanks to an educational trust in Telford.
4th Nov 2020 - Shropshire Star
Commentary: Virtual learning was a better option for some students even before the pandemic
As educators are well into the school year, the national debate about the efficacy of online learning continues. Now, though, the stakes are higher. As the economy emerges from the current health crisis, an educated and motivated workforce will be needed to fuel its recovery. Education is not one-size-fits-all, and for many students, online education may be a perfect fit. Educators who embrace the creative use of the online modality may find that they can now accommodate a surprising number of students who are high achievers, even if they don’t fit the traditional mold.
4th Nov 2020 - Yahoo News
Months into virtual learning, parents become more involved with their children's education
There is no denying that online education has taken a toll on children and parents. But it has also given many parents an opportunity to understand their children’s learning process better and be more engaged in their overall development.
4th Nov 2020 - The Kathmandu Post
'A real teaching opportunity': Elementary virtual schools overcome challenges
The three Cs — communication, collaboration and community — have been added to the three Rs — reading, writing and arithmetic — as keywords you’ll hear from many of the educators teaching or overseeing the elementary virtual schools in Kingston. “We’re really trying to mimic what’s happening in our schools,” Dan Finn, Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board’s elementary virtual school principal, said. “One of the challenges we have, and we’re looking at ways to do this, is how do you build community in an online environment, and I think that’s something we’re looking for and our parents are asking for. “Normally, friendships are often built on the recess yard or at lunchtime, during those less formal opportunities where students just get together. That’s something we’re looking for to provide students the opportunities to make friendships and relationships with each other.”
4th Nov 2020 - The Kingston Whig-Standard
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullKeeping students with dyslexia engaged in virtual learning
A look at interactive tools, sound production, assistive technology and more as related to distance learning and dyslexia. Many components of dyslexia intervention can be replicated virtually without much difficulty, says Katy Vassar, communication and evaluations coordinator at the Dyslexia Center of Austin. Think about the multisensory aspect and using as many senses as possible to engage in learning concepts. Interactivity is also important. “We know when talking about all learners that just sitting there having a person listen is not as effective as having them engaged in learning,” she says. “They really need that interaction.”
3rd Nov 2020 - District Administration Magazine
How to Adapt Educational Leadership in the Age of Virtual Learning
The art of leading looks vastly different for school administrators today. They are now tasked with adapting their leadership practices to an environment where digital tools and remote collaboration and communication are the norm. While this is no easy feat, it does provide a great opportunity for school leaders to create a stronger school community and embrace innovative learning and teaching methods. But how can they get started with transitioning their leadership to the digital age? The nine suggestions below are a great starting point. These best practices fall into three main buckets: supporting the work, upgrading the culture and practicing self-care. To get more insight into how school and district leaders can integrate these changes into their daily work, I spoke with the leadership team from Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS), a school district in the Atlanta metro area that’s been driving authentic growth in their leadership practices.
3rd Nov 2020 - EdTech
Global digital divide jeopardises remote learning during pandemic
Dr Ronda Zelezny-Green, Global Head of Training and eLearning at the Internet Society, looks at the global digital divide and the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on remote learning. Sitting in the driveway of a fast-food restaurant just to catch their free Wi-Fi signal. Sharing a cell phone between three siblings to access online courses and the screen is too small to do homework on. Waiting for mobile WIFI mounted on school buses that will not be available until at least five days after online school starts. Making tough choices between food, electricity, or staying connected. These experiences are happening every single day… in the United States.
3rd Nov 2020 - Open Access Government
Online classes: Bane or boon?
One of the major sectors affected by the COV- ID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown has been institutionalised education. Schools have been shut to prevent the spread of the virus, and this has given way to online classrooms, a very new concept even in the developed countries. Of course, distance learning, with online tutorials, is already in vogue in major varsities around the world. Now, to cater to the needs of all stages of education, from pre-primary to university level, online education has emerged as an alternative to ordinary face-to-face classes.
3rd Nov 2020 - Himalayan Times
Survey finds majority of Nashville teachers in classrooms prefer virtual learning
FOX 17 News is pressing the metro school district for answers after a survey found the majority of teachers back in the classroom feel everyone should return to virtual learning. The Metro Nashville Education Association got responses from 620 teachers, support staff, and administrators. They say only 13 of those responders thought everyone should be back in the classroom. The Metro Nashville Teachers Association has been vocal about the need to learn virtually for months now.
3rd Nov 2020 - WZTV
The power of active learning during remote instruction
A new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that students performed substantially worse, on average, on standardized course assessments at the end of the COVID-19 spring semester than in previous academic terms. There was no evidence that this was driven by specific demographic groups, meaning that everyone was at an apparent disadvantage as a result of the rapid switch to remote instruction. Professors’ use of active learning methods mitigated some of this negative effect, however. The findings leave the study’s authors “optimistic” about future student learning outcomes, even as “we remain in a period of substantial online instruction.”
3rd Nov 2020 - Inside Higher Ed
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullThere are many ways to educate our children, as the pandemic has shown
Maryland State Schools Superintendent Karen B. Salmon’s recent remarks that schools need to reopen “right now” continue to push a narrative that is not helpful to the work we are trying to do in schools [“State superintendent says students should be in classrooms ‘right now’,” Metro, Oct. 29]. Though there is no doubt that adjusting to online learning is more than a struggle, it is no foregone conclusion that it is a waste of time.
2nd Nov 2020 - The Washington Post
Why we can't judge schools on online learning
During the partial closure of schools back in April, Labour peer Lord Adonis announced that he had been in touch with Amanda Spielman, the Ofsted chief inspector, to voice his concerns that “many schools are not providing adequate online learning and support during the crisis”.
2nd Nov 2020 - TES News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Nov 2020
View this newsletter in fullMy unreliable internet forces me out of the house, but I’ve found a good office in my local pub
I am yet again sitting in a cafe when I need not be. I do not for one minute begrudge supporting a local business. On the contrary – I’m happy to be here. But it isn’t out of choice. It is the work of Sky, whose WiFi is too often lamentable. That’s why I’m cross. If I could bill Sky for some of my cups of coffee and half-decent toasted sandwiches, I’d be less annoyed. It is 2020 and yet still the company is unable to maintain a consistent internet. Down it goes, minutes before I’m due to attend a morning Zoom call, and off I rush to a nearby coffee shop, where table space is sparse and MacBooks plenty. People give off San Francisco vibes but we are in rainy South London and there’s a man outside shouting about his parrot.
30th Oct 2020 - iNews
9 low-cost ways to make virtual learning easier for kids
The following items, all under $15, can help make distance learning more appealing to even the youngest learners. 1. New background decorations When your child is on screen all day, sprucing up their background with a wall decal or two can help keep them in school mode, especially when virtual backgrounds are prohibited by school systems. Consider shopping for a school-themed wall decal like crayons, pencils, numbers or books. A quick search on Amazon or Etsy pulls up dozens of choices for under $15.
1st Nov 2020 - Cleveland.com
Learning to learn during a pandemic
We do not fully know the extent of children’s role in the spread of COVID-19. However, we do know that the global disruption of education poses a greater threat to most children than the virus itself.
1st Nov 2020 - Al Jazeera English
COVID-19: Various platforms help teachers in giving online lessons, interacting with students
Considering teachers as COVID-warriors, various online platforms are offering their services to the fraternity for seamless conduct of online classes and interaction with students during the pandemic. Vidioh, an Indian video conferencing platform, has announced free usage of its services for teachers for a year. "COVID-19 saw teachers adapting and learning to keep education going. Instead of despair, they embraced new ways and technology to keep on teaching. This is our way of saying thank you to these COVID warriors," said Navneet Zutshii, CEO, Parrot Solutions.
Universities and schools in the country were closed on March 16 to contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease. A nationwide lockdown was announced on March 25 and a majority of educational institutions have been conducting teaching and learning online since then, leading to a major shift in the education system. Similarly, Classdojo is a free educational app that enables teachers, students and parents to interact online.
1st Nov 2020 - Outlook India
In D.C., achievement gap widens, early literacy progress declines during pandemic, data show
The achievement gap between young White students and students of color in the District has widened during the pandemic while the number of students reaching early literacy benchmarks has declined since schools shut down in March, according to data released by D.C. Public Schools.
30th Oct 2020 - The Washington Post
As Covid-19 Closes U.S. Classrooms, Families Turn to India for Homework Help
Sheri Akerele has been struggling to keep her sons in third and seventh grade focused on online classes as coronavirus fears shut down in-person classes in their school in Atlanta for months. Like many parents, she found her children weren’t absorbing their lessons completely, but she could spend only so much of her busy day walking them through their lessons. Luckily, she has online backup: an experienced teacher who lives in a small town in central India. “We get that one-on-one attention they need and it’s affordable,” she said. “It’s so hard learning from home.”
30th Oct 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual Reality: Realizing the Power of Experience, Excursion and Immersion in the Classroom
A framework for teaching with New York Times 360 V.R. videos, plus eight lesson plans for STEM and the humanities.
29th Oct 2020 - The New York Times
Online dance classes from USC student teachers keep kids moving
Elementary students dance like no one’s watching as they step into their virtual studio, taking part in a key program that’s expanding during a tough time.
29th Oct 2020 - USC News
Saving Sex Ed During COVID-19
Months into a global pandemic with no end in sight, many college professors and K-12 teachers have pivoted to online instruction, moving classes on subjects ranging from physics to phys ed into virtual classrooms. But Karen Rayne, a veteran educator in the Austin, Texas, area, worries a subject she specializes in – sex education – will be left behind.
29th Oct 2020 - U.S. News & World Report
91-Year-Old Professor Goes Viral After Embracing Virtual Teaching 'Like a Boss' amid Pandemic
This 91-year-old's love for teaching amid the pandemic is stronger than ever — even if it means he's behind a computer screen. Charles Krohn went viral last month after his daughter, Julia, recorded an adorable video of him embracing remote learning at Houston's University of St. Thomas, where he has been an English professor for over 50 years. When Krohn was having issues with his computer, Julia invited him to her home so he could use her computer. Little did she know, watching her father's passion for teaching would catch the attention of so many people. "The fact that [he's teaching] virtually and still engaging and so smart and so quick ... it was just this beautiful moment that I just had to capture," she told Good Morning America of the sweet moment.
29th Oct 2020 - YAHOO!
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullParents Should Resist the Urge to Helicopter Parent During Remote School, Experts Say
Child development experts have already firmly established why helicopter parenting and lawnmower parenting — or swooping in to rescue our kids from every problem — is harmful. Overly involved parenting jeopardizes kids’ independence and resilience, not to mention parents’ sanity. Yet months into a pandemic that’s forcing physical classrooms to remain closed, the unescapable proximity has caused many parents to struggle. It can be hard to let children muddle through the challenges of virtual school without intervening. Earlier this fall in Berkeley, California, Allison Landa went to check on her 5-year-old son, a transitional kindergartener who is learning remotely. When Landa saw her child wasn’t following the teacher’s instructions to draw dots on a page, she decided to jump in. “I took the crayon and helped him swirl it on the page. Then I drew a dot of my own. Then I quizzed him: What color was the dot? How big was it?”
28th Oct 2020 - GoodHousekeeping.com
‘You’re Out of Your Mind if You Think I’m Ever Going Back to School’
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m ever going back to school.” Awo Okaikor Aryee-Price, a Black mother of two who lives in Florham Park, N.J., initially laughed off the pronouncement her 13-year-old made in March after the Covid-19 pandemic closed the state’s schools. But it became clear that her daughter, Saige, was serious. So Ms. Aryee-Price started to revisit the things she’d heard her daughter say in response to her daily “How was school?” queries. “Whether it was other students saying that she’s too loud, or people saying she has anger-management issues, it was always something,” Ms. Aryee-Price said, describing the subtle bigotry that Saige experienced but was unable to articulate and name.
29th Oct 2020 - The New York Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullBack To School During The COVID-19 Pandemic: How Are Parents Coping With Virtual Learning?
The reality is that most parents are working full-time and do not have the funds nor resources to get tutors. This means that a large number of students will be unable to learn properly. It is not as if parents don't want to help - trust us, they do. There is simply not enough time in the day to juggle a full-time job and supervising school lesson plans. Another issue is that most parents are not trained teachers. It is a true (perhaps undervalued) skill to be able to teach. The amount of patience, diligence, and enthusiasm needed is laudable. Many of us will be completely out of practice when it comes to schoolwork. Algebra? Calculus? Biology? Chemistry? Help!
27th Oct 2020 - Tatler Philippines
Parents Are the New Remote-School Zoom Bombers
Remote school has created a whole new group of people for teachers to manage during class time: parents. Now that moms and dads have gotten a new window into the classroom, many are having a hard time staying out of it. Some are asking questions during live video classes or texting teachers while class is in session. Others are sitting next to their kids and asking them questions or prodding them to speak up. In one hybrid class, an at-home parent on Zoom interrupted a teacher to point out that a student in the physical classroom wasn’t wearing his mask over his nose. School districts have been sending memos to parents reminding them of proper Zoom etiquette, such as not swearing in the background, not interrupting kids or teachers during class and remaining fully clothed while their children are online.
27th Oct 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Virtual learning freed my daughter from peer pressure and acting 'feminine'
Before New York’s mayor ordered public schools to go totally online in March, my daughter, M, was already dealing with a crisis that had begun at the start of second grade. Her teacher had introduced a points system – sort of like Yelp stars for kids – in which she awarded students points for things like remembering putting their bags away in their cubbies or paying attention during morning meetings. M came home upset almost every day. Because of her quixotic, day-dreaming nature, she had the least points in the class. Kids began teasing her for it.
27th Oct 2020 - The Guardian
A student on how they adapted to virtual learning in a post-COVID world
From the first week of January 2020, the phones chimed with several social media notifications that mentioned the outbreak of a virus called the 'Coronavirus', little did we know it was going to change lives forever. The real world seemed as usual, but the digital world was taken over by numerous cautions and warnings. The discussion around the number of cases started to dehumanise real people and families affected by the virus to numbers and statistics.
27th Oct 2020 - VOGUE India
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullPPS sees high student login percentage during first month of virtual learning
The vast majority of Pittsburgh Public Schools students logged into the district’s web-based learning platform during the first month of remote instruction, administrators said. David May-Stein, the district’s chief of school performance, said during a board education committee meeting Tuesday that as of Oct. 5 about 98% of students had logged into the Schoology platform. “We are keeping a close eye on student attendance as it relates to students actually logging into the system,” Mr. May-Stein said.
7th Oct 2020 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Sudden Shift To Virtual Learning: What It Means For The Future?
For many years there has been an expectation that many in the working world would see a big change in their schedules, opting for coworking situations and working from home instead of being in an office. This is of course down to the ability to connect remotely and the potential savings which could be made by businesses. Something which was never considered however, was the same thing happening in education. Distance learning has certainly improved thanks to tech advancements, but nobody ever considered a traditional education being offered through such means.
26th Oct 2020 - We Heart
How Las Vegas student teachers are honing their craft in virtual classroom
John Lessner’s first experience as a teacher has featured some comical moments.
Lessner, a Nevada State College student doing student-teaching at Walter V. Long Elementary, has encountered students with a television on in the background during a virtual class. There have also been interruptions from a playful dog and a loud sibling or two. In the final step to earn an undergraduate degree, student teachers spend a full semester getting on-the-job training with a certified teaching mentor.
26th Oct 2020 - Las Vegas Sun
How creative use of technology may have helped save schooling during the pandemic
It is estimated around half the world's students' schools remain shut down. All told, this has been a potentially damaging disruption to the education of a generation. But one of the few positive outcomes from this experience is an opportunity to rethink how digital technologies can be used to support teaching and learning in schools.
26th Oct 2020 - Phys.org
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullOshkosh's Oakwood Elementary teachers continue adapting to virtual learning
The classroom looks a little different in 2020. Oakwood Elementary in Oshkosh is fully virtual. 3rd-grade teacher Tara Perry is working around the clock, "It's probably an extra hour or hour and a half each day and if I do that then I don't have to come in during the weekends," said Perry.
25th Oct 2020 - Fox11online.com
NEFB Foundation Agriculture in the Classroom lessons now virtual
The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation has been providing Agriculture in the Classroom lessons for over 30 years, but this year it has been virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic. Executive Director Megahn Schafer says more than 154 virtual classroom visits have been scheduled since the beginning of the school year. Schafer says to keep kids engaged in the virtual lessons, they do hands-on learning. "We mail out activity kits that go along with all of our virtual lessons. These kits have items so each student can do their activities in a socially distant manner. It provides an opportunity to have the lesson on the screen, but then take a screen break and do something hands-on to continue that learning."
25th Oct 2020 - Norfolk Daily News
We need more innovation to close the gap between physical and virtual learning
One of the more controversial segments is education, particularly K-12, where there is great debate as to whether kids can be educated effectively over Zoom. At its recent Zoomtopia digital conference, Zoom dedicated much of the show to a handful of industries — education one of them. I’ve talked to dozens of parents and teachers who have tried to educate over Zoom and have reached epic levels of frustration. One of the Massachusetts-based teachers I interviewed, Jillian Santucci a sixth-grade teacher with the Leominster School District, recently took a leave of absence because the process of teaching virtually was so onerous.
25th Oct 2020 - SiliconANGLE News
FEATURE: School trips in Japan go virtual during pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has changed much about how children study, from online learning to parents carrying the teaching load, but in Japan schools are looking to the internet to maintain one much-beloved tradition -- the school trip.
With multi-day in-person school trips often no longer an option, excursions are being conducted on a new platform, where technology is being deployed to give students a safe simulation of the real thing when hitting the road is not possible.
25th Oct 2020 - Kyodo News Plus
Zooming in to class: Virtual and in-person learning at Westminster College
When Nate Leonard stepped in to the classroom Thursday afternoon to teach his playwriting class at Westminster College, he knew some of the seats would remain empty. Instead of trekking onto campus and up the stairs to grab a seat beside masked and socially distant peers, some of Leonard's students stayed home. But that doesn't mean they missed class.
Leonard still had to teach the virtual students and keep them engaged through a computer screen — a difficult juggling act educators across the country have found themselves experimenting in. For Leonard, Westminster's recent technological overhaul made it a little easier.
24th Oct 2020 - Fulton Sun
What it's like to be a virtual preschool teacher during COVID-19
Julia Weaver is a preschool teacher in Ohio who has been teaching her students virtually during the pandemic. She teaches a group of 17 preschoolers through a mix of live Zoom calls and pre-recorded lessons uploaded to a Google Drive. Keeping her 3-year-old students' attention spans engaged has been a challenge; so has staying flexible for their parents' work schedules.
24th Oct 2020 - Business Insider
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Oct 2020
View this newsletter in full4 major challenges of virtual learning and how parents can help their kids through them
The vast majority of India’s estimated 250 million schoolchildren have not entered a classroom for almost seven months. Having to adapt to remote, virtual learning has presented a host of challenges for many children and added an extra layer of stress for parents. “Most kids feel connected and happy when they learn alongside other children, so moving from an environment where they are sharing experiences with friends and there are lots of opportunities for fun and play, to home learning where they are interacting with a screen, will feel stagnant in comparison,” explains Dr Elena Touroni, a consultant psychologist.
22nd Oct 2020 - Vogue India
Colleges Can Turn Classes Into Virtual Communities. Here’s How.
COVID-19 has not only shaken up the way we deliver instruction, but the pandemic also threatens the bonds that connect students to each other and their campuses.
Institutions enjoy a certain amount of brand loyalty from their existing students, but this may change radically going forward, especially if students are not connected to their campuses physically. And if incoming students do not see the difference between the online instruction offered by their community college and by a traditional four-year residential school, many university administrators should be nervous indeed.
22nd Oct 2020 - EdSurge
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning poses unique challenges for Arizona’s 148,000 students in special ed programs
Many Arizona schools stuck with virtual instruction this fall as the COVID-19 pandemic persists, but for the 148,000 children who take part in special education programs, the new online environment can be a particular challenge. When school started back in August, June Krafft was busy at home running from room to room, making sure her two young sons kept focused on their schoolwork. James, 3, and Christopher, 5, both attend Kingswood Elementary School in Surprise, in the preschool and kindergarten programs. The brothers, Krafft said, are on the autism spectrum. Christopher also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and has been taking medication for it since he was 4. Before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, a specialist came to Krafft’s home for about 40 hours a week.
21st Oct 2020 - KOLD
Spurred by COVID-19, African schools innovate to close learning gap
In rural Sierra Leone, teenagers tuned into solar-powered radios for their lessons, while Kenyan students texted a code to receive free learning guides on their phones. As COVID-19 shut Africa’s schools, governments and charities rushed to make learning accessible to millions of pupils without internet or even electricity, sparking innovations that could keep children learning long after the pandemic has passed. “The situation... pushed all the governments and education ministries to think in a different way,” said Elena Locatelli, an advisor on education in emergencies at the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF. In a matter of months, officials set up distance-learning programmes, often via TV and radio, while charities and start-ups distributed devices and materials to supplement them.
21st Oct 2020 - Reuters
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullCybersecurity And The Remote Classroom
This year, going back to school has been like no other in history as remote learning, modified schedules, virtual classes, and hybrid class modes became ‘normal.’ Seeing my own four kids returning to university, high school and elementary school has required new levels of fortitude. Fortunately, a foundation of technologies with features that include cloud, video, conferencing, and collaboration make distant classroom situations achievable.
20th Oct 2020 - Forbes
For Teachers Unions, Classroom Reopenings Are the Biggest Test Yet
By early August, the Chicago Teachers Union had its fill of magical thinking. After a spring of virtual learning, Chicago, like many cities around the U.S., was pushing toward reopening classrooms in the fall. The revival of the local economy seemed to hinge on parents’ ability to get back to work, and plenty were desperate to get their kids somewhere, anywhere, just out of the house.
20th Oct 2020 - BloombergQuint
Ag in the Classroom adapts to pandemic with virtual farm tours
A Minnesota farmer involved in Ag in the Classroom says just like for most educators, some teaching methods have changed because of COVID-19. Wanda Patsche, a crop and livestock producer in Martin County, tells Brownfield there are usually four in-person teacher tours during the summer to show how food is produced so the teachers can bring that information back to their students. “We couldn’t do that this year, but we did have virtual tours, which actually worked better because we could take them to more places and actually show them more intimate settings within agriculture.” She says more than 100 teachers signed up for the virtual tours that highlighted farms in four different parts of the state.
20th Oct 2020 - brownfieldagnews.com
5000 CT Students Who Signed Up for Online Learning Have Never Logged Into Class
According to the CT legislature's committee, over 5,000 students who opted for online-only learning across Connecticut have never once logged into a single day of class, according to an article in the Hartford Courant. The education department has crunched the numbers and found out that 3.1% of remote students or 5,165 were absent all week from Oct. 5-9. Throughout the state, the education department has provided more than 142,000 laptops along with internet access for approximately 60,000 families. Martha Stone, who's the executive director of the Center for Children's Advocacy, told the Hartford Courant:
20th Oct 2020 - i95rock.com
What it's like to be a teacher in 2020 America amid the coronavirus pandemic
Now the coronavirus has placed those same underpaid teachers at the heart of a national crisis as the US looks to teachers not only for children’s education and wellbeing but also as essential childcare as parents try to get back to work. “Our public education system is a massive hidden child care subsidy,” said Jon Shelton, a historian of the teaching workforce at the University of Wisconsin. Here are three stories from teachers across the US about the complex roles they have played in their students’ lives since the virus first kicked up and how they’re managing school now.
20th Oct 2020 - The Independent
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual school lets teachers see directly into students' lives. Here's what they're learning
As soon as students logged on for the first day of virtual school, Reading School District teacher Kyle Wilson heard the first chirps. Was it something wrong with his headset? He waited. More beeps. And then more beeps. Finally, he realized: about a quarter of the students in his fifth-grade math and science classes didn’t have functioning smoke detectors in their homes. “I need to do something,” Wilson thought.
19th Oct 2020 - witf.org
Left Behind By Virtual Learning, Students Reconnect At A Therapeutic Middle School
When the school year started virtually in August, 13-year-old Faith Jackson struggled to participate from her home in New Orleans East. “It was so hard because I couldn't get in my classes,” Jackson said. “The teachers weren’t answering none of the calls or email or nothing.” Jackson had a school-provided laptop and hotspot but the internet connection from her home in New Orleans East wasn’t strong enough, she said. She missed class and failed to complete assignments.
19th Oct 2020 - WWNO
After a virtual term, I still prefer a classroom
I enrolled for my first online-based semester in May this year which ended in August, with exams. The assessment was by assignments and online sit-in exams.
Virtual classes are different from real classes where you sit next to your classmates with a lecturer in front of you. In my virtual classes, I listened to the lecturer and interacted with classmates without seeing them since we all preferred to have our cameras off.
19th Oct 2020 - Daily Monitor
'Technology Can Never Substitute In-class Training' Says B-School Directors
Management schools have been adversely impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. New technological tools are now taking their place in the daily routine of students; virtual classrooms are a part of it. The question remains what the future of business schools is going to look like. L K Tripathi, Director, Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies, Pune, said, “There is no replacement for face-to-face learning. However, in the present situation, the technology has helped us a lot in all the three fields of design, delivery and evolution of curriculum.” The director was speaking at the recently held virtual Future of Management Education Conclave organized by BW Education. Other notable dignitaries present were Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore; R. Raman, Director, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Pune.
19th Oct 2020 - BW Businessworld
Teachers Offer Virtual Learning Tips for Parents, Students
For many schools throughout Pennsylvania and the rest of the country, virtual education has allowed learning to continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But for some students and parents, remote learning adds an extra layer of difficulty. Educators statewide gathered virtually last week to discuss tips for parents and children who are struggling to keep pace in this new world of virtual learning. It begins with positive parent involvement, according to Randy Seely , the state Department of Education's charter school division chief. "Positive parent involvement is the most positive predictor of success," Seely said. As a parent, positive involvement includes open communication with students and educators about educational planning, assignments and how students are doing overall.
18th Oct 2020 - GovTech
Experts Share Tips on How to Combat Distance Learning Fatigue
We're well into October, and many students in San Diego County are still learning from home. This is creating homeschooling fatigue for a lot of parents, but there are a few ways to cope. Online classes and learning can be intimidating, both for students and parents. And there are some obstacles as well, like having reliable internet at home and learning the online platform that teachers are using.
18th Oct 2020 - NBC San Diego
A desk of their own to ease remote learning for kids in need
As remote schooling surged during the pandemic, parents across the country realized that many kids didn’t have desks at home. So they got busy building, collecting and donating them, giving hundreds or thousands of students workspaces to call their own and helping them get through long days of virtual learning. For Mitch Couch in the Central California town of Lemoore, inspiration struck when his 16-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son kept taking over the kitchen table for their remote lessons. He made desks for them, and thought: Why not provide others' children with individual learning areas they could decorate with stickers and paint? The desks he made were kid-size, simple and inexpensive, fashioned from plywood with a hutch for workbooks and papers. But they did the trick.
18th Oct 2020 - The Independent
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullGreek Lessons Online: Kids Groups For Little Greeks Who Learn Better Together
The idea of long-term social distancing is alarming for everybody. Especially so for parents who worry both about the practical aspects of their children’s education and also about the social and psychological consequences that social distancing has on children. As we all know, school and peer groups are the focal center of socialization for children, after immediate family. That’s why, experts believe that stay-at-home orders can have a big impact on children’s social development if this lasts for more than a few months.
18th Oct 2020 - GreekCityTimes.com
As school boards blend in-person and virtual classes, criticism emerges for hybrid model
For Steven Ferracane, a teacher in Vaughan, Ont., and some of his Grade 5 students, it was the first day of school all over again this week, as the York Catholic District School Board, north of Toronto, introduced a new pandemic scenario combining in-person and online learners in the same classrooms. "It went OK considering it was our first day. The remote students, they all showed up on time, eager to learn," said Ferracane, who now simultaneously teaches 15 fifth-graders in a classroom at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Elementary School, with seven more logging on live from home. "We're actually so happy to welcome them back to our school."
18th Oct 2020 - CBC.ca
Less wealthy, non-white students over-represented in TDSB's COVID-19 virtual classrooms
Lower-income and non-white families are opting for the Toronto District School Board's online-only classes during the COVID-19 pandemic at a greater rate than white and wealthier families, according to fresh data presented to trustees. Students of South Asian and East Asian background, those with lower socio-economic status, and those whose parents don't have a university education make up a disproportionate number of the 70,000 students enrolled in the TDSB's virtual school system this fall, the data shows. Education advocates say the demographic breakdown underlines the importance of ensuring that students enrolled in online classes are not left to flounder.
17th Oct 2020 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullQ&A: Melissa Lim on Embracing Change and Tech During Distance Learning
When describing how her school district is handling remote learning, Melissa Lim uses a word some might find unusual: opportunities. It’s well documented that public schools across the country still are wrangling with challenges of remote learning — everything from securing devices to engaging students online. But despite those problems, some educators see opportunities to approach education in new ways. That’s one reason why EdTech chose Lim as one of our 2020 K–12 IT Influencers. Lim, a technology integration specialist at Portland Public Schools in Oregon, recently answered questions from EdTech about how she and other educators are finding opportunities for innovation during remote learning.
15th Oct 2020 - EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullLiverpool's museums launch virtual classroom for schools
National Museums Liverpool’s brand new virtual classroom workshops are now available to book online for the first time ever. Created for schools for the new academic year, NML’s interactive curriculum-linked workshops – led by museum experts – bring learning to life and inspire the imaginations of your pupils by engaging them in activities based on real artefacts. Mummification, Greek gods and transatlantic slavery are some of the subject’s school children can learn about in the comfort of their classrooms, thanks to virtual workshops developed by National Museums Liverpool.
14th Oct 2020 - The Guide Liverpool
Managing students in online classes
The tectonic shift in the education sector from the traditional form of teaching to online teaching has left not just students and parents but also teachers in dire straits. Teachers were suddenly forced to adopt a whole new way of teaching, practically overnight.
14th Oct 2020 - Deccan Herald
Philadelphia School District To Start Phasing Students Back Into Classrooms On Nov. 30 As Part Of Hybrid Learning Plan
The School District of Philadelphia unveiled its plan Wednesday to offer hybrid learning to students in pre-kindergarten through second grade starting after the Thanksgiving holiday. Parents have between Monday, Oct. 26 and Friday, Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. to choose between the hybrid model or continuing all-virtual learning.
14th Oct 2020 - CBS Philadelphia on MSN.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning highlights diversity, enthusiasm of student body: Mark Lautens in the Globe and Mail
The move to virtual learning has highlighted the truly global nature of the University of Toronto’s student body as well as students’ passion for learning, writes Mark Lautens in a Globe and Mail op-ed that reflects on his early experiences with remote teaching. Lautens, a University Professor in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science, recalls one incident when a student requested a Zoom meeting, which he scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT: “Only during our call did I learn he was based in Asia, so this meeting was in the middle of his night," Lautens writes. “I did not see a sleepy-eyed 18- or 19-year-old, but an eager and active participant. I offered to hold our next session at 8 a.m. so it would be a decent hour, but I got no complaint about our originally organized meeting time.”
13th Oct 2020 - University of Toronto
Why Some Kids Are Shy In Remote Learning But Not In-Person Classes
Remote learning often comes with technical difficulties, but it also can bring about challenges with student engagement. By now, most students have been in school for about a month and a half to two months, so if you’re a parent, you’ve likely noticed some patterns with your child’s at-home education. Some parents might be surprised to find that their normally talkative child who had no issues participating in class in the past is quite reserved in the virtual classroom.
13th Oct 2020 - HuffPost
Bringing hands-on learning to the virtual classroom
Every year Sheri Hincks, a lab instructor in the department of integrative biology at the University of Guelph, coordinates a series of field trips for the 70 or so students taking Limnology of Natural and Polluted Waters, a fourth-year course in water ecology. The group practices fundamental research techniques over the course of a week at Guelph Lake, two weeks at the Speed and Eramosa Rivers, and a day at a water treatment facility. It’s during these trips that students really engage and have fun with the course content, Ms. Hincks says. When she realized this year would look a lot different due to COVID-19, she found a way to bring hands-on labs to the online learning environment.
12th Oct 2020 - University Affairs
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullTeaching has changed - and it's nothing to be afraid of
Information technology is a foreign country to many people, especially those of a certain age. During the lockdown, when I was being trained by relatively young adults in using Microsoft Teams for meetings and holding online training workshops, I was a little apprehensive as to how I would cope in a world of burgeoning technology. So many people – especially the savvy IT generation – seem so apt in paving and navigating their way in what is essentially a digital world. So, I’d be the first to admit that surrounded by mass communication modes, I have often felt like an immigrant trying to make sense of the rising complexity and sophistication of social media and the growing possibilities for artificial intelligence.
12th Oct 2020 - TES News
How PBS Kids Is Making Remote Learning More Accessible To All Children In The Coronavirus Age
The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on so many facets of life this year. Education has been one of the hardest hit—teachers, parents, and students alike have struggled in adjusting to virtual classrooms. It isn’t merely that homes have been transformed into de-facto classrooms; this way of remote learning has cast a spotlight on socioeconomic discrepancies like who gets access to computers and a speedy, reliable internet connection, and who doesn’t. It’s a lesson for everyone that remote learning isn’t even remotely easy.
12th Oct 2020 - Forbes
Weston College launches UK's first virtual classroom for further education
@WestonCollege, the lead organisation for the West of England Institute of Technology (#IoT), has launched a virtual classroom in a first for further education (FE) in the UK. The project, developed with support from the education and technology not-for-profit, Jisc, and technology supplier Barco, includes innovations such as mobile extending cameras, and provides the opportunity for enhanced remote-access education.
12th Oct 2020 - fenews.co.uk
Reimagining education to beat the constraints of lockdown
Firki, an initiative by Teach For India, is a blended online and offline learning model. It recently launched inspirED 2020, the first of its kind virtual conference that brought together students, educators, policymakers, parents, and investors under one roof to reimagine education. For Bharath, the event developed a unique platform for all voices – teachers, students, and parents – to share their perspectives on the NEP and map the possibilities on the ground.
12th Oct 2020 - The New Indian Express
India’s schoolchildren pay the price for coronavirus lockdown
Outside the locked and deserted Vidya Sagar Public School, the eight-year-old daughter of a snack vendor sits forlornly on her father’s disused pushcart. Before coronavirus, Rachna Kashyap was one of 200 pupils whose working-class parents paid Rs400 ($5.40) in monthly tuition to send their children to the no-frills, English-medium private school instead of overcrowded and underperforming state schools.
But the school, which employed nine teachers, collapsed during India’s lockdown that cost millions of jobs. Parents could no longer afford the fees and the school lacked the wherewithal to transition to online learning.
11th Oct 2020 - The Financial Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullWhat South Africa’s teachers brought to the virtual classroom during Covid-19
In South Africa, teachers have had to adapt to online learning platforms while learning how to use learning management systems during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, many teachers in the country had not received substantive formal technology training, either to support blended teaching and learning or to fully apply online learning. The decision by the Ministry of Basic Education to shut down schools in response to the pandemic forced teachers to adapt and innovate to ensure that learning continued despite the challenges faced.
11th Oct 2020 - The Citizen
Virtual field trips helping students see different countries without leaving the classroom
In Florida, a Hillsborough County classroom has found a way to go on field trips without ever leaving their seats. Dual language students at Doris Ross Reddick Elementary are traveling to other countries, virtually. For Hispanic Heritage month, students are doing video calls with students in Cuba, Argentina and the Dominican Republic. Teachers say the silver lining of this pandemic is that virtual learning has expanded their abilities to connect with people in different locations on a level like never before.
11th Oct 2020 - ABC Action News
Reinforcing academic integrity in physical, virtual classrooms
Blended learning is being deployed as a solution to the ongoing impact of the pandemic across Southeast Asia. We have seen educators quickly adapting to new ways of delivering lessons and feedback, as well as grading students’ work in distance learning and virtual environments. Naturally, there is also some concern about maintaining academic integrity when courses are being conducted with fewer opportunities for face-to-face interactions. The reduction of physical classroom interactions does not mean that academic integrity has to suffer. New technologies enable teachers to detect academic integrity issues early so that they have the opportunity to teach students to convey their original thinking and properly attribute ideas. Students can also use these tools to check their work before submitting it to reinforce a culture of integrity in blended classrooms.
11th Oct 2020 - BusinessMirror
Mature students ditch lockdown for the virtual classroom
Canadian universities are reporting an increase in the number of mature students, as well as recent graduates enrolling in online studies. “Normally, our total registration in online and in-person courses [for spring/summer] is about 28,000,” says Gary Hepburn, dean of Ryerson University’s Chang School of Continuing Education. “This spring, it reached over 30,000 in online courses alone.” The reasons motivating adult learners to return to school range from experiencing job loss and seeing lasting disruptions in their industry to taking advantage of the extra time at home to develop new or further expertise.
8th Oct 2020 - MacLeans
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullOnline Learning In COVID-era Receives Major Boost
With growing emphasis on virtual learning, online program enablement is more important than ever. Bengaluru: As more schools respond to Covid-19 exposure with hybrid or virtual learning this fall, educational technology providers focus on delivering interactive online learning that engages students. That is why Construct, a global leader in learning design, announced a new case study highlighting how one school district with nearly 20,000 students has moved to 100% virtual learning while maintaining student engagement.
9th Oct 2020 - The Taiwan Times
Lompoc Unified providing additional funding to classrooms to assist with virtual learning
The Lompoc Unified School District is using COVID-19 funds to help provide additional supplies for teachers and their classrooms. District officials say each classroom will be given $500 to use toward student supplies as virtual learning continues. “We recognize that distance learning presents multiple challenges. We believe that students need to be provided adequate supplies so they can fully participate in their lessons and we are grateful to be in this position to be able to provide,” said Superintendent Trevor McDonald in a press release. “Our staff continue to rise to the challenges of this new instructional model and have been adaptive and continue to focus on students. They have forged ahead and keep doing what is best for kids.”
8th Oct 2020 - KSBY San Luis Obispo News
Students and professors weigh in on the virtual classroom experience at UF
Two months into UF’s mostly online Fall semester, students and faculty alike are still struggling with the new virtual classroom environment. UF professors and students agree that it takes patience on both sides of the screen. With 65% of UF’s classes being held online this Fall, students and professors are scrambling to set schedules, struggling to maintain productivity and trying to cope with minimal social interaction.
9th Oct 2020 - Independent Florida Alligator
Luxury hotels are offering 'school-cation' packages' with tutors and poolside classrooms
In Pittsburgh the Kimpton Hotel is offering a virtual learning package that includes an on-site Chief Virtual Officer to assist kids Auberge Resorts, which has 19 properties, is offering in-person and virtual tutoring starting at $195 per 50 minutes
Some resorts offer exciting physical education 'electives' including fly-fishing at Montage International's resort in Deer Valley, Utah. The Eden Roc Cap Cana resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic offers in-suite classrooms, bilingual 'children concierges' and Merengue dance lessons. The Rosewood Miramar Beach hotel in Montecito, California offers a poolside cabana classroom that cost $195 a day and swimming instead of gym
8th Oct 2020 - Daily Mail
I’ve Been Watching My Kid’s Teacher on Zoom, and I’m Horrified
We have our 6-year-old child in a Catholic school, and Catholic schools are the few schools open for in-person learning in our county. The year started with distance learning and without much notice opened for in-person learning, with an option to continue distance learning if desired. For a variety of reasons (rushed reopening with some serious safety concerns in the plan, no smaller class sizes, mixing cohorts at extended care, being the first schools in our area to reopen for in-person, and someone in our family who’s considered high-risk), we have continued distance learning for the past four weeks (along with half of the 30 students).
8th Oct 2020 - Slate
Air Zoo museum in Portage offers virtual science education labs for children
The Air Zoo Aerospace and Science Museum is deploying virtual learning programs through its museum in Portage and across the country in an effort to expose kids and their parents to science education, the museum announced in a news release.
The Air Zoo’s virtual programs are for children age 3 and up, and designed up to immerse kids in hands-on science education courses. Financial aid and scholarships are offered to help both individuals and groups that meet requirements and cover the cost of most of their educational programs, Air Zoo said in the release.
8th Oct 2020 - mlive.com
Godfrey Okoye University Develops Its Own Customised Virtual Classroom
Godfrey Okoye University has gone beyond the zoom technology in teaching and learning and developed its own online learning platform with an incredibly robust virtual classroom. The technology was developed and customised by the ICT Unit of the university under the Ag. Director, Mr. Chinedu Chibuzo, an alumnus of the university.
8th Oct 2020 - Vanguard
Mature students ditch lockdown for the virtual classroom
Sophie Gray was working as a journalist for a South Okanagan newspaper in British Columbia when the pandemic hit. “Sales were down, staff were laid off and it was very difficult to go out and find local stories,” she says. “There was no room for advancement at that moment; everything was stationary. It didn’t feel like you would be set back by returning to school.” She wound up leaving her job to pursue a full-time public relations certificate at Simon Fraser University Continuing Studies. “I think the pandemic pushed many people to realize that their career isn’t ideal or that it’s not what they really want long-term,” she says.
8th Oct 2020 - Macleans.ca
New platform aims to help teachers gauge student understanding in virtual classrooms
A new software platform, created by two U of T Engineering alumni, aims to make virtual classrooms more functional by providing real-time feedback and specific insights into how student understanding of mathematics is changing. Last March, Nived Kollanthara (IndE 1T7 + PEY) was living in New York City, where he volunteered part-time at a shelter, helping kids with their math homework. When the pandemic hit, he realized right away the impact it would have. “The kids I work with need extra, individual attention to help them succeed in the classroom,” he says. “I was worried about how they would be getting that in a remote environment.”
8th Oct 2020 - U of T Engineering News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: Three universities move to online teaching amid rising cases
Three of the UK's biggest universities have moved to online teaching due to coronavirus outbreaks. More than 1,000 students have tested positive for COVID-19 at the University of Manchester (UM) since the autumn term started last month. The university has now joined with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and the University of Sheffield in announcing a move to online learning to protect the health of students and staff. It comes amid renewed calls for all universities to halt face-to-face teaching and for the government to "stop pretending" campuses are able to control the spread of the virus.
7th Oct 2020 - Sky News
York Catholic District School Board to combine in-person and online students into one class due to staffing problems
York Catholic District School Board says it is changing its teaching model for elementary students, combining in-person students with those in virtual learning into one class starting next week due to staffing problems. In a letter to parents on Wednesday, Interim Director of Education Mary Battista said the new hybrid model will see online students join face-to-face learners in their classroom through a live stream. “Given the various operational and staffing challenges faced in the current remote learning model, and the need to find a solution that is sustainable for the remainder of the school year, a decision has been made in the best interest of all elementary students,” Battista said. The director said the new model has benefits, which includes keeping remote students in their home with their friends, maintaining physical distancing in the classroom, and offering a seamless transition from in-class to remote learning or vice-versa.
7th Oct 2020 - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News
From elementary to high school: inside one Berkley family's virtual learning
Going back to school looks very different this year. For many students here and across the country, a lot of students aren't going anywhere, so what does virtual school from home look and feel like? We go inside one home in Oakland County to see what one family's "virtual classroom" looks like - crowded and stressful.
7th Oct 2020 - FOX 2 Detroit
In remote-learning era, Newark teacher evaluations go virtual
This fall, Newark principals will peer into classrooms through computer screens to watch teachers give online lessons. The virtual visits reflect the need to update classroom observations for the remote-learning era. Now, the district will judge teachers in part on the quality of their live video lessons and the online assignments they post. The online observations, which are new this school year, carry significant weight. Observations are the primary factor in teachers’ annual ratings, which help determine whether new teachers earn tenure and veterans keep their jobs. Because of the high stakes, the Newark Teachers Union negotiated with the district to revamp how administrators score teachers during observations to account for the constraints of online instruction.
7th Oct 2020 - NJ Spotlight
TDSB warns parents of 'significant' classroom changes as virtual learning increases by 4,500 students
The Toronto District School Board Is advising parents that some changes could be coming to their children’s elementary school classrooms as the board reassigns hundreds of teachers to virtual teaching and reorganizes classes accordingly.
7th Oct 2020 - CTV News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullHundreds of teachers to be switched from in-person to virtual school as TDSB announces huge reorganization
Just weeks into a school term already marked by disruption, the Toronto District School Board is about to usher in some more. In a letter sent to families Tuesday evening, the TDSB announced that up to 324 elementary schools will lose some in-person teachers as they will be moved into virtual classrooms.
7th Oct 2020 - The Star
Toronto public schools to reassign more than 500 elementary teachers to virtual learning
Toronto public schools are reassigning more than 500 elementary teachers to virtual learning, which will shift thousands of in-class students into larger classes and mix cohorts amid rapidly rising COVID-19 case counts in the city. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) said on Tuesday that another 7,800 students last week chose to move from in-person classes to online learning, on top of more than 70,000 that registered at the start of the academic year (about 3,000 will switch from virtual school to in-person learning).
7th Oct 2020 - The Globe and Mail
Instructors aim to adjust to the virtual classroom
Transitioning from in-person classes to digital has not only been a change for students, but for the instructors as well. Instructors have had to make changes to how they teach in order to adjust to virtual lessons while giving students a quality education. Instructors are trying to make the best out of this pandemic by going above and beyond their abilities. They are having to learn how to build a similar environment to what they had in their classrooms. “The biggest challenge is really maintaining the kind of personal interaction that is very important in a literature class, I really miss that. At the same time, I found that zoom is better than I thought it was, but I still really miss the classroom and miss working with the students one to one and talking to them on a daily basis,” Dr. Steven Frye, English professor and head department chair, said.
6th Oct 2020 - The Runner Online
How teachers are coping during the pandemic school year
Even before the school year began, Jessyca Mathews felt drained. She has taught high school English for 20 years, but this year so much seemed unknown and unknowable. Because of the pandemic, her Michigan school district has chosen remote learning for students for the foreseeable future. But teachers are still required to teach from school, and when she returned to begin the year, Mathews, 43, was struck by the loneliness of this new reality and a sense of how much could be lost.
6th Oct 2020 - Washington Post
Eight Tricks for Making Remote School Easier
Now that many families are well into the fall semester’s remote-learning program, I wanted to know if anyone had advice for managing the school-from-home hassle. I’ve developed a few hacks of my own, but I reached out to dozens of parents, students and education experts to compare notes. Besides sharing some very useful tech tips, they also had some good non-tech suggestions to make life easier on you and your kids. Here you go:
6th Oct 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Local teacher spices up virtual classroom with cooking, robotics
One Windsor teacher is spicing up her virtual classroom by including some unique activities for students. John A. McWilliam Public School teacher Amanda Laforet has been posting short videos of her virtual classroom to Twitter, some of which show students cooking and washing their hands. "I think it's really important to keep showing the videos because I do think there's a lot of fear about what the virtual school looks like," Laforet told CBC News. "We know what traditional school looks like, everybody has been through the process, but we haven't been through the process of virtual school yet. I feel like it shows a little peek into what my virtual classroom looks like and I'm hoping that that does eliminate some of the fear around the virtual school."
6th Oct 2020 - CBC.ca
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullDC Schools to Start Limited In-Person Learning, Virtual Learning Inside Schools
A limited number of D.C. Public Schools students can return to in-person learning starting in November, the chancellor announced Monday. Twice as many students will do virtual learning inside schools as will be in typical classrooms. Starting on Nov. 9, some families will have the option to return to schools in person, Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said at a news conference. Students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as well as students with “known opportunity gaps” will have the option to return. Families will continue to have the option to continue learning from home. “Learning at home is not working for every student. We particularly know that our youngest children are most challenged,” Ferebee said.
6th Oct 2020 - NBC4 Washington
What It’s Like to Be a Teacher in 2020 America
Teachers find themselves at the heart of the national crisis — responsible not just for children’s education and well-being, but also for essential child care as parents struggle to get back to work.
5th Oct 2020 - The New York Times
Positive reviews for Virtual Learning in Bradford
From Kindergarten to high school, most virtual learners in Bradford report positive experiences so far since the return to “school” schedules. While many students returned to the classrooms for face-to-face learning in September, a large percentage of students stayed home due to the unpredictable ongoing pandemic.
Virtual students and teachers were left in the dark right up until a few days before online schooling began. Those who required technology for at home learning were distributed throughout the first week of online class. There were expected hiccups during the first week – failed login attempts to online education portals, frozen screens, and dropped internet – but teachers pushed through this first-time experience while students embraced the new wave of learning.
5th Oct 2020 - BradfordToday
How can students learn online if they don’t know the language? This city tackled the issue
Meet the Reyes Acosta family. Gabriela Acosta and her husband, Rodrigo Reyes, moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Central Mexico in 2013. Before a pandemic burst onto the scene, life was hard enough: Six kids. Navigating a world whose dominant language isn’t theirs. Now, Gabriela isn’t working. Her husband’s job is unstable. Add to that a new complication to maneuver: An unexpectedly online school system. Though the effect is hard to quantify, experts and educators say that distance learning likely worsened existing educational disparities. They worry that the country’s already disadvantaged students, including those who are learning to speak English, have fallen further behind. To Gabriela Acosta, 29, the campus closures and the financial stress “felt like a sudden, overwhelming loss of control,” she said in Spanish.
5th Oct 2020 - Seattle Times
Surprising outcomes as schooling goes ‘virtual’ in COVID times
Right through the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been hearing people cribbing and moaning about the deteriorating education scene after the schools were forced to shut down in March. Online schooling was generally vilified, and it was felt that the already poor state of school education in India was now in shambles. Memes, cartoons and jokes abound about the ineffectiveness of distance teaching, but even teachers need humour to endure hard times.
5th Oct 2020 - Deccan Chronicle
What South Africa's teachers brought to the virtual classroom during COVID-19
While celebrating this year's World Teachers Day, we should recognize how the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the key role that teachers already play in South Africa's schools. Before the pandemic, many teachers in the country had not received substantive formal technology training, either to support blended teaching and learning or to fully apply online learning. The decision by the Ministry of Basic Education to shut down schools in response to the pandemic forced teachers to adapt and innovate to ensure that learning continued despite the challenges faced.
5th Oct 2020 - Phys.org
Lubbock ISD virtual teacher shares lessons he’s learned this school year
Lubbock ISD says they will continue virtual learning for the rest of the school year, as other surrounding districts such as Lubbock-Cooper and Roosevelt ISD announced they would no longer provide online education. The last day for parents to decide how their child will learn was Friday. At this time, Lubbock ISD has not released how many students will go virtual or transition back to the classrooms. Fifth grade teacher Andrew Campama has six years of experience, but nothing like virtual learning before. He has 120 students from six different campuses
5th Oct 2020 - KCBD
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullWhat South Africa's teachers brought to the virtual classroom during COVID-19
While celebrating this year’s World Teachers Day, we should recognise how the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the key role that teachers already play in South Africa’s schools. Before the pandemic, many teachers in the country had not received substantive formal technology training, either to support blended teaching and learning or to fully apply online learning. The decision by the Ministry of Basic Education to shut down schools in response to the pandemic forced teachers to adapt and innovate to ensure that learning continued despite the challenges faced.
South African schools are clustered into quintiles ranging from one to five. This was done to ensure an equal and fair distribution of resources across schools. Schools in the lower quintiles are often based in under-served communities where resources are limited, while quintile five schools are well resourced.
4th Oct 2020 - The Conversation CA
Virtual classrooms present new learning curve for Saudi teachers
Saudi teachers have been facing their own learning curve after being forced to run lessons online in the wake of school closures due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Tutors from preschool to university level are having to come to terms with the new norm of remote learning but some have mixed feelings about the long-term prospects of virtual classroom teaching.
4th Oct 2020 - Arab News on MSN.com
MBA Classroom of the Future: Hologram Professors
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced business schools to move classes online and limit campus interactions. While some b-schools initially announced plans to fully open campuses, many quickly revised those plans and, instead, decided to focus on virtual and hybrid learning models. One b-school, in particular, has come up with a rather creative solution for the virtual learning environment: Hologram professors.
The McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin recently announced plans to launch the classroom of the future with a new 3D immersive video solution that projects a professor into the classroom as a hologram. The b-school has partnered with Austin-based Contextual Content Group to create and implement the video solution.
4th Oct 2020 - YAHOO!
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual classrooms present new learning curve for Saudi teachers
Saudi teachers have been facing their own learning curve after being forced to run lessons online in the wake of school closures due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Tutors from preschool to university level are having to come to terms with the new norm of remote learning but some have mixed feelings about the long-term prospects of virtual classroom teaching. Since the start of the global health crisis, video meeting platform Zoom has been one of the most popular communication tools for people working from home. In June, the US tech company announced a 169 percent increase in its revenues on the previous year, while the number of daily users rose to 300 million.
2nd Oct 2020 - Arab News
Ministry of Education extends partnership with BTC to power virtual school year
In a statement, BTC CEO Garry Sinclair said: “Throughout this pandemic, BTC has remained committed to keeping our customers and our communities connected. For the first time in history, students are starting a new school year using a virtual classroom. “We are proud that the Ministry of Education continues to see the value of choosing BTC and One on One Educational Services as its virtual education partners. Almost a year ago, our Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF) donated $100,000 to facilitate e-Learning, following the cataclysmic Hurricane Dorian. We are happy to do our part to ensure that thousands of our children, educators, and parents have access to online learning via our BTC Study platform.”
1st Oct 2020 - EyeWitness News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Oct 2020
View this newsletter in fullTechnologies of the New (Virtual) Classroom
2020 has been a unique year in just about every way, and this includes the nuts and bolts of how classes are taught. The traditional tools of education might be described as a chair, a desk, and a chalkboard; this is what one generally thinks of when one calls to mind a classroom. Now, e-learning is more prevalent, especially in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic. What are the tools involved in e-learning? They are more high-tech, for a start. While the specific platforms vary from campus to campus, here is a look at some of the tools in the modern education toolbox.
30th Sep 2020 - Universe.byu.edu
Live online learning: not a silver bullet but a useful tool
Recent months have seen a boom in online learning, but that doesn’t mean live training faces extinction. It’s up to us, in the L&D profession, to shape the future of blended learning and ensure it delivers what the workforce needs.
30th Sep 2020 - TrainingZone.co.uk
The Positives of Virtual Learning That Nobody Is Talking About
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across the world pivoted to virtual learning, and a host of negative consequences quickly followed. Virtual learning exhausts students, exacerbates social class differences and mirrors the gender inequities that exist in in-person classes. And yet for all its drawbacks, virtual learning has an equalizing power that is undeniable. More institutions of higher learning must leverage many of the features that virtual learning provides to reduce bias and increase accessibility and inclusion for students, and to improve learning outcomes in ways not possible in person. In a physical classroom, the professor is at the podium and students choose their seats in the classroom. This may result in unconscious biases in both the professor and students about various students’ (front row or back benchers) abilities and motivations, creating the harmful Pygmalion effect with disparate effects on learning outcomes.
30th Sep 2020 - UT News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in full‘Roadschooling’ 101: Families Make Remote Learning Work in an RV
Patricia Winters and her family decided to take advantage of her husband’s remote work arrangement, so they bought a camper. In June, they left their Annapolis, Md., home for a trip out West, with plans to be back in time for school. “At the end of July, our school district decided to go virtual, so I said, ‘I guess we can keep going,’ ” Ms. Winters said. The family of five has logged 11,000 miles visiting 16 states and 14 national parks. But they weren’t fully prepared for the realities of school on the road, or “roadschooling,” as some families call it.
29th Sep 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
EDITORIAL: Teaching methods are evolving in 2020
The large number of students who are learning remotely, at home, creates quite a barrier between student and teacher. But it’s also true that in-person learning in the classroom is hampered to some extent by masks and, in some cases, plastic barriers that have been installed to prevent or slow the spread of the Covid virus.
But teachers are finding ways to adapt and communicate with their students and keep them as engaged as possible under the new conditions of this pandemic school year. Daniel Crispino, Meriden's director of School Leadership at the elementary level, has noticed that teachers do less lecturing and more back-and-forth engagement as both they and their students have already become more comfortable with the technology of remote learning. “Where we were in early September to where we are now, it's shocking,” he said.
28th Sep 2020 - Meriden Record-Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in full2 Maine schools switch to remote learning due to coronavirus outbreak
Two schools in RSU 57 have switched to remote learning due to an outbreak of COVID-19. Students at Massabesic Middle School and Massabesic High School will now be working remotely. In a letter sent out to RSU 57 parents, Superintendent Larry Malone, along the Massabesic middle and high school principals confirmed there are at least three cases associated with the middle school within a 14-day period. Three or more coronavirus cases is classified as an “outbreak” by the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
28th Sep 2020 - WGME
Schools Reopen to In-Person Learning, but Teachers Work From Home
In a back-to-school season full of surprises, the latest is that some students are returning to classrooms without teachers. A teacher may be immunocompromised and has permission to work from home, or a teacher may have been exposed to Covid-19. In some instances, school districts are opening classrooms to give children the chance to work from a place with Wi-Fi and resources, even as instruction remains virtual. In teacherless classrooms, students take virtual lessons while a proctor or substitute maintains order. The arrangement is cropping up in schools nationwide as districts look for creative ways to get students back into classrooms. In Denver, middle-school principal Kurt Dennis plans to have a small group of students in the same classroom with the same teacher all day when buildings open next month. That teacher will teach for one period and monitor students as they take virtual lessons in other subjects.
28th Sep 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Inside a virtual classroom: What a school day is like for Kansas City third graders
Katherine Hendrix sits alone in her third grade classroom at J.A. Rogers Elementary School, speaking to a TV filled with her students’ faces. “Good morning; you’re up early today,” she tells one boy as more boxes outlining students’ faces appear on the 65-inch-screen. She asks if he’s tired. A girl a few squares over eats yogurt.
Hendrix, 34, asks if one student found his iPad yet. He said no. He’s borrowing his brother’s Chromebook, but he can’t figure out how to access his homework. He gets his 9-year-old brother, who tells Hendrix he knows how to use the laptop, but then immediately struggles.
28th Sep 2020 - Kansas City Star
A class of 100? COVID-19 plans overwhelming some teachers with huge virtual classes
With family members at high risk to COVID-19, Norma Hernandez felt she had no choice but to keep her three kids at home for the school year, rather than send them to school in person. It’s a decision most parents have had to contemplate this year, but the virtual option comes with worrisome trade-offs. In Hernandez’s case, her son's fourth grade class in a virtual program in Gilbert, Arizona, has as many as 55 students, an “overwhelming” load for his teacher, she said. "My son is lucky he has me at home," she said.
28th Sep 2020 - The Arizona Republic
Class sizes in UK may rise to 60 as schools struggle to cover for self-isolating teachers
Some schools are planning to increase their class sizes to up to 60 pupils so that they can continue to offer students an education this term, as fears grow of a looming teacher shortage. Headteachers are worried that a significant number of staff will need to self-isolate for long periods this winter as they struggle to gain access to tests for Covid-19, and that schools will soon run out of money to pay for cover from supply teachers. Vic Goddard, co-principal at Passmores Academy in Harlow and star of the Channel 4 series Educating Essex, has already set up his school hall like an exam hall so that a “masterclass” of up to 60 pupils could be taught inside by one teacher plus one or two support staff, if needed. “I can’t see us getting through this half-term without there being some major doubling up or tripling up of classes,” he said.
27th Sep 2020 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullNew York City school principals vote ‘no confidence’ in Mayor de Blasio over reopening plan
Just two days before New York City schools are set to reopen for tens of thousands of elementary school students, the union representing school principals called for state education officials to step in and take the reins from Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose ambitious plan to reopen school buildings has faced fierce opposition. The Executive Board of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, which represents more than 6,000 school principals and other school leaders, voted unanimously Sunday to declare a vote of “no confidence” in de Blasio, hoping to draw attention to the acute teacher shortages faced by schools across the city. “We’ve been calling out the staffing shortage all summer long,” said Mark Cannizzaro, president of the council. “I’m not confident right now that everyone has the teachers that they need.”
28th Sep 2020 - The Washington Post
One farmer finds answer to ESL students' virtual learning struggles
Virtual classrooms are the new normal for many students, but for non-native speaking English students, trying to get good grades can be challenging in the best of times. As classes turn virtual due to COVID-19, some students are being left behind. Valeria Gonzalez, 11, told Fox News that her school in Buckeye, Az., doesn’t offer a virtual English as a second language (ESL) program. All of her classes are taught by an English speaking teacher with no Spanish translation.
27th Sep 2020 - FOX 10 News Phoenix
Varsities will bloom online
Throughout the world, the decision to reopen university campuses has been a source of fierce controversy. The University of Notre Dame, University of North Carolina and Michigan State University in the United States have been forced to suspend in-person classes following a surge in Covid-19 cases on campus. At the same time, opposing arguments, such as that of Brown University president Christina Paxson, emphasise a host of issues that students and universities will face if campuses remain closed, highlighting the difficulties remote learning presents for less privileged students. What does all this mean from the educational point of view? Just like the impact of earlier technological novelties, higher education will adapt and come out stronger with virtual learning. Rather than being disrupted, the institutions that survive this crisis will be augmented by the new technology.
27th Sep 2020 - New Straits Times
New virtual Chester Zoo visits launched as part of exciting educational workshops for kids
Brand new virtual zoo visits and animal workshops with experts are just part of an educational programme Chester Zoo has launched for youngsters. The zoo is offering a huge range of bookable educational activities for school groups, community groups and workshops for teachers, which include curriculum linked workshops at the zoo, at school and virtually through a brand new virtual visit programme
27th Sep 2020 - Cheshire Live
Women feel the squeeze of work, kids' remote learning
Reveles recently asked CVS, where she has worked for more than 20 years, to reduce her hours to 24 per week so that she could be home during the day to help her daughter while allowing her to keep some of the benefits that come with being a full-time employee. “I like my job and I am thankful for it, but I am a single parent and I can’t be there for my daughter,” she said. A CVS spokesman said the company was working with Reveles’ union to try to accommodate her request. Reveles is not alone. As the pandemic wears on and school begins across the country, women working in retail say they are being forced to choose between keeping their jobs and making sure their children can keep up with remote learning.
26th Sep 2020 - Minneapolis Star Tribune
The positives of virtual learning that nobody is talking about
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across the world pivoted to virtual learning, and a host of negative consequences quickly followed. Virtual learning exhausts students, exacerbates social class differences and mirrors the gender inequities that exist in in-person classes. And yet for all its drawbacks, virtual learning has an equalizing power that is undeniable. More institutions of higher learning must leverage many of the features that virtual learning provides to reduce bias and increase accessibility and inclusion for students, and to improve learning outcomes in ways not possible in person.
26th Sep 2020 - Abilene Reporter-News
Calrossy Anglican School Tamworth to introduce 'eCalrossy' virtual classroom learning for distance education in 2021
A new system of distance learning is set to bring isolated kids closer than ever, by makinb virtual classrooms a reality
26th Sep 2020 - The Northern Daily Leader
Remote learning keeps children safe from the coronavirus, but it hampers their social skills development
It is the first day of school. There are no buses. No sounds of the bell ringing or morning announcements over the loudspeaker. There is no chatter, laughter, high fives or even elbow bumps between the students in the classrooms. Hallways and lockers are empty. The cafeteria floor is sparkling clean. This first day of school is different. It is too silent – no feelings of nostalgia and excitement. Meeting new students, new teachers, new friends, new experiences and new opportunities is just a distant memory.
25th Sep 2020 - PhillyVoice.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullToronto school board aims to have teachers for all virtual students by mid-to-late next week
Canada’s largest school board is now saying that some elementary students may not have a teacher for their online classes until mid-to-late next week. “We simply cannot hire teachers fast enough to meet the demand for virtual learning, a difficulty that other school boards in Toronto and across Ontario have also faced.”
24th Sep 2020 - CTV News
Music Education Teachers Say Virtual Recording Is The New Normal
Schools across the state are back in session with some students in brick and mortar classrooms and others attending online. But when it comes to music education, federal and state policy makers don't have much to say. So these teachers are turning to organizations like the National Association for Music Education for guidance on how to safely move forward with extracurriculars that could contribute to spreading the coronavirus. Caitlin Pearse, an elementary music teacher in Hillsborough County, said the students she’s teaching in person will stick with instruments like xylophones and small hand drums - but absolutely no singing.
24th Sep 2020 - WJCT NEWS
Commentary: Virtual learning has an equalizing power
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across the world pivoted to virtual learning, and a host of negative consequences quickly followed. Virtual learning exhausts students, exacerbates social class differences and mirrors the gender inequities that exist in in-person classes. And yet for all its drawbacks, virtual learning has an equalizing power that is undeniable. More institutions of higher learning must leverage many of the features that virtual learning provides to reduce bias and increase accessibility and inclusion for students, and to improve learning outcomes in ways not possible in person.
25th Sep 2020 - San Antonio Express-News
Learnings for Tomorrow
The government has recently announced radical changes in the education system with the focus on enhancing the quality and components of education, which over a period of time have the potential to deliver a higher calibre talent that would enter the workforce. In this context, many have recognised digital technology as an effective enabler for creating transformative impact on education in the early stages of school education. With Covid-19, an estimated 1.2 billion students in 186 countries around the world have had to adapt to the new mode of learning in a very short span of time – something even the most ambitious futurologists would not have been able to predict. It’s a fact that currently majority of the educational institutions and educators are facing various challenges such as limited bandwidth, lack of training or familiarity with the systems to deliver effective learning, constraints of access to devices and inadequate preparation and unavailability of appropriate content as required for different target audiences. Some even fear that these may result in poor learning experiences. Therefore, it must be asked if schools and parents would want to continue with digital mode of technology when normalcy returns.
25th Sep 2020 - The Statesman
Digital skills academy tops the one thousandth graduate milestone
Scottish digital skills academy CodeClan has reached a milestone with the passing of 1,000 graduates. The students have all successfully completed courses at the academy which now operates in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. Many are now back on campus doing the courses which include professional software development, data analysis and web development.
25th Sep 2020 - Insider.co.uk
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullVideo conferencing etiquette for virtual classrooms
The expert recommendations for the best video conferencing etiquette include: Test Equipment, Adjust Lighting, When to Mute, Where to Look, Modulate your Voice, Dress Appropriately and Keep Body Movements minimal
23rd Sep 2020 - Times of India
Tips to transform your child's virtual classroom
Most students are not returning to the classroom just yet. It is a challenging time for kids and parents, but many are making the most out of a tough situation. If you are looking to spruce up your child's virtual classroom, consider buying a trifold display board. It can be purchased at Target for about $3. Hang up positive words, maps, even add a pencil pouch or caddy to keep supplies organized. Remember not to stress if you cannot perfect the latest Pinterest project. Virtual learning is new to everyone. We will get through this together! WMAR-2 News wants to see your home classrooms. Tag us on social media so we can share your tips with other parents
23rd Sep 2020 - wmar2news.com
New York's DOE allows for Zoom classes to reach up to 70 STUDENTS
New York Public School virtual classrooms could see as many as 68 students signing onto Zoom classes, as per recently negotiated contracts from the city's Department of Education. The contracts made with the teachers union allows for remote classes to be twice the 34 student maximum for in-person classes for high school, the Wall Street Journal reports. 'I can handle a class of 25 kids online, but as it starts pushing to more and more, it becomes less manageable,' said Kirk Schneider, a teacher at the Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in Manhattan.
23rd Sep 2020 - Daily Mail
Thousands of students are missing from Chicago’s virtual classrooms. Here’s the plan to find them.
Chicago Public Schools said that 49,000 students failed to log into classrooms on the first day of remote learning, a figure it has now winnowed down to fewer than 6,900 after expanded outreach efforts. The figures released at Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting offer the first look at how many of Chicago’s 300,000 students the school district is still trying to contact. They are a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges that Chicago faces in connecting with students remotely. After school buildings closed in the spring, the district also reported thousands of missing students. Now, with a fresh start to the school year, officials detailed new protocols to find them, including tens of thousands of phone calls to vulnerable students, a mass flyering campaign led by Safe Passage workers, and security guards trained for home visits.
23rd Sep 2020 - Chalkbeat Chicago
Remote teaching making it harder to identify students who need extra help
One month into the school year, Linnet Early, a social studies teacher outside St Louis, has an anxious new ritual: scanning the Zoom squares on her computer screen at the beginning of each class to see which of her sixth-grade students are missing. It is usually quite a few. “I’ll have kids gone for a week, pop in for one class the next, then miss the second class that week,” said Ms Early, who has 100 mostly low-income students spread across eight classes, all online. “It’s hard to know what their struggles are, how to wrap your arms around it.”
23rd Sep 2020 - The Independent
The kids are all right; the teachers are taking lessons
I asked my students to fill out an exit card before leaving my virtual English class today. An exit card is a brief online form, and I asked them to share one good thing that happened this week. My students related their happiness at being able to see friends again, to leave the house, to be back on a schedule, their participation in sports and activities. Reading their responses reminded me how much this pandemic has taken from the youngest and most vulnerable in our city. It was also reassuring to see that for the most part, the kids are all right. Two weeks into the craziest school year I’ve ever experienced, I can’t say the same for teachers, administrators or schools. Last year’s online teaching feels like a dress rehearsal for the tumultuous start to the 2020-2021 school year, and I’m already exhausted.
23rd Sep 2020 - TheSpec.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning: How to improve student participation
Mark Ndagijimana, a teacher at GS Ruhango Catholique, Southern Province, says that the virtual nature of the class can leave students feeling disconnected and disengaged from the material, therefore, knowing how to ensure all students participate fully in the classroom is essential.
23rd Sep 2020 - The New Times
Metro Tunnel welcomes students to the virtual classroom
Education Program Manager Cherida Longley said providing a Metro Tunnel experience to students wherever they may be during lockdown had been a focus.
“We delivered our first series of remote sessions to Year 9s from Mullauna College, Mitcham,” she said. “Like many schools, their scheduled city experience week had to be cancelled, so we moved their bookings online” Cherida expects that with excursions on hold, the free remote learning sessions will continue to be popular.
“Schools just make a booking inquiry as normal and let us know what they’d like us to focus on,” she said. “Once the booking is confirmed, the school just sends us a link so we can join their class online.”
23rd Sep 2020 - CDB News
The Virtual Classroom - Best Practices
Set the Professional Stage - Just because you’re not physically present in a classroom doesn’t mean your students don’t expect a professional atmosphere. Make sure that the space that you host the call in is neutral and well organized, with minimal opportunity for interruption or noise. Most people are surprised to learn that lighting also has a major impact on the quality of a video call lesson. Your student should be able to see you properly, without any shadows to obstruct their view. By securing appropriate lighting, you’re creating a feeling of trust between you and your student.
23rd Sep 2020 - trainingzone.co.uk
2020 Year of Crisis: The Virtual Classroom
The Covid-19 pandemic has shaped the way students learn. Technologies that have catered to virtual learning have seen a demand like never before. It has given rise to new startups and investment opportunities, as well as shone a light on major disparities in broadband access within the U.S. We explore the seismic shift from in-classroom to virtual learning; how Silicon Valley is rethinking the education ecosytem; and how technology can help or hinder learning access for all
22nd Sep 2020 - Bloomberg
As Schools Go Remote, Finding ‘Lost’ Students Gets Harder
Early data for the new school year suggests that attendance in virtual classrooms is down, possibly because students are working or caring for siblings.
22nd Sep 2020 - The New York Times
TDSB hires 350 teachers as it scrambles to fill classrooms for virtual school
The Toronto District School Board has hired 350 new teachers as it scrambles to meet a rising demand for online learning that has resulted in some students being left without a classroom. The TDSB had previously pushed back the start of online learning on two separate occasions due to higher than expected demand. On Tuesday, virtual school finally began for many students, one week after those who opted for in-person instruction began to return to classrooms.
22nd Sep 2020 - CP24
Teachers complain parents are appearing behind students in online classrooms half-dressed, smoking or drinking
Florida parents appearing half-dressed, drinking or smoking during their kids' virtual classrooms has prompted teachers at Boca Raton Elementary to speak up during a school board meeting this week. Edith Pride was one of the first to make a public comment on the matter.
18th Sep 2020 - KIRO Seattle
Inside Scarsdale High School -Signs, Distancing, Masks and Virtual Learners
September 18, 2020 marked the first day of school for students in Cohort A at Scarsdale High School. As students shuffled into school with masks wrapped around their faces, they followed stickers that showed them which direction to walk and to remain six feet apart. Many changes can be seen around the high school such as the new safety guidelines featured on signs all throughout the building. As one steps inside, one’s eyes are immediately attracted to the Old Commons, an area once filled with noisy students one next to another in the morning, sitting in tables preparing for their classes, and feasting on a protein bar or two before class started. Now, the lounge area has become filled with empty rows of seats separated from each other. As one enters into the classrooms, one can notice that the rooms all consist of the same layout, rows of chairs with several feet of distance between them. An empty chair is placed in the front of the classroom for the teacher to place his or her laptop for all virtual students to watch the lesson, while other teachers chose to display the virtual students on the smartboard.
18th Sep 2020 - Scarsdale10583.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullSchool discipline enters new realm with online learning
Teachers know how to quiet a classroom. Good ones do, anyway. Counting to three, a sharp clap of the hands or a withering glare are all proven methods for getting most students to settle down. Sometimes a song or a smile does the trick. This school year, with millions of students learning via Zoom and other online platforms, some teachers have added a tech weapon to their calming arsenal: mute all. It has become the button of choice for teachers who want to muzzle mayhem and get on with instruction. Blocking out the disruptive noise, the teachers say, makes it easier for them to focus on the work and teach a lesson without having to stop to respond to arguments between students, bathroom break requests and class clown commentary.
21st Sep 2020 - The Washington Post
Little Bay Primary and Infant begins classes with satellite Internet service
Grade six students at Little Bay Primary and Infant School in Westmoreland were able last week to begin preparation for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), thanks to satellite Internet service provided by ReadyTV. Little Bay is one of 101 rural schools expected to access the service in time for the official start of classes on October 5. Principal Keron King couldn't be happier, pointing out that the service will ensure that children can continue their education at a time when there has been disruption in traditional classroom learning due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. He noted that in addition to facilitating teacher-student interaction outside of the classroom, it creates a digital space for children to work and connect “given the fact that we are living in a global village”.
21st Sep 2020 - Jamaica Observer
Getting Covid-19 Changed This New York City Family’s Outlook on Virtual Learning
Najib Craig, 16, is among the 46% of New York City students who won’t be going back into classrooms when part-time in-person instruction begins Oct. 1. That number has shot up from 26% in August, according to data released Monday by the city’s Department of Education. Najib’s family’s experience with coronavirus played a major role in his parents’ decision. It all started in March, when Najib’s father, Rikers Island corrections officer Albert Craig, was sitting in a chair in the prison and was overcome by a dizzying fog and a sudden weakness that made the diabetic believe his blood sugar was severely high. Later at home in Brooklyn, he developed a middle-of-the-night fever and headache, and was diagnosed with coronavirus within days. As he lay watching the city’s coronavirus death toll rise, the quarantined 53-year-old Mr. Craig was overcome with a potent fear: that he would spread the virus to his wife and three children.
21st Sep 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
The unexpected benefits of virtual education
Collaborating online might prepare students with the skills needed for modern careers. A growing category of jobs will require employees to work in geographically dispersed, virtual teams. Many students may have enough maturity, focus and self-discipline to learn digitally.
21st Sep 2020 - World Economic Forum
COVID-19 increases cause Kewaunee schools to go to all virtual classes
The Kewaunee School District became the latest in Wisconsin to implement all virtual learning after a growing wave of positive tests for the COVID-19 virus in the past week. This comes after the number of cases among students increased from three to 12 in the last couple days of last week, according to a letter sent to parents of Kewaunee students, and cases among staff rose from three to five, along with seven staffers in quarantine as of Monday. Also, a second teacher and a support staff member in the Luxemburg-Casco School District tested positive last week, which sent a total of 64 students in three primary school classes into quarantine.
21st Sep 2020 - Green Bay Press Gazette
Students at Milton Keynes-based school to learn remotely after teachers are told to self-isolate
Stantonbury International School has had multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the school meaning that Years 7, 8, and 9 are currently closed. The remainder of the school was previously open to Year 10, 11, and Sixth Form. But from today (21/9) a high number of teachers have been advised by Public Health England to self-isolate. This means that students in Year 10 and Year 11 must now learn remotely until the end of the month. "We are unable to teach the year groups that we have safely," said Alison Ramsey, Headteacher.
21st Sep 2020 - MKFM
Positive COVID-19 case at Battle Mountain High School sends 55 to remote learning
A student at Battle Mountain High School has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting five staff members and 50 students to transition to remote learning. Eagle County Schools, in a news release, said there is no current outbreak, just the single case. The student was last at the high school on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and followed face covering and social distancing guidelines. Eagle County Public Health is investigating the case and advised the school district to transition staff and students who were in the same classroom as the student who tested positive to remote learning beginning Monday.
22nd Sep 2020 - Vail Daily
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow do you teach performing arts when there are no performances? This school is learning
For Monica Sauer Anthony, adapting to the challenge of a virtual classroom started with a reenvisioning of what it even means to teach at a performing arts school. A choir can't really rehearse in a virtual classroom much less give a live performance.
Neither can an orchestra. There's too much digital delay involved in streaming to get everybody synced up. When Gov. Doug Ducey ordered Arizona schools to close in March because of the pandemic, Sauer Anthony was teaching Music History and Culture, and Beginning Woodwinds, Flute and Oboe Studies at Arizona School for the Arts in downtown Phoenix. As ASA began to make the switch to online learning, Sauer Anthony, who's since become Arts Director and Vice Principal of Student Services, said the faculty was trying to maintain as much of a sense of normalcy as it could.
19th Sep 2020 - The Arizona Republic
United Nations Warns Coronavirus Pandemic Could Push 24 Million Students Out of Schools
The coronavirus pandemic-driven disruption to education worldwide has the potential to cause at least twenty-four million students to drop out of school, according to Henrietta Fore, the executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund. As the novel coronavirus quickly spread around the world earlier this year, many schools began to rely more on virtual educational models to replace in-person learning. Education experts, however, have admitted that virtual learning is still a work in progress and shouldn’t be viewed as a perfect replacement for traditional classroom learning. According to Fore, more than 460 million students around the globe don’t have internet access, computers, or mobile devices to take advantage of virtual learning models.
19th Sep 2020 - The National Interest
Coronavirus cases: Milwaukee high school switches to 100% virtual learning
Students switched to 100% virtual learning after several cases of coronavirus surfaced at Pius XI Catholic High School in Milwaukee, but the students are not quarantined. Pius said the shutdown is all part of their reopening safety plan, a contingency that, when and if they had any positive cases they would switch to virtual right away to stop the spread.
19th Sep 2020 - WISN Milwaukee on MSN.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullNYC again delays in-person learning for most students
New York City has again delayed the start of in-person learning for most of the more than 1 million students in its public school system
17th Sep 2020 - ABC News
The future of education: moving to virtual classrooms
Jan Alexa, research manager at IDC Europe, explains the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education and predicts how it may impact the way students are taught in future
17th Sep 2020 - Technology Record
How one Texas teacher is navigating virtual school during the pandemic
Spend a day with Westfield High School teacher Cris Hernandez, and you'll see the frustrations and uncertainties of virtual teaching. More than four weeks into the school year, he still can't tell if he's connecting with his students.
17th Sep 2020 - The Texas Tribune
Citing Safety Concerns, Education Austin Calls for Extension of Online Learning
Education Austin, the union for Austin Independent School District teachers and staff, is claiming victory after calling for an extension of the online learning period amid the coronavirus pandemic. The union on Wednesday tweeted, “The superintendent will file for a TEA waiver ‘to extend the opportunity to remain in a virtual capacity for an additional 4 weeks.’ We organized, and the district heard us loud and clear: the safety of our students, staff, and community is our only priority.”
17th Sep 2020 - Spectrum News
Higher education was already ripe for disruption—then, COVID-19 happened
Back in the spring, when COVID-19 was emerging around the world and leading to widespread shutdowns, schools at all levels had to adapt quickly. Classes went online. Students were sent home. Everyone did their best to get comfortable with teaching and learning over video conferencing apps like Zoom.
17th Sep 2020 - Phys.org
Tutoring program going virtual due to COVID-19
A tutoring program called Grade A Plus, which offers free tutoring from MU students, is moving online this year. This program involves students from the University of Missouri that volunteer to tutor students in grades K-12. This year, it has over 30 college student volunteers who will be working with the younger students. These college students consist of sophomores and juniors within the College of Education preparing for roles as classroom teachers, counselors and special education leaders for the elementary and high school level.
17th Sep 2020 - KOMU 8
UT-Austin Rolls Out Holographic Professors Amid Coronavirus
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the virtual classroom is a brave new world. Extending the new reality further, the business school at the University of Texas at Austin is poised to beam holographic professors at students to further ensure physical distancing safeguards. The McCombs School of Business has contracted with locally based Contextual Concept Group to create a new 3D immersive video that combines in-person, hybrid and online teaching to deliver an interactive distance learning experience, officials said in an emailed advisory.
17th Sep 2020 - YAHOO!
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullAt Some NYC Public Schools, Even In-Person Instruction will be Online Only
Prompted largely by staffing shortages, at least a half-dozen schools are moving all their instruction to the internet — even when students are sitting in the classroom.
16th Sep 2020 - The City
MIT moves business school classes online for a week in response to student gatherings
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is moving all business school classes online for a week in response to two gatherings of students at public parks, officials said Wednesday night. There have been no reported cases of the coronavirus among the MIT Sloan School of Management students who participated or among the “thousands of students and staff tested since Monday,” MIT said in a statement.
“Our internal discipline processes have been engaged and we continue to gather facts,” the university said. The gatherings took place outside “and are not known to have resulted in any cases” of COVID-19, MIT said, but the business school’s dean “nevertheless has made clear to students that this behavior is unacceptable. Out of an abundance of caution, all MIT Sloan classes will be fully remote through Tuesday, Sept. 22.”
16th Sep 2020 - The Boston Globe
Judge says private school in California must stop in-person classes
A private school in California that has flouted state and county health orders during the coronavirus pandemic must immediately stop in-person teaching, a Fresno County judge has ruled. The Fresno Bee reports that Judge D. Tyler Tharpe in a 10-page decision granted Fresno County’s request for a preliminary injunction against Immanuel Schools in Reedley, Calif.
16th Sep 2020 - American School & University
Coronavirus in Oklahoma: University of Central Oklahoma professor partners with CMA to bring virtual music lessons to US classrooms
Lani Garner, assistant professor in the School of Music at the University of Central Oklahoma, recently helped facilitate Unified Voices for Music Education, a series of music lessons and tools for music teachers to use in virtual classrooms. Unified Voices for Music Education is a national initiative hosted by the Country Music Association Foundation. Garner was a facilitator for the elementary music sessions of Unified Voices for Music Education, according to a news release. Unified Voices for Music Education is a collective effort of music educators from across the country in response to challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.
16th Sep 2020 - Oklahoman.com
Virtual learning harder for those with disabilities
As school districts across the state deliberated over whether to bring students back to the classroom or teach them virtually, social media message boards filled with comments from North Carolina parents with strong opinions on all sides. But for Brooke Rose, there was no ideal option for her family in Wake County, which is holding virtual classes.
16th Sep 2020 - North Carolina Health News
Drew: How to Decide Between the Virtual or Traditional Classroom
With the reopening of schools in America, parents are faced with one of the most difficult decisions they may have in their child(ren)’s lifetime. Do they choose the option to turn their home into a classroom for virtual learning or do they opt to allow their child to return to school for a more traditional in-person classroom?
Many school districts have made the decision temporarily for parents by conducting virtual learning for the first six to nine weeks, but what happens afterwards? There are some serious decisions parents must consider to determine whether to homeschool using virtual learning or allow your child(ren) to attend their school in a traditional manner (in-person). When making your decision about school, you may need to consider other things beyond academics such as school meal programs, social services, extended day childcare, extra-curricular activities, soci
16th Sep 2020 - Birmingham Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullHigh school switches to virtual learning after 99 students, staff quarantined for COVID-19
Manila High School students will spend the rest of the week working from home after 99 students and staff members were quarantined for the coronavirus. Superintendent Jason Evers stated in a news release Monday that 7-12th grade students would pivot to blended learning beginning Tuesday, Sept. 15. “We had a few students test positive over the weekend and today,” Evers said. “That resulted in quite a few students and staff being quarantined for close contact. Currently, we have 99 quarantined before the numbers come in for the positive case today. That number is expected to increase considerably after all of the tracing is completed.”
15th Sep 2020 - KAIT
Digital divide: 'My children's classroom is our car'
During the coronavirus pandemic, life has turned to the internet. But not everyone has it. That’s why Jamie Gould has found herself driving her two children out to a parked school bus on the side of the road to access WiFi so they can make it to virtual class. They spend eight hours of their day working from inside the family van, with no access to a bathroom and with the car running for air conditioning.
In the US, about 13% of households lack access to broadband internet. But in rural America - where service is often unavailable or too expensive - it’s nearly 25%. That’s about 42 million people throughout the country who can’t easily get connected.
16th Sep 2020 - BBC News
A class of 100? COVID-19 plans overwhelm some teachers with huge virtual classes
Family members were at high risk of COVID-19, so Norma Hernandez said she had no choice but to keep her three kids at home for the school year, rather than send them to school in person. It’s a decision most parents have had to contemplate this year, but the virtual option comes with worrisome trade-offs. In Hernandez’s case, her son's fourth grade class in a virtual program in Gilbert, Arizona, has as many as 55 students, an “overwhelming” load for his teacher, she said. "My son is lucky he has me at home," she said. While some students returned to classrooms around the country, others remain at home and could stay in the virtual classroom for the next year or even longer because of health concerns.
15th Sep 2020 - USA TODAY
Positive coronavirus cases move some Port Huron classrooms to virtual learning
Students and teachers at three Port Huron Area Schools buildings will move to remote learning for a 14-day period after multiple students tested positive for COVID-19 in the district, according to a letter posted to the district’s Facebook page. The letter states that the St. Clair County Health Department identified a small number of cases at Port Huron Northern, Fort Gratiot Middle School School and Keewahdin Elementary School.
15th Sep 2020 - mlive.com
At least 24 million students could drop out of school due to the coronavirus pandemic, UN says
“At the height of Covid-19,” 192 countries shuttered schools, leaving 1.6 billion students without in-person learning, said Henrietta Fore, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund. “At least 24 million children are projected to drop out of school due to Covid-19,” she added. The reopening of schools has become a hot-button issue, particularly in the U.S., where President Donald Trump has pushed to reopen schools regardless of how widely the virus is spreading in the community.
15th Sep 2020 - CNBC
First Kentucky school district to reopen in-person classes switches to virtual learning
One of the first Kentucky public school districts to reopen to in-person classes is switching to virtual learning after a spike in COVID-19 cases, including an unofficial positive test of a school employee. Green County Schools students, who returned to school Monday, will learn from home until at least Sept. 8, district officials said Friday. "We have had a great week in our school system and are unaware of any student cases, but the increase in community cases has caused us to reach our threshold for transitioning into the 'red phase' of our reopening plan," the district wrote in a Facebook post.
15th Sep 2020 - Courier Journal
School, but an ‘undead version’: Students, parents and teachers in Northern Virginia adjust to online learning
One week into remote schooling, students, parents and teachers throughout Northern Virginia — where all major public school districts are conducting online-only learning — are slowly adjusting to their new, virtual reality. The first week of school-from-a-distance saw no massive technological or privacy failures, according to interviews with more than two dozen educators, parents and students. Just a whole lot of bizarre. “School is back,” texted one Fairfax parent. “But it seems in a kind of ‘undead’ version.”
15th Sep 2020 - The Washington Post
Coronavirus: Teachers are isolating but still teach - by video
Imagine being in your classroom, aged seven, with your teacher being beamed in from her home by video-link. At Heathfield Primary in Darlington that's exactly what's happening. Mrs Craghill is teaching her class of seven- and eight-year-olds by video-link. Someone in her household tested positive for the virus, so she is having to self-isolate - but her lessons continue.
12th Sep 2020 - BBC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullAfter Covid-19, millions of girls may not return to the classroom. We can help them
Crises like the Covid-19 outbreak reveal the frailty of our systems and the strength of our promises. Beyond the health and economic effects, our world now faces a growing education emergency – and our response will impact generations of children. Most countries around the world have closed their schools in response to the pandemic at some point this year. While this disruption to education has far-reaching effects for all, the impact is particularly detrimental to the most disadvantaged students and their families, especially in poorer countries. The educational consequences of coronavirus will last beyond the period of school closures, disproportionately affecting marginalised girls.
14th Sep 2020 - The Guardian
Quarter of university students unhappy with remote work, poll finds
Students began returning to campus for the start of term today after months of remote learning, as a survey suggested nearly one in four are not positive about the quality of digital teaching. Eleven per cent of students say they do not feel they have access to online course materials whenever they need them, according to the poll by Jisc, the education technology not-for-profit organisation. Guidance released by the Department for Education last week recommended that universities offer a mix of face-to-face tuition and online lessons as the “default position” when campuses reopen.
15th Sep 2020 - London Evening Standard
A class of 100? COVID-19 plans overwhelming some teachers with huge virtual classes
With family members at high risk to COVID-19, Norma Hernandez felt she had no choice but to keep her three kids at home for the school year, rather than send them to school in person. It’s a decision most parents have had to contemplate this year, but the virtual option comes with worrisome trade-offs. In Hernandez’s case, her son's fourth grade class in a virtual program in Gilbert, Arizona, has as many as 55 students, an “overwhelming” load for his teacher, she said. "My son is lucky he has me at home," she said.
14th Sep 2020 - USA TODAY
5 ways to support online homeschooling through the coronavirus pandemic
This fall, some elementary and high school students will continue with online learning due to COVID-19. When classrooms went online due to COVID-19, this marked not only a major transformation in kindergarten to Grade 12 education, but a shift in parents’ involvement in their children’s education. Schools communicated primarily online via email and social media (or sometimes the phone) to keep in touch with parents, and every family had to determine to what extent supporting remote learning was possible.
14th Sep 2020 - The Conversation CA
Another N.J. school district switches to remote classes after student tests positive for COVID-19
Schools in at least 6 N.J. districts announce schedule changes over student, staff COVID-19 cases. Find all of the most important pandemic education news on Educating N.J., a special resource guide created for parents, students and educators.
14th Sep 2020 - NJ.com
Classroom attendance strong under virtual model
Online classrooms have resumed for districts across the state this week, with several reporting attendance above 90%. Following Gov. John Carney’s August announcement that schools could open with hybrid learning — a mixture of in-person and remote instruction — it was up to districts and charters to determine what was best for them. Decisions were varied, but regardless of whether students are at their desks or learning from home, there is a greater reliance on virtual learning for the fall.
14th Sep 2020 - Delaware State News
The future of the classroom is online
There is a silver lining, the global lockdown has helped to highlight the importance and necessity of online education in the global academic discourse, with vigour like never before. Of course, there are a plethora of deeper problems, more pronounced in the developing countries, like the digital divide and exclusion, underinvestment and poor infrastructure. The viability of the online mode of teaching as a substitute for face-to-face methods is in question. What is extremely important here is the meaningful debate itself; without which the challenges faced by the online education so far were left ignored and, thus, scopes untapped.
14th Sep 2020 - The Kathmandu Post
Meet the students who say school remote learning in the pandemic is a big win
Since the country entered its unprecedented distance learning experiment this spring, there’s been a growing contingent of students who’ve found themselves actually enjoying their cyberspace syllabus more than the physical version. “I’m an introvert who deals with a lot of social anxiety,” said Maude, a 20-year-old special care counseling student in Quebec who has been taking remote classes since March and into the new school year. “In an online classroom, I don’t have to be around people or feel apprehensive about asking the teacher questions. Instead, I’m as calm as I can be, in my safe space at home.” While teachers, parents, and experts have voiced concerns over how digital school will impact students’ development, many have pointed out that some students are thriving in the new environment. “I can’t say enough about how this closure has changed my entire approach to teaching because I see how it has been an amazing respite for so many students,” said Rosie Reid, California’s 2019 Teacher of the Year, in an interview with Edutopia.
14th Sep 2020 - Vox.com
Kicking off virtual fall teaching — with a little help from McGraw
While Princeton students have just begun the fall semester, their professors have been working for months to reimagine how classes are taught in our new virtual world.
14th Sep 2020 - Princeton University
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullEmotions run high as schools return fully on Monday for the first time in six months
Kicking a ball about with friends at breaktime was something Blyddwyn Hurford took for granted. Back at school again after months of Covid-19 disruption the 15 year-old says he appreciates it more than ever - the friends, face to face lessons and footy in the yard. “People are just in a really happy mood to be back. It’s great. I was quite bored at home. I couldn’t meet my friends, there was no face to face learning. I play prop for the school team. I missed rugby and football and everything really. “It is different now. A lot of work has gone into making it safe and I feel safe. "We are in a bubble of 160 in our year group in one part of the school but we can kick a ball about at lunchtime. That’s great.”
13th Sep 2020 - Wales Online
LISTEN: Covid classroom - distance learning
Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette education reporter Dave Perozek chats with two K-12 school administrators who specialize in distance learning: Shay Hopper, coordinator of the Springdale School District’s Virtual Innovation Academy, and Amy Johnson, head of school at the Arkansas Virtual Academy.
13th Sep 2020 - Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Peel school board delays online school launch after thousands switch to virtual learning
Peel District School Board is delaying the start of its online school after thousands of students switched from in-person classes to virtual learning. In a letter sent to families on Saturday, the school board said over 64,000 students are now enrolled in its online school, an increase of 10,000 in the last week. “Due to this recent increase in online enrolment, we require additional time to staff online classes and reconfigure timetables to ensure an equitable and successful start for all staff and students online,” the letter reads.
13th Sep 2020 - CTV Toronto
Summer parties, teacher shortages push suburban schools to scrap COVID-19 reopening plans
Colleges aren't the only schools that have had to close their doors soon after reopening. And in some cases, school officials are laying the blame for their changing plans on families in their communities, where graduation and end-of-summer parties prompted spikes in positive COVID-19 cases. That's what happened in the Carle Place School District in Long Island, New York, where Superintendent Christine A. Finn announced school would start with remote learning last Wednesday rather than in person. "We have no choice but to put the safety of our staff and students first," she said in a letter that connected many of the new positive COVID-19 cases in the community to attendance at parties where some who tested positive had close contact with students.
13th Sep 2020 - USA TODAY
'It's exhausting': American families stumble through first weeks of virtual school
Meredith Kablick sat next to her five-year-old son Peter at home in Cheverly, Maryland, as he logged on to a Zoom video call for his first week of kindergarten at a French immersion school. Like thousands of parents in the United States this week, the registrar assistant was supervising her child’s virtual schooling while working full-time. As with many schools from coast to coast, classes in the Washington, D.C., suburb reopened online to avoid the risk of COVID-19 infection.
Chaos marked the first days, said Kablick, a mother of two. Her son and 17 classmates, many unaware of how to mute themselves on the video call, fought to concentrate on their teacher speaking a foreign language with the sound of barking dogs and bickering parents in the background.
12th Sep 2020 - Reuters UK
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullColumn: Looks like Lake County schools finally have a handle on virtual teaching
Give Midwesterners a second chance and they’ll get things right. Case in point, remote learning. Most parents, and many teachers, will agree the forced switch to virtual classrooms last spring was a dismal failure, rocky at best, as Lake County schools were shuttered by the governor’s coronavirus edict. Students thought it was a joke -- one north county high school district allowed them to submit assigned online work by 1 p.m. the following day -- as educators struggled mightily after being thrown into the brave new world of online instruction. “No one was trained to teach this way,” Karen Warner, spokesperson for High School District 113 in Deerfield and Highland Park told James Norman in a front-page News-Story earlier this week. “The teachers do not have extensive experience in teaching in a remote environment, and students are not accustomed to remote learning.”
10th Sep 2020 - Chicago Tribune
What it's like teaching remotely in an empty classroom
Teachers at one international school are delivering lessons in empty classrooms - with students watching live from home
10th Sep 2020 - TES News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullOttawa Catholic School Board vows students won't fall behind despite hiccups with online learning
In day two of the Ottawa Catholic School Board's virtual learning school, some students still aren't able to log on. The board is asking parents for their patience as it works out technical problems with the virtual program. Seven-year-old Bray Martin still hasn't been assigned a teacher, his mom says.The board citing glitches as one of the reasons for its online delay. "For parents with young children, the log-ins, the passwords, the e-mails that may bounce back," says Andrea Green, virtual school principal. Other issues include administration; new teachers; and connecting students from different home schools into the same virtual class.
10th Sep 2020 - CTV News Ottawa
Global Classroom initiative connects faculty and students with partners abroad
One new initiative, the Global Classroom, has overcome the challenges and uncertainty of the pandemic to launch this fall at IU Bloomington. This program takes a class already being taught by an IU faculty member and pairs it with a complementary parallel course taught at a foreign partner university. The two faculty members collaborate to design a project that students from both universities work on together virtually over the semester.
10th Sep 2020 - IU Newsroom
Columbia students overcome technical glitches in virtual classrooms
Columbia Public School students and their families continued Wednesday to struggle through their first week of virtual learning at home. School district leaders banned students from attending class in school buildings because of a high number of COVID-19 cases in Boone County. School administrators said most students were adjusting to technical glitches as they completed day two of their school year. Columbia Public School students spent their first days of school getting technical assistance with their devices while attending classes. High school students used laptops while students in kindergarten through eighth grade used iPads.
9th Sep 2020 - krcgtv.com
Chesterfield, Hanover families share different virtual learning experiences
One day after server capacity issues caused widespread connection problems for Chesterfield County students trying to log on for their first day of virtual learning, multiple parents and school officials said day two went more smoothly. Kimberley Johnson, who has two students in Chesterfield schools, said she heard some families still experienced issues logging on, but day two was a “breeze” for her family compared to day one. “Yesterday was quite a bit different... we didn’t get online until probably second or third period for some things. Everyone just did their best,” Johnson said. The beginning of every school year comes with a hiccups, Johnson said, and with more than 60,000 students and 8,000 employees, many Chesterfield families thought issues with virtual classroom were inevitable, she said.
9th Sep 2020 - wtvr.com
Thousands of students going to virtual classrooms
A total of 11,400 students in the Greater Essex County District School Board and 5,200 in the Windsor Essex Catholic District School board are registered for virtual classes. Teachers are reaching out to students this week to walk them through the school day and ensure they can log in to class.
9th Sep 2020 - Windsor Star on MSN.com
University of Wisconsin moves to all-online classes amid growing COVID-19 case count
It's the most significant step by the university to curb a virus caseload that has surpassed 1,000 infections in mere days.
9th Sep 2020 - Star Tribune
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullSturgeon Bay first graders to learn virtually following positive COVID-19 test
First grade classrooms at Sturgeon Bay's Sawyer Elementary will move to virtual learning for the next two weeks following a positive COVID-19 test. District superintendent Dan Tjernagel says a staff member was made aware last week of a relative who tested positive for the virus, whom the staff member had seen the previous weekend.
9th Sep 2020 - Fox11online.com
Lane College transitions to virtual learning after 18 students test positive for COVID-19
Lane College closed its residence halls, stopped in-person classes and converted to virtual learning until Sept. 21 because 18 students tested positive for the coronavirus, causing those in contact to also have to quarantine for 14 days. The Friday announcement said the college does not have enough space to quarantine everyone who may have been in contact with the students who tested positive. The 18 positive cases or students unable to return home may quarantine on campus in the residence halls. Lane College President Logan Hampton reiterated that the 18 positive cases were not the problem; the challenge was trying to quarantine all the people the 18 students had been in contact with.
8th Sep 2020 - The Jackson Sun
Character-Building Still Possible in Virtual Classroom
Teachers can still shape students' character to transform them into future-ready citizens in a virtual classroom, according to India-based software development company Zoho Corporation. Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim aims to strengthen character education in addition to literacy and numeracy. The minister believed encouraging exemplary qualities such as creativity and co-operative skills would prepare students to face future challenges. Nurturing positive character traits, however, can be challenging amid the Covid-19 pandemic as classes shift to the virtual realm.
8th Sep 2020 - Jakarta Globe
Thousands of students going to virtual classrooms
More than 16,000 students in the Windsor-Essex region will flip open their laptop or some other device next week and launch into a completely virtual new school year.
No back-to-school clothes or backpacks necessary, just grab a seat at the dining room table.
8th Sep 2020 - Windsor Star
Virtual learning, near-empty classrooms, many Delaware students return to school
In the hallway of Seaford Central Elementary School, teachers directed students to their new classrooms on Tuesday. But there were no hugs or high-fives on this first day of school. No catching up with friends in the hallway or standing around a neighbor’s desk. Instead, teachers bent down to third-grade heights to bump elbows with students filing in. Squinted eyes and raised eyebrows offered up the smiles covered by masks. Photos covered the wall of one hallway, showing what teachers and staff looked like with and without masks. Natasha Waters’ projector displayed a typical first day of school message – “Welcome to fifth grade!” – as her students found their way to their desks.
8th Sep 2020 - Delaware Online
First Day Of School: In Person Learning, Virtual Classrooms and Hybrid Models
Many kids across the metro Detroit region are heading back to school this week. This new school year is unlike any other as communities across the country are still managing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some schools are welcoming students back to the classroom, other districts are offering some mix of in-person and virtual learning and a lot of schools are going virtual-only to keep kids safe during a global pandemic. Listen: What does the first day of school look like amid the COVID-19 pandemic?
7th Sep 2020 - WDET
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullRefugee Families Face Unique Struggles With Online School
Samuel Lavi knew he'd have to find unique ways to stay connected to refugee families when the coronavirus pandemic shut down Valencia Newcomer School. Parents and students speak more than a dozen languages, and they'd need help navigating the technology around remote learning. So the gregarious teaching assistant, himself a Congolese refugee, created group chats on the WhatsApp messaging app in Swahili and some of the other six languages he knows. To ensure parents who can't read or write could participate, Lavi taught them to record and share small audio clips. With remote classes now underway at the K-8 school for refugee children in Phoenix, Lavi helps students connect from home with loaned iPads so they can learn English before transferring to mainstream schools.
7th Sep 2020 - Voice of America
More than 19,000 Columbia Public Schools students begin virtual classes on Tuesday
More than 19,000 Columbia Public Schools students begin virtual classes on Tuesday. The Columbia Public Schools Board last week made the decision to have the district go virtual rather than start the year with students attending class in-person. Board members said they approved their all-virtual learning plan because there were too many coronavirus cases throughout the school district. This method of learning is tricky for all involved. Administrators, staff, faculty, students, and families are all preparing for the start of school in an entirely new way.
8th Sep 2020 - krcgtv.com
UCA online learning professor gives advice for teacher, student success
As Arkansas begins it’s third week of school, some districts have already switched over to online learning due to coronavirus. Last week the Searcy County School District, Cross County School District, Pulaski County Special School District and Earle School District had campuses temporarily transition to online learning due to multiple employees being quarantined for potential coronavirus exposure.
7th Sep 2020 - KATV
How one Nashville charter school is navigating virtual school for the whole semester
Intrepid College Prep decided early that instead of figuring out when students will return to classrooms this fall, they simply wouldn't come back. Students who attend the middle and high schools that make up the charter network in Antioch will learn from home virtually through the entire semester. This plan, school officials say, leaves room for teachers to hone their craft and put their all into virtual learning — all while keeping students and staff safe in a part of Nashville with some of the highest concentrations of COVID-19 cases. For virtual learning to be successful this semester, the school has to be intentional about building relationships and connecting with students, school officials say. Otherwise, students might get behind — or worse, students might get lost altogether.
7th Sep 2020 - The Tennessean
Pandemic preschool: How to navigate sending your kid into an unfamiliar building with masked strangers
To keep kids, families and staff safe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that child care programs implement an array of new safety measures amid the pandemic, such as reducing class sizes, intensifying cleaning protocols, taking children’s temperatures each morning, requiring kids and staff to wear face masks, staggering drop-off and pick-up times, spreading nap mats out six feet apart, ending family-style mealtimes and more. Many states and counties have additional guidance. "For so many of the parents I talk to, it’s a scary time. The uncertainty is stressful," said Dr. Erica Lee, a psychiatrist at Boston Children’s Hospital. "Kids are really resilient, and they follow their parents' and teachers' cues. The more calm and predictability we can create for them at home and at school, the better kids will do."
7th Sep 2020 - USA TODAY
Colleges and universities trying to manage COVID-19 on campuses
With a rise in COVID-19 cases on college campuses around the country, some people suggest shutting things down and sending students home. Local health experts say that may do more harm than good. The University of Alabama system reports between August 28th and September 3, 846 UA students tested positive for the virus in Tuscaloosa. The university says it’s seeing a decline in daily averages since its last report. On September 3, UA reports student positives had dropped to 65 for the day. University officials say nothing has gone wrong with its approach to combating the virus and spread. Some have asked should campuses close to try slow the spread further? UAB’s Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo and others caution against that.
7th Sep 2020 - WBRC FOX6 News
Districts adapt to virtual learning during COVID-19 situation
As area school districts have begun the 2020-21 school year in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of students in the Amarillo area are back in the school building for in-person instruction. But for the students who are learning remotely, either by choice or because they are in quarantine, districts are having to adjust on how to approach virtual learning in a more in-depth way than in the spring. According to respective district officials, Canyon Independent School District currently has eight percent of its students participating in virtual learning, River Road ISD has 18 percent virtual students and Amarillo ISD has 20 percent virtual students.
7th Sep 2020 - Amarillo Globe-News on MSN.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullSaudi e-learning portal ushers in 'new normal' with virtual classrooms
Classes in Saudi Arabia will be held online for at least the first seven weeks of the new academic school year as part of a drive to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, with an estimated 6 million students and half a million teachers across the Kingdom signing in to the new Madrasati platform to join virtual classes every morning.
7th Sep 2020 - Arab News
Beating Covid Blues: Online classes and new stars of social media
Post Covid-19 outbreak, there is hardly a sector, especially education, which has remained immune to change. The pandemic’s spread saw online classes replacing the traditional method of schooling. Albeit being a stopgap arrangement, the virtual class provides a firmament to several teachers to showcase their talents. Sai Swetha, of ‘Thanku cat’ fame, is a classic example of this. “There was this general impression that a teacher’s job is pretty simple. But the online class has made people realise what it takes and the toil involved,” Sai Swetha said.According to her, teachers are multi-talented since they have to dovetail skills like storytelling, singing, drawing and dancing to teach children.
6th Sep 2020 - The New Indian Express
What I’ve Learned From Teaching Online
“Let’s read,” I told the students in my writing class, trying to invoke the authority of my own high-school literature teacher. I was hoping they would unzip their backpacks, pull out the books and start reading. I had become a visiting teacher at a university in Karachi, Pakistan, a couple of years before the pandemic, and I was struggling. It felt nice to be called a professor, but I was reluctant to call my students, “my students.”
6th Sep 2020 - The New York Times
How schools are using technology and new techniques for virtual learning
For many schools, the sudden switch to completely virtual learning has been a challenging adjustment. Some education professionals say online classrooms fall short in facilitating engagement when compared to in-person class environments. Virtual learning can also be isolating for students — especially those with special needs or mental health issues. Physical-distancing measures have also become a hindrance to extracurricular activities, especially artistic endeavours such as music. This is why Sandi Chasson, a teacher at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, developed ePrograms: a new online learning platform designed to support youth through online group master classes. Hosted by seasoned professionals in each subject, the classes cover everything from clarinet playing to cartooning.
6th Sep 2020 - Post City
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullUniversity of Arkansas reports 399 active COVID-19 cases; officials focusing on testing
The University of Arkansas has reported 434 coronavirus cases since welcoming students back to campus on Aug.10. Currently, they're reporting 399 active cases.
Thursday, Washington County reported the highest number of new cases in the state, with 81% of the cases coming from the 18 to 24 age group. Mark Rushing, associate vice chancellor for university relations, said any positive case is a concern, but not a surprise. He said the campus community includes 32,600 people, and some transmission will be likely throughout the semester.
4th Sep 2020 - KATV
Coronavirus angst as Canadian schools start to open
Canadian children are trickling back into classrooms but the return is off to a rocky start with dozens of students in one province already in isolation amid Covid-19 scares and teacher and unions filing labour challenges.
3rd Sep 2020 - Reuters UK
Hamilton Southeastern to bring pupils back into classrooms after online-only instruction
One of the first schools in central Indiana to start the fall semester with online-only classes will soon open its classrooms to welcome students. Hamilton Southeastern School Board voted Thursday night to have prekindergarten through Grade 4 to return to the classrooms on Tuesday. Two weeks later, students in Grade 5 and higher will return to the physical school. Half of the students will go to school in person Monday and Tuesday, while the other half will go into the classrooms on Thursday and Friday. They will alternate Wednesdays. About 15% of students are expected to continue receiving virtual education.
3rd Sep 2020 - WISHTV.com
San Diego State University Closes Classrooms Over COVID-19
San Diego State University on Wednesday halted in-person classes for a month after dozens of students were infected with the coronavirus. The 200 course offerings, including lab classes, that were taking place in-person will move to virtual learning. The decision will be reassessed after the four-week period. On-campus housing will remain open. “Before the end of the four weeks, we will reassess,” SDSU spokeswoman Cory Marshall said. The university, the third-largest in the state, has more than 35,000 students but only 2,600 students have been living on campus since the fall semester began Aug. 24. All of the students on campus were enrolled in the limited in-person classes. Most of the university’s classes were being held online.
3rd Sep 2020 - gvwire.com
Make virtual classrooms 'go the distance'
In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, institutions of higher education around the country are grappling with instructional delivery for the fall 2020 semester and beyond. Many traditional, on-campus schools are transitioning to some form of distance-learning approach, where all or part of the learning is done remotely. As we think about moving into this new normal, there are several key issues to consider, including how to engage learners, creating a sense of community, using the online environment to expand opportunities, and ensuring student success.
3rd Sep 2020 - Baylor College of Medicine News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullTHD preparing risk assessment after 20% of Oklahoma school districts report COVID-19 cases
On Wednesday, more than 140 school districts across the state have been hit by COVID-19. Sometimes, hundreds of students are impacted by just a few cases. It’s a nightmare for everyone involved. “COVID can spread swiftly and contact tracing can reveal hundreds [of exposures],” said State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister. “Enid Public Schools, 600 today in quarantine.” Hofmeister said it’s not just single coronavirus cases that are impacting school districts in Oklahoma, but all the students and staff who have to quarantine after coming into close contact with them.
3rd Sep 2020 - KTUL
Resign or Return? The Dilemma for Classroom Teachers in COVID-19
As some school districts order campuses to reopen, teachers are facing the decision whether to quit their jobs or return to the classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic. The debate has led some teachers unions to file lawsuits against states where schools have been ordered to begin in-person learning again. Educators say it can be difficult to remain safe even with masks, physical distancing, and surface sanitization.
2nd Sep 2020 - Healthline
San Diego State University closes classrooms over COVID-19
San Diego State University on Wednesday halted in-person classes for a month after dozens of students were infected with the coronavirus. The 200 course offerings, including lab classes, that were taking place in-person will move to virtual learning. The decision will be reassessed after the four-week period. On-campus housing will remain open. “Before the end of the four weeks, we will reassess," SDSU spokeswoman Cory Marshall said.
2nd Sep 2020 - Bradenton Herald
Classes take different form due to COVID-19 for Fall 2020
Under normal circumstances, the first day back to school would consist of most students flocking towards education buildings ready to greet their teachers and peers as a new semester begins. The small percentage of students taking online classes also begins with virtual greetings from the comfort of home. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, this scenario is flipped with the majority of students at Madison College taking forms of online classes and the minority taking in-person classes.
2nd Sep 2020 - The Clarion
Coronavirus: 70% of parents who responded to TDSB elementary registration choose in-person option
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has released details surrounding the registration preferences of parents and guardians for children for the upcoming school year in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and a large majority of those who responded indicated support for in-person options. In a statement released by the TDSB on Wednesday, officials said they contacted the parents of more than 173,000 elementary students and more than 74,000 secondary students by telephone or email to choose in-person or virtual learning.
2nd Sep 2020 - Global News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 pandemic brings sea change to law schools as classes shift online
A new school year can often bring apprehension and anxiety for students, as thoughts go through their head of what their next eight months will look like as they walk among the trees and ivy-covered walls of campus. But this year law students are being faced with a new reality — coping with a massive shift to online learning as universities from coast-to-coast continue to adjust to the new realities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian law schools have largely embraced a hybrid of online and in-person courses, with some making their course offerings completely virtual, using platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom. McGill University law school dean Robert Leckey said his faculty has prioritized the incoming first-year class “for the limited in-person activities we are able to do.”
2nd Sep 2020 - The Lawyer's Daily
Columbia Public School parents cope with decision to go all virtual learning
Some parents were upset Tuesday over the Columbia Public School Board’s decision to have most students start the year online instead of attending class in person. Board members said they approved their all-virtual learning plan because there were too many coronavirus cases throughout the school district. Columbia Public Schools administrators sent a letter to parents saying they were grateful for patience, flexibility and understanding as students stay out of school buildings during September. District leaders were not giving advice to working parents because they said each family situation was different.
2nd Sep 2020 - krcgtv.com
Colorado College shifting to remote learning after more dorms placed under COVID-19 quarantine
Colorado College is switching to remote learning and asking on-campus students to leave after a dozen positive COVID-19 cases led the school to quarantine all three of its dorms for two weeks, the school’s leaders announced Tuesday. The private Colorado Springs college, which enrolls about 2,200 students, is the first higher-education institution in the state to switch to remote operations after reopening its campus to in-person learning in the midst of the pandemic. But the college is largely placing the blame for its about-face on El Paso County Public Health, which school officials said is behind the stringent quarantine guidelines that left 155 freshmen stuck inside their dorm rooms for two weeks last month after a single positive COVID-19 case was confirmed on campus
2nd Sep 2020 - The Denver Post
21% of Parents Had to Reduce Work Hours Because of Remote School, Survey Finds
As many parents experienced in the spring, remote learning asks a lot from them, too. Not only do many children need assistance with school work and scheduling but, at the very least, they require basic supervision, which means an adult must be at home to help. To that point, 21% of parents said that they had to change or reduce work hours due to changes in school or child care as a result of the coronavirus crisis, according to a new report from Country Financial. Not only do many children need assistance with school work and scheduling but, at the very least, they require basic supervision, which means an adult must be at home to help.
To that point, 21% of parents said that they had to change or reduce work hours due to changes in school or child care as a result of the coronavirus crisis, according to a new report from Country Financial.
1st Sep 2020 - NBC New York
JMU announces it will move classes online
James Madison University in Harrisonburg announced it is moving classes online.
On Tuesday, the school made the decision to switch instruction virtually. According to a press release from the university, JMU will transition to primarily online learning, with some hybrid instruction for accreditation and licensure requirements, graduate research and specialized upper-class courses requiring equipment and space, through the month of September. Classes will take place as scheduled for the remainder of the week unless students are otherwise notified by their instructors. In-person classes will transition to online no later than Monday, Sept. 7. The release also says that residents will be asked to return home by Sept. 7 unless they seek an exemption to stay.
1st Sep 2020 - WHSV
USDA extends free meals into the fall for kids learning virtually or in classrooms
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is extending its pandemic-related program for free meals for children into the fall. Under Congressional funding appropriated to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the USDA will allow summer meal program operators to provide free meals through as late as December 31. The extension should help ensure that kids are getting nutritious meals whether they are in the classroom or learning through virtual classes, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a statement released Tuesday.
1st Sep 2020 - WJLA
Government preparing to give formal education status to remote and virtual classes
Meanwhile, the federal government in Kathmandu is taking one decision after another regarding virtual learning apparently unbeknownst to the fact that millions of students like Sandeep and Suraj, who are based in rural parts of the country, cannot attend remote classrooms. There are around 7 million students in the school system from pre-primary to grade 12 levels, studying in 36,000 public and public schools across the country. After assessing that the resumption of schools and colleges was not possible immediately, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology had introduced a set of guidelines for virtual classes, set to come into force from June 16. The guidelines envision engaging students in the learning process online or through television and radio.
1st Sep 2020 - The Kathmandu Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Sep 2020
View this newsletter in fullNo in-person classes at Chico State due to spike in COVID-19 infections
California State University, Chico canceled its limited number of in-person classes Monday and told students in an urgently toned message to vacate campus housing by the weekend after nearly 30 people tested positive for the coronavirus days after the fall semester started. University President Gayle Hutchinson announced in a statement Sunday that the in-person classes it offered when the semester started last week will switch to virtual-only for the duration of the fall semester. She asked students to leave on-campus housing by the coming Sunday because nearly all on-campus residences have at least one positive case and "there is concern the numbers will only increase."
1st Sep 2020 - ABC7 San Francisco
Back To School Butterflies, Anxiety Turning Into Excitement As Students Begin Virtual Classes
The butterflies were flying in the classrooms and in the bedrooms as teachers and students gathered for the new school year in the Carlynton School District. A week later the butterflies have moved on and, “From what I’ve heard back from teachers and from students, even though it’s a virtual environment they are excited to see their friends, they are excited to see their teachers, and they’re excited to learn,” says Carlynton Superintendent John Kreider, Ph.D..
31st Aug 2020 - CBS Pittsburgh
Salisbury University Classes Back in Session Online and In-person
"Today is the first day of school and it is one of the best days of the year always," said Salisbury University President Charles A. Wight. As of last week, Salisbury University had a positivity rate of less than one percent. School leaders say they want to keep it that way. "Our classrooms have been reconfigured to keep all the students six feet apart, all the h fac systems have been reconfigured to add high-efficiency filters to keep the air nice and clean and safe," added Wight. Before heading back to campus students faculty and staff had to undergo a COVID-19 test. To stop the spread of the virus, students received a safety kit which includes a mask and thermometer.
31st Aug 2020 - WBOC TV 16
Pupil distancing hits teaching quality, teachers warn
Nearly three-quarters of teachers have said they could not teach to their usual standard when schools opened more widely in July, according to a new report. The study, The challenges facing schools and pupils in September 2020, carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NfER), found that 74 per cent of teachers did not feel able to teach to their usual standard in July. Distancing means teachers are unable to set group work, move around the classroom or help pupils fully, report warns.
31st Aug 2020 - TES News
UM-Flint starts year mostly online with limited in-person classes to fight coronavirus
University of Michigan Flint students returned to class Monday, Aug. 31 -- most of them in front of a computer screen. The majority of courses will be taught remotely, with some in-person classes taking place on a limited basis, according to the university’s plan for the start of school during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees are encouraged to work remotely if at all possible, and events and activities will mostly occur in a virtual format.
31st Aug 2020 - MLive.com
An unusual model to bring virtual learning ‘to life’
For most students, the virtual learning experiment forced on schools in the spring, when schools closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, was less than successful. Most school districts weren’t ready to move from in-person learning to online lessons virtually overnight. And now that the 2020-2021 academic year is starting again with remote instruction for most students, it’s an open question about if and how much online offerings have improved. In this post, David Kirp, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, writes about an unusual approach to bringing virtual learning “to life.”
29th Aug 2020 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullCuomo Says Colleges Must Temporarily Move To Remote Learning If Covid-19 Cases Spike
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) tightened public health regulations for colleges and universities Thursday, announcing if a school has 100 Covid-19 cases or an outbreak equal to 5% of the campus population, it is required to transition to remote learning for two weeks while the situation is evaluated.
27th Aug 2020 - Forbes
'I'm extremely nervous': US grapples with in-person or virtual classes
All five kids were scheduled to meet their homeroom and classroom teachers over Zoom at 1pm on Wednesday afternoon, the second day of online orientation in the Los Angeles Unified school district, the second-largest school district in the US with more than 600,000 students. Ruiz, an activist with Speak Up, a parent advocacy group in Los Angeles, found herself running around the apartment trying to introduce herself to her children’s teachers, “letting [them] know that I am home and that I am present, but I can’t stick with one child the whole time. I’m bouncing back and forth between each one,” she said.
27th Aug 2020 - The Guardian
Here’s What America’s Covid-Era Classrooms Look Like
This will be a school year unlike any other, that much is clear. Educators, parents and students across the country are returning to in-person and virtual classrooms shaped by the coronavirus pandemic. There is no one-size-fits-all answer for educators in 2020. Decisions on reopening are largely being made at the local level, leaving administrators to rely on conflicting guidelines from federal and state agencies or from public health experts. In some cases, the details about how to reopen are being ironed out days before students are scheduled to arrive. Amid this confusion, teachers are doing their best to prepare in-person and virtual classrooms to keep students safe and engaged. We asked educators across the U.S. to tell us how the coronavirus is changing their classrooms.
27th Aug 2020 - The New York Times
Coronavirus: No plans to fine parents who keep kids off school
Education chiefs in Hertfordshire do not intend to take formal action against concerned parents who continue "to keep their children away from school amid concerns about the spread of Covid-19, it has emerged. Increased hand-washing, teaching pupils in "bubbles", one-way systems and staggered start-times, are among the measures designed to stop any spread of Covid-19 when schools reopen next week. But education officials in Hertfordshire recognise that parents may still have concerns about the virus.
27th Aug 2020 - Watford Observer
Students Share How They Made Their Remote Classrooms Actually Cool
With more and more universities making the (probably wise) decision to go fully remote this semester because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students across the country are strapping in to spend more time than ever at their at-home desks, transforming them from places to occasionally study to the spots where they’ll take all their classes this fall.
27th Aug 2020 - VICE UK
'It’s going to be a different experience': preparing for online learning at uni
The 2020-21 academic year is going to be like no other. Shaken up by coronavirus, campuses have spent the summer rapidly redrawing their curriculum in anticipation of a “blended” approach that combines online learning with classroom teaching where possible. “It’s going to be a very different experience, especially for students who haven’t been to university before,” says Sana Ali, wellbeing officer at the University of Leicester’s students’ union. That means your tech choices are more important than ever – so do your research before buying a laptop.
27th Aug 2020 - The Guardian
How to Help When Your Child Is the New Kid in a Virtual Classroom
This school year is going to be downright bizarre. There is a lot of new in our new normal to adjust to—especially if, in addition to everything else, you’re also the new kid in what is suddenly a virtual classroom. Being new to the class is exciting and stressful during non-pandemic days, but how do you help your new student acclimate when their classroom doubles as the family’s dining room?
27th Aug 2020 - MSN Money
UNICEF: A third of world's children missed remote learning
The U.N. children’s agency says at least a third of children couldn’t access remote learning when the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools, creating “a global education emergency.” At the height of lockdowns meant to curb the pandemic, nearly 1.5 billion children were affected by school closures, UNICEF said. “For at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID-19, there was no such a thing as remote learning,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.
“The sheer number of children whose education was completely disrupted for months on end is a global education emergency,” she said in a statement. “The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come.”
27th Aug 2020 - ABC News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in full5 ways university education is being reimagined in response to COVID-19
With the new academic year beginning shortly, students, faculty and staff returning to higher education or arriving for the first time face uncertainty. There is anxiety about a fall term like no other. Those of us responsible for ensuring the futures of post-secondary students have endured months of existential fears about student and employee health and safety, the efficacy of online teaching and virtual learning and what it all means for enrolment and revenue. Enough already. Our responses to the pandemic are helping us reimagine the future of higher education.
25th Aug 2020 - The Conversation CA
Teacher comes out of coronavirus-forced retirement to help remote learners understand calculus
A Michigan teacher might not have thought he’d be heading back to a classroom so shortly after early retirement but the events of 2020 changed the plans Frederick Reusch originally had. The 72-year-old teacher had planned to stay in a traditional classroom until he was not physically able to do so, WZZM reported.
25th Aug 2020 - KIRO Seattle
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullScience teachers in UAE learn how to take experiments to virtual classrooms
Nearly 130 science and math teachers in Abu Dhabi learned innovative teaching techniques at a recent two-day webinar. Sessions with live demonstrations and experiments guided them on how important hands-on classroom activities can be translated into effective virtual seat works. The webinar, titled 'Milestone Lessons', were organised by the Abu Dhabi chapter of Science India Forum - UAE, a volunteer organisation. Among the speakers were experts from the Mumbai-based Association of Chemistry Teachers (ACT). Educators joining from India, Brijesh Pare, D.V. Prabhu and Anand Mandhian, elaborated on the challenges faced by teachers and how to adapt to changing circumstances.
25th Aug 2020 - Khaleej Times
Hawaii again postpones reopening because of coronavirus
Last week, Gov. David Ige postponed lifting entry rules until Oct. 1 at the earliest. The governor plans to replace the 14-day quarantine with COVID-19 testing for people entering the state. Initially, he was going to roll out the plan in August, and then September. The reopening kept getting pushed back as the number of cases increased. Mufi Hannemann, president of the Hawaii Tourism & Lodging Assn., an organization representing 800 hotels and related businesses, says winter visitors will have a less crowded island experience, one different from other years. “We’ll try our best to give you that quality spirit of aloha that we’ve always been known for,” he said. “Don’t take us off your list yet.”
24th Aug 2020 - Los Angeles Times
In Mexico's televised 'return to classes,' parents turn to state schools
Millions of students returned to classes virtually in Mexico on Monday after a hiatus lasting months caused by the coronavirus pandemic that has sparked an exodus from private schools. Mexico has yet to publish official data, but private-school bodies consulted by Reuters said almost 2 million students at all levels were expected to quit private schools because of the crisis to join an already overcrowded public system. The lack of both in-person teaching and access to facilities has left many parents unwilling to shoulder private-school costs. “We’re facing a tremendous crisis,” said Alfredo Villar, head of the National Association of Private Schools. “Many schools are running out of people and will very likely have to close.”
24th Aug 2020 - Reuters UK
Springfield sticking with plan for teachers to work remotely, despite state recommendation to instruct from c
The city’s superintendent of schools said Monday that Springfield will stick with plans for teachers to stay out of their classrooms this fall despite a state recommendation for educators to provide remote instruction from their schools. Superintendent Daniel Warwick said the remote learning system for students and teachers was approved by the School Committee and is the “more prudent” measure to protect students and staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
24th Aug 2020 - MassLive.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 and the Class of 2021: Pensacola seniors reflect on unprecedented year ahead
On her first day of kindergarten in 2008, Devina Hall sat behind a little desk and posed with a playful expression as a photographer snapped her photo for the News Journal. Now 17, Hall once again has her photo in the News Journal. Only this time, it's ahead of the first day of her senior year at Pensacola High School. Looking ahead to the first day of school, Hall told the News Journal last week that she — like many seniors going into the first day of their last year of high school during a pandemic — feels similarly to how she did on her first day of kindergarten: a little fearful. "I'm scared some people might not be wearing their masks. Some people have been out of town and come here, and they won’t tell you," Hall said. "Some people just don’t care like that.”
23rd Aug 2020 - Pensacola News Journal
Schools start with quarantines, confusion and a lack of coronavirus details for many parents
Quarantines, closures: Confusion reigns as schools reopen - Frightening calls from the school nurse. Waiting in vain for word from school officials. Canceled sports practices. Marching bands in quarantine. For countless families across the country, the school year is opening in disarray and confusion, with coronavirus outbreaks triggering sudden closings, mass quarantines and deep anxiety among parents.
23rd Aug 2020 - PennLive
Miami professors’ living rooms now classrooms under coronavirus threat
Nearly 20,000 Miami University students are now learning online instead in classrooms in response to the coronavirus threat. For Associate Professor Jeff Kuznekoff, that means big changes for his living room. Kuznekoff, a communications instructor, has a infant boy at home and decided to take a safer option for his family of teaching from home rather than in his usual classroom.
23rd Aug 2020 - Hamilton Journal News
How coronavirus crisis reinvented online learning as a necessity
Pandemic has led to a regional surge in education-technology startups in the Middle East. Governments regionwide have launched initiatives to support remote learning and working
23rd Aug 2020 - Arab News
Keeping students safe in Denver area schools as coronavirus lurks is a delicate dance
It’s been less than a week since a handful of school districts in the metro area began the delicate dance of bringing children back to the classroom amid a global coronavirus pandemic that has to date infected approximately 55,000 people in Colorado. Against that backdrop comes the grim recognition that this may be a routine too difficult to choreograph and too complex to execute in the long run, as COVID-19 outbreaks at schools around the country — including last week’s positive COVID-19 test of a teacher in a Westminster school and infections of two students at a Fort Lupton high school — force education officials to reverse course and send kids back home to learn online.
22nd Aug 2020 - The Denver Post
Covid-19: UAE students prefer digital learning to classrooms
Things are different this year, as majority of students and parents are opting for virtual learning over on-site learning. And the shopping list for those who choose classroom learning also will see some difference with hand sanitisers, masks and gloves being the new entries to back-to-school purchase list. According to a recent Khaleej Times poll, 61.45 per cent of the students prefer e-learning while 38.55 per cent of pupils want to opt for in-school classes. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Education among parents also showed similar results with 59 per cent supporting distance learning in the first term of the new academic year.
22nd Aug 2020 - Khaleej Times
Gwinnett schools to bring some students back to classrooms next week
Under a phased plan, some students will begin returning to school to Wednesday. At a Board of Education meeting Thursday, many teachers voiced objections to in-person classes while Gwinnett County still has a high COVID-19 case rate. They say it isn’t safe or healthy for them —or their students. “We can admit that digital learning is not an ideal learning environment,” Everton Blair, the only board member to voice opposition to the reopening plan, said at the meeting. “But even if half of [students] show up, it’s impossible for them to social distance on buses and social distance in the classroom.”
21st Aug 2020 - Atlanta Journal Constitution
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullUNC begins testing as coronavirus cases spike, while N.C. State switches to virtual classes
North Carolina State University will switch all of its undergraduate classes online after clusters of coronavirus cases were found on campus this week, adding to the chaos of students scrambling to find new housing as more colleges shut down. It was another sign of the challenge facing universities that have tried to hold some classes in person, with residential life — and student behavior — apparently making it more difficult to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. At the nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which had already announced an abrupt shift to virtual learning earlier this week, the chancellor said undergraduate classes would be canceled Monday and Tuesday to allow students time to move off campus as the number of cases continued to rise.
20th Aug 2020 - Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullGlasgow primary school class told to self-isolate after pupil tests positive for Covid-19
An entire class of Glasgow primary children and their teacher have been told to self-isolate after one pupil tested positive for coronavirus. Families at St Albert’s primary, Pollokshields – which reopened for the first time since lockdown exactly a week ago – were contacted earlier on Wednesday by public health officials and told to quarantine for 14 days. Each child in isolation has also been issued with an iPad so that lessons can be taught remotely. It is understood that there are between 20 and 25 pupils in the class. A spokesperson for Glasgow city council said “robust” infection control measures were in place at the school, adding: “There is currently no evidence of transmission within the school itself.”
19th Aug 2020 - The Guardian
Notre Dame becomes latest university to suspend in-person classes
The University of Notre Dame on Tuesday suspended in-person classes and moved them online for at least two weeks after seeing a surge in coronavirus cases, the latest university to roll back campus reopenings. Notre Dame University President John Jenkins announced the decision after the prestigious Catholic university near South Bend, Indiana, reported a spike of 80 positive test results on Monday, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 147 since Aug. 3, according to the university’s website. The results from 418 tests represented a positivity rate of 19 percent at the school with overall positivity at around 16 percent since Aug. 3.
19th Aug 2020 - Reuters UK
School outbreaks wreck Trump's plans for return to normal
President Donald Trump hoped schools and colleges would reopen their doors this fall, marking the retreat of the coronavirus pandemic and the start of an economic revival just months before the presidential election. Metastasizing outbreaks are shattering those hopes. Thousands of kids and coeds are getting sick, along with their teachers, triggering mass quarantines, campus closures and last-minute switches to online learning. Virus-proof kids who are “virtually immune” to the scourge — that was what the president promised. A few days into the new school year, that prediction hasn’t held together. “His promises have proven to be false,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat whose home state has seen coronavirus infections in 87 percent of the counties as of Monday, thrusting more than 2,000 students and nearly 600 teachers into quarantine.
19th Aug 2020 - POLITICO
4 Things You Can Do Right Now to Prep Your Kids – and Your Home – for Virtual Learning
Students are gearing up for a school year unlike any other, with the coronavirus keeping thousands of kids out of a traditional classroom. For parents, the idea of remote learning can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. "They're wondering how this is going to work, especially when they're working from home," said Ann Dolin, a former Fairfax County teacher who went on to found Educational Connections, a tutoring service in the D.C. area. Dolin has four things you can do right now to prepare your child for a smooth transition into virtual learning.
19th Aug 2020 - NBC4 Washington
Saudi Arabia prepares world's largest virtual classroom amid pandemic
Across 20 television channels and online, the Saudi Ministry of Education is preparing to launch the largest virtual school in the world as classes resume despite the ongoing global pandemic. Education Minister Hamad Al Sheikh on Wednesday announced the kingdom’s plan for virtual schooling in a press conference held in Riyadh. “The ministry benefited from the last [academic] year’s experience as a basic starting point. Distance education and e-learning are no longer an option, rather, it is a necessity that all societies need,” he said. “The government … believes that education is the focus of change in the kingdom and its people, it is the source of community development for all ages and distance education is part of this development in the educational process.”
19th Aug 2020 - The National
Broward students are back to the books and the virtual classroom
Broward public school students started the new school year at the same place where it ended last year, from home, online. Due to the high COVID-19 positivity rate in South Florida Broward students will be remote learning for the foreseeable future.
19th Aug 2020 - Miami Herald
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in full'They put us all in danger': UNC-Chapel Hill students outraged after quick shift to virtual learning
As University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill students scrambled on Tuesday to move out of their dorm rooms, make decisions about their academic futures and demand tuition refunds, they had one message for administrators. We told you so. “Everybody told the university not to reopen, and it was only a matter of time,” said Nikhil Rao, a student government senior adviser who has participated in online meetings with provost Bob Blouin every month since April along with other student leaders. “I would be shocked if I didn’t know this was going to happen.
19th Aug 2020 - NBC News
Michigan State University Switches To Remote Learning: Here Are The Latest College Coronavirus Updates
A number of institutions of higher learning are already dealing with dangerous and disruptive coronavirus outbreaks shortly after reopening for in-person classes, with three large universities abruptly switching to remote learning this week.
18th Aug 2020 - Forbes
Fauci says virtual classrooms better in parts of country hard hit by COVID-19
Easing in with virtual classrooms would be better in parts of the country that have a coronavirus infection positivity rate of more than 10%, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious diseases expert, said on Tuesday. Fauci said that the default position should be to try and reopen schools for the psychological health of children, but added that a unilateral approach to reopening schools could not be taken. “To make a statement on one side vs the other and take the country as a whole won’t work — we’re so heterogeneous with the infections,” Fauci said in a virtual conference hosted by health information website Healthline. Some U.S. schools have closed almost as quickly as they welcomed back students as the nation tries to reopen while the level of new cases per day remains high in many states.
18th Aug 2020 - Reuters UK
Coronavirus today: Another $100 million devoted to broadband access for schools, governor hopeful on case trend
Governor Hutchinson took his daily coronavirus briefing to Blytheville today. He touted expanded spending on broadband access. He announced the Legislative Council had approved an additional $100 million in spending on expanding broadband access in rural areas, on top of $24 million dedicated previously. He said Earle was the latest city to get a grant — of $1.8 million. And he said 380 WiFi “hotspots” had been distributed for schools in Mississippi County. He said he was hopeful that schools could continue in regular classrooms, but he hoped the state would be prepared to be sure access was equal for all students if events force schools to switch the virtual classes.
18th Aug 2020 - Arkansas Times
How to Navigate Online College Classes as a Student With Disabilities
Brian Flatley, associate director for the Student Access Office at Adelphi University in New York, says the support offered there “didn’t really change, however the method of support did change” during the spring semester. Flatley points to closed captions and transcriptions for online lectures, software that takes notes from audio recordings, and technology that describes graphics, charts and other elements to the visually impaired as examples of accommodations provided to students at Adelphi last spring when classes went fully online.
18th Aug 2020 - WTOP
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullUNC Chapel Hill to move undergraduate classes fully remote amid outbreaks of COVID-19
A week after its first day of classes, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced it will be shifting all undergraduate classes remotely amid several outbreaks of COVID-19 on campus. Starting Wednesday, all undergraduate in-person instruction will go digital for the rest of the fall semester, Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz and Executive Vice Chancellor Robert A. Blouin said in a letter to the school on Monday. The school leaders said the "current data presents an untenable situation." In the past week, from Aug. 10-16, the campus' positivity rate increased nearly fivefold, from 2.8% to 13.6%, officials said. During that period, there were 130 new confirmed cases in students and five in employees, according to the school's COVID-19 dashboard.
18th Aug 2020 - ABC News
Lab-based teaching re-imagined using augmented reality
The Department of Chemical Engineering is transforming the delivery of lab-based teaching using Microsoft HoloLens technology and augmented reality. Chemical engineers at Imperial have been transforming how they teach practical lab skills to students based remotely, as part of the new multi-mode offering for students in the new academic year. New and returning chemical engineering undergraduates will have the opportunity to use augmented reality (AR) to complete lab-based experiments, using Microsoft HoloLens technology to connect and interact from wherever they are in the world.
17th Aug 2020 - Imperial College London
‘Who are we willing to sacrifice?’: teachers’ fears grow as US schools plan reopenings
During a school board meeting in July over school reopening plans, Louise Radloff, the county school board chair, was caught on a hot mic telling another member, “I could strangle him”, in reference to another board member arguing in favor of starting school virtually. She has since apologized. Opponents’ fears are justified. Gwinnett county has reported more than 20,000 Covid-19 cases, with local infections rising over the past few weeks. Worried teachers have been holding caravan protests against in-person school reopenings.
17th Aug 2020 - The Guardian
After two delays, Zachary classrooms open to students; half the students are on virtual plan
After two delays, Zachary schools on Monday opened their doors to students for the first time since March, when facilities closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The school year was originally slated to begin Aug. 6. The Zachary Community School Board decided to push that date back to Aug. 10 to give staff extra time to prepare for teaching with extra safety precautions in place. Then, when several teachers had to quarantine because of coronavirus exposure, the start date was postponed once again.
17th Aug 2020 - The Advocate
CDC warns COVID-19 rates in children are 'steadily increasing' as they return to schools
Children accounted for 7.3 percent of all US coronavirus cases as of August 3
Officials said the juvenile transmission rate may have been low in the spring and early summer because of lockdowns and school closures. But that rate is expected to rise as more students return to schools this fall. More than 5.36 million coronavirus cases and 169,489 deaths have been reported in the US as of Sunday
17th Aug 2020 - Daily Mail
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullMake online class more interactive; this way, they can complement physical classrooms post Covid
The entire class would have learnt about organ systems, with students collaborating in groups while also interacting as a class; all the while, the teacher plays a facilitatory and a supervisory role in knowledge exchange. From issues of access centred on digital connectivity, devices and literacy to the fact that it can’t replicate the social-emotional component of classroom learning, there are a fair number of criticisms of online learning. However, if education hasn’t surrendered completely to the pandemic and the need for distancing, it is because of online/on-air teaching. So, the effort has to be towards addressing its lacuna. Access simply needs enough administrative will to deal with; it is the limitations of technology that will prove challenging. Online education can never replace the classroom experience, but Sal Khan of the Khan Academy, writing in The New York Times, discussed ways to enrich the virtual classroom experience.
17th Aug 2020 - The Financial Express
‘A national crisis’: As coronavirus forces many schools online this fall, millions of disconnected students are being left behind
For all the talk of Generation Z’s Internet savvy, a stunning number of young people are locked out of virtual classes because they lack high-speed Internet service at home. In 2018, nearly 17 million children lived in homes without high-speed Internet, and more than 7 million did not have computers at home, according to a report prepared by a coalition of civil rights and education groups that analyzed census data for that year. The issue affects a disproportionately high percentage of Black, Latino and Native American households — with nearly one-third of students lacking high-speed Internet at home. Students in Southern states and in rural communities also were particularly overrepresented. In Mississippi and Arkansas, about 40 percent of students lacked high-speed Internet.
16th Aug 2020 - The Washington Post
An Arizona School District Canceled All Its Classes After Teachers Staged A Sickout Over Coronavirus Fears
A school district in Arizona that was set to open for in-person teaching on Monday was forced to cancel all classes after teachers staged a “sickout” to protest unsafe working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic. "We have received an overwhelming response from staff indicating that they do not feel safe returning to classrooms with students," Gregory Wyman, superintendent of the J.O. Combs Unified School District, said in a letter to parents on Friday. "In response, we have received a high volume of staff absences for Monday citing health and safety concerns," Wyman said.
16th Aug 2020 - BuzzFeed News
Many private schools are planning to open in person as public schools are stuck online
In between fielding emails from parents about his school’s plan to reopen, Bud Tosti spent Tuesday unloading 120 desks at St. Katharine of Siena School in Wayne.
“You can’t socially distance with tables,” Tosti, the Catholic elementary school’s principal, said after swapping desks into six classrooms. As public schools across the region have increasingly moved to reopen with online-only instruction, many private schools are pressing ahead with plans to bring children back to classrooms, saying they are taking precautions and can open safely.
16th Aug 2020 - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Coronavirus response | Day care facilities scramble to accommodate virtual learners
Through the spring and summer, the YMCA has hosted 50 to 60 children, but as the fall draws closer and plans have changed for school districts across the area, Scott and his organization are planning something bigger. The local YMCA hopes to open at least five sites in Champaign-Urbana and a few others throughout Champaign County to host at least 200 K-5 students as they participate in remote learning. The students will be in classrooms with no more than 10 children and two adults. “We’ll set up (six) mini schools, if you will,” Scott said. “Obviously, we won’t have the same level of education as a school would, and, you know, 10 kids per room is going to make it easy for us to keep them distanced and safe. But we’re going to provide places where we can keep the numbers way down and we can keep them spaced out.”
16th Aug 2020 - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
COVID-19 rates in children are 'steadily increasing' and now account for 7.3% of all US cases, CDC warns - while top doctor urges kids returning to school to wear masks as ...
The CDC released new guidance on coronavirus in children on Friday. It showed that the number and rate of infections among children have been 'steadily increasing' between March and July. Children accounted for 7.3 percent of all US coronavirus cases as of August 3. Officials said the juvenile transmission rate may have been low in the spring and early summer because of lockdowns and school closures. But that rate is expected to rise as more students return to schools this fall. More than 5.36 million coronavirus cases and 169,489 deaths have been reported in the US as of Sunday
16th Aug 2020 - Daily Mail
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullGeorgia school with photos of packed hallways will curb in-person classes after coronavirus outbreak
About half the students at the Georgia high school, where a crowded hallway filled with maskless teens was captured on images and video that went viral, will return to classes next Monday under a new plan to mitigate crowding amid a growing count of novel coronavirus cases. The Paulding County School District announced Wednesday that students will return to North Paulding High School classrooms next week for in-person instruction, even though the school has reached 35 positive cases since students returned to class, according to a letter sent to parents and guardians obtained by a WXIA-TV reporter. The school in the Atlanta suburb of Dallas was shoved onto the national stage last week when at least two students shared pictures and video of a crowded hallway filled with their mostly maskless peers. The students were suspended for posting the images, a decision that was later reversed. The school shuttered its doors this week cleaning after six students and at least three staff members tested positive for the novel coronavirus over the weekend.
13th Aug 2020 - The Washington Post
Coronavirus: What will going to university be like during a pandemic?
With results for A-level students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland published today, thousands of teenagers will find out if they’ve received a spot at a university.
But with the continuing coronavirus pandemic, university is likely to be a bit different this year. There are many challenges facing UK universities - student and staff health and welfare, living arrangements, and how to do a socially distanced Freshers week. Here are just some of the ways university might change
13th Aug 2020 - Evening Standard
Grand Blanc parents react to new virtual learning plan
COVID-19 is reshaping back to school plans across the region, for many there won't be an early morning bell or a bus ride with friends. That's the reality for families in Grand Blanc after the district voted unanimously to postpone in-person classes causing mixed emotions in the community on social media.
13th Aug 2020 - nbc25news.com
Audit slams Michigan oversight of remote learning as districts embrace it
As hundreds of thousands of Michigan schoolchildren gear up for “all virtual” classes amid the coronavirus pandemic, an audit released Thursday found the state can’t guarantee their effectiveness. The report from the Michigan Office of the Inspector General sharply criticized the state’s handling of existing online courses, saying education officials don’t have enough information on student performance and attendance of virtual classes. Without changes, auditors said there is a “potential negative impact that the absence of a well-developed evaluation strategy could have on advancing the achievement of virtual learners in traditional public schools.”
13th Aug 2020 - Bridge Michigan
Grandmother and educator believes virtual learning will help teach students about responsibilities
A former educator said she’s prepared to help navigate her three grandchildren through the virtual classroom. COVID-19 created a strange world for us all, especially for those in education. “No, I haven’t had to deal with anything like this,” said Dr. Oneida Wade Ingram. Ingram spent around 30 years of her life as an educator in Dooley County. She has many other titles under her belt which includes being listed as a substitute teacher now in Sumter County.
13th Aug 2020 - WTVY
Half of Pentagon's schools in US will do virtual learning
Despite President Donald Trump's push to open all schools, half of the Defense Department's schools in America will not open for in-person learning as the country struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic. In stark contrast, only two of the department's 68 schools in Europe will be operating remotely, underscoring the dramatic difference between the widespread outbreak in the U.S. and the success other countries have had in bringing it under control. Defense Department schools in the Pacific region will also be split, with 26 of the 45 facilities open for in-person learning. Trump on Wednesday repeated his call to reopen schools, and again pushed Congress to steer future coronavirus funding away from schools that don't open this fall. Most of the nation’s largest school districts, however, are planning to start the year with remote instruction.
13th Aug 2020 - YAHOO!
Oldham County Schools to heed Beshear's request and start upcoming year virtually
Oldham County Schools will heed Gov. Andy Beshear's request and start the upcoming academic year with virtual learning instead of in-person classes. Superintendent Greg Schultz told OCS parents in a message Tuesday afternoon that students who were planning start the 2020-21 school year on Aug. 24 with in-person classes will instead begin from home with nontraditional instruction, or NTI.
Students who had planned on enrolling in the district's Virtual Learning Academy, or VLA, will also start Aug. 24, while preschoolers begin Aug. 31, Schultz said.
VLA students must stick with the option until the end of the trimester on Nov. 12, when they could can to switch to in-person learning or continue on with virtual learning.
11th Aug 2020 - Courier Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullReturn To The Classroom: How COVID-19 Has Affected Private Schools
Although students at Anne Arundel County public schools will continue to learn virtually because of COVID-19, many private schools will bring kids to the classroom this fall. Private schools are in the unique position of having smaller class sizes, carpools and the ability to meet all social distancing guidelines set by the Maryland State Department of Education for non-public schools and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) Many parents are transferring their students to private schools to get their education in person. “Since public schools announced their decision to go virtual, we have seen a real increase in our enrollment,” said Jamey Hein, head of school at St-Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School. “We have been bringing in those families in these last few weeks. We were going to have an enrollment of about 160; we are looking at an enrollment of around 190 to 200 come September. Some of our public school families are looking to us to have their child educated face to face.”
13th Aug 2020 - pasadenavoice.com
How to Make Remote Learning Work for Your Children
When schools and day cares shut down in March, no one thought it would last more than a few months. But in the United States, the Covid-19 pandemic is nowhere near under control. That makes in-person schooling an iffy proposition in many parts of the country. Even if your school plans to have students on campus for at least part of the school year, it’s wise to prepare for repeated shutdowns, closures, or quarantines when children, teachers, and staff test positive for Covid-19. Remote learning is here to stay, so we spoke to several edtech experts about identifying possible obstacles and aiming for reasonable goals.
12th Aug 2020 - WIRED
New Jersey Gives Schools an All-Remote Option
Gov. Philip D. Murphy is giving New Jersey districts the option to offer all-virtual classes when school resumes next month, relaxing his original requirement that teachers provide some in-person classroom instruction. The policy shift comes as the state’s powerful teachers union for the first time publicly called for an all-virtual start to the school year given the risks still posed by the coronavirus.
12th Aug 2020 - The New York Times
In Class or Virtual: Allergy Families Grapple with School's Return
“It took a lot for me to send her to a public school, period,” says Garver, explaining that she worried that her daughter’s multiple food allergies would not be taken seriously. The mother of two had worked closely with the school to make staff aware of Lia’s food allergies, and to get safety measures in place, such as added supervision for her daughter during meal time. By first grade, Garver was getting more comfortable with her daughter being in the classroom – and then the pandemic hit. At the end of the drive-by graduation parade route, a staff member handed Garver an envelope from the school nurse. Inside was a letter advising that, due to Lia’s asthma and multiple food allergies, if the pandemic persisted, it would be better for the 7-year-old to stick with the online curriculum for the fall. If she wanted to return to the classroom, a doctor would need to clear it.
12th Aug 2020 - Allergic Living
Trump claims remote learning 'is not the answer' in a bid to get schools open by the fall
Trump was speaking at the White House on Wednesday when he touted schools reopening, asserting remote learning 'is not the answer.' 'It is interesting because one thing we've learned during this horror show of the virus is that virtual is not as good as being there,' he said. Also during Wednesday's remarks, President Trump boasted about providing various school districts with up to 125million reusable masks
12th Aug 2020 - Daily Mail
The coronavirus has sparked a surge in interest in cyber charter schools | Opinion
Pennsylvania’s 14 public cyber charter schools have been in the news lately as thousands of families seek to enroll their children for the new school year. Parents are choosing public cyber charter schools, because we know how to educate students online. We have been teaching children in virtual classrooms for 20 years now. We know what works. We know what doesn't work. As innovators in public education, our cyber charter leaders want to help all schools with their virtual education programs. Specifically, we want to make sure every brick-and-mortar school – district, private or charter – can educate students online if schools are closed again this fall.
12th Aug 2020 - pennlive.com
Making online learning work for students
Conducting schooling activities online has constrained several aspects of students’ learning process, especially in the socio-emotional development area. Yet, amid the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have had no choice but to make do with the virtual learning platforms available in order to maintain children’s and teachers’ health. One of the schools that continues to conduct its classes online is Sinarmas World Academy (SWA) in Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD), South Tangerang city, Banten. SWA board chairman Anton Mailoa said that although the BSD area was a safe zone, but the school had students from various areas in Greater Jakarta, including those that were red zones for the coronavirus outbreak.
12th Aug 2020 - Jakarta Post
14 Students Choose Online Only At Lookout Mountain School; Some Teaching Will Be Outdoors
With school beginning, there are a lot of changes, Commissioner of Schools Brooke Pippenger told the Lookout Mountain, Tn., Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon. Changes from the Hamilton County Board of Education have been coming daily and different information is coming to the school throughout the day, she said after spending some time at Lookout Mountain School. The school will open using Hamilton County’s hybrid phase 2 plan, which will include both in person and online learning.
12th Aug 2020 - The Chattanoogan
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus spurs enrollment explosion for Pa. cyberschools
To say interest in K-12 cyber education for this fall is exploding is clearly an understatement. PA Cyber, a cyber charter school based in Beaver County, is receiving 1,000 inquiries about its programs each week. The school already has reached its 11,677-student limit – 2,000 more students than it usually has enrolled at the start of school – and has thousands of names on a waiting list. Over on the other side of the state, PA Virtual Charter School in Montgomery County has implemented a lottery system for the first time in its 20-year history. The number of enrollments it had at the end of July is three times the number it had at the same time last year.
12th Aug 2020 - PA Post
Coronavirus: Online learning is here to stay, says global education survey
To say interest in K-12 cyber education for this fall is exploding is clearly an understatement. PA Cyber, a cyber charter school based in Beaver County, is receiving 1,000 inquiries about its programs each week. The school already has reached its 11,677-student limit – 2,000 more students than it usually has enrolled at the start of school – and has thousands of names on a waiting list. Over on the other side of the state, PA Virtual Charter School in Montgomery County has implemented a lottery system for the first time in its 20-year history. The number of enrollments it had at the end of July is three times the number it had at the same time last year.
11th Aug 2020 - The National
Teachers, students head back to virtual classrooms
In a back-to-school day unlike any other before it, the first group of Santa Clarita Valley K-12 students and teachers returned to the classroom via a distance learning format Tuesday. The William S. Hart Union High School District and the Castaic Union School District booted up their computers and online programs for the first day of the school year. The Saugus Union School District is set to start classes Wednesday; the Newhall and Sulphur Springs Union school districts are set to resume Thursday. For the first to return, starting in an online teaching environment was a new experience for teachers who weren’t involved in the previous year but, naturally, it’s being treated as a learning opportunity.
11th Aug 2020 - Santa Clarita Valley Signal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 is widening the education gap. This is how we can stop it
Coronavirus-induced school closures in the US has removed a safety-net for many, going beyond education. Virtual classrooms are highlighting social inequalities, be it differences in home furnishings or a lack of internet to even join the call. Just as important as how virtual the autumn 2020 term should be, is the question of how inclusive it can be made.
10th Aug 2020 - World Economic Forum
Is this new online-only private school the future of education?
Virtual classrooms, pastoral care via Zoom: as a new online-only school opens up, is this a better option for children post Covid?
10th Aug 2020 - Telegraph.co.uk
Coronavirus: Frontier Elementary student tests positive, classroom moves to temporary virtual learning
An elementary school student who attended Frontier Elementary Aug. 6 and 7 tested positive for coronavirus, Superintendent Dan Sichting confirmed Monday. In response, the student’s classroom was switched to remote learning for Monday and plans to return to in-person teaching Tuesday, Sichting said. The student is asymptomatic and was tested after he was in contact with a person who tested positive, Sichting said. Frontier School Corp. restarted the school year Aug. 6, offering both an in-person and virtual option for students. The elementary school is located in Brookston, about 14 miles north of Lafayette. Frontier Junior/Senior High School and school district office are four miles north of there, in Chalmers. Students and teachers in other classrooms at Frontier Elementary and at Frontier Junior/Senior High School were not in contact with the student, Sichting said, and continue to operate for in-person classes.
10th Aug 2020 - Journal & Courier
Gov. Andy Beshear recommends virtual learning for Kentucky schools until Sept. 28
Citing fresh concern over the state's COVID-19 cases and positivity rate, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday that Kentucky schools should now wait to resume in-person classes until Sept. 28. The Democratic governor had recommended in late July that schools postpone in-person instruction until at least the third week of August. In giving his new recommendation for K-12 schools, Beshear said Monday that the state had taken "good steps" to fight COVID-19 but that "we do not have control of the virus."
10th Aug 2020 - Courier Journal
'A lot to learn': 27-year teacher goes digital during coronavirus
Twenty-seven years of teaching have boosted Kristin Barrus’s confidence inside the classroom. “I could teach standing on my head on any normal school day,” the sixth-grade teacher recently told EdNews. But 2020-21 isn’t any normal school year. K-12 leaders and health officials are still wrestling with how to safely reopen Idaho’s schools amid the coronavirus pandemic. Trustees in the state’s biggest districts last week responded by delaying the school year and voting to go fully online.
10th Aug 2020 - Idaho EdNews
Iowa teachers 'working feverishly' to create online curriculum in time for start of school
Educators in Eastern Iowa have spent their summer creating virtual classrooms for students enrolled in online learning to avoid exposure to COVID-19 in schools.
While online education in the spring was reactive as schools hastily closed because of the coronavirus in mid-March, online learning for this fall is proactive, said Ty Haren, a sixth-grade Wickham Elementary School teacher in Coralville, who has spent the past several months creating an online Language Arts curriculum for kindergarten through sixth-grade students in the Iowa City Community School District. “This isn’t our preferred way of doing things, but at the same time it’s asking the question of what are the health needs of our families, students and teachers,” Harem said.
10th Aug 2020 - The Gazette
Rabbi-dad starts online US Jewish day school to help families through pandemic
“Are you worried about sending kids to school physically next year?” Rank wrote. “If you’re interested in Jewish education amidst all this, let’s talk; I’m building a network now.” At the time, Rank may have sounded like a pessimist: Many summer camps hadn’t even been canceled yet. With the disease appearing to be in retreat in most places, the idea of an online fall semester seemed far-fetched. But now, with the disease widespread and schools across the country reopening online, Rank looks more like a prophet. And the conversation he began that day has yielded the outlines of an online Jewish elementary school program: Yesod, or foundation in Hebrew.
10th Aug 2020 - The Times of Israel
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullLondon school 'must have back-up plan in case of second coronavirus lockdown'
London schools must have a back-up plan in case of a new lockdown, an education technology adviser said today. Simon Carter, director at RM Education, said schools should have a “hybrid approach” of classroom and remote lessons, and teachers need more training in using technology for distance learning. He said: “Schools and colleges must have an effective continuity plan. In the event that we see another lockdown here in London and the closure of schools, teachers require a clear understanding of what to do; and the different methods of remote learning.
8th Aug 2020 - Evening Standard
COVID-19 Roundup: UNC holds firm on reopening; Hopkins and UMass pivot; Syracuse suspends nondistancing students
Johns Hopkins University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst were among the latest institutions Thursday to rethink their plans for the fall. "We write today with a profound sense of regret and intense disappointment to share the news that we will not be able to return in person to campus this fall as we had hoped," Johns Hopkins president, provost and vice president for student affairs wrote to undergraduates late Thursday. "With the full support of the board of trustees, we have come to the difficult but necessary decision that the fall semester will be entirely online for our undergraduates." The administrators "strongly" urged students who had planned to come to Baltimore for the fall "not to do so," said virtually all campus facilities would be closed, and announced a 10 percent reduction in fall tuition.
9th Aug 2020 - Inside Higher Ed
Increase in COVID-19 cases prompts change of plans for Madison County Schools
Madison County Schools announced a change in its back-to-school plan. On Aug. 5, the district announced it would be changing from its initial goal of Plan B to online instruction. This comes after one school in the county has already reported a COVID-19 outbreak. Wednesday's announcement stated that the county had seen a 50% increase in positive cases over 10 days, including an infant and a school-aged child who tested positive, and one death in the community
9th Aug 2020 - WLOS
At the elite Shipley school in Bryn Mawr, money is no object in coronavirus-reopening plans
For the price of $24,000 to $40,000 per child in tuition, here is how one of the most prestigious private schools in suburban Philadelphia is planning to get around the problem of a coronavirus pandemic that is forcing the shutdown of in-class instruction at many public schools this fall. Spoiler alert: The kids get to go to class. In person. Every single day of the week. The Shipley School is aiming for this lofty outcome through a staggering array of if-then statements and contingency plans shared with me a few days ago by head of school Michael Turner. By the end of our one-hour-long talk, it felt as though I had just interviewed a logistics chief of a major corporation. Every education administrator has been scrambling. But only a few have the resources of a place like Shipley, a fact that in and of itself, is both breathtaking and distressing.
9th Aug 2020 - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Parents look to private schools for in-person instruction as school districts announce online starts
As more schools announce online starts for fall amid the pandemic, parents are looking to private schools for face-to-face instruction. Private schools across the U.S. have reported an uptick in interest from families as local public schools roll out online or hybrid fall plans. Parents say they need their children to be in-school so they can be engaged while parents work.
9th Aug 2020 - CNBC
The Latest: Hawaii schools to open year with remote learning
Hawaii officials say the state’s public school students will begin the academic year with remote learning only, after a spike of coronavirus cases. Gov. David Ige said Friday that all public students will spend the first four weeks of the school year learning online from home. Officials had originally planned to start the year with a mostly hybrid model in which students would alternate between online and in-person classes. The state will go to the hybrid approach in September if community transmission of the virus is brought under control. Oahu has seen the majority of new cases in recent weeks, filling up hospital beds and spurring officials to close beaches, parks and hiking trails.
8th Aug 2020 - ABC News
Are families ready for online instruction? | Coronavirus
The workstations in Lydia Santiago’s home classroom are arranged where her six kids will learn best, she said. The dining room table. The couch. The beanbag chair. And for one particularly athletic child, the trampoline out back. “I’d rather have the kids seated comfortably where they want to learn than force a place on them,” Santiago said.
8th Aug 2020 - Santa Fe New Mexican
‘Learning pods’ could help NC families with online education
This year, that stress is compounded by the massive societal and institutional changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about the safety of students and teachers. In-person learning has been delayed in many districts, leaving parents who work outside the home seeking solutions. There are also concerns about the socialization skills children miss when all their learning is virtual.
An increasingly popular idea being embraced by parents in the Triangle and across the nation is the “learning pod” solution, a system in which parents form cohorts to take on a small number of kids and guide them through virtual instruction. This solution not only leaves parents free to focus on their jobs, it allows kids to study alongside other kids.
8th Aug 2020 - San Francisco Chronicle
Kentucky teachers union says COVID-19 positivity rate too high to resume in-person classes
Kentucky's teachers union said Friday that the state's public schools should not resume in-person instruction until COVID-19 positivity rates at the state and county levels fall and remain below 4%. "By every objective measure, and without public schools being open at all during the last few months, the coronavirus situation in Kentucky at this moment is far worse than it was in March," the Kentucky Education Association said Friday in a statement. "If we all believed it wasn't safe to operate schools then, how can it possibly be safe to reopen now?" KEA said schools should not resume in-person instruction until, "at the minimum," the infection rate for both the state and the county in which a school district is located "fall below 4% and both remain below 4% for 21 consecutive days as measured by a 7-day rolling average." "Districts must also consider other factors unique to their own communities," KEA said, "such as the infection rate among school-aged children and whether the Department of Public Health supports their reopening plan."
7th Aug 2020 - Courier Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullJohn Hopkins switches to virtual fall semester as pandemic worsens, urges students not to return to Baltimore
Johns Hopkins University will hold its fall semester entirely online for undergraduates, a reversal of plans and the latest sign of the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic. School officials strongly urged students not to return to Baltimore. They also acknowledged the change of plans — coming just weeks before classes resume — would create a real hardship for many families and announced efforts to ease that burden.
6th Aug 2020 - The Washington Post
Fearing coronavirus and missed classes, many parents prefer mixing online and in-person school, poll finds
Most American parents think it is unsafe to send their children back to school given the risks of the novel coronavirus, and more than 80 percent favor holding school at least partly online, according to a Washington Post-Schar School survey conducted by Ipsos. But parents also express serious concerns with online schooling and many are drawn to systems that mix the two. The mixed feelings reflect deep and widespread anxiety among parents as they approach the end of a summer break that has produced no national consensus on how to balance the risks of the virus against the academic, social and economic impacts of keeping schools closed.
6th Aug 2020 - The Washington Post
'Hoping it goes well': Students among first to return offer lessons for reopening schools
Abigail Alexander shuffled through a stack of papers, trying to find instructions for logging in to her school-issued laptop. The 10-year-old chatted with her best friend, a fellow fifth grader, about who is in their classes this year at Head Middle Magnet Prep and what period they have a specific teacher. Their conversation Tuesday sounded like a typical one between excited, anxious students on the first day at a new school – except this year is like no other. Abigail was seated in the dining room of her North Nashville home while her two younger foster siblings played around the table. Her friend was on FaceTime, the phone propped up against the side of Abigail's laptop.
6th Aug 2020 - USA TODAY
Georgia school starts 1st day of classes, within hours student tests positive for coronavirus
An elementary school in Georgia opened its doors to students on Monday for the first day of the 2020-21 academic year — also the first time since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March. Hours later, a Grade 2 student tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the classroom at Sixes Elementary School in Cherokee County to close and the teacher and 20 other students to quarantine for two weeks.
6th Aug 2020 - Global News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullImpact of coronavirus on projects supporting student mental health: sharing of emerging practice
"The impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the OfS Mental Health Challenge Competition" is the first report published through the two-year programme and has been developed to contribute to the emerging body of practice exploring and responding to the impact of the pandemic. The report’s findings are drawn from interviews conducted with project leads, project staff and project partners. The interviews were conducted shortly after the March 2020 lockdown restrictions were put in place and were limited only to those projects funded by the OfS. Its findings will be useful more widely for universities, colleges, and other stakeholders in understanding and responding to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
5th Aug 2020 - FE News
Columbus teacher taking break from the classroom, offering virtual learning help
Parents are not the only ones weighing their options for this upcoming school year.
One Columbus teacher said she is taking a break from the classroom this year. However, she won’t be taking a break from teaching altogether. “I’m excited that I can do this for people. I can help them,” said Khelsi Stone who is certified to teach K - 5. Stone, who taught kindergarten and second grade in Columbus, said something was telling her to take a break from the classroom and take this year for herself amid the pandemic. “To take this year for my mental health, to breathe, and to make sure that I’m 110 percent ready for the kids,” Stone explained.
6th Aug 2020 - WTVM
US coronavirus: Quit my job, or risk serious illness? Parents and teachers face grueling decisions as schools reopen
5th Aug 2020 - CNN on MSN.com
Teacher who was charged $2,000 for resigning COVID-19 concerns launches online school
An Arizona teacher has left his job during the novel coronavirus pandemic after his district required all educators to return to the classroom for virtual learning. Tavious Peterkin, from Surprise, Arizona, was scheduled to begin his first year at Dysart Unified School District. Peterkin has been teaching for 15 years and was hired to teach band and choir. Peterkin said he was told to prepare to teach virtual learning inside the classroom starting in August, and face-to-face instruction would begin sometime in October.
5th Aug 2020 - GMA
Coronavirus US: Georgia class shuts down as student infected
Teacher and 20 students from a second grade class at Sixes Elementary School in Cherokee County have now been ordered to quarantine. More than three-quarters of Cherokee County's 42,000 school students returned to classes on Monday to commence the 2020-21 academic year. Mask-wearing is only optional, and images of students failing to social distance at various schools have caused alarm among parents. Several other school districts in Georgia are also on alert after multiple employees tested positive to COVID-19. Meanwhile, a student in Indiana was also diagnosed with the virus after interacting with classmates on the first day back at school
5th Aug 2020 - Daily Mail
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 boosts digitization of higher education in Bangladesh
At the start of this year, most universities in Bangladesh lacked basic learning management systems and digital infrastructure. So, when institutions were required to close because of COVID-19, educators could no longer teach. The country’s University Grants Commission (UGC) rose to the challenge and introduced policies requiring all universities to go digital, to make teaching and learning activities accessible online—including admissions. Within four months, digitization was mainstreamed. An average of around 3,800 classes are held online daily with more than 220,000 students in attendance. Thus far, a total of around 203,200 classes have been conducted to more than 9.2 million attendees by 10,200 faculty members.
5th Aug 2020 - World Bank Group
Staying secure online as children return for virtual learning amid COVID-19 pandemic
As a parent, are you really prepared to protect your child from online scammers and hackers? More students will be online than ever before this Fall with virtual learning due to the coronavirus pandemic. That could set your student up to fall victim to online hackers. In the cyber world anything is possible, and the hackers know it. Students at Gulf Shores City Schools and at Baldwin County schools are all issued computers or iPads to take home. This Fall, close to 10% of the students at Gulf Shores City Schools have chosen online learning instead of going to the classroom.
5th Aug 2020 - NBC 15 WPMI
How Teachers Can Build Communities In Online Classrooms
Answer by Frank Spors, Associate Professor at Western University of Health Sciences: Establishing a sense of community or belonging in the classroom is important to developing trust among students and with their instructors, which goes a long way to fostering student engagement and learning success. In a face-to-face in-class environment, several factors affect the sense of community and impact student morale and learning.....
4th Aug 2020 - Forbes
Mobile area teachers becoming online tutors to help struggling virtual students
Tracy Borner-Washington knows her way around any classroom. She spent 20 years teaching in both public and private schools in Mobile. “When COVID-19 hit back in March, it just became clearer to me that my purpose was to offer services on another type of platform,” she said. Borner-Washington started an online tutoring company called Innovate Preparatory Academy and Educational Consulting Center. She hired several current and retired teachers to tutor struggling students virtually after hearing parents’ concerns about virtual classroom challenges. “They are concerned about some barriers to learning with the kids learning from online,” Borner-Washington said.
4th Aug 2020 - NBC 15 WPMI
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullAs COVID-19 rate rises, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts calls for remote start to 2020-2021 sch
Another Massachusetts teachers union is calling for school districts to start remotely, citing the slow rise of COVID-19 rates, testing delays and lack of proper ventilation in school buildings as red flags. The American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, a union of 23,000 educators, raised concerns about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, which Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders called a “slow creep” during last week’s news conference. As of Sunday, the state’s positive test rate over seven days rose to 2.2%, in part due to increases over the weekend.
3rd Aug 2020 - MassLive.com
Coronavirus: How pandemic pods and zutors are changing home-schooling
When the number of coronavirus cases began to rise in the San Francisco area in early July, mother of one Lian Chikako Chang started a Facebook group to support local families and teachers who were suddenly facing the prospect of schools not opening in person as planned in mid-August. The "Pandemic Pods" group, which aims to help with childcare and schooling needs, grew to more than 30,000 members within three weeks, as areas across the US were hit by Covid-19 spikes and more schools decided to stay shut. "Families were left scrabbling for solutions," says Ms Chang. "Most parents have to work, and most jobs are not compatible with home-schooling".
3rd Aug 2020 - BBC News
San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel asks district leaders to keep campuses closed until it’s safe
San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel asking for virtual-only instruction for at least the first nine weeks of school
3rd Aug 2020 - KSAT San Antonio
What are the chances of getting infected with COVID-19 at a school?
You may think of this incident as a coalmine canary this week. The very day, in fact only hours after Greenfield Central Junior High School in Indiana opened, it found its first COVID-19 case. An infected student unknowingly walked the halls and sat in classrooms before the school enacted its “Positive COVID-19 Test Protocol,” which isolated the student and started contact tracing among teachers, staff and classmates. The New York Times calculated the likelihood that an infected student could arrive at any given county school in the country. The static screenshots I am including below do not do justice to this brilliant work. These maps are interactive, so go to the Times’ page and look at counties in your area.
3rd Aug 2020 - Poynter
What Could School Be Like in the Fall? Summer School in Detroit Offers a Preview
When public schools here opened for summer instruction, protesters blocked school buses and challenged the opening in a lawsuit. In-person learning was too risky, they said, amid the pandemic. On July 21, a judge ordered the school district to test all in-person students for Covid-19. Only three students—less than 1% of those attending in-person classes—have tested positive, according to school authorities and the Detroit Health Department. Detroit’s foray into in-person summer school offers a glimpse of what students and parents may face when more schools reopen in the fall as the pandemic continues.
3rd Aug 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Reopening schools amid COVID-19: A mix of in-person attendance, remote learning and hybrid plans
Every state’s education department is releasing a roadmap to safely reopening schools. This roadmap is only a guidance and it is not mandated, or state required. Local school districts have the authority and flexibility to make decisions that best accommodate their communities. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed executive orders, directives, and guidelines issued by either governors or education and health departments to create a list of restrictions and safety recommendations for resuming in-person instruction in every state
3rd Aug 2020 - USA TODAY
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Aug 2020
View this newsletter in fullVictoria schools: how Covid-19 lockdown will affect education, remote learning and childcare
As Melbourne moves into stage four restrictions and regional Victoria to stage three, learning and childcare will look different throughout the state.Schools across the state will return to remote learning while on-site supervision will be offered for students who need it
2nd Aug 2020 - The Guardian on MSN.com
Schools' plan B for autumn Covid spike: online lessons for all
Schools are getting ready to carry on teaching pupils at home in case a second wave of the coronavirus prevents them from reopening in the autumn. They are drawing up a plan B even though Boris Johnson insisted last week that it was a “national priority” to have all pupils back in classrooms in September. If children do return, some secondary schools and teaching unions have demanded that they wear masks in lessons. Robert Halfon, the Tory chairman of the education select committee, said children and parents should not be forced to endure more “catastrophic failures” of the kind made during the lockdown.
2nd Aug 2020 - The Times
IIM Lucknow to start virtual classes on August 4 over Covid-19 concerns
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow will start classes on the virtual mode for the new batch (2020-22) from August 4 to overcome the covid-19 challenge, which has disrupted conventional classroom teaching since March 2020. The online classes will begin for the incoming 36th batch of Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) and of Post Graduate Programme in Management in Agri Business Management (PGP ABM). Recently, IIM Calcutta also announced that it would start online classes for its students on August 10.
2nd Aug 2020 - Business Standard
YourSpace: Virtual learning is a safe option now, say Pune readers
The coronavirus situation has forced the shift towards online classes. Is online education the best way to assess a child’s academic progress? What are the pros and cons of brick-and-mortar and virtual classrooms? Readers share their take on the ‘homebound’ form of education
2nd Aug 2020 - Hindustan Times
Victoria shuts down schools and brings back remote learning in bid to control coronavirus outbreak
Melbourne goes into Stage 4 lockdown from 6pm on Sunday and rest to Stage 3
Curfew bans anyone being out 8pm-5am unless working or on medical grounds
Premier Daniel Andrews announced schools will be closed to control outbreak
Students will go back to at-home learning for the duration of the six-weeks
2nd Aug 2020 - Daily Mail
An Arizona superintendent on safely reopening schools: 'It's a fantasy'
The governor has told us we have to open our schools to students on August 17th, or else we miss out on five percent of our funding. I run a high-needs district in middle-of-nowhere Arizona. We’re 90 percent Hispanic and more than 90 percent free-and-reduced lunch. These kids need every dollar we can get. But covid is spreading all over this area and hitting my staff, and now it feels like there’s a gun to my head. I already lost one teacher to this virus. Do I risk opening back up even if it’s going to cost us more lives? Or do we run school remotely and end up depriving these kids?
1st Aug 2020 - The Washington Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: Hundreds more families homeschooling after lockdown
More families are choosing to homeschool their children since New Zealand came out of the coronavirus lockdown. Ministry of Education figures show a surge in homeschooling applications since alert level 4 in March, with 552 received between then and May. Three hundred applications were received in June – the highest recorded in any month this year. In February, when school started, only 174 applications were received.
30th Jul 2020 - Stuff.co.nz
Survey data reveal impact of COVID-19 on perceptions of online education
If the world weren’t in the grip of a pandemic, the choice to study online, in person or something in between would be roughly the same among men and women, according to recent survey results. Factoring in COVID-19, however, paints a different picture -- one where women are much less likely than men to choose to study in person, and much more likely to pick a fully online education option.
30th Jul 2020 - Inside Higher Ed
Canberra universities welcome students to real and virtual classrooms in semester two
The University of Canberra campus is slowly coming back to life as students and academics prepare for the start of semester two in the COVID-19 world. When coursework begins on Monday, there won't be the usual large lectures and tutorials teeming with students. There will be hand sanitising stations and extra cleaning of shared spaces. Deputy vice-chancellor academic Professor Geoff Crisp said large lectures and classes that would exceed four people per square metres would be delivered online while smaller classes that could respect physical distancing rules would go ahead on campus.
30th Jul 2020 - The Canberra Times
University of Guam to offer most courses online
Due to surges in COVID-19 cases, the University of Guam will offer most courses online for the upcoming semester. “In certain cases, limited-contact hybrid courses will be available and, only when it is absolutely required, face-to-face classes will be offered,” Anita Enriquez, senior vice president and provost at the University of Guam, said in a memo. The university instituted enrollment caps for online classes and will continue standardized courses through Moodle, a free learning management system. Faculty and staff will complete professional development via an online module, according to the memo.
30th Jul 2020 - Pacific Daily News
Coronavirus: NYC reveals more health and safety protocols for schools
After announcing a plan earlier this month to reopen schools partially in-person, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza have now shared more details on their health and safety protocols, including testing and tracing measures. Students and staff who are feeling sick will be required to stay home and asked to get tested if their symptoms are consistent with COVID-19. If there is a confirmed case in a classroom, all students and teachers in close contact with that person will have to self-quarantine for 14 days, and the classroom will transition to remote learning during that time. A school will close and go fully virtual for 14 days if a link is unable to be determined between at least two cases.
30th Jul 2020 - ABC News
Bracing for COVID-19 in school, Phillipsburg approves hybrid start to year with coronavirus protections
The 2020-21 school year is set to begin with a hybrid of in-class and online instruction in the Phillipsburg School District due to the coronavirus. The board of education on Thursday night approved the detailed return-to-school plan crafted by Superintendent Gregory Troxell with input from focus groups, committees and questionnaires.
30th Jul 2020 - lehighvalleylive.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullRound 2 of online school: How to get your remote learning act together for fall
USA TODAY consulted with four homeschooling experts to help parents transform their home into a more ideal classroom environment. What can you buy to optimize your kid's academic performance? How can you help them through this experience? Scroll through to see what tips and tricks can help you get your remote learning act together for kids of all ages. Back to school: How to salvage special back-to-school moments amid a pandemic - Reviewed: Considering homeschooling? Here's what you need to know
29th Jul 2020 - USA TODAY
Denver Public Schools delays in-person learning to at least mid-October for most students
Denver Public Schools is again delaying the start of in-person classes over concerns about COVID-19, extending remote learning for most students through at least mid-October, the district announced Wednesday. Most of the more than 93,000 students who attend schools in Colorado’s largest district will take classes virtually through Oct. 16, though small groups of children deemed to be high priorities for in-person instruction may return to schools after Labor Day. The extension of remote learning through the first quarter of the school year comes after considering Denver’s rate of COVID-19 infection as well as a belief that “we’ll need to return to this (online-only) option during the school year in response to changing health conditions,” Superintendent Susana Cordova wrote in a letter to school leaders Wednesday obtained by The Denver Post.
29th Jul 2020 - The Denver Post
COVID: US schools open or not, students of colour bear the brunt
As schools are set to reopen across the country in various forms, Black and Latino children will be disproportionally affected, regardless if schools remain physically closed or if they reopen. According to recent polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), children of colour are more likely to fall behind the longer they stay home from school because they have limited access to critical resources and their parents have more health and economic fears - raising concerns that the pandemic will only exacerbate inequities in American society.
29th Jul 2020 - Al Jazeera English
Boomer grandparents can give working parents a virtual hall pass for kids' online school
As Doodle and I got into a screen-centered rhythm for how to sequence assignments and when to take breaks, elsewhere in the under-furnished house, we could hear his mother and father participating in video meetings with their colleagues. I watched his sweet face computing sums on his personal math links, and marveled at how social justice awareness illuminated his lessons, prepared by his remarkable teachers back in Brooklyn. The young educators pre-recorded short videos while he and his classmates were sleeping; on the videos, I often heard ambulance sirens outside their apartments.
29th Jul 2020 - USA TODAY
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullTeacher's association says in-classroom learning isn't safe yet
The Utah Education Association says it is not safe to return to in-person learning in the fall. The association says they had been working on plans for a safe return to school, but with COVID-19 cases where they are, they don’t think there’s a way to do it safely. They want to the state to start the year learning online. “We’re not expendable. We can’t be having an experiment going into this school year," said Heidi Matthews, president of UEA.
29th Jul 2020 - KUTV 2News
FEATURE--Pandemic turns smartphones from luxury to must-have as India's schools go online
Neither he nor his wife have ever been online, and so far only their children have been making use of it. With no clear sign of schools reopening soon, internet access has become a must for children to follow classes, prompting more low-income families to scrape together the money to buy a cheap or second-hand smartphone for the first time. And with a school population of some 240 million, it could prove a boon for sales of low-cost devices to new users, industry analysts say, noting signs of an increase in purchases of used handsets in rural areas.
28th Jul 2020 - Reuters UK
A quarter of CT students went MIA when COVID closed schools. Could holding live, online classes lure them back?
The pandemic has complicated that model. With many expecting schools to close again this upcoming school year as the virus rages around the country, educators must figure out how to lure online the 137,000 children throughout Connecticut who either didn’t participate in remote learning at all or did so minimally after school buildings closed last March.
28th Jul 2020 - The CT Mirror
Private tuition is thriving with schools closed during COVID-19
UK schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic, and parents turned to private, online tutors to help educate their children. Sign-ups to become tutors have rocketed during the COVID-19 crisis, and parents are using online tutors to plug the gaps in home teaching. Business Insider spoke to tutors to find out what it's been like to teach children online — and to discuss whether online tuition will last after lockdown.
28th Jul 2020 - Business Insider
Amid COVID-19, schools can opt for hybrid return in fall
After school districts were required to submit detailed reopening plans to the state last week, Gov. Ned Lamont has told districts that instead of full in-person learning models, they can opt for a hybrid model this fall. Lamont and state Department of Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona announced the change at a news conference Monday while answering questions from reporters after announcing results from recent surveys about back-to-school expectations. The news took some local school officials by surprise, they told The Day on Tuesday, as districts had been told to plan for a full reopening, as well as planning for the ability to quickly pivot between a hybrid learning model — or a combination of in-person and virtual learning — and out-of-school virtual learning, depending on how COVID-19 transmission rates fluctuate.
28th Jul 2020 - The Day
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullGuatemala teacher pedals classroom to students during coronavirus pandemic
Each day, the 27-year-old pedals among the cornfields of Santa Cruz del Quiché to give individual instruction to his sixth-grade students. On a recent day, 12-year-old Paola Ximena Conoz wiped her glasses as she waited for Ixcoy to set up just outside the door to her home. They greeted each other warmly — though without contact. Ixcoy deployed the mop that measures the distance between him and his students. Standing behind the plexiglass window of his tricycle, he produced a pizza box. The day’s lesson: fractions. Ixcoy is known universally as “Lalito 10,” a childhood nickname that stuck. He tries to visit each of his students twice a week.
27th Jul 2020 - America Magazine
Education & COVID-19: New Jersey still prioritizing in-person learning as abnormal school year nears
New Jersey officials are urging school districts to prioritize in-person instruction this fall, a push that falls in line with updated recommendations issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Virtual learning ideally should compliment classroom learning, Gov. Phil Murphy stressed Monday. Still, he acknowledged the school year will be abnormal due to protocols designed to prevent COVID-19 transmission.
27th Jul 2020 - PhillyVoice.com
Cecil County Schools Will Begin Fall Semester Online; Some Small Groups Of Students Will Get Face-To-Face Learning
Most public school students in Cecil County will begin the 2020-2021 school year virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cecil County Public Schools announced on Monday they will begin a “virtual classroom model” for students on September 1. Small groups of students “based on the needs of children” will be able to take part in face-to-face instruction beginning the following week.
27th Jul 2020 - CBS Baltimore
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullSchool heads and teachers in Croatia satisfied with online classes
At the start of this month the Ministry of Science and Education conducted two surveys on the efficiency of online classes during the coronavirus outbreak, which showed a generally high level of satisfaction with remote classes, the ministry said earlier this week. One survey covered school heads and the other teachers and expert assistants, and both returned positive results. The survey for school heads was carried out after the school year was over, in late June and early July, with 1,106 primary and secondary schools responding to it, which is about 85% of all schools in the country. The survey for teachers and expert assistants was conducted in virtual classrooms. It covered 3,791 respondents, whose participation was voluntary and anonymous.
26th Jul 2020 - Croatia Week
Tennessee teachers call for schools to start online amid ongoing coronavirus spikes
Tennessee teachers are calling for schools to reopen for online instruction only next month amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis across the state. Nashville's teachers union, the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association, is hosting a mock funeral procession, or "die-in," Monday evening "mourning the loss of effective leadership," according to the group's Facebook page. The group is demanding that students and teachers not go physically back into classrooms until each county has gone at least 14 days without new confirmed COVID-19 cases.
26th Jul 2020 - Tennessean
‘Home-Schooling Won’t Kill Us. Covid-19 Might.’
“Of all the American institutions the pandemic has shut down, none face pressure to reopen quite like schools do,” Sarah Darville writes in this week’s Sunday Review. In the past few weeks we’ve heard from multiple contributors, columnists and the editorial board about whether or not schools should reopen for in-person classes this fall. And in the thousands of comments on these pieces, parents and teachers weighed the dangers and the repercussions of continued virtual learning.
26th Jul 2020 - The New York Times
Virtual Summer School gets New Zealand's perspective of Covid-19
The deputy director for general data and digital at New Zealand’s Ministry of Health has said the coronavirus pandemic in the country has been a “wild ride” but there is “still a lot more to do”. Speaking on day two of the Digital Health Virtual Summer School, Shayne Hunter spoke to attendees in an early morning session about New Zealand’s digital response to Covid-19. Hunter said that though the country has seen “very few deaths” and that social distancing was very limited, it could not become complacent. “It has been a wild ride but there is still a lot more to do,” he said. Hunter explained how early emphasis was placed on having a data platform which could help make sure the country had an “early warning for potential outbreaks” as well as digital inclusion which saw free internet being provided in homes and free mobile data for medical use. New Zealand also developed a contact-tracing platform which they created by taking “an existing platform for bowel screening and re-platforming it”.
24th Jul 2020 - Digital Health
Rise of the 'Zutors': private Zoom tutors spark controversy as virtual school year looms
As US school districts finalize plans for the fall semester and classes in some districts are set to remain online, some parents have begun teaming up to form “pods” with other families and arrange their own forms of education. The arrangements come in different forms, from Katz’s expensive, boutique service to families considering renting apartment space to serve as a home base for DIY “microschools”, to less formal arrangements that enlist the help of virtual tutors who can supplement online instruction for a couple of hours a week. The rise of these arrangements is a testament to the desperate worry of many parents over their children’s health and academic development amid unprecedented school closures. But it has also raised questions about whether these kinds of arrangements exacerbate longstanding patterns of segregation and inequity in education.
23rd Jul 2020 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullMore virtual classrooms? House OKs ‘Return to Learn’ bills in late-night session
One month out from the typical start of the school year, Michigan House Republicans passed “Return to Learn” legislation Wednesday night on partisan lines amid safety and district funding concerns from Democrats.
24th Jul 2020 - MLive on MSN.com
CPS students will get the option to do remote learning in the fall, schools CEO says, but opponents are still pushing for all-virtual classes
Outside the Chicago Board of Education’s Loop office Wednesday, teachers taped poster boards to the backs of chairs to represent what they worry classrooms could look like if schools open in the fall. One imaginary student had a coronavirus infection in the spring. Another didn’t have health insurance. A classmate was an asymptomatic carrier who had passed the temperature check. “We’ve got a student here who lost a family member to COVID,” narrated Gustav Roman, an English teacher at Kelly College Prep. “We’ve got … a student in a temporary living situation, who we’re supposed to be supporting.”
24th Jul 2020 - Chicago Tribune on MSN.com
Distinctive tradition meets industry-leading innovation at Harrow School Online
Never has the school embodied that winning combination more convincingly than now, with the launch of a new fully online school: Harrow School Online. Though it has been in development for years, this industry-leading school is particularly appealing as the world embarks on a ‘new normal’ in the wake of COVID-19. With uncertainty surrounding what school life will look like in September, this online option provides the stability and security of receiving a first-class education at home – crucial when preparing for high-stakes examinations.
23rd Jul 2020 - Tatler
Here’s what virtual classes in Ann Arbor could look like for 2020-21 school year
Though Ann Arbor Public Schools students will tune into their classrooms from home using iPads and laptops to start the new school year, district officials promise they’ll still receive a rigorous, high-quality education. Each day will be structured with a block schedule with times when students will log on for classes, and curriculum will meet requirements for grade completion and graduation
23rd Jul 2020 - MLive
COVID-19 & Remote Learning: How to Make It Work
Few schools in the United States will get through the 2020-21 academic year without some form of remote learning, for some portion of the student body, for some period of time. Until an effective vaccine for COVID-19 is widely available and distributed, the possibility of viral spread will pose an obstacle to many forms of in-person interaction, particularly in indoor spaces such as school buildings. Health officials’ recommendations for social distancing in classrooms will limit the number of students who have the option to head to school every weekday. And safety concerns from parents, teachers, and other staff members will keep many people at home even if school buildings are permitted to reopen in some capacity.
22nd Jul 2020 - Education Week
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullAs Georgia Governor Calls To Reopen Schools, Largest District Will Teach Online Only
Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia is one of a growing number of K-12 school districts around the country deeming it too dangerous to teach students in person when classes restart this fall. The school district — the state's largest — announced earlier this week that it would transition to all-virtual learning, reversing its previous plan to hold a mix of in-person and virtual classes. Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said the change came down to prioritizing safety – and that will guide any decision to revert to in-person learning. "I think we all understand that face-to-face instructions is always a preferred model, but that needs to be done at this time with a pretty good assurance that students and staff will be safe. And we did not feel like that was the case," he told NPR in an interview Wednesday.
23rd Jul 2020 - NPR
British pupils 'struggled to continue learning at home'
A majority of British children struggled to continue learning at home during the lockdown, a report says. The Office for National Statistics research found that of the 52% who struggled, three-quarters of parents gave a lack of motivation as a reason. The research, based on weekly household surveys between April and June, also found women's well-being was being more adversely affected than that of men. It also showed wide disparities in what families were able to do. The ONS researchers carried out nationally representative surveys of more than 12,000 people in Great Britain between 3 April and 7 June about their experiences of home-schooling during the coronavirus pandemic.
22nd Jul 2020 - BBC News
CPS students will get the option to do remote learning in the fall, schools CEO says, but opponents are still
Outside the Chicago Board of Education’s Loop office Wednesday, teachers taped poster boards to the backs of chairs to represent what they worry classrooms could look like if schools open in the fall. One imaginary student had a coronavirus infection in the spring. Another didn’t have health insurance. A classmate was an asymptomatic carrier who had passed the temperature check. “We’ve got a student here who lost a family member to COVID,” narrated Gustav Roman, an English teacher at Kelly College Prep. “We’ve got ... a student in a temporary living situation, who we’re supposed to be supporting.” The mock school, shared in a livestreamed panel on the Chicago Teachers Union Facebook page, was one of several actions designed to draw attention to two central issues as the board convened its monthly meeting Wednesday: Schools reopening in the fall and police on campus.
22nd Jul 2020 - Chicago Tribune
‘It feels like it’s never going to end’: Weary D.C.-area parents brace for more all-virtual school
The announcements came rapid-fire over the course of the day Tuesday: First, Fairfax County Public Schools and Loudoun County Public Schools in Northern Virginia said they were switching to all-virtual schooling in the fall. Hours later, Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland followed suit. The districts’ decisions will cumulatively shape the fate of more than 438,000 children and their families. The regional shift follows a national trend, as massive school systems throughout the country have recently debuted plans to start the school year online, defying pressure from President Trump and citing rising coronavirus cases. Some parents, let down by the announcement, nonetheless acknowledged it was the right call
22nd Jul 2020 - The Washington Post
Despite Trump threat, growing number of school districts move to virtual learning to start academic year
The increase in new coronavirus infections and rising hospitalizations in many states has left school administrators weighing the best format for educating students for the upcoming school year, whether through in-person instruction, virtual learning or a blended model. The Trump administration is pressuring school systems to open for classroom learning five days a week and has warned that federal funding could hinge on whether they do so. While the president cannot cut funding already approved by Congress, the administration can attach conditions for K-12 schools to receive future federal assistance. But that threat hasn't stopped dozens of school districts from moving to virtual instruction when they reopen in the fall.
22nd Jul 2020 - CBS News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullHarris County recommends schools stay closed to in-person instruction until October
The message from county Judge Lina Hidalgo and Harris County Public Health Dr. Umair Shah did not issue a mandate, unlike what other county health officials have done, and instead "strongly urged schools to follow new Texas Education Agency provisions allowing an 8-week online instruction waiver." “We continue to urge all in our community to stay home except for essential activities. The faster we bring the virus under control and bring the 'curve down,' the sooner schools will be able to reopen safely and stay open," Hidalgo wrote in a letter to school superintendents, that also acknowledged that schools provide many social services such as "much needed food assistance to many low-income families.
22nd Jul 2020 - WOAI
Amid Coronavirus, Parents ‘Pod Up’ to Form At-Home Schools
Wary of sending their children back into classrooms, some families are joining into pods to teach kids; other parents look online to replace or supplement in-person instruction.
21st Jul 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation of higher education
Very few people would have predicted that universities would face such a paradigm shift – with predominant virtual teaching and remote working bursting onto the scene – as a consequence to a global pandemic.
21st Jul 2020 - World Economic Forum
Appleton's public schools could be all-virtual or hybrid come fall, district's letter to parents says
The Appleton Area School District released a proposal for what returning to school could look like in the fall. Two models are outlined in the letter sent to parents Friday. One would send early childhood through fourth-grade students to school in-person five days a week, while grades 5-12 would use a hybrid option, attending in-person two days a week and virtually three days a week. The other model would have all students begin the school year fully virtual. District spokeswoman Kylie Harwell declined to elaborate on the plan until after the school board work session on July 27, at which the board is set to consider the plans as well as review the results of two surveys sent to parents about what they'd prefer to see come fall.
21st Jul 2020 - Post-Crescent
"Online classes are critical for underprivileged children during COVID" |
Shukla Bose, Founder and CEO of the non-profit Parikrma Humanity Foundation, however opposed the government ban on classes, even though her own students come from deprived backgrounds. Parikrma Foundation’s schools cater to over 1800 students from slums across Bengaluru, with the aim of providing quality education and helping the children break out of poverty. At the time the government banned online classes, Parikrma schools were already holding these classes. Shukla even made a strong case for digital classes to the government-appointed expert committee on online education. Why did she lobby for online education even as most of her own students and teachers would find the medium unfamiliar and inaccessible? Because “learning cannot stop”, says Shukla. “As COVID-19 will remain for some time, will we allow learning to get paralysed? Is learning only for affluent classes who can afford online classes in private schools?”
21st Jul 2020 - Citizen Matters, Bengaluru
Lockdown 2: The reality of returning to remote teaching
One teacher in Australia explains what it's been like to go back to remote teaching after further coronavirus outbreaks
21st Jul 2020 - TES News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullAmerica wants to reopen schools? Here’s how to learn from Israel’s mistakes
Rushing to get kids back into the classroom this spring was one of the reasons infection rates skyrocketed in Israel – offering a teaching moment to the world
21st Jul 2020 - Haaretz
'Ethically troubling.' University reopening plans put professors, students on edge
Academics across the country are dismayed. At Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), for instance, faculty published an open letter decrying the “limited amount of input faculty, staff, and graduate employees have had on decisions related to our safety.” At Georgia Tech, faculty released a similar letter saying the university’s reopening procedures “do not follow science-based evidence”—and that “no faculty, staff, or student should be coerced into risking their health and the health of their families by working … on campus when there is a remote/online equivalent.”
21st Jul 2020 - Science Magazine
Khan Academy founder explains how to keep kids learning even when schools are closed
The founder of Khan Academy told CNBC that online instruction cannot fully replace in-person class — but said there are ways to maximize the benefit for students. “We’re not going to be replicate school, even when the school is doing a perfect job so people shouldn’t expect that,” Sal Khan said on “Closing Bell.”
But for core subjects such as math, Khan said interactive video lessons and the right digital programs can provide real benefits to learning.
20th Jul 2020 - CNBC
Covid-19 impact: How coronavirus crisis opened gates to new educational opportunities in India
In mid-February, when the coronavirus was penetrating into the roots of our country, all the organizations and companies permitted their employees to work from home. Meanwhile, educational institutions became ambiguous about their regularity and started pondering over to manage their students and other academic stuff. As every difficulty is an opportunity to learn something new, online teaching emerged as a solution in this cumbersome time. Why are online classes so important for India? According to All India Survey on Higher education 2018-19 by Ministry of Human Resource development, there are 993 Universities, 39931 Colleges and 10725 Stand Alone Institutions in India. Therefore, in a country with a maximum of young population, keeping them engrossed with productive work was very challenging. Soon the institutions figured out the ways to train and equip their teachers with software for online teaching.
20th Jul 2020 - India Today
Teachers have concerns on returning to classrooms, virtual classes
20th Jul 2020 - KTRE
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullTexas officials offer schools option to hold online-only classes until November
Texas officials on Friday announced that schools can continue online-only learning until November as the state sees climbing cases of the novel coronavirus. AP reports that the changes were announced just hours before Texas set another daily record for COVID-19 deaths, 174, as well as more than 10,000 new cases of the virus as the state sees a growing outbreak. Previously, state officials had given districts the option of remote learning for three weeks and then having in-person classes. Most schools will also require masks and social distancing when they reopen. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) tweeted after the announcement that "the health [and] safety of students, teachers [and] parents is the top priority."
19th Jul 2020 - The Hill
Denver Public Schools will not have in-person classes to start the fall semester because of coronavirus
Colorado’s largest school district appears to be the first in the state to rule out in-person classes right away
19th Jul 2020 - The Colorado Sun
Factbox: Which U.S. schools are going online and which are reopening classrooms
With the new school year fast approaching, some U.S. districts have announced plans to reopen for students who want to attend in-person class, while others will only offer online instruction or a mix of classroom and remote learning. Still others have yet to decide what to do as classes are normally due to resume in August or September. Here is a sample of what some of the largest school districts are doing:
19th Jul 2020 - Reuters UK
N.J. city’s mayor takes strong stand against ‘irresponsible’ school reopening during coronavirus uncertainty
As districts around the state devise plans to reopen schools in September during the coronavirus pandemic, the mayor of Plainfield has taken a strong stand against students returning to classrooms, calling in-person instruction “irresponsible” and a threat to the health of students and staff.
19th Jul 2020 - NJ.com
How Should Colleges Reopen? There’s No Easy Answer
How parents and students feel about the fast-approaching specter of college reopenings this fall has been debated — perhaps exhaustively — in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic. Can we do it safely? Should we send them back at all? Will young adults wear masks and abide by social-distancing guidelines? To get a better sense of the other side of the equation, we asked Bloomberg Opinion contributors who are also educators for their views on getting back in the classroom, whether physical or virtual.
19th Jul 2020 - Bloomberg
Texas deaths hit record, schools get OK for virtual classes
Texas on Friday gave public schools permission to keep campuses closed for more than 5 million students well into the fall as the state scrambles to contain one of the largest resurgences of the coronavirus in the country. California also issued strict guidance that makes it unlikely that many schools will resume in-person instruction this fall, raising the likelihood of empty classrooms in the country's two biggest states despite President Donald Trump's demands that schools welcome back students at the start of the school year.
17th Jul 2020 - KPRC Click2Houston
How unschooling, the hands off alternative to homeschooling, works
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Unschooling is a broad term that encompasses a range of labels, definitions, and practices, unique to each person or family. But at its core, it’s the opportunity — and often for new unschoolers, the challenge — for children to explore their own interests rather than adhere to the criteria and curricula predetermined by school boards or other entities. Unlike the traditional homeschool model which often seeks to mimic the classroom or follow a defined curriculum usually with parents acting as teachers, with unschooling, children take the lead. Adults, sometimes parents, but not always, typically offer support, assistance, and guidance when needed.
17th Jul 2020 - Vox.com
Commentary: This is the face of Generation COVID-19
As international aid dries up, the world’s most disadvantaged students may find themselves left behind when it comes to education, say Abiy Ahmed and Gordon Brown.
19th Jul 2020 - CNA
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullWelcome to the coronavirus-proof classroom: Israel’s first virtual school
As the coronavirus continues to thrive, Israel may soon have its first fully online school. Starting in the fall as the new school year begins, the virtual institution plans to offer a full curriculum to students from seventh grade through twelfth grade, with no physical building or use of textbooks. The virtual school, so far dubbed “Z-School: School of the Generation Z,” is the brainchild of Moshe Kinley Tur-Paz, the director of the Kadima Mada educational network and former head of Jerusalem’s educational administration, and Paz Cohen, the CEO of Anu – Making Change, a social hub, and former parents association chairman. The two are in talks with philanthropic foundations and investors to raise 7 million shekels ($2 million), and are in talks with the Education Ministry to obtain certification to enable the school to access ministry funding. Education Ministry officials confirmed that the initiative is under discussion.
16th Jul 2020 - Haaretz
A parent's guide to online school: 9 questions to ask to vet your back-to-school choices
A growing number of districts, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin, Texas, plan to start the year with online-only instruction amid a surge in coronavirus cases. In Richmond, Virginia, schools will be online for the first semester. Prince George's County Schools in Maryland called for all students to learn online until at least February of next year. Many other districts plan a mix of in-person and remote learning – and many ask parents to choose an instruction model for their children. How can parents tell if what their school has planned for online learning is any good? Here are nine questions to help you vet the quality of your school's virtual learning program.
16th Jul 2020 - USA TODAY
California to release rules for reopening schools on Friday as coronavirus cases mount
16th Jul 2020 - Reuters
HCPSS Students Will Not Return To The Classroom This Fall
Students enrolled with the Howard County Public School System will not be returning to the classroom this fall. Thursday night, the Howard County Board of Education met and approved a virtual first semester, which will run from Sept. 8 through Jan. 28, 2021. School officials will finalize and submit the HCPSS return to learn plan to the Maryland State Department of Education for approval, which is due by Aug. 14. Officials followed three priorities when making the decision: Safety and well-being for students and staff. High quality instruction for all students.
Resource availability, including funding.
16th Jul 2020 - Patch
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in full'It is not safe to return to the classroom.' Teachers union lobbies for full distance learning
After two months of negotiations, the Palo Alto Unified teachers union is urging the district against reopening schools this fall and instead is asking for a return to full distance learning. In an open letter to the school board and top district leaders, the union cited a list of concerns about the logistics, risks and limitations of in-person instruction, as well as the local spike in coronavirus cases. Santa Clara County reported 192 new cases of the COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing its total to 6,725.
"While we have been negotiating since May in good faith about how to structure a return to school, we have increasing concerns whether this can be done while maintaining the health and safety of our students and staff as this pandemic shows no signs of going away," the union wrote. "As much as we love our students and miss teaching in person, it is not safe to return to the classroom at this time."
16th Jul 2020 - Palo Alto Online
Iowa City schools will start school year online only as COVID-19 cases rise in Johnson County
Decision to keep students at home 'will have cascading effects,' interim superintendent acknowledges
15th Jul 2020 - The Gazette
HISD to begin 2020-2021 academic school year online for 6 weeks
Houston ISD students won't be heading into the classroom anytime soon. All students will begin the school year virtually when classes begin on Sept. 8. HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan made the announcement Wednesday on the district's Facebook page. Online instruction will continue for six weeks through Oct. 16, according to Lathan. She said the decision was based on the increased number of COVID-19 cases in Houston and Harris County. "Given the threat of COVID-19, we will not put the health and safety of our students and staff at risk," she said during a briefing hours after the announcement was released.
15th Jul 2020 - KTRK-TV
Some Teachers Head to Virtual Summer School to Learn How to Teach Remotely
Remote classes are continuing this summer, including classes for educators who are working hard through their summer break to try to get a better handle on virtual teaching. “Everybody is trying so hard to be prepared going into the fall, and to give students the best education possible, whether it’s remote, whether it’s in the classroom, or whether it’s both,” said Kim Kaplan, a practicum coordinator at Lasell University.
15th Jul 2020 - NBC10 Boston
Clayton Schools parents prefer virtual classes amid pandemic
An overwhelming majority of Clayton parents and district staff told the south metro Atlanta school system in a recent survey that they prefer at-home instruction over coming into school buildings if the spread of the virus continues to worsen, Superintendent Morcease Beasley said Tuesday.
15th Jul 2020 - Atlanta Journal Constitution
RCS parents can choose in-person or virtual classes this school year
Parents in the Richmond Community Schools system who don't feel comfortable having their kids in the district's buildings because of the novel coronavirus pandemic can choose to enroll in a new virtual learning option instead this school year. That choice between traditional in-person instruction and the at-home program is one of the major changes included in RCS' reopening plan that was approved unanimously by the board of trustees Tuesday. Parents have until July 21 to fill out a form on the district's website to request that their children use virtual instruction. Any requests that come in after that date will be subject to availability.
15th Jul 2020 - Palladium-Item
With Rising COVID-19 Cases, Teachers at Santa Barbara Unified Call For Remote Classes
A parade of teachers called on the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education to start the academic school year with remote learning. The district, just five weeks before the start of the Aug. 18 semester, has not yet cemented a plan for how to teach students. About three weeks ago, the board approved a hybrid model, but with the recent large increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates, and school districts across the nation, including Los Angeles Unified School District moving to online-only in the fall, district officials are scrambling to figure out what to do.
15th Jul 2020 - Noozhawk
LA Public Schools Will Start Year Online, as Virus Rises in State
Los Angeles and San Diego public school districts said Monday they will begin the year online, as California grapples with mounting Covid-19 cases and the WHO issued cautionary statements regarding coronavirus and kids.
13th Jul 2020 - Wall Street Journal
Online tutoring improves disadvantaged school pupils performance and wellbeing in lockdown
A Bocconi University and Harvard program also raised disadvantaged pupils' aspirations, wellbeing and socio-emotional skills, showing that the educational gap can be addressed even with limited resources
15th Jul 2020 - EurekAlert
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullA Teacher Who Contracted COVID-19 Cautions Against In-Person Schooling
As school districts consider how to approach learning this fall with no sign of the coronavirus slowing, the virus has already had devastating consequences in one rural Arizona school district. Jena Martinez-Inzunza was one of three elementary school teachers at the Hayden Winkelman Unified School District who all tested positive for COVID-19 after teaching virtual summer school lessons together from the same classroom. Martinez's colleague and friend, Kimberley Chavez Lopez Byrd, who taught in the district for nearly four decades, died. "She was very dear to me. She's one of my closest friends," Martinez told Morning Edition.
14th Jul 2020 - NPR
'I'm scared': In Detroit, a city hit hard by COVID-19, reopening classrooms sparks protests
While the district says it took safety precautions to prevent the spread of the virus and stressed that no students or teachers were forced to participate in face-to-face instruction, the first two days of classes were met with protests. Activists blocked school buses from leaving a bus depot. A civil rights lawyer, who used the word “genocide” to describe the effect of the district’s decision because the student population is 96 percent Black or Latino, says she plans to seek an injunction to close the schools. The head of the city teachers union called in-person summer school a “mind-boggling decision.” And some parents expressed grave reservations about whether their children would be safe.
14th Jul 2020 - NBC News
Wake County student calls for online classes as Gov. Cooper decides reopening plan
As the state awaits a decision on school reopening plans, nearly 1,500 people signed a high school senior’s petition calling for the Wake County Public School System to adopt an online-only school reopening plan, instead of proposed in-person approaches. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he will announce his school reopening plan Tuesday at 3 p.m., after delaying the original announcement set for July 1. If Cooper says schools have to operate fully online, every North Carolina School district will have to cooperate.
14th Jul 2020 - WRAL.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullLos Angeles and San Diego Schools to Go Online-Only in The Fall
California’s two largest public school districts said on Monday that instruction would be online-only in the fall, in the latest sign that school administrators are increasingly unwilling to risk crowding students back into classrooms until the coronavirus is fully under control. The school districts in Los Angeles and San Diego, which together enroll some 825,000 students, are the largest in the country to abandon plans for even a partial physical return to classrooms when they reopen in August. The decision came as Gov. Gavin Newsom announced some of the most sweeping rollbacks yet of California’s plans to reopen. Indoor operations for restaurants, bars, wineries, movie theaters and zoos were shut down statewide on Monday, and churches, gyms, hair salons, malls and other businesses were shuttered for four-fifths of the population.
14th Jul 2020 - The New York Times
Houston teachers union wants virtual start to school year until coronavirus numbers drop
The union representing Houston teachers is calling for a virtual start to the school year until the number of new coronavirus cases drop. Members of both the Houston Federation of Teachers and Houston Educational Support Personnel spoke Monday, calling on leaders of the Houston Independent School District and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to do more to ensure the safety of students, teachers and staff.
13th Jul 2020 - KPRC Click2Houston
In 3 days, 11% of Wake students apply for 'virtual academy'
In just three days, 11% of the students in Wake County – 18,000 of the average enrollment of about 162,000 – have applied for consideration in the planned Virtual Academy, the district's answer to remote learning amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Virtual Academy will provide all core classes online for students as an option for those at higher risk for coronavirus infection or whose parents don't feel comfortable sending them back to school yet. Wake County will use those application numbers to determine how many students are interested and how many teachers will be needed.
13th Jul 2020 - WRAL.com
New York Gov. Cuomo says he won't use kids as 'guinea pigs,' outlines school reopening rules
School reopenings will be dictated by the state's regional reopening plan, Cuomo said. President Trump has been pressing for schools to reopen in the fall.
Schools in regions that are in phase four of New York's reopening plan are eligible to hold in-person classes this fall. New York City is the only region in the state that's not yet in phase four of its reopening plan.
13th Jul 2020 - CNBC
MPS' reopening plan: Virtual learning to start and a gradual return to the classroom
The plan calls for students to return via virtual platforms on Aug. 17 or Sept. 1, depending on their school calendar. The online phase is projected to last 30 to 45 days, after which students would alternate two days in school and three online at home, and then fully return to classes once that was deemed safe.
13th Jul 2020 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: Pelosi says Trump 'messing with' children's health on school reopenings
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused President Donald Trump of "messing with" children's health on Sunday (Jul 12) and said federal guidelines on reopening schools amid the coronavirus outbreak should be mandatory. The Democratic House of Representatives leader sharply criticised the Trump administration for advocating a return to school in the fall as coronavirus infections surge across the country, particularly in states that reopened their economies earliest during the pandemic.
13th Jul 2020 - Channel NewsAsia Singapore
Victoria's coronavirus lockdown means it's back to remote learning for thousands of students. Here are some tips that could help
After an extra week of school holidays for many students in Melbourne, the Victorian Government has confirmed it's back to remote learning for prep to year 10 students in locked down parts of the state from July 20. When schools across Australia first began moving to remote learning back in April, the ABC spoke to a number of education experts and parents about what worked (and what didn't) for them. So from ideas for play to structuring your day, here's a survival guide to homeschooling… if you're one of the parents who needs it again.
13th Jul 2020 - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
More Colorado families consider online education as COVID-19 risks loom over upcoming school year
When growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus triggered the abrupt shuttering of Colorado schools in March, families and faculty were forced to finish the academic year from the confines of their homes. The transition wasn’t easy for many. Parents had to double as caretakers and teachers, while students tried to adapt to a revolving door of online classroom solutions. Educators needed to find new ways to engage with students practically overnight, as districts doled out laptops and internet hotspots to ensure families had the technology to connect virtually.
12th Jul 2020 - The Denver Post
Foreign students in NC fear online classes mean deportation
Although most North Carolina universities — including Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State — still plan to bring students back to campus for some in-person classes starting next month, international students are fearful of what could happen if classes move entirely online. They would be forced to leave the country, according to new guidelines announced this week by federal immigration authorities.
12th Jul 2020 - Times Colonist
In D.C. wards hit hardest by covid-19, sending kids to school is a risk some parents won’t take
At Capital City Public Charter School in Northwest Washington, three students’ parents have died after contracting the coronavirus. Many more grandparents and relatives of the school’s nearly 1,000 students, most of whom are black or Hispanic, have been killed by the virus. So when Capital City surveyed families this month to determine how to reopen in the fall, the response was clear: Most said they would prefer to continue full-time with virtual learning. They just weren’t ready to go back.
10th Jul 2020 - The Washington Post
Texas reopening schools leaves teachers frustrated, worried about health
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Many Texas Education Agency employees are working from home, but the agency is requiring schools to open five days a week for in-person instruction this fall. Teachers say that mandate has grave implications for their health.
10th Jul 2020 - The Texas Tribune
Almost half of Fort Worth ISD parents have asked for online classes amid COVID-19
Fort Worth parents are divided on whether they want their children to go back to school in person or continue learning online. Parents were given the option to choose how they wanted their children to learn amid the novel coronavirus pandemic when they registered them for the 2020-21 school year. So far, 57% have said they’d like in-person instruction and 43% want virtual instruction, said Clint Bond, a spokesman for the Fort Worth school district. Nearly 12,000 students have registered for the school year, scheduled to start Aug. 17, Bond said.
10th Jul 2020 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
How the coronavirus pandemic is changing virtual science communication
Researchers flocked to join Skype a Scientist after COVID-19 closed their labs. The squid biologist who founded it explains how the science-communication platform has adapted.
9th Jul 2020 - Nature.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullMetro Schools to begin school year remotely as COVID-19 cases surge
Director of Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle said earlier this month that they'd hoped students would be able to return to class on August 4th. However, she said they had also been preparing for the possibility that it wouldn't happen. “This decision was not made lightly, but the risks to the health and safety of students and staff are too great at this moment for us to begin the school year with in-classroom instruction,” said Dr. Battle. “I am confident that our teachers and support staff will be up to the challenge of providing a great education that meets the academic and social-emotional needs of our students in a virtual learning environment.”
10th Jul 2020 - News Channel 5 Nashville
Clayton Schools look to virtual classroom as COVID-19 rates soar
Clayton County Schools will likely offer virtual-only classes in the new school year if Georgia’s coronavirus infection rates continue on their current trajectory, the district’s superintendent says.
9th Jul 2020 - Atlanta Journal Constitution
What are the CDC school guidelines Trump wants changed amid COVID-19? These are the highlights.
Separated desks, staggered schedules and isolation rooms for sick students. Trump tweeted Wednesday that he disagrees with the CDC's "very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools" as the coronavirus pandemic continues, and Vice President Mike Pence said the agency would be issuing new guidelines next week. However, Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the CDC, said Thursday no change was coming but that instead "additional reference documents" would be issued. To better understand any possible update, USA TODAY reviewed several documents and guidelines on the CDC's website of the guidance already issued to K-12 schools.
9th Jul 2020 - USA TODAY
Parents in Williamson County will have choice of virtual or classroom learning this year
Williamson County Schools has announced parents will have the choice to send their kids back to the classroom or virtual learning as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge. In a statement to parents, WCS says the decision came after 23,000 parents were surveyed along with feedback from staff and medical professionals. The statement adds "While many families look forward to an on-campus return to school, others prefer to keep their children home during this pandemic due to the risk that will accompany any on-campus program. Recognizing those concerns, we plan to provide instruction on our school campuses, and we will be offering the WCS Online Program as an option for families this school year."
9th Jul 2020 - WZTV
Beauregard School Board releases virtual education options
9th Jul 2020 - KPLC
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow covid-19 changed the rules of classroom teaching
As the classroom has shifted to the virtual realm—mostly for schools in urban centres, where most students are likely to have better access to the internet—teachers have turned into disembodied voices. The school, as the physical space we knew it to be, has shrunk to the size of electronic screens. Instead of walking down the aisles, ensuring discipline and checking the progress of their students, teachers now appear as thumbnails, while chalk-and-board lessons unfold on PowerPoint. Most alarmingly perhaps, their performance is no longer privy to the eyes of their students alone. Parents and guardians, too, can now sit in on their lessons and judge their merits.
8th Jul 2020 - Livemint
School reopening plans are now part of COVID-19 politics. Teachers fear for their safety.
Teachers' unions concerned about the health and safety of students and staff have balked at that order, with one Florida union official calling it "catastrophic." The state continues to set records for daily new infections. Districts, meanwhile, face another alarming prospect: If millions of students elect to return to class while millions of teachers don't, it could create a staffing shortage unlike anything seen in modern times. Nationwide, 1 in 5 teachers said they were unlikely to return to school if their buildings opened this fall, according to a USA TODAY/Ipsos poll in late May.
8th Jul 2020 - USA TODAY
Call for teachers to work in schools even if students learn from home
8th Jul 2020 - The Age
Martin County teacher: Full capacity schools aren't safe
8th Jul 2020 - wflx
With No End in Sight to the Coronavirus, Some Teachers Are Retiring Rather Than Going Back to School
So Christina Curfman—who has an autoimmune disease that makes her more vulnerable to COVID-19—consulted her doctor, weighed the risks of returning to school and decided to retire early after 28 years of teaching. At 55, she’s eligible for partial retirement benefits and will take home less pay than if she had worked for a few more years, but the decision gave her peace of mind.
8th Jul 2020 - TIME
Coronavirus Is Blowing Up America’s Higher Education System
With the coronavirus upending the service model and the economics of universities across the country, it is not at all clear how flexible America’s higher education system will be in the face of high costs, institutional barriers to change, and a longstanding belief in the value of the way things are traditionally done. A professor at Columbia Business School once told me that “all businesses will be disrupted in the digital age,” but added with a self-satisfied smile, “except for us, of course.” The American affection for the residential model is understandable, but as Mitchell Stevens, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, told me, it also comes with an astronomical price tag: student costs significantly higher than those in other countries; oppressive student debt; and exclusion from top universities for a wide range of students who can’t afford to leave behind family commitments to spend years on campus.
7th Jul 2020 - Vanity Fair
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullInternational students could lose their visas unless schools have some in-person courses
"In our program, mechanical engineering, all of the courses were supposed to be online for next semester. Yesterday when we heard this news we were totally shocked because we have no chance. We had no other options," said Sina Tayebati, a Graduate Student at NIU. In Illinois alone, there are an estimated 53,000 international students representing a significant portion of college campuses overall population- up to 20-25% in some cases. The University of Illinois system has over 15,000 international students, making it one of the largest concentrations nationwide. At UIC they're now scrambling to figure out how to ensure there are enough in-person classes being offered next fall to at the very least protect their continuing students.
8th Jul 2020 - WLS-TV
Fairfax County Parents Have Two Options For Reopening Schools—And A Week Left To Decide
Amid concerns about a lack of clarity in reopening plans, Fairfax County Public Schools will extend the deadline for families and staff to decide between the district’s two options for the coming school year. FCPS is offering a choice between all-virtual learning or a hybrid model where kids would have some amount of in-person learning mixed with online work. The deadline to choose between one or the other has been extended from July 10 to July 15, Superintendent Scott Braband announced Monday night during a virtual town hall. “We’ve heard overwhelmingly from our parents and community that you want more time to make these decisions,” Brabrand said.
7th Jul 2020 - DCist.com
CMS family considers virtual learning options to minimize risk of exposure for child with disability
7th Jul 2020 - WBTV
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: Dayton schools will switch to online learning if necessary
Dayton Public Schools will be prepared to switch to online learning if a student or staff member is diagnosed with the coronavirus. In the event of a COVID-19 diagnosis, parents and guardians would be notified immediately and beginning the next school day students in that school building would be working online from home for 14 to 28 days, according to a release from the district Monday afternoon about its Safe School Restart Plan.
6th Jul 2020 - Dayton Daily News
Harvard Business School Decides Against Starting Fully Online
After considering a fully online MBA program this fall, Harvard Business School has decided to bring all of its MBA students back to campus for a hybrid blend of in-person and online classes. That policy stands in contrast to the university’s plans for undergraduates in which only 40% of undergraduate students will be allowed on campus for the fall semester.
6th Jul 2020 - Poets&Quants
Texas college students weigh the value of online classes
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Universities are moving forward with reopening plans for the fall semester, anxious to bring students back. But faced with online classes and an altered campus, students are questioning if college is still worth what they're paying.
6th Jul 2020 - The Texas Tribune
Miami-Dade Schools Announce Flexible Reopening Plan, Invite Parents to Vote
Miami-Dade County Public schools now have a tentative plan in place to guide their reopening in the fall, but whether or not students actually return to classes full-time will depend on how Florida's coronavirus outbreak progresses. "M-DCPS strives to safely return students to the physical schoolhouse but recognizes that doing so will not be possible while Miami-Dade County remains in Phase 1 of The Plan for Florida’s Recovery," education officials said in a press release. As a result, Miami-Dade schools' plan for the 2020-2021 academic year outlines three models designed to help schools "rapidly pivot" between phases if necessary.
6th Jul 2020 - NBC 6 South Florida
Fresno teachers open up about online classes. ‘I was not prepared for how hard it really is’
Thousands of Fresno Unified School District teachers whose work life changed drastically on March 13, 2020, when the district shut down schools to help slow the spread of COVID-19, moved classes exclusively online. School work was not mandatory.
6th Jul 2020 - Fresno Bee
Home schooling plans to be used as back-up in Moray if classrooms cannot open after holidays
The Scottish Government announced that all students were expected to be able to return to class at the same time after the break if the rate of Covid-19 cases continued to decrease. Moray Council, however, has confirmed it is continuing to draw up contingency plans for some children remaining at home in the event of progress against the virus being less speedy than hoped. Head of education, Vivienne Cross, said: “None of us would wish children to be away from school for any additional period of time, but we must be assured it is safe for they and our staff to return. “Schools have developed their recovery plans and these will continue to be finalised as a contingency for August, should full-time schooling not return at the start of term.
6th Jul 2020 - The Press and Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullE- learning in rural India: Parents, teacher scrambles for innovative ways to teach students amid C...
“I have arranged for a loudspeaker system on a cart. The teachers are asked to turn-wise go with the cart and park it at a feasible location and impart lessons from there. It cannot match up to classroom learning but will ensure some learning,” he said. This strange new way of educating school students is not uncommon in the country’s rural parts. The lockdown induced by COVID-19 in March prompted schools and colleges to move to the virtual world for teaching and learning activities. But weak internet penetration has turned e-education into a distant dream for many children in the rural areas.
5th Jul 2020 - Hindustan Times
This Year’s Summer Campground: Our Bedrooms and Living Rooms
Children at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan are doing all the usual this summer. They are taking dance and acting classes, learning to tie knots and weaving friendship bracelets. On some days, they sing campfire songs.
4th Jul 2020 - The New York Times
Fairfax County schools could go virtual again if coronavirus resurges
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand has sent an enrollment letter to families detailing the County’s two return-to-school options for students in the 2020-21 school year, which includes full-time virtual or socially distanced part-time in-person learning. The school system had to finish the 2019-20 school year virtually due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and there are enduring concerns about a second wave of infections as Virginia reopens. Brabrand will discuss those alternatives at a Monday, July 6 town meeting, which will be streamed online from 6:30 p.m. at fcps.edu/tv/ch99. Fairfax County is offering students either full-time online instruction or in-person classes at 50 percent capacity with social distancing. Families are asked to choose from the two options by Friday, July 10.
3rd Jul 2020 - Fort Hunt Herald
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullDC Universities Plan For An Unpredictable Fall As Coronavirus Cases Surge Nationwide
So far, American University, Catholic University, George Washington University, and Howard University have laid out plans for on-campus living and classes that limit campus density. (Disclosure: AU holds the license for DCist’s parent company, WAMU.) Gallaudet University and the University of the District of Columbia say they will stick with distance learning only, for now. Meanwhile, Georgetown University hasn’t released its fall plans. The varying scenarios are the result of strategic planning by each individual university, according to Sarah Van Orman, the chief health officer at the University of Southern California and a member of the American College Health Association’s coronavirus task force. The association has helped schools like AU design their reopening plans, and in May it released a 20-page report outlining best practices.
2nd Jul 2020 - DCist.com
SC online learning program expects uptick from COVID-19 pandemic
Stephanie Walters has been teaching virtually for more than seven years. “I saw some fantastic examples of how teachers transitioned to brick-and-mortar classrooms to engaging with their students online,” Walters said. Walters is one of the 40 full-time teachers working for VirtualSC. VirtualSC is a state-sponsored, free online program. It’s open to middle and high school students in public, private, and home schools. It also offers adult education. According to Director Bradley Mitchell, the program has seen steady growth in enrollment over the last few years. He said this fall they are gearing up for a big increase. They won’t know the exact numbers until the enrollment period happens in August.
2nd Jul 2020 - WRDW
Miami-Dade Schools will require mandatory masks when school begins
On the same day authorities took new steps to address the recent surge in Florida COVID-19 cases, Miami-Dade County Public Schools signed off on a plan Wednesday to reopen schools this fall, calling for smaller classes, a mix of in-person, online and hybrid teaching models and masks mandated for all.
2nd Jul 2020 - Miami Herald
Coronavirus: virtual tours prove a hit as UAE schools look to welcome new pupils in September
Schools in the UAE are setting up online tours for parents and pupils looking to move schools. Due to the pandemic, many school officials said they had to tweak their enrolment process to offer parents more flexibility. While some schools have noted a reduction in overseas applications, others reported more pupils were transferring from local competitors. Despite the current climate, many private schools are set to welcome hundreds of new pupils from September. Al Salam Community School in Dubai, which opened in September 2019, received many requests from parents and pupils looking to join after the summer break. “We opened with just under 800 pupils and we are expecting to welcome at least 300 new pupils in September,” Kausor Amin-Ali, founding principal, told The National. “We have seen the majority of applicants moving to us from the more premium sector of the education market.
2nd Jul 2020 - The National Blogs
Lubbock ISD offering choice between virtual school, face to face instruction in fall
Adults will wear masks except when giving direct instruction and students will wear masks "as appropriate." "We will practice social distancing and we will develop schedules that limit large groups." The district is also modifying transportation to allow social distancing on buses. Rollo said there will be fewer students on each bus, one per row. Rollo said the district now has devices available for all students. Pre-K and Kindergarten students will have iPads and students in first though twelfth grade will have Chromebooks. These devices will be used in the classroom but will also allow a "quick shift to remote instruction if the need arises."
2nd Jul 2020 - KCBD
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullUniversity of Texas at Austin to offer 2,100 classes online
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About 20% of classes at the University of Texas at Austin will be taught remotely this fall. Students who choose not to return to campus can take all their courses online but will pay the same tuition rate as they would for in-person classes.
2nd Jul 2020 - The Texas Tribune
The advantages and disadvantages of online learning during the coronavirus pandemic | TheHill
Education psychologists and experts talk about the emergency remote learning situation teachers and students have been thrown into.
1st Jul 2020 - The Hill
From classroom to e-lessons, Covid turns teachers tech-savvy
A majority of teachers were not familiar with gadgets or online classes, but now they have learnt a lot about e-learning techniques and strategies to keep their students engaged. Some of them have learnt from their children, while a few have gained knowledge from their colleagues. Rashmi Chaudhary, an English teacher of Dyal Singh Public School, main branch, said she was not familiar with gadgets and it was a bit challenging. “Covid has taught us a lot. We became tech-savvy, while earlier we were limited to receiving calls or dialing the number,” she added.
1st Jul 2020 - The Tribune India
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Jul 2020
View this newsletter in fullFrom classroom to virtual lessons, Covid turns teachers tech-savvy
A majority of teachers were not familiar with gadgets or online classes, but now they have learnt a lot about e-learning techniques and strategies to keep their students engaged. Some of them have learnt from their children, while a few have gained knowledge from their colleagues. Rashmi Chaudhary, an English teacher of Dyal Singh Public School, main branch, said she was not familiar with gadgets and it was a bit challenging. “Covid has taught us a lot. We became tech-savvy, while earlier we were limited to receiving calls or dialing the number,” she added. Randhir Singh (48), a commerce teacher of Tagore Bal Niketan, said he had little knowledge of technology, but now he learnt a lot more from his children and was using all apps for online teaching. “It was a Herculean task for me to get updated, but I tried my best and now I can operate the gadgets being used in online classes,” he added.
1st Jul 2020 - The Tribune
CSUN Classes To Be Held Largely Online For Fall Semester
30th Jun 2020 - CBS Los Angeles
Coronavirus: Half of pupils not engaging remotely
About half of pupils in some post-primary year groups did not take part in remote learning after schools closed in March. Some primary schools, meanwhile, said parents wanted hard copies of work due to concerns children would become "screen saturated". That is according to an Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) report. Meanwhile, a scheme to provide pupils with laptops has seen demand exceed the number of available computers. The ETI sought the views of principals and heads of departments on the challenges posed by remote learning for both pupils and schools.
30th Jun 2020 - BBC News
Florida governor vetoes budget for online learning amid pandemic
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) vetoed the budget for a package of online education programs that have played key roles for students and educators during the coronavirus pandemic. DeSantis’s veto, issued Monday, killed the $29.4 million budget for the Complete Florida Plus Program, which provides online platforms that have become more prominent as students and teachers adopt distance learning. Among other programs, the veto will scrap a database of online courses and an online library service. Over 2,000 adult students could lose their scholarships, and roughly 150 employees in Tallahassee, Gainesville and Pensacola could lose their jobs, according to Politico. Complete Florida will go offline at midnight without any new sources of funding, meaning that library databases, among other tools, would become unavailable in the middle of the college summer semester.
30th Jun 2020 - The Hill
Delhi schools to re-open virtually from tomorrow, say prepared to tackle online classes
With coronavirus cases continuing to rise in India, the central government has not yet allowed schools to reopen campuses to students.
30th Jun 2020 - ThePrint
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullU.S. Teens Envision Fall School Reopening During COVID-19 Pandemic
When U.S. schools begin the next academic year with the country still fighting the coronavirus pandemic, students should spend half their time in classrooms and half doing online activities that pinpoint their individual learning style such as videos or reading. That advice comes from Nimish Mathur, 17, and his team from DuPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky. The "I'm So Confused Gang" team submitted its idea for re-opening school in the age of COVID-19 to a competition sponsored by Discover Your Genius (DYG), a nonprofit company that challenges young people to solve real-world business problems.
29th Jun 2020 - The New York Times
U.S. teens advise schools on fall reopening during COVID-19 pandemic
When U.S. schools begin the next academic year with the country still fighting the coronavirus pandemic, students should spend half their time in classrooms and half doing online activities that pinpoint their individual learning style such as videos or reading. That advice comes from Nimish Mathur, 17, and his team from DuPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky. The "I'm So Confused Gang" team submitted its idea for re-opening school in the age of COVID-19 to a competition sponsored by Discover Your Genius (DYG), a nonprofit company that challenges young people to solve real-world business problems.
29th Jun 2020 - Devdiscourse
'This is hell': Parents and kids hate online learning, but they could face more of it
The stakes are high. If there is a spike in infections – a real possibility, as mounting cases in states such as Texas and Florida indicate – distance learning in affected regions likely will become universal again. And students can’t afford to lose more ground, as many did when classes went online this spring. Millions simply disappeared or logged on but didn't participate. Nationwide, only one in three districts expected teachers to provide remote instruction and monitor students' academic engagement this spring, according to a study that tracked 477 districts.
"There wasn't a lot in the way of interventions for kids who were falling off," said Robin Lake, director of the Center for Reinventing Education, a nonpartisan research group in Washington state that conducted the study.
29th Jun 2020 - USA TODAY
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullUC Students Must Ready For An Online, Socially Distanced Fall
So far eight of the nine undergraduate campuses of the University of California system have published their plans for fall term, with most estimating that only a small number of classes will be conducted in person. UCLA, for instance, predicts that just 15% to 20% of courses will take place fully in-class or in a hybrid format, and the rest will be taught remotely, while UC Merced expects 20% to 30% of classes to be in-person in the fall. Several campuses, including UC Merced and UC Berkeley, plan to end any in-person instruction on Thanksgiving and shift all learning online through the end of the fall term. The campus guidelines contrast with what UC President Janet Napolitano said in May, suggesting more classes will be conducted in-person with a hybrid model. Instead, the UC plans look more like what the larger California State University has been signaling since the spring: mostly online.
28th Jun 2020 - Capital Public Radio News
Some students will stay home in the fall. School districts have to figure out how to teach them.
Wearing face masks, taking temperatures, sitting six feet apart: So much of the talk about returning to school this fall has been dominated by what it will take to make learning in person physically safe. But many school districts are also beginning to plan for a whole other world of teaching and learning — the all-virtual experience that students who stay home for medical or other reasons will need, and that some share of parents say they want. That work is underway in Florida’s Hillsborough County, where nearly 53,000 parents responded to a survey about their preferences for the fall. Almost half said they’d feel uncomfortable with students returning to school buildings. Around 12,000 parents said they’d prefer a fully virtual option.
28th Jun 2020 - The CT Mirror
Coronavirus: 'Scenarios' planned for schools' September return
Education Minister Kirsty Williams would grab a full return for schools in September "with both hands" if scientific advice said it was safe. But she said the Welsh Government also has "to plan for a range of scenarios". Concern has been raised over a possible "blended learning" system with class work, online learning, and homework. The minister conceded that there had "been a huge variation" in the experience of online learning since the start of the outbreak. A survey by University College London (UCL) found only 1.9% of Welsh pupils had four or more daily online lessons, compared with the UK average of 7%. Asked on the BBC Politics Wales programme if online teaching had been good enough, Ms Williams said: "We were asking teachers to embrace a pedagogy that is not something that they do every day and as we've gone on we've seen increasing use of live lessons.
28th Jun 2020 - BBC News
Coronavirus - Morocco: In the midst of coronavirus, USAID/Morocco supports distance learning for deaf and hard of hearing students
As these distance learning tools were rolled out, concerns were soon raised that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students, representing over 2,000 schooled children and youth who count among the 10,000 Moroccan students with sensory impairments, were being left behind. There remained yet another challenge: the need to translate distance learning materials into Moroccan Sign Language (MSL).
The Ministry was well prepared to rise to the challenge thanks to the USAID project Improving Deaf Children’s Reading through Technology activity (2015 – 2018) which, in partnership with the MOE, has increased recognition of MSL as a language by providing training to teachers and administrators on MSL. The project worked with deaf association-run schools across Morocco to provide teachers with an assistive technology—MSL Clip and Create software—allowing them to both create customized materials that provide MSL translations of written text and generate instructional activities incorporating both MSL and Modern Standard Arabic.
26th Jun 2020 - AfricaNews English
As coronavirus spreads, most South Carolina public schools could start the year online
South Carolina's Department of Education released guidance to schools on June 22 with several fall scenarios based on spread of the virus in communities. But, according to a new report from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, 29 counties in South Carolina have "high" virus spread, leaving districts in those counties to decide whether to go to full distance learning for all students, should conditions remain unchanged. For districts with a "low" spread of the virus, the education department is recommending schools follow a semi-traditional schedule. Under this option, the majority of students would be back in classrooms with a mostly regular schedule, but class sizes would likely need to be capped more than usual to allow for social distancing.
26th Jun 2020 - Greenville News
Coronavirus: What college and universities will look in the fall as cases surge across the US
26th Jun 2020 - The Independent
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullThe Virtual Classroom Must Address Its Problems
“Failure in the Virtual Classroom” (June 22) shines a light on the educational neglect of distance learning this spring. Based on my three kids’ remote-learning experiences in “Keep Portland Weird” Oregon, I believe the root cause is weird education policy. The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) blocked transfers to virtual public charters. ODE took a full month to initiate “Distance Learning for All.” Many teachers simply posted a list of assignments rather than teach, despite school-issued laptops and free Wi-Fi options for everyone in our school district. Student motivation plummeted since ODE mandated pass/no-fail-incomplete grading. High-school seniors weren’t educated at all. My daughter was told “seniors who were passing as of March 13 aren’t required to continue distance learning.” And districts forced teachers to stop working on Fridays, to take advantage of unemployment benefits including $600 a week from the Cares Act.
25th Jun 2020 - Wall Street Journal
MIT Arab SciTech Virtual IDEAthon rethinks learning during Covid-19
This spring, the MIT Arab Student Organization hosted a virtual IDEAthon with the theme “Learn from Home: Rethinking Learning during the Covid-19 Crisis.” The IDEAthon was the first step to tackle the challenges facing more than 200 million students in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region who had their education disrupted due the current global pandemic. The goal of the IDEAthon is to develop a large quantity of high-impact ideas that can improve current educational outcomes in the MENA region.
25th Jun 2020 - MIT News
Online education: how Hong Kong got ahead of the game
When the Hong Kong government first funded Responsive4U, a blended learning experiment between four local universities, it couldn’t have known how prescient that investment would be in the Covid-19 era. Since 2018, the project has allowed students to take for-credit courses taught by partner universities via a combination of online and in-person classes. The participating institutions – the University of Hong Kong (HKU), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) – had to work together to find solutions to technological, scheduling and other logistic hurdles. Currently, the project has 11 courses taken by 2,000 students, but is looking to expand.
26th Jun 2020 - Times Higher Education (THE)
UC students must ready for an online, socially distanced fall
The majority of UC campuses have released guidelines and policies for the next school year. UC guidelines call for the vast majority of classes to be taught online, sparsely populated dorms and regular symptom surveys of students and employees.
25th Jun 2020 - CALmatters
Fayetteville schools to offer choice of in-person or virtual classes in 2020-21
Official said virtual students will address the same key skills and concepts as the in-person students, and will be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities and other events. The virtual option will utilize a web-based curriculum, Google Classroom, online assessments, games, and interactive tools. A device for home use will be provided, according to the document. Students must participate in the virtual environment daily, meaning attendance will be taken, but schedules can be adjusted to meet individual needs. Enrollment in the virtual option will be for a minimum of one semester and will be extended to the full year unless a parent or guardian notifies the student’s principal by Nov. 13, 2020. Officials said virtual learning is different from the AMI assignments that students had in the spring. Through the virtual option, students will be provided with a class schedule and instruction in grade-level content from a licensed Fayetteville Public Schools teacher.
25th Jun 2020 - Fayetteville Flyer
The new normal for schools in COVID-19 pandemic
A new normal has emerged for schools around the globe because of COVID-19 and it has made way for so many questions to surface in the minds of educators, teachers and parents as we have to transform the conventional classrooms into online classes rapidly. Many schools like ours who were equipped with the infrastructural facilities immediately shifted to the online learning platform successfully from the end of March 2020. We quickly understood and accepted the fact as educators and parents that this is our new normal and that the face of schools will perhaps never be the same. Education has to continue without any pause even when we confront a crisis such as the novel coronavirus outbreak.
25th Jun 2020 - BDNews24.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullTurns Out You Can Build Community in a Zoom Classroom
How that played out in my own courses, which just wrapped up this month, may be of use to faculty members looking for ways to better connect with students online in the fall. My biggest surprise was the effectiveness of personal essays in building relationships in a Zoom classroom. I teach creative writing, but this kind of writing assignment could achieve the same ends in teaching any subject. One of my spring courses was a graduate nonfiction class. It was fairly easy to build community in that course because I knew most of the students and they knew one another. We all agreed that, except for sharing snacks during class and liquid socializing afterward, class online was much the same as face to face. We met at our regularly scheduled time on Zoom, though for a shorter duration than usual. The students posted their work for others to read and offer critiques.
25th Jun 2020 - The Chronicle of Higher Education
COVID-19: Make UK develops new manufacturing online training | Technology
Make UK the manufacturers’ organisation, collaborates with Fujitsu UK and IOSH to help organisation maintain business continuity with online training.
24th Jun 2020 - Manufacturing Global
Greenville County Schools to allow young students to take virtual classes in the fall
More Greenville County parents will be able to enroll their children in virtual school this fall, the district announced Wednesday. In prior years, the Greenville County school district only offered virtual high school courses. Now, students in kindergarten through 12th grade will be able to complete their work online. The announcement comes as schools across South Carolina are trying to determine how to have classes in the fall while coronavirus cases are on the rise.
24th Jun 2020 - Greenville News
64% parents favour starting online classes for young children: Survey
Sixty four per cent of parents and grandparents are in favour of starting online classes for young children, a survey said. However, most want to limit the virtual classes to 2 hours per day, LocalCircles survey also showed. The physical classes currently remain out of bounds for children amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While online mode of classroom teaching has been currently adopted in most states, it's a non-starter in some others amid fear among parents that it will subject young children to screens. Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have banned it for under Grade 5 and Maharashtra for under Grade 2.
24th Jun 2020 - Business Today
Al-Qalam starts virtual lessons
Al-Qalam University, Katsina has launched an online lecture platform to transform learning in the COVID 19 lockdown. A statement by the institute’s Head, Public Affairs, Atiku Akilu, said the university suspended academic activities in March 2020 in compliance with the directives of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
24th Jun 2020 - Daily Trust
COVID-19 has proven that parents need online education options
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted new challenges for parents when it comes to their children’s education. Amid stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and travel restrictions, parents have to make important and potentially tough decisions about their children’s education in the fall.
24th Jun 2020 - Washington Examiner
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullCreativity, serendipity enhance CGA's pivot to online classes
Shannon White signed up to teach a full slate-plus of courses for the COVID-19 semester of ’20. “What a semester to have an overload, right?” she quipped. White is a faculty member at William & Mary’s Center for Geospatial Analysis, which offers courses and training on GIS (geographic information system) technology. As with all other courses at the university, classes were interrupted by spring break. The university’s switch to virtual instruction followed. GIS is a high-tech marriage of data science and cartography. White and other CGA faculty instill graduate and undergraduate students with the skills and understanding to use mapping and visualization techniques in projects ranging from art history to field biology.
23rd Jun 2020 - William & Mary News
Accounting professor captures ‘in-person synergy’ in transition to online learning
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the St. Mary’s University community has adapted — faculty stepping up to deliver quality education to students from a distance. Robbie Bishop-Monroe, D.B.A., Assistant Professor of Accounting, shared takeaways from her spring classes in a Q&A. Bishop-Monroe, also a CPA, joined St. Mary’s in 2019. She specializes in accounting, auditing and governmental accounting. In Spring 2020, she taught Introduction to Accounting, Governmental Accounting and Auditing.
23rd Jun 2020 - St. Mary's University
TEA spells out funding for distance learning but delays advice on how to open classrooms
The state will continue to fund school districts for remote learning in the coming school year, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said in a phone call with superintendents Tuesday afternoon. Texas has ordered districts to open campuses for students who choose to return to classrooms, but Morath said he’d wait until later to offer the guidance for in-person instruction that school leaders were expecting. “It’s a rapidly changing public health landscape now, much like it was in the initial days of coronavirus,” he said.
23rd Jun 2020 - San Antonio Express-News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 Has Exacerbated School Exclusion: UNESCO
The agency's 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report says poorer children, girls, the disabled and immigrants are among those at a disadvantage, and that the situation got worse with COVID-19 when more than 90 percent of the world's schoolchildren found their learning affected by closures. While those from better-off families had internet and wifi connections and were able to use laptops and mobile phones, millions of youngsters were left out. "Health crises can leave many behinds, in particular the poorest girls, many of whom may never return to school," wrote Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's director-general.
23rd Jun 2020 - Spotlight Nepal
Maine's Catholic schools to reopen in fall amid coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic
Maine Catholic Schools is also working to develop remote learning for those who feel uncomfortable sending their kids back to school. “The Diocese of Portland is assisting each of our schools in developing a virtual, distance-learning option where interested families will still be able to receive instruction for children in core content areas while remaining connected to their local school community,” said Pelletier. Due to social distancing requirements that will be in place in classrooms, families are encouraged to enroll their student or students soon as space is filling up at all schools.
22nd Jun 2020 - WCSH-TV Portland, ME on MSN.com
In person, online classes or a mix: Colleges' fall 2020 coronavirus reopening plans, detailed
Stanley is among a majority of university presidents who aspire to welcome students back to campus in the fall. He said many students had difficulties with remote learning in the spring. Some lacked the resources at home to complete courses online. But Michigan State still plans to hold about half of its classes entirely online. Others will be taught via a hybrid format, with students doing some course sessions online and some in person, or in larger classrooms on campus. The school plans to accommodate students who cannot return in person by giving them an online curriculum.
22nd Jun 2020 - USA TODAY
Two young refugees, 500 books, and a new way to learn during COVID-19
A virtual tutoring program in Seattle is just one of the ways in which the IRC is helping refugee children like Kudus and Delina, who are also real bookworms, continue their education during the global pandemic.
22nd Jun 2020 - International Rescue Committee
How Should Universities Be Redesigned in the Wake of COVID-19?
Wharton’s Eric K. Clemons, a professor of operations, information and decisions, focuses on the redesign of academic institutions in this opinion piece. As he writes, “We do this in part because it is a pressing problem that requires a solution now, if universities, faculty, and students are to plan effectively for an event that is less than three months away. In addition, we study these institutions as examples that other industries may need to consider as they approach their own redesign if they cannot implement full virtualization.”
22nd Jun 2020 - Knowledge@Wharton
Medical education gets creative during the pandemic
“The transition to remote learning was abrupt,” said Dr. Vivian Obeso, associate dean for curriculum and medical education. “But our course directors and faculty rose to the challenge. They embraced technology and developed innovative teaching sessions and clinical courses. I am so proud of our team.” Zoom technology and web-based learning tools like Acquifer and WiseMD became critical in teaching students in virtual classrooms and discussion groups. To preserve active learning, weekly question and answer sessions via Zoom, and frequent remote quizzes on the Canvas Learning Management Platform kept students engaged and on track.
22nd Jun 2020 - FIU News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullBetter training needed to instruct classes online in Newfoundland and Labrador: teachers
Some teachers in the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD) say they are frustrated and concerned with the lack of training for teachers on how to deliver online education. “They’re spinning wheels. They’re not focused on the problem,” said Teacher 1, who was granted anonymity in fear of repercussions for speaking out. Come September, the teacher says, if the COVID-19 pandemic keeps the doors of the schools closed, teachers will not be prepared to teach classes online. “(Teachers) had one day of training on Google Meet and Google Classroom,” Teacher 1 said, adding that no actual teaching happens on these platforms. “Google Classroom is just a place (where) teachers make comments and go in and post notes,” Teacher 1 said. “There’s no actual (teaching) going on, it’s just a platform to communicate with the students.”
21st Jun 2020 - The Telegram
America wasn't ready to move school online.
After three months of school closures, data about the impact of the coronavirus on learning is starting to trickle in. It’s far from reassuring.
19th Jun 2020 - Slate
How Covid has impacted higher education sector
Covid-19 pandemic-impacted higher education will be different mainly in the mode of teaching and evaluation. Nationally there was a call for a de facto switch to virtual teaching, learning and evaluation, pushing a huge number of teachers into an unfamiliar mode. Online mode, formerly allowed only in open universities and varsities graded 3.5 onwards, is now licensed for all universities to run their UG and PG programmes accordingly.
21st Jun 2020 - The New Indian Express
Virtual tour replaces parents’ class ritual
Several reputable schools have abandoned an age-old practice parents look forward to: their first meeting with the teachers after their child’s entry into a school.
The interactive session has gone virtual. The visit to the school, sitting in the classroom and meeting the teachers have been replaced by a presentation and sometimes a virtual tour of the campus that schools have prepared to give parents an introduction to what is expected of them and what schools do. Institutions like Modern High School for Girls, South Point School and Mahadevi Birla World Academy conducted an orientation programme with parents online for the first time this year.
21st Jun 2020 - Telegraph India
Failure in the Virtual Classroom
The remote-learning experiment isn’t going well. This month the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education published a report looking at how 477 school districts nationwide have responded to the Covid-19 crisis. Its findings reveal widespread neglect of students. The report found only 27% of districts required teachers to record whether students participate in remote classes, while remote attendance has been abysmal. During the first two weeks of the shutdown, some 15,000 Los Angeles students failed to register attendence
21st Jun 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullUniversity of Illinois will reopen with face masks and COVID-19 testing but also virtual classes; other colleg
In a welcome announcement for restless college students, the University of Illinois confirmed Thursday that all three of its campuses will hold modified classes on campus this fall as long as the masses of students coming back wear face masks, undergo coronavirus tests and practice social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. That means dorms, dining halls, research labs and other campus facilities will begin to reopen in some fashion, with amended protocols to protect students and faculty from falling ill, according to a joint statement issued by university leaders. “Plans to restore in-person instruction were developed through weeks of exhaustive review that brought together literally hundreds of key stakeholders and considered every available option, from a full return to traditional instruction to remaining fully online,” said the message, also signed by university President Tim Killeen.
18th Jun 2020 - Chicago Tribune
COVID-19 forces ORNL researchers to take STEM education online
COVID-19 has upended nearly every aspect of our daily lives and forced us all to rethink how we can continue our work in a more physically isolated world. And none more so than teachers; from kindergarten classrooms to college campuses, America’s educators have been forced to go virtual virtually overnight. Just ask researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who regularly volunteer at area schools through the Oak Ridge Computer Science Girls, or ORCSGirls, program to help cultivate the next generation of female STEM professionals. Begun by ORNL’s Thomas Proffen, ORCSGirls aims “to inspire middle school girls in East Tennessee to actively explore the possibilities of technology to empower their future careers.” Since its founding in 2017, the program has inspired more than 2,000 females aspiring to make a career in the science and tech arenas. But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced ORCSGirls mentors, including ORNL’s Katie Schuman, Samantha Erwin, Anne Berres, Dasha Herrmannova and Pravi Devineni to take their instruction online, a transition that has had both benefits and challenges.
18th Jun 2020 - Mirage News
Littlehales hosts virtual classroom as part of Paralympic Education Program
Para-canoeist Dylan Littlehales hosted a virtual classroom as part of the Paralympics Australia Paralympic Education Program. The Paralympic Education Program provides a range of free online curriculum-linked resources for Australian classes focusing on Paralympic values. It was launched in February has gained momentum despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The 20-year-old Littlehales, who made his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, joined Paralympics Australia’s education manager and goalball player Jenny Blow to deliver a virtual classroom to students from Ashwood School in Melbourne. "It’s a great experience for me to be able to share my story and hopefully it’s helping kids to build on their own stories by giving them the opportunity to ask questions about how I got to where I am," Littlehales said.
18th Jun 2020 - Inside The Games
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullWe must walk tightrope between online and offline learning
If schools do not focus on adapting teaching materials that can reach the last child, then the consequence could be a generation of young illiterates. This will be detrimental for the society at large. The definition of what is meant by quality of education will have to be constantly revised because too much emphasis on technology could also exclude many children from education.
17th Jun 2020 - The Indian Express
Virtual classroom options, social distancing: Here's what we know about Montgomery ISD bringing students back this fall
The state of Texas has not yet released its final requirements for schools opening for fall 2020-21 amidst the coronavirus pandemic, but Montgomery ISD has laid out a tentative plan for its district. The plan includes returning to traditional instruction with spaced-out desks as well as virtual classroom options. However, MISD is waiting on further clarification from the state on issues such as transportation. At this time, the district has opted to not change its traditional calendar, MISD interim Superintendent Ann Dixon said at June 16 board of trustees meeting. This means usual breaks such as summer and spring break are still scheduled.
17th Jun 2020 - Community Impact Newspaper
HRD working on SOPs for online classes; to address issues of increased screen time, digital divide
The guidelines are being developed in view of complaints from parents about schools conducting online classes like regular school, which has increased children’s screen time
16th Jun 2020 - The Hindu
SD 51 prepares for hybrid online/in-class learning in September
Though in-class learning only resumed in School District 51 – Boundary two weeks ago, management is already looking at how education in the district may differ next September, assuming COVID-19 precautions continue to govern the number of students permitted in a classroom at a given time. At its monthly board meeting held June 9, the district’s board of directors approved funding to hire two additional full-time teachers who will specialize in distance education support. Since spring break ended in March, students and staff alike have taken to online platforms to convene in virtual classrooms.
16th Jun 2020 - Boundary Creek Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullUK students to head back to campus a week early this fall and end with virtual finals
University of Kentucky students will start classes a week early and end with virtual finals this fall, the university announced Tuesday. In-person classes will begin Aug. 17 and end by Thanksgiving, with UK joining a growing list of schools opting to end the semester remotely to help prevent a second spike of the coronavirus. Classes will take place on Labor Day and a prescheduled fall break has been canceled, UK said in a press release. All students will be able to get tested for the virus when they return to campus. Masks will be required almost everywhere on campus, the school said, and students and faculty will be encouraged to check for coronavirus symptoms daily.
16th Jun 2020 - Courier Journal
Some families won’t return when schools reopen. Wake wants to give them online option.
The Wake County school system plans to offer a virtual school option this fall for students who don’t feel comfortable returning to campus during the coronavirus pandemic.
16th Jun 2020 - Raleigh News & Observer
Sorry Not Sorry: Online Teaching Is Here to Stay
Four reasons you should join the online-teaching movement and spend some time this summer polishing your digital skills
16th Jun 2020 - The Chronicle of Higher Education
How the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing is making us go more digital
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a massive change in how people behave. In a country like India, where pushing and shoving in public places was common, people are now practising social distancing by keeping themselves at least three feet from others. Lines in public areas are orderly for the first time. Another impact of the pandemic is that it has accelerated trends that existed before COVID-19. While fewer people are venturing outside, more people than ever before are spending time online. Online gaming and video streaming sites have seen their subscriptions grow substantially. Social media has never been more popular; a fact attested to by the rising value of technology companies.
16th Jun 2020 - DATAQUEST
Virtual tours launched at Shropshire college ahead of September
A Shropshire college is busy planning for its next intake of students in September by hosting virtual tours and meetings.
16th Jun 2020 - Shropshire Star
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual classroom enables interactive training
In collaboration with its partners Barco and Kinly, CTouch has built a unique virtual training room at its Eindhoven office. With this state-of-the-art facility, the touchscreen solutions provider makes it possible for companies and institutes to organize real-time, interactive trainings and classes with co-workers, students or partners from all over the world. The virtual training room will also be used by the company to provide collaboration sessions and technical product trainings to its network of resellers and touchscreen users.
15th Jun 2020 - eeNews Europe
Preparing for the post-Covid-19 classroom
The good news is that teachers in Ireland are able to upskill through a range of information and courses that provide training in areas such as blended learning, remote teaching apps, the impact of trauma on learning and other skills that will be vital from next September. We’ve compiled a collection of some of the best courses and webinars for teachers and principals seeking to prepare for the return to a very changed school environment.
15th Jun 2020 - The Irish Times
Coronavirus: A third of pupils 'not engaging with work'
The report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) says head teachers believe around a third of pupils are not engaging with set work. Limited or no access to technology was a problem for around a quarter (23%) of pupils, school leaders told the NFER. The government says it has committed over £100m to help home learning. The NFER report is based on findings from a survey of 1,233 school leaders and 1,821 teachers in England's state schools, carried out between 7 and 17 May. It raises particular concern about the impact of school closures, due to Covid 19, on the learning of pupils from the most disadvantaged areas, saying pupil engagement is lower in schools with the highest levels of deprivation.
15th Jun 2020 - BBC News
With some remote learning likely for the fall, schools agonize over how much Zoom time to impose
The global pandemic upended life as we know it, shutting down school campuses across the country, but Zahriana Newson’s schedule at Roxbury Prep charter school barely changed. But now there's a new problem....
10th Jun 2020 - Boston Globe
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullSurvey shows desire for virtual classroom
The 2020-21 calendar took center stage at the Midland ISD board meeting last week. It was the topic du jour for board members and staff for more than three hours. And while the calendar had everyone’s attention, there was other news that came from a district survey that will impact the upcoming school year. District leaders learned that 22.4 percent of parents surveyed “would choose” a virtual learning option, and another 33.4 percent said “maybe” or “it depends.” Also, 28.7 percent of teachers responded they would wish to be considered to teach in a virtual setting, and another 37.1 percent said “maybe” or it “depends.”
14th Jun 2020 - Midland Reporter-Telegram
Pee Dee summer camps go virtual due of COVID-19
Summer camps in the Pee Dee are turning virtual in order to give kids an opportunity to have some fun over the summer. With a drastic rise in positive COVID-19 cases in South Carolina, summer camps are trying new ways to host campers while keeping them safe. Starting June 14, the Lynches River County Park will start its virtual summer camp program. The program will be held through its Environmental Discovery Center. The center will have two virtual camps that anyone can participate in. According to officials at the center, they plan to post their lessons on their YouTube channel and will be available to answer any questions kids may have.
14th Jun 2020 - wpde.com
COVID-19: Education goes online
In Kenya, this closure of learning institutions has inspired an evolution in education. Teachers now hold online classes in a bid to keep the country’s students learning.
CGTN Africa visited one school in Nairobi offering online education as students and pupils remain holed up in their homes as a way of further preventing the spread of COVID-19. “It was not easy for us at the beginning because we work with very young children. Some of our children are 18 months, to six-year-olds. And so, when we launched that to the parents, that we would be going on with the virtual classes, we had quite a lot of anxious parents who doubted that was for them, for their ages, but yes, we had the will and so we pushed for it. And luckily the parents along the way, yes, supported that. And so it has a sort of now worked, it is working,” said Phyllis Kamau, the Director at Pink Tower Children’s House.
14th Jun 2020 - cgtn.com
UK language students prepare for virtual year abroad in their bedrooms
Some universities have cancelled overseas trips amid coronavirus fears and others are trying to think of alternatives
13th Jun 2020 - The Guardian
Course welcomes COVID-19 experts into virtual classroom - Cornell College
“Barbara adapted this course to be about COVID-19 in a matter of just a couple of weeks, which is amazing and really can only be done because on the block plan,” said Junior Sam Sande of Powell, Wyoming. “She has done so much in terms of making this course totally unique and personal.”
12th Jun 2020 - Cornell College News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullBarco's Virtual classroom to expand reach of University College London's professional development programme
The institute has always had an international focus but with the recent spread of COVID-19, the need to connect with experts in Europe, the Americas and Asia, who are at the forefront of COVID-19 expertise, has only increased. Professor John Kelly, consultant urological surgeon, specialising in robotic surgery for bladder and prostate cancer at UCL, comments: “There are many platforms to connect, but we have found that we can use Barco’s system in a way that has not been possible with other technologies. The way teachers and students can interact is unparalleled, and therefore, this system comes at just the right time.” UCL uses the weConnect platform for synchronous teaching, where remote students can interact with a trainer and/or lecturer. Teachers can see the students’ faces up close and they can interact with them through polls, questions and whiteboarding.
11th Jun 2020 - FE News
Teacher transforms garage into gym for virtual classes with special needs students
The coronavirus pandemic changed how schools operate with students now learning via virtual classrooms. For one California physical education teacher, it meant getting creative by transforming his garage into a gym. Jared Sellers, an adaptive PE teacher for the Auburn Unified School District in California, renovated his garage into a home gym for virtual classes. He says it cost him around $1,500 of his own money, buying equipment, flooring and adding a new drain so the garage wouldn’t flood if it rained. “I looked at my garage, and it was a bit of a mess. I knew that I could transform it into a space where I could still teach students. It was a process, and it took a village to put it together,” Sellers said.
11th Jun 2020 - WBTV
This Data Scientist Is Offering Virtual Coding Camps For Students Nationwide To Narrow STEM’s Education Gap
Her recent launch of CoderHeroes, and its CoderCamp program, has two parts: students nationwide can sign up for computer science learning in lieu of cancelled in-person camps—a boon at a time when coronavirus is threatening summer activities. A portion of each virtual CoderCamp tuition is then donated back to her Code Your Dreams after-school program, which provides middle and high school students in low-income Chicago communities with free computer science courses as well as access to the laptops, WiFi and android devices they need for coding and app creation.
11th Jun 2020 - Forbes
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullSummer school to stay online for Edmonton public and Catholic schools, even as province re-opens amid COVID-19
“(We) will be offering remote instruction and not in-person instruction as the majority of student enrolment and staffing has already been completed for an online platform,” Lori Nagy, spokeswoman for Edmonton Catholic Schools, said in an email Wednesday. “As for diploma exams, we are in the process of planning to ensure that we are respecting all Alberta Health guidelines, determining staff needs and considering the space requirements at some of our high schools. We will know more in the next week or so.”
10th Jun 2020 - Edmonton Journal
Rebooting Education: E-Learning rises to the challenge
How should educational institutions cope up with the brimming effects of the lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic?” This question created ripples across the education sector when the virus took a toll on the lives of people across the globe. As we grappled with the effects of the pandemic, educationists worked towards serving the best interest of the students by strengthening the virtual modes of learning. Undeterred by the impact of the novel coronavirus, educational institutions are today at the brink of a new revolution, popularly known as e-learning.
10th Jun 2020 - Deccan Herald
Rogers High School teacher recognized as Cox “Hero of Distance Learning”
Michael Carlino, a math teacher at Rogers High School, was among three teachers recognized as a Cox Communications “Hero of Distance Learning” today during Governor Raimondo’s regular COVID-19 press briefing. “As educators have migrated to uncharted waters with the transition to distance learning, many have emerged as heroes to the students and families depending on them to keep their school work on track,” a press release from COX Communications states. Cox Communications asked members of the community and school departments which teachers were truly excelling in this challenging environment in order to reward educators with a $1,000 home technology makeover for their virtual classrooms.
10th Jun 2020 - What'sUpNewp
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: Schools in Oman make quick transition to online learning
School systems in Oman were able to transition towards virtual learning soon after they received instructions to temporarily close schools and run classes online. Following the decision on 14 March by the Ministry of Education to close all educational institutions to stop the spread of COVID-19, schools attempted to make sure the standards of education their students received through online learning was of a similar level to that achieved in classrooms. The Indian school system, which represents the largest school system primarily attended by expats in Oman, already had some online resources prior to this, and began expanding them once the ministry’s decision had been made.
9th Jun 2020 - Times of Oman
Coronavirus: Irish universities prepare for students to return
The threat posed to public health by the coronavirus pandemic has led to universities across the globe having to address how they can continue teaching while keeping their staff and students safe. While non-essential businesses had to close their doors to the public in the space of just a few weeks in March, almost all teaching activity at Ireland’s universities and colleges had to rapidly migrate online.
Course instructors had to adopt technologies that had never before been used on this scale in the experience of Irish education. All of a sudden, the virtual classroom took centre stage. Students would complete their studies online without having to attend classes in-person, while assessments and examinations were quickly reappraised and reconstituted. This migration represented the single biggest structural change in the third-level sector in Ireland in recent years. One academic referred to it as “the great onlining of Irish higher education”.
9th Jun 2020 - The Irish Times
Virtual Education: Will the nature of schooling change post COVID-19?
The online technology they were uncomfortable with, is gradually becoming essential due to the restrictions imposed in the wake of the pandemic.
9th Jun 2020 - The Statesman
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullAs pandemic continues, local school worked to keep students engaged as school year ends
The coronavirus pandemic has made many organizations rethink their operations, especially in the field of education. Like its public school counterparts, Fairfield Christian Academy, a private school system in Lancaster, worked to make the transition to distance learning easy for its students, creating content that would keep their interest and remain educational.
8th Jun 2020 - Lancaster Eagle Gazette
Stay-at-home kids need help until a coronavirus vaccine arrives
Even if school opens in the fall not every teacher and student will be able to return if there isn’t a vaccine. There are many children who have compromised immune systems or someone in their household might have a pre-existing condition which will force them to stay home. Others simply just don’t want to chance it. The same predicament is true for many teachers across the commonwealth. Gov. Charlie Baker’s team has been leading from behind since the pandemic first hit and the same can be said concerning the Department of Early Education.
8th Jun 2020 - Boston Herald
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoaching industry tries to reinvent itself in Covid times
Every year about this time, India’s coaching industry starts admitting lakhs of students aspiring for entrance to premier institutes. In the wake of coronavirus, numbers are down to half as institutes try to reinvent their classrooms for a post-pandemic world.
8th Jun 2020 - The Indian Express
Online classes to continue
The online classes for schoolchildren are likely to continue even after the summer vacation since parents are unwilling to risk sending their children to school, multiple school authorities have told The Telegraph. In the same breath, several school principals and teachers said that online classes are less engaging and less productive, particularly for the weaker students and those very young who need individual attention.
8th Jun 2020 - Telegraph India
Teaching post-Covid-19: Will we still need classrooms?
The prolonged lockdown situation has made us all reassess various aspects of life including how and where we work. Educationalists are no exception. Just over 10 weeks of working from home – carrying out administrative duties, having virtual meetings and setting assignments – have made us all think about what it is we and our students are missing out on. For me, it's these eight key aspects of teaching.
Human beings require physical contact – that’s a given. It is the core of our being. Real contact that relies on our five senses defines and shapes the way we perceive the outside world.
7th Jun 2020 - TES News
Violinist.com Interview with Anthea Kreston: Going Virtual During the Pandemic
Anthea is a violinist with a B.A. in women’s studies from Cleveland State University and a performance degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. She
spent four years as a member of the Artemis Quartett in Berlin, where she also was a Professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin and Master Teacher at the Queen Elizabeth Chapel in Brussels. You may have seen her regular blog on Slipped Disc. Now back in the U.S., she has been teaching students at Curtis and spending time with her husband and two daughters. She's also has been hard at work, developing the fully-online Inside Music Academy Virtual Summer Sessions, which will feature a variety of offerings, including classical strings, winds, piano, composition, conducting, adult learners and Suzuki. Last week I spoke to Anthea about her experience with online teaching, her perspective on the pandemic, and the new summer program that starts June 15.
5th Jun 2020 - Violinist.com
The Results Are In for Remote Learning: It Didn’t Work
6th Jun 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 makes it clearer than ever: access to the internet should be a universal right
The internet eased lockdown life for millions. But millions more still can’t get online, and that’s fundamentally unfair
4th Jun 2020 - The Guardian
Two girls' lockdown learning underlines South Africa's educational divide
When Zinzi Lerefolo was sent home from her fee-paying girls’ school in a leafy Johannesburg suburb in March, her family set up a virtual classroom that allowed her to continue studying uninterrupted.
4th Jun 2020 - Reuters
Online summer camps for children and teenagers
For many parents, summer camps are an important way for children to learn new skills, make friends and stay active over the long break. And they also often provide crucial time and space for parents. This summer, however, is very different, with traditional “in-person” camps still not guaranteed to take place, even later this summer, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, online camps are experiencing a growth in popularity, especially with parents looking to balance childcare with working from home.
4th Jun 2020 - The Irish Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullUT reveals fall plans for some online learning, limited classroom capacity
Interim UT-Austin president Jay Hartzell shared an update on planning for the Fall 2020 semester. In a letter to Longhorns he said about 20 percent of classes would be designed for online learning and classrooms would only be filled to 40 percent capacity. He also explained plans to ramp-up COVID-19 testing. UT Senior Ryan Chandler is gearing up for his last semester on campus. He'll graduate in December and is encouraged by plans to welcome Longhorns back to the 40 Acres this fall. "I really hope that we can have as much of the Longhorn experience as possible given the circumstances," he said.
4th Jun 2020 - KEYE TV CBS Austin
It is planned to create a common "virtual classroom" platform
The Ministry of Education and Science, together with the State Education Content Center (VISC), plans to create a single "virtual classroom" platform, which would prevent the learning process from taking place on many different platforms, Minister of Education and Science Ilga Suplinska (New Conservative Party) said during a press conference today. Guntars Catlaks, the head of the VISC, informed about the data of a survey conducted by ministry and Edurio, in which the students admitted that during the distance learning process they did not like that communication with their school takes place on different platforms. Pupils also lacked a single platform on which to work. The minister explained that the creation of a single platform would eliminate one of the most significant shortcomings, and that the teaching process and communication between students and teachers should take place on one platform. Tasks could also be assigned to this platform.
3rd Jun 2020 - Baltic Times
Six Harvard Graduate Schools To Conduct Classes Online in Fall 2020 | News
Six of Harvard’s 12 degree-granting schools will conduct classes remotely during the fall semester, they announced Wednesday. Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Harvard Divinity School will hold classes online in the upcoming term; Harvard Graduate School of Education will conduct its classes and operations online for the entire 2020-2021 academic year. Graduate School of Education Dean Bridget T. Long wrote in an email to affiliates that the school's decision “largely centers” on “disruptions to residential learning” as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
3rd Jun 2020 - Harvard Crimson
Here’s which Michigan colleges will have in-person, online fall classes -- or both
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A list of Michigan colleges, universities and how they’re adapting to the coronavirus pandemic this fall
3rd Jun 2020 - WDIV ClickOnDetroit
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullIt Was a Bumpy Ride, But Virtual Schooling During the Coronavirus Boosted Teachers' Tech Skills
With the help of co-teacher and tech innovator Amanda Legge, Binns has worked her way through. On a video call with Legge and Education Week, Binns described how she now films herself doing math problems, uploads them to YouTube, and posts them to Google Classroom. “I’m so proud of you!” Legge told her, smiling.
For Binns, the growth feels significant. “This has made me have to spread my wings and be willing to make a mistake, and be willing to push the button and know that the computer is not going to explode,” she said. “It’s helped me a lot to be more confident.”
2nd Jun 2020 - Education Week
6 Lessons Kansas Teachers Learned When The Coronavirus Pushed Classes Online
Educators say there was a silver lining when Kansas schools and campuses had to shut down because of the coronavirus: It was a chance to learn how to do remote learning right. Now with college finals submitted and most K-12 schools in summer vacation mode, educators are reflecting on those two months of online teaching, especially knowing that some universities will have to do it again come fall (Wichita State plans online-only instruction after Thanksgiving). Here are six things that Kansas professors and teachers say they’ve learned outside of the physical classroom.
1st Jun 2020 - HPPR
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullMmegi Blogs :: Online learning popularity grows under COVID-19
Virtual or E-pedagogy might broadly be defined as ‘learning design that incorporates educational quality, values and effectiveness of teaching, learning and assessment activities supported by technology’. It is also a comprehensive science, which integrates all issues related to online education, starting with the theoretical foundations, and embracing higher education institutions, pedagogic systems, personal and professional development, principles of teaching and learning, instructional approaches and methods. Online classes, mean conducting teaching and learning sessions with the help of ICT; the internet is an important player. You can inform students through email or WhatsApp about the time and topic of the online class. You can also stream your video tutorials live on YouTube. What are the basic dos and don’ts of conducting online classes?
2nd Jun 2020 - Mmegi Online
Summer School To Be Mostly Online In Wisconsin Amid COVID-19 Concerns
With nearly 17,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the state, Wisconsin schools are keeping their doors closed to students through the summer. The state's five largest school districts have laid out plans for online summer school, billing it as the safest option for both students and staff. At the same time, local recreation departments are laying out in-person plans to make sure parents headed back to work have somewhere to send their children. Milwaukee Recreation Senior Director Lynn Greb said her department will have a pared-down lineup of summer programs, with only 50 children allowed at each site. Those children may get further split into smaller groups that might have staggered meal times, on top of other precautions to keep the groups from mixing.
2nd Jun 2020 - Wisconsin Public Radio News
This is online learning's moment. For universities, it's a total mess
The University of Manchester, which has announced plans to keep lectures online-only in the autumn term, is already preparing for the worst. On April 23, vice-chancellor Dame Nancy Rothwell told staff that redundancies and pay cuts may be necessary if 80 per cent of students from outside the EU and 20 per cent of UK and EU students decided to stay defer or drop out. In the worst-case scenario, the university could lose up to £270m in a single year – a 15 to 25 per cent deficit.
2nd Jun 2020 - Wired.co.uk
Universities will never be the same after the coronavirus crisis
The coronavirus crisis is forcing universities to confront long-standing challenges in higher education, such as skyrocketing tuition costs and perceptions of elitism — and some of the resulting changes could be permanent. Over the long term, universities might shift many classes online (a trend already under way), have fewer international students and even refashion themselves to be more relevant to local and national communities — both to solve pressing problems and to prove their worth at a time when experts and public institutions are coming under increased criticism. “The pandemic is speeding up changes in a tremendous way,” says Bert van der Zwaan, former rector of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and author of Higher Education in 2040: A Global Approach (2017).
2nd Jun 2020 - Nature.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Jun 2020
View this newsletter in fullNew academic year begins in Kerala, lessons go online via KITE Victers channel due to coronavirus COVID-19...
The new academic year will begin in Kerala on Monday (June 1) but this year it will be completely online using multiple virtual platforms due to coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
1st Jun 2020 - Zee News
Parents call for virtual school for Scottish pupils
Some parents are calling for a Scotland-wide virtual school as anxieties grow at the prospect of indefinite home schooling into the autumn and beyond. While pupils transitioning into primary and secondary schools should be in class briefly before the summer holidays begin at the end of June, the majority of Scotland’s schoolchildren with not return until 11 August, and then to a blended model of in-school and at-home learning. With parents already struggling to support their children’s education, often while continuing to work from home, there was consternation when it emerged last week that Scotland’s largest local authority, Glasgow city council, is considering a model that would see children in school only two days out of every five.
31st May 2020 - The Guardian
Teaching in the time of coronavirus: Finding creative ways to engage students
“The challenge is for us to make it engaging, high interest,” said Dave Peterson, a fifth-grade teacher at Juniper Elementary in Escondido, who created digital badges inspired by gaming rewards, which students could earn for completing assignments. “We also have to give them some incentive to show up.” It’s perhaps fitting that this generation of students, often referred to as iGen because of their familiarity with digital media, should be the ones to beta test online education on a large scale. For some districts, it’s hastening changes that were already in the works. In Vista Unified School District, which began a transition to “personalized learning” years ago, it was a relatively smooth transition, Superintendent Matt Doyle said. The district had already invested heavily in mobile devices such as Chromebooks and hotspots, and had retooled classrooms so that students could be more active in their own educations.
31st May 2020 - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullHere's why Covid-19 heralds the dawn of virtual classrooms
In the months and years ahead, until there is a vaccine, lockdowns will happen regularly in many parts of the world. The head of the World Health Organisation himself said that society would be fighting this virus for a very long time. To keep it safe for students, education institutions will prefer operating remotely with intermittent access to campuses.
28th May 2020 - India Today on MSN.com
Children’s daily screen time skyrockets under coronavirus lockdown, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing
Don’t let screens get in the way of physical activity. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children and adolescents perform at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day, which stimulates widespread benefits ranging from cardiorespiratory fitness and weight control to reducing stress and preventing health conditions like diabetes. And while there are plenty of exercise apps and alluring video games for kids that encourage movement, nothing beats good, old fashioned exercise and physical activity.
28th May 2020 - OregonLive
What will school look like in the fall? MPS explores possible options
Stung by criticism over its slow pivot to virtual learning as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools this spring, Milwaukee Public Schools is taking the lead in rolling out its options for resuming instruction in the fall. The district this week unveiled the various scenarios it is considering, from virtual classes only to hybrid in-person and online instruction; keeping high schoolers online but returning younger students to schools; and returning to the neighborhood schools model, which would dramatically reduce the district's reliance on busing.
28th May 2020 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Coronavirus: Schools are virtual, and so is this tutor
Barbara Rauch said she knew she needed to continue tutoring all her students during the coronavirus pandemic. While her physical location shuttered in the Annadale on March 12, her first live virtual classroom setting was launched March 16.
27th May 2020 - SILive.com
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: Home schooling to continue for most pupils until September, says minister
The return of pupils will be balanced with the "overwhelming objective of ensuring they are as safe as possible", MPs are told.
28th May 2020 - Sky News
International students torn as UK universities go virtual
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown Britain's universities into a state of uncertainty. One in five students in the UK is from overseas, and what attracts students to Britain are its highly collaborative seminars, which may not be possible in the era of social distancing. Universities and their surrounding communities are bracing for a massive financial hit. Potential students who are weighing their options; the switch to online-only courses could be an opportunity to cater to students with differing cultural norms.
27th May 2020 - Business Insider
This is what theatres could look like when they reopen after lockdown
A theatre company in Germany has offered a first look at how social distancing will work when audiences return. Normally there is space for around 700 people in the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin – but, amid the coronavirus crisis, only 200 guests will be welcomed to watch plays at one time. A picture posted to the Berliner Ensemble’s social media shows the bizarre circumstances theatre-goers will find themselves under, with seats arranged metres apart, in groups of one or two. Speaking on Twitter, the theatre company said it would be the ‘new reality’ from when it reopens in September.
27th May 2020 - Metro.co.uk
University of Washington plans hybrid learning approach for ‘largest freshman class ever’ this fall
As the University of Washington prepares for the first virtual graduation in its 159-year history, President Ana Mari Cauce is focused on what happens a few months later. Speaking at a virtual town hall with other university presidents Wednesday, Cauce said she expects to welcome UW students back to campus in the fall despite uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s more, the class of 2024 is poised to be “our largest freshman class ever,” Cauce said. To make that possible, UW is planning for a hybrid approach combining online learning with small-scale in-person education. Large lectures will likely be held online but smaller classes, particularly those that require laboratories, could be held in-person with physical distancing.
27th May 2020 - GeekWire
The Future of College Is Online, and It’s Cheaper
The coronavirus forced a shift to virtual classes, but their continuation could be beneficial even after the pandemic ends.
25th May 2020 - The New York Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullPowys teachers get their own lessons in virtual education
Since returning from the Easter break in April, Powys youngsters have been taught online. And teachers in Powys have been prepared for their new virtual classrooms by taking their own online courses run by the Open University. While preparations in England are being made for a return of some classes next week, it is highly likely that children in Powys and the rest of Wales will not be going back to school until September, meaning that teachers will have plenty of time to put their training into action.
26th May 2020 - Powys County Times
Surge in demand for e-learning classes
There has been a surge in e-learning across the country as the possibility of a quick return to the classroom becomes more remote. In Penang, where about 2,000 tuition and special skills learning centres have closed temporarily to prevent the spread of Covid-19, teachers are turning to virtual classrooms to conduct lessons. Students, from pre-school to college, have been logging in to their teacher’s virtual classrooms to catch up on school-work.
26th May 2020 - The Sun Daily
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual learning could still be an option for Alabama students this fall
Virtual learning may still be an option for some students this fall. Especially for those parents who don’t feel comfortable sending their kids back to a traditional classroom during this pandemic. But state Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey said he and other school leaders are still trying to work out the details and logistics of a plan to do that.
We are still in the midst of a pandemic, but school leaders at the state and local levels are still working on options for students and their families to keep them safe and comfortable this fall.
26th May 2020 - WBRC FOX6 News
Concordia University of Edmonton joins NAIT in announcing fall semester will be mostly virtual
Most of Concordia University of Edmonton’s fall semester courses will be delivered online, the school announced Monday, following a similar announcement from NAIT last week. Some courses and programs at Concordia that require in-person interaction,
26th May 2020 - Edmonton Journal
Op-Ed: Lessons from the Pandemic on How to Reimagine and Improve Schooling
‘When school resumes, we will better appreciate what we have been missing, but we should build upon what we have learned’
26th May 2020 - NJ Spotlight
Redefining homework: South Dakota educators bring varied virtual classrooms to students | The Globe
When Gov. Kristi Noem first closed South Dakota's schools in mid-March and those closures were eventually stretched through the end of the school year, districts across the state quickly cobbled together distance learning plans from various combinations of familiar and new online programs, pencil-and-paper handoffs of classwork and, for some, existing plans already developed in case of school closures longer than a snow day or two. During a school year book-ended by record-setting flooding and a global pandemic, Corsica-Stickney Superintendent Scott Muckey said faculty in his district and others in southeast South Dakota had potential remote learning strategies in mind before schools closed through the end of the year.
25th May 2020 - The Globe
Shift To Online Was Inevitable, But Pandemic Has Fast-tracked And Enforced This: Gaurav Kumar, Edumarshal
In an exclusive chat with BW Education, Gaurav Kumar, Co-founder & CEO, Edumarshal talks about the firm and more.
25th May 2020 - BW Businessworld
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullFocus on education: How schools moved the classroom online during lockdown
The coronavirus pandemic has brought an unprecedented strain upon all of our lives. Shops shutting, pubs closing, and schools only open for a select few. For secondary school pupils in Maidenhead, they have had to adapt to a new way of learning, with some students potentially not returning until September at the earliest. So, how are youngsters being taught during lockdown? Reporter Kieran Bell spoke to the secondary’s in Maidenhead to find out.
23rd May 2020 - Maidenhead Advertiser
Clevify Launches First Virtual Classroom App in Africa
Digital learning platform, Clevify, has launched the first virtual classroom app in Africa, just as it unveiled Seyi Awolowo as its brand ambassador. The new app targets to reduce the number of out of school children in the country by offering virtual class alternatives and delivery of imaginative subject-based instructional videos. Chief Operating Officer at Clevify, Deji Maradesa, stated that the app is a support tool for as many students who are struggling to attune themselves to the reality of COVID-19 pandemic.
23rd May 2020 - THISDAY Newspapers
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd May 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: The pupils who had a head start on virtual learning
When Scottish schools reopen in August, it is expected that most pupils will spend half their time learning at home. The Scottish government has promised a major investment in laptops and tablets to ensure that can happen. However, in the Borders every secondary school pupil has already been given an iPad through the council's £16m Inspire Learning scheme. Could this be the shape of things to come for the rest of the country? Lucy Robbie says she feels fortunate to have the technology which enabled her to keep up with her schoolwork during the lockdown.
"They definitely helped us - not everyone has a computer at home," said the S2 pupil at Selkirk High School.
22nd May 2020 - BBC News
UNC students attend virtual reality classes as part of remote learning
Some University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill students have gotten the unique chance to attend class in a virtual reality environment while taking classes from home amid the coronavirus pandemic. The class was taught by Steven King, an associate professor at the UNC School of Media and Journalism. "They put on the headset each week for class and they're transported into the VR classroom" King told ABC News.
21st May 2020 - WTVD-TV
Lockdown lessons: When room moves to home, class comes into the classroom
An Express Series Part I: this tale of three snapshots, is a telling story of how the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown is playing out in schools, private to public, metros to Tier II cities, and far-flung rural districts.
21st May 2020 - The Indian Express
Chandigarh to launch virtual classroom for students, IT professionals
An initiative taken in sync with the Central Government policy for promoting online classes in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC) under the aegis of the Department of Information Technology, UT, is launching its virtual classroom to fill the gap created by suspended conventional classroom learning due to ongoing nationwide lockdown.
21st May 2020 - The Tribune
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st May 2020
View this newsletter in fullWhen room moves to home, class comes into the classroom
In this tale of three snapshots, is a telling story of how the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown is playing out in schools, private to public, metros to Tier II cities, and far-flung rural districts.
21st May 2020 - The Indian Express
Coronavirus: Plan for 'new normal' for post-16 learning
Students and apprentices may have to continue attending virtual classes online for "some time", the Welsh Government has said. Students and apprentices have not had face-to-face teaching since the start of the coronavirus restrictions. Now the Welsh Government has published a plan in a bid to get post-16 learners back to class. While the plan has no dates, it states that there will need to be a "new normal for some time". The three-point "resilience plan" sets out a phased return for over-16s to apprenticeships, colleges and universities.
20th May 2020 - BBC News
The coronavirus pandemic is creating 2 major problems in education, but there aren’t as many downsides as upsides
The coronavirus pandemic will have a long-lasting impact on Gen Z and the educational landscape, a veteran ed-tech CEO told Business Insider. The positives: Education will see more tutoring, a “flipped classroom,” and more adaptive learning opportunities in the future. The negatives: The pandemic is exaggerating the socioeconomic divide and putting all students at risk of learning loss.
20th May 2020 - Business Insider
Chickens hatch for online audience: MSU Extension offers virtual learning opportunities
Michigan State University Extension has been offering a variety of online programmingamid the coronavirus pandemic as part of continuing its educational mission. Warchuck, 4-H program coordinator for MSU Extension St. Clair County, purchased both fertilized and store-bought chicken eggs, comparing their internal characteristics by holding up a candle to the eggs. Each week, a lesson would be given via Facebook Live showing the stages of an egg's development. It's the same program traditionally done in school classrooms. "We candle the eggs, and the kids were actually able to see the embryo inside there," Warchuck said.
20th May 2020 - The Times Herald
Online schooling to last through summer for 1 in 6 NYC kids
Online schooling will continue through the summer for some 177,700 New York City public school students, officials announced Tuesday. Mayor Bill de Blasio, meanwhile, said he wants to create a city without racial and economic disparities like those uncovered by new data on the impacts of the coronavirus in the city.
19th May 2020 - Education Week
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow coronavirus is widening the gap in schools
When Darwen Vale High School offered an online English class for Year 10 students, staff were keen to monitor who was showing up in the virtual classroom, as the coronavirus lockdown turned its pupils into distance learners overnight.
With almost half of students receiving the “pupil premium” for less well-off children — Darwen Vale in Lancashire is in the 14th most deprived borough in England — there were fears that already disadvantaged students would fall further behind. Sure enough, the data showed that only 45 per cent of those with the pupil premium had attended the class, compared with 72 per cent of their peers — a 27 percentage point gap that the school is now trying to shrink.
19th May 2020 - Financial Times
Virtual classrooms, online learning gain grounds amid pandemic
In an interview, Robert Speed, Vice President at Blackboard for the Middle East and Africa, said Blackboard has been operating in the ME Region for the last 20 years, “so we have been a key part of developing teaching and learning online pre-COVID-19.” He noted that COVID-19 has been such a disruptor in the education sector across the Middle East Region with a huge shift, and at pace and scale from traditional face to face learning to a purely digital teaching and learning environment.
19th May 2020 - AlKhaleej Today
Coronavirus: 'Campus experience' on hold as Cambridge moves lectures online for next academic year
Cambridge University has said lectures will only be held online for the academic year beginning in September because of coronavirus. It follows a similar move by the University of Manchester, which said its lectures would be online-only for the Autumn term. If more universities follow suit, and with the situation still unclear as to when bars and clubs will be able to open fully, it could mean increasing numbers of students due to begin their courses in September deciding to defer their studies until 2021/22.
20th May 2020 - Sky News
Some fall classes at Florida universities will stay virtual
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Florida’s 12 universities are in the planning stage for students and staff to return to campus this fall, but health concerns and challenges with social distancing will make the 2020 college year unlike any before. The universities’ presidents have been working on measures to reopen campuses for weeks. Florida State University President John Thrasher said every decision administrators make results in five more questions for them to answer. Thrasher said he has multiple phone calls a week to discuss best practices.
19th May 2020 - WJXT News4JAX
Teaching remotely: Yakima Valley teachers find challenges, opportunities working from home
Schools were asked to make their best efforts to reach every student in their enrollment, whether online or through mailed paper packets. It looks different in every district, and even from teacher to teacher, student to student. Several weeks into the remote schooling system, practices have begun to iron out. Yakima Valley teachers shared a peek into how they run their remote classrooms, what lessons they plan to take back to campus when the time comes, and what hurdles still stand in the way for them or their students.
19th May 2020 - Yakima Herald-Republic
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 is changing education for the better
19th May 2020 - Financial Times
France to help Indian students begin classes for 2020 academic year through virtual classrooms
France said on Monday it is exploring novel ways to maintain cooperation with India amid the Covid-19 crisis, especially in education, and has augmented the proportion of scholarships for this academic year by 50% or Rs 10 crore. The efforts are focused on maintaining people-to-people exchanges despite lockdowns and suspension of events. France also intends to turn the Covid-19 crisis into opportunities to boost partnerships in education, research and culture. France is fully geared to enable the start of the academic year for new students through virtual classrooms, if necessary. Authorities are hoping students will be able to join their classes in France in autumn, if not in September.
18th May 2020 - Hindustan Times
How music education is using tech to thrive during coronavirus lockdown
With the shutdown of schools, colleges, and universities, educators are turning to existing and innovative new technologies that keep students learning and mentally healthy – this is how you can do it too.
18th May 2020 - MusicTech
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: 3 lessons learned from remote teaching
Forced to completely rethink the way she delivers lessons, international teacher Sarah Cullen explains what she’s learned through teaching remotely
15th May 2020 - TES News
Using Tech to Teach — Smartly
Ben Cogswell, a kindergarten teacher in Salinas, Calif., has nailed it. And he has some advice for the rest of us. For his remote classes, Cogswell breaks out a robot puppet for videos that get his students primed for the day. He sings an alphabet song to guide kids through a lesson on commonly mixed-up letters. In the evening, he reads stories over Facebook Live, sometimes with his wife accompanying him on the ukulele.
While living through screens can largely feel like a mess, talking to Cogswell was a happy reminder that technology — if we keep it in its place — can empower creative teachers to shine and help students learn through a tough time.
15th May 2020 - The New York Times
Choose from hundreds of online courses from top universities and specialist organisations.
Choose from hundreds of online courses from top universities and specialist organisations.
17th May 2020 - Future Learn
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullClassroom of the Future: The Rise of Online Learning
There are, in fact, many benefits of online education for everyone involved. "Online courses have benefits for both the trainer and the student," noted Greg Smith, CEO of Thinkific. "Coaches, experts and entrepreneurs who deliver in-person lessons can create more leverage in their time and scale their businesses effectively by teaching online," he told the E-Commerce Times. One of the primary benefits of online education is that it potentially can reach many more students than location-specific training.
14th May 2020 - E-Commerce Times
California State University chancellor explains reasoning behind decision to hold virtual classes this fall
California State University won't be reopening campuses for the fall semester because of the coronavirus. Chancellor Timothy White said Wednesday on Good Morning America that the 23-campus system will continue to hold most instruction online, as it's done since March. "Preparing for the worst, hoping for the best," said White. "We'll probably end up somewhere in between those two places." Chancellor White says it's wouldn't be fair to risk reopening some classrooms to students only to shut them down again if there's a second wave of COVID-19 cases, which many health officials are predicting.
14th May 2020 - KGO-TV
Plan well and keep children engaged
If the outbreak of Covid-19 has turned the life of an average adult topsy-turvy, you may well imagine the plight of school-going children. It is difficult to keep children engaged indoors all the time, but it surely is not impossible. Especially, if one plans well. Here are some ways that would help you not only keep your children happily engaged for now, but also in moulding them for the challenges of tomorrow.
14th May 2020 - Deccan Herald
Watch as teacher gives virtual tour of Birmingham 'socially distant' classroom
Wheelers Lane Primary School in Kings Heath is preparing for the potential return of pupils next month
14th May 2020 - Birmingham Live
Virtual Learning Is Putting a Serious Strain on Teachers and Parents of Children With Special Needs
14th May 2020 - YAHOO!
10 things to keep in mind while taking a virtual class amid Covid-19 lockdown
Over the last one month, 1.38 billion students across 138 countries have been forced to adapt to online learning, this has altered the mind set of students and teachers. With a sudden shift to digital classrooms, teachers have to go an extra mile to ensure that students continue to learn the quality of education is not hampered. Teachers and educators can keep in mind the following points to make a virtual classroom a success...
10th May 2020 - India Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullWhat it's like to attend a virtual dance class alone amid the pandemic
Dance Church Go is the virtual version of Dance Church — an open-format dance class designed to be inclusive that is typically available in New York, Seattle, Portland, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Dance Church Go is a live-streaming donation-based dance class that takes place on the Dance Church website on Sundays and Wednesdays. Kate Wallich, the founder of Dance Church, told Business Insider that Dance Chuch Go has had an average of almost 4,000 participants in each class. I love dancing, but I've never been good at it. While I took this class with the hopes of brushing up my skills, it instead boosted my confidence as an awkward dancer and made me feel less alone while social distancing.
13th May 2020 - Business Insider
Make UK's virtual classroom brings elearning into employees' homes
After several al successful IOSH Managing Safely courses run in its virtual classroom for a major customer, Make UK can now offer the same benefits to employees, working from home or furloughed during the COVID-19 lockdown. The virtual classroom includes interactive, multi-user whiteboards, quiz and polling functions, and collaboration tools for small group work. Make UK delivers accredited training for industry, including NEBOSH and IOSH health and safety courses, with classroom and elearning options.
13th May 2020 - British Plastics and Rubber
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullInstitutions put to virtual test with new chapter in learning
The coronavirus outbreak may have disrupted classroom teaching but learning has not stopped. Institutions in the state are now equipped with technology to reach beyond classroom walls to teach students, bringing a paradigm shift to th teaching-learning experience
13th May 2020 - Times of India
Faculty Describe Challenges and Lessons Learned in the Virtual Classroom
Greater reserves of compassion, patience, and flexibility help, said Zoë Chance, a lecturer in management who teaches Mastering Influence and Persuasion. She noted that some of her students balanced class with care for ailing relatives, and some have been ill themselves. “My students are living with all kinds of really, really difficult challenges, and then they’re still trying to perform at their regular high levels, as they would for class,” Chance said. Greater patience also goes a long way when it comes to handling technical glitches. “I’ve had two situations this week where my TAs had to take over because Zoom kicked me out altogether,” Chance said. Her student teaching assistants, she notes, played a bigger role in running and organizing the Zoom classroom, along with technicians from the Yale SOM media services department and staff volunteers.
12th May 2020 - Yale School of Management
Students benefiting from virtual classes
The Bahraini Ministry of Education has provided 1,162 online lessons in the second semester with the help of Microsoft Teams, the ministry's Planning and Information assistant undersecetary said. The interaction of students in the major virtual classes has reached very high levels over the last few weeks, with daily participation averaging out around 32,000 pupils per day, the state assistant undersecretary said
12th May 2020 - News of Bahrain- DT News
Sac State To Continue Virtual Learning For Fall 2020 Semester
Sacramento State’s campus and classrooms are pretty quiet and it will continue to stay that way. CBS13 is learning from the Chancellor of the California State Universities that students will primarily will be earning their degree virtually. “A course that might begin in a face-to-face modality in the fall would likely have to be switched to a virtual format during the term if the serious second wave of the pandemic occurs, as forecast,” Dr. Timothy White, Chancellor for California State University, said. Students at Sacramento State understand the health risks are by no means a footnote when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.
12th May 2020 - CBS Sacramento
This is what 'virtual education' has been like for three primary schools in Sheffield
Staff and pupils at an academy trust in Sheffield have contributed to a video and written diary about schooling during lockdown. Laura Reid reports.
12th May 2020 - The Yorkshire Post
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 12th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: How teachers can help students transition back to school
School situations vary within and across states and territories. At the time of writing, different levels of restriction are operating for the return to classroom teaching; though in almost all cases, the transition is occurring much earlier than expected.
Here are some tips and suggestions to support school communities in managing this transition back to school for all students, and particularly those with additional needs.
12th May 2020 - TeacherMagazine.com.au
Ministry of Education Launches Survey to Assess Remote Learning
Morocco’s Ministry of Education launched on Sunday, May 10 a survey for students, parents, and teachers to assess the remote learning initiative, launched after the suspension of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire aims to determine how well learners, parents, and teachers are able to use technological devices to participate in remote classes, as well as how the initiative affects the learning process in comparison to face-to-face classes. The ministry also hopes to evaluate the pros and cons of remote learning to further improve methods for the remaining period of the nationwide lockdown, and to study ways to implement remote learning in regular curricula going forward.
11th May 2020 - Morocco World
10 things to keep in mind while taking a virtual class amid Covid-19 lockdown
Keep students informed...It is imperative that a clear communication is established with students regarding the schedule of the class to ensure maximum attendance and preparedness. The access details and instructions should also be sent well in advance so that students can prepare for the class and manage their schedule accordingly.
10th May 2020 - India Today
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 11th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow teaching assistants can support pupils in lockdown
Teaching assistants offer vital support in school, but school closures don’t have to mean a pause to the daily support and encouragement they usually provide. Here are eight ways that teaching assistants can continue to provide their effective and crucial support to students, parents, colleagues and each other while working remotely:
8th May 2020 - TES News
Coronavirus has stopped the daily high-wire act of parenting. And I couldn't be more grateful
I've been given a chance to catch my 11-year-old twins right on the cusp of childhood's end and enjoy them instead of merely managing them. The coronavirus has done what I never could and pressed pause on my teenager's hyper-charged flight out of the nest. Home-schooling has taught me a lot about who my children are and how they learn. We've been able to take detours into topics that fascinate them. Thanks to one of their assignments, I've learnt what the internet actually is.
9th May 2020 - ABC News
From classroom to living room, schools cross divide into virtual academic world
When the statewide coronavirus shutdown closed Indiana K-12 schools March 19, it kicked off a crash course for school leaders to equip students and teachers so they could deliver instruction remotely. For schools in high poverty or rural areas where families don’t have internet access or personal computers, the challenge increased. According to 2018 census data, 77.6% of Hoosier households had broadband access, compared to the national average of 80.4%. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick urged the state to do more to beef up internet access in a live-streamed media speech last month.
8th May 2020 - Chicago Tribune
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullHigher Ed Needs a Long-Term Plan for Virtual Learning
As the emergency subsides but normal fails to return, higher ed institutions need to do more. There’s a good likelihood that virtual learning — in some capacity — will need to be a part of education for the foreseeable future. Higher ed institutions need a response framework that looks beyond the immediate actions. They have to prepare for an intermediate period of transition and begin future-proofing their institutions for the long term.
5th May 2020 - Harvard Business Review
Inside a virtual kindergarten class with NYC schools chancellor (video)
As learning continues remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, educators are working on new ways to keep virtual classrooms interesting and informative for students.
7th May 2020 - Yahoo News
Islamic Ramadan school switches to virtual classroom in Indonesia
An Islamic course in Indonesia that usually runs during Ramadan has moved online this year due to social distancing measures designed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
7th May 2020 - WION
Coronavirus impact: How digital learning is gaining acceptability among students, teachers
Indian teachers have broken the myth about their inability to use technology. We already have 3,000 schools lined up to adopt our platform, and more are joining the queue every day.
7th May 2020 - MoneyControl
It’s all about e-classes during the lockdown in the Kerala capital
These days, Vishwajith G, a class 10 student of L’ecole Chempaka, attends class from the comforts of home and taps his way into virtual classrooms through a laptop. A fresh lesson awaits him as video links posted by his teachers, all related to the topics being taught
7th May 2020 - The Hindu
12 DTH channels catering to all classes in the offing
The Union human resources development (HRD) ministry is planning to start 12 direct-to-home (DTH) television channels, each catering to students from one academic year, to serve as virtual classrooms at a time when schools are shut due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak and there are questions if the online learning might leave behind those with slow or limited connectivity. Two senior government officials familiar with the matter said that the ministry sees this as a way to bridge the digital divide for students from Classes 1 to 12.
8th May 2020 - Hindustan Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow will virtual learning change after coronavirus?
While we’re embracing a more flexible approach to work-life, it’s going to become increasingly harder for universities to ignore the benefits of offering a similar approach to students, especially now the technology has shown it can be done. Once the immediate health threat passes, it’s clear that there needs to be more progression.
7th May 2020 - FE News
Teachers' skills 'improve in lockdown'
Working remotely is boosting teachers' edtech skills, creativity and lesson planning, say researchers
6th May 2020 - TES News
COVID-19 brings distance learning to Fresno State, and uncertainty for fall classes
Through the lens of my Zoom classrooms, I see stress, hardship and students just trying to make it through the day. They continue to work hard as the semester comes to a close. I have been inspired by their commitment to finish strong. I want them to have the best college experience possible. But in the end, the deciding factor in re-opening the campus to face-to-face classes must be whether it will protect our collective health. That’s not negotiable.
6th May 2020 - Fresno Bee
Classes that click: Linguistics | Emory University | Atlanta, GA
Emory faculty and students continue to focus on high-caliber education, even in remote learning environments. Professor Susan Tamasi and students from her “Language Prejudice” class share their perspectives on finding success in the transition.
6th May 2020 - Emory News Center
New York college student teaches math to hundreds of thousands of viewers on TikTok
A 20-year-old college student from Schoharie County is tutoring hundreds of thousands of people across the world on TikTok. Josh Martin, who lives just outside of Cobleskill, is currently a junior at the University at Albany and working towards a double major in math and physics. Dabbling in YouTube tutorials the past two years, he discovered the social media app, TikTok, last winter. Creating the account Ludus_, Josh began brainstorming how he could use TikTok for something other than funny videos. “I thought, 'How can I tailor this to what I’m doing with math and physics?'" said Josh. Josh began creating two to three short videos a day on math problems. They’re produced in small studio he’s created in his bedroom, a simple setup with a computer, phone ring light and glass dry-erase boards.
6th May 2020 - News3LV
Project Oceanology hosts virtual classroom on the water
Project Oceanology's students may not be able to get out on the water together amid the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn't mean the learning has stopped.
Since the cancelation of in-person teaching in late March, Project O educators have been conducting virtual lessons via Facebook Live. The lessons have been broadcast from Project O's Avery Point labs, as well as from the field. For example, marine science educators Callie Scheetz and Debbie Sayer were leading a lesson on bivalves Tuesday from a skiff piloted by captain Ian Morrison in the Poquonnock River estuary between Bluff Point State Park at the Groton-New London Airport. Scheetz and Sayer used special shellfishing tongs to pull samples from the river bottom and took to Facebook Live to lead a nearly half-hour lesson on what they found.
5th May 2020 - The Day
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th May 2020
View this newsletter in full8 Virtual Classroom Platforms to Use during the Pandemic
The novel coronavirus has forced millions of people around the globe to work from home due to serious health concerns. Managers are conducting employee training online. Teachers are setting up virtual classrooms for their students. Everyone is searching for the right tools to continue their operations online and make this challenging time just a little bit easier. With that in mind, here is a list of eight virtual classroom platforms every business or school can utilize:
5th May 2020 - IT News Africa
Virtual classrooms a challenge for some University of Pretoria students
University spokesperson Rikus Delport said it was not such a bleak picture; overall it was going well. He said it was only a fraction of their students who had problems, and the university would sort them out. “Overall, it is going as we expected. There are a few issues that we are dealing with - mostly relating to connectivity, and a few students who have not yet received their laptops. "We are in the process of getting laptops delivered to students, some of whom are in remote areas of the country. Our learning management system held up very well and most of the students were able to connect to the online platform.
5th May 2020 - Independent Online
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 5th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullFree K-12 STEAM Lessons in the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Classroom
In an effort to ensure that culture and education don’t stop even while we’re stuck on lockdown, many institutions are coming up with innovative ways to spread their knowledge. This includes the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Not only are they organizing virtual tours of some of the architect’s well-known buildings, but now they’re helping all ages stay engaged with the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Classroom.
4th May 2020 - My Modern Met
As Coronavirus forces in-classroom learning to go online across the world, a project on Syrian refugees in Turkey might already set an example - Turkey
While the growing COVID-19 pandemic closed all schools, universities, public and private education centers, the outbreak also could spur a new wave of education logic and system for millions. But this time more innovative, inclusive, sustainable and accessible for all. Crisis and human progress have often gone hand in hand throughout history in such challenging times. An education project with Syrians in Turkey sails through an uncharted digital territory and the result are most promising.
4th May 2020 - ReliefWeb
Are homeschooling and virtual classrooms the future of schooling?
Now, with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which is upending our lifestyles and the way things work, millions of kids in many developed countries of the world are being forced to be homeschooled (well kind of), whether their parents like the idea or not. Fortunately, the students still have their teacher taking classes for them.
2nd May 2020 - International Business Times, Singapore Edition
With schools going virtual, cyber schools take center stage
Schools, like every other big gathering in society have been canceled for the duration of the pandemic. In some states, like Pennsylvania, it’s for the remainder of the school year. Districts are instead operating remotely, introducing a new reality to students three-quarters of the way through the year. That’s been a struggle for many, but at Agora Cyber Charter School, CEO Michael Conti said his students “never missed a beat.” “We’re very fortunate that our infrastructure is built for something like this,” he said
4th May 2020 - AL DA News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 4th May 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual classrooms make distance learning easier for Elmvale students
With schools across Ontario closed and distance learning becoming the new norm, some students in Elmvale have been attending a virtual classroom. "Twenty-five years ago, we couldn't have done anything like this," says Elmvale District High School teacher Jason Monck. The Simcoe County District School Board recently distributed 4,000 devices to students without the proper technology at home. Monck says his grade 7 students transitioned to the new learning format with ease.
"They all use technology every day in the classroom anyway, so it hasn't been that big a jump for them to do this online learning."
24th Apr 2020 - 92.3 The Dock (iHeartRadio)
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how
The COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut all across the world. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom. As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Research suggests that online learning has been shown to increase retention of information, and take less time, meaning the changes coronavirus have caused might be here to stay.
29th Apr 2020 - WeForum
The best online courses and online class sites 2020
There are online courses on a variety of topics, from sciences and technology to arts, humanities and creativity, and while some of them are quite academic, teaching you a scientific tradition or literary period, others are more life-skilled focused, like helping you be creative or write the perfect resume. To help you find the best online class or course website for you, we've listed some of the best that are worth checking out – some are free, while others are paid for. We haven't put them in order, since the websites teach in varied ways that will largely come down to personal taste.
30th Apr 2020 - TechRadar India
Making online learning workable amid Covid-19
Against the backdrop of Covid-19, we need to grasp the opportunity to benefit from online learning mechanisms and should optimise them for the future. The writer explains how to benefit from online learning.
2nd May 2020 - Global Village space
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st May 2020
View this newsletter in fullNon-profit founder launches virtual classroom to keep kids engaged during pandemic
Children's author and the founder of the non-profit Every 1 Voice Matters Sherrikka Myers has some tips on how to keep kids occupied during this new normal
30th Apr 2020 - WITN
Montezuma-Cortez schools adapt grading system to virtual classrooms
“We have engaged students and non-engaged students, so we will need to approach the grading piece carefully,” she told The Journal. Mancos administrators and staff are working on the details but have emphasized at board meetings that students’ social-emotional well-being is a top priority. The Cortez district detailed its plan in a letter posted on the district’s website. “Throughout school closures, teachers will continue to provide students with instruction that is designed to build upon the learning trajectory already established in the classroom,” the letter states.
30th Apr 2020 - The Journal
The Diary Of Ms. B.: Tears And Triumph Inside A Philly Teacher's Virtual Classroom
As you read this, teachers across Pennsylvania are relearning how to do their jobs.
With physical schools closed through at least the end of the academic year, education has gone virtual. Teachers are quickly trying to master the technological tools needed to salvage a pandemic-wrecked school year.
30th Apr 2020 - 90.5 WESA
Employment training courses go online in Cambridgeshire during lockdown
Employment and skills training courses in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire are now being delivered digitally to ensure training can continue during the lockdown.
30th Apr 2020 - Peterborough Telegraph
Updated: Free Arts Resources for Schools During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Education technology companies and organizations have stepped forward to help educators bring STEM and STEAM experiences to students in virtual ways during the COVID-19 closures. The following is a list of free resources in the arts. We have a separate listing for crafting and making. This will be updated regularly as announcements are made. (If you know of a company that should be included on this list, please send details to dschaffhauser@1105media.com.)
30th Apr 2020 - T.H.E. Journal
New virtual cyber school gives teens chance to try out as cyber security agents from home
Thousands of young people are being offered the chance to join a virtual cyber security school as part of plans to make sure the country develops the next generation of professional cyber defenders. At a time when schools remain closed to most children, the online initiative aims to inspire future talent to work in the cyber security sector and give students a variety of extracurricular activities to do from the safety of their homes. Teens can learn how to crack codes, fix security flaws and dissect criminals’ digital trails while progressing through the game as a cyber agent. This will help them develop important skills needed for future jobs, particularly in cyber security.
30th Apr 2020 - UK Government
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullAmid coronavirus, virtual classrooms offer travel options
Across America, entertainers, chefs and veterans are among those now connecting live on various social media platforms. During the pandemic, they are allowing us to come together virtually, travel to intriguing destinations and, particularly for parents, provide kids with some engaging educational opportunities. Here are some of them
29th Apr 2020 - Los Angeles Times
Video lessons, virtual choirs and fridge deliveries: How hero teachers have gone above and beyond during coronavirus crisis
'You get into education because you want to make a difference to children’s lives, and that means you help out beyond the classroom,' teachers tell Colin Drury
29th Apr 2020 - Independent
Sheffield primary takes the classroom online to help educate children during lockdown
With schools out for the foreseeable due to the coronavirus crisis, one Sheffield primary school has moved its classrooms online to help teach children while they’re at home.
29th Apr 2020 - The Star
Teaching kids at home? Classroom-worthy virtual experiences can ease your burden
Across America, entertainers, chefs and veterans are among those now connecting live on various social media platforms. During the pandemic, they are allowing us to come together virtually, travel to intriguing destinations and, particularly for parents, provide kids with some engaging educational opportunities. Here are some of them. All times are Pacific. The various experiences will be recorded so that they can be viewed at other times.
29th Apr 2020 - Los Angeles Times
Send Your Kids to Design School With Free Lessons From the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Classroom
While we won’t call entertaining and educating kids stuck at home an easy task, we can at least say there are plenty of places stepping up to fill the virtual void. That includes museums offering virtual tours, destinations providing virtual views, and even national parks hosting virtual hikes, all of which make for excellent virtual field trips. But, if your kid is more into math and science now’s their time to shine thanks to The Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Classroom.
29th Apr 2020 - Travel + Leisure on MSN.com
Coronavirus: EVSC teachers adapt to engage students through online instruction
To keep students' focus while working virtually — which has placed unprecedented strain on educators worldwide — local teachers have aimed to produce more engaging daily instruction. Between recording lessons to be aired on WNIN, Kerry Sensenbrenner is focused on keeping her sixth grade students interacting with one another and minimizing feelings of isolation.
29th Apr 2020 - Courier & Press
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 29th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: Somalia's COVID-19 response: a shift to online learning in Somali higher education
Somalia - Plasma University is keen to inform that while its corridors are empty, its internet bandwidth is quite the opposite. As with some other universities around the country and the world, Plasma University has shifted its classes to online learning – it was one of the first to do so in Somalia. The shift is a major change from a dozen years ago when such connectivity was impossible and conflict between militias made attending class a potentially lethal experience. “The good news is that students will continue their studies through the university’s virtual platforms,” Mr. Barre adds. “Since 2018, Plasma University has been gradually shifting to virtual learning – that’s why the students were able to continue their classes just two days after the restrictions were imposed.”
28th Apr 2020 - Africa News English
Virtual gardening classroom connects experts to growing audience
Ohio State University experts, unable to hold in-person gardening classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are using virtual classrooms and a high-tech approach to support local gardeners. The Franklin County Office of OSU Extension operates a virtual garden classroom to offer advice and answers as interest in gardening picks up. Timothy McDermott, extension educator in agriculture and natural resources, is leading the way.
“I wanted to make sure that I continued to provide the service of assisting backyard growers, community gardeners, teacher educators or urban farmers with their production needs,” he said. “With the digital online format, I wanted to make sure that I could still provide that content.”
28th Apr 2020 - The Ohio State University News
Spring Farm Sanctuary Now Offering Local Classrooms Free Virtual ‘Field Trips’
The animal sanctuary is offering local teachers and their classrooms a free 20-minute virtual visit. Students will get to meet animals and learn more about the work Spring Farm Sanctuary does to rehabilitate and protect them. “The general idea is just giving a classroom a 20-minute escape from their ‘new normal’ of virtual schooling,” said Robin Johnson, founder of Spring Farm Sanctuary. “They can take a field trip to see some beautiful animals and just enjoy a few minutes together.”
28th Apr 2020 - CBS Minnesota
School staff make a virtual bear hunt
Seaton Academy staff made an online bear hunt and put it up on their Facebook page for children to enjoy. Each staff member filmed their own bear hunt from their houses and gardens and then the clips were edited together to make the fun film.
The six-minute video, which can be seen on Seaton Academy’s Facebook page, is accompanied by a post which said staff were missing their busy classrooms and the happy children and the daily contact with them, their parents and carers, so they put together the video to share with the children. It added: “You all make our school the special place it is. Please share this video with the children and let’s go looking for bears.
28th Apr 2020 - News and Star
AWS brings learning to millions in just one week
Governments in Israel and Jordan collaborated with Amazon Web Services and edtech companies to set up remote learning for school students in less than a week when the pandemic struck.
28th Apr 2020 - AV Magazine
David Attenborough, Danny Dyer, and More: British Stars Help Teach Kids During COVID-19 Lockdown
Schools may be shut as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns, but learning hasn’t stopped — and while parents attempt to home-school their kids, a host of experts and celebrities are stepping in to give them a helping hand. One of these is Sir David Attenborough, national treasure and nature documentary extraordinaire, who will be making use of his vast knowledge and expertise to deliver geography lessons through the BBC Bitesize learning channel.
22nd Apr 2020 - Global Citizen
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 28th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullTamsin Greig, Noma Dumezweni and Patrick Stewart to help students with their homework for the RSC
A brand new scheme from the RSC will see famous actors help students in lockdown. Tamsin Greig, Noma Dumezweni and Patrick Stewart have launched RSC Homework Help – a new way for students to understand Shakespeare's works. As part of the scheme, students will be able to submit their Shakespeare-related questions to the actors (with David Bradley, Charlotte Arrowsmith, Paapa Essiedu, Niamh Cusack and David Tennant also involved) online, with custom-made responses following afterwards. RSC director of education, Jacqui O'Hanlon said: "As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the closure of UK schools, many young people will be working from home. We know this can feel isolating and demotivating and we want to ensure we do everything we can to support and inspire them.
27th Apr 2020 - WhatsOnStage.com
Bound by necessity, Kerala students develop Facebook like virtual classroom
As parents, teachers and academicians scramble to figure out ways to provide uninterrupted learning during the lockdown, two computer science students have the issue nailed. They developed a virtual classroom as part of the CODE19 online hackathon and in the process won a $10,000 competition prize
28th Apr 2020 - Manorama Online
Kerala engineering students win CODE19 hackathon for creating virtual classroom
Two Kerala students won the first prize at CODE19 hackathon event after creating a virtual classroom that could be used to hold classes during coranvirus lockdown.
27th Apr 2020 - India Today
1 month later, teacher says she's learned a lot from teaching virtual classes
After a month I can now confidently say "I am well-schooled in Google Classroom now," said Farr. "I can add different classrooms for reading, for math, for social studies, science. I’ve learned how to record my screen so I can read stories to the kids."
28th Apr 2020 - FOX 10 News Phoenix
Dr Lorraine Craig on preparing for remote assessments
Dr Lorraine Craig shares her advice on remote assessments. Dr Lorraine Craig is Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching and Faculty Senior Tutor for the Faculty of Engineering. We spoke to Dr Craig to find out her tips on how to prepare for the remote assessments which are coming up for many students at the College.
27th Apr 2020 - Imperial College
How to home school children effectively during lockdown
Many parents may feel daunted by the prospect of home schooling, yet there are several useful tools to try to supplement learning as the schools across East Devon remain closed for the time being. Here are some top tips to help parents continue with their children’s education from home...
27th Apr 2020 - Exmouth Journal
How to transform your home into an office or school and back again
The best strategy for teaching lessons or working productively is to change your setting and identify a dedicated work zone. Some are lucky enough to have an in-home office space (which will likely be a rising trend again in residential design), but there are other ways. This could be as much effort as setting up a folding table in your guest bedroom (because you are obviously not hosting guests anytime soon) or as simple as moving into a different chair from your regular seat at the table for a new perspective. By having a dedicated zone to consistently work from, you can remove yourself from that zone to appreciate the rest of your home when your work tasks are complete.
27th Apr 2020 - Washington Post
Hands-on with augmented reality in remote classrooms
A team led by Purdue University has built an app platform called MetaAR, enabling students and teachers to collaborate easily using augmented reality. “Augmented reality is overlaying digital content onto the physical world,” said Karthik Ramani, Purdue’s Donald W. Feddersen Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “It can be delivered on many different devices, from a phone and a tablet, to a head-mounted display. For example, you can hold your smartphone camera up to your living room and rearrange the furniture in 3D. Or you can play a video game, and the characters show up on your kitchen table.”
27th Apr 2020 - Purdue News Service
Home schooling: 'Everyone's finding their feet and we need to be gentle with each other'
Be patient, negotiate, ease off the pressure. Having kids at home for remote schooling is a challenge but there could be an upside
27th Apr 2020 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullA new twist on distance learning?
A new twist on distance learning?
26th Apr 2020 - @Shtirlitz53
Coronavirus: Life inside virtual classrooms while grappling with Covid-19
Online teaching is very different from school learning so don't place unnecessary pressure on yourselves. Have fun with it. We are getting good engagement from our children and families. It's awesome to receive so many responses from our children. Our digital learning platform enables me to see what all classes are doing and it enables me to stay in the loop. I've been sending out a daily 'principal's comment' video to the children to say hi and keep up contact with them, using my cats, Elmo and Oscar, as guest stars. Children are enjoying these posts and in return I've received lots of pet photos back.
26th Apr 2020 - Stuff.co.nz
Zilla Parishad-run schools take classes on WhatsApp
Students in the Pune district administrateive region have had WhatsApp deployed as a vehicle to reach and engage with the students. Schools are making the material available on mobile phones. A follow-up of the effectiveness of this by Pune ZP indicates that at leats 6--70% of students in each jurisdication have been accessing the virtual learning available so its positive to date
26th Apr 2020 - Pune Mirror
Indian schools in Doha resume studies in virtual classrooms
Indian schools in Doha are moving ahead with virtual classes putting to rest all anxieties. Virtual classes have been started as all the schools have been closed owing the the coronavirus scare. A total of 40,000 students are involved in a virtual learning process over 18 schools in Doha. The calsses started April 15 and Microsoft teams and Zoom apps are used for the classes. Apart from this, recorded videos of the lessons and online notes are also being given to the students to support the learning process
27th Apr 2020 - Mathrubhumi English
The Great Zoom-School Experiment
She called a school leadership meeting, via Zoom, and told the staff to switch gears again, and prepare to teach live video classes to the second and third graders. The teachers were hesitant. Lang students tend to be “exceptionally impulsive,” Bracamonte said. Wrangling them can be a challenge under normal conditions. “The teachers were afraid that the kids were not going to coöperate, and they wouldn’t be able to manage a virtual classroom.” But she insisted that they try it.
2nd Apr 2020 - The New Yorker
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullScience teachers across US work to keep experiments exciting and accessible
Texas science teacher Avri DiPietro has a secret weapon in her tool kit to help keep her students engaged now that the coronavirus pandemic has forced them to stay home indefinitely. It’s a home experiment known as “the burping bag.” “My thing has been to get science into their homes and get them doing science… it’s about discovery,” said DiPietro, who teaches about 160 students between the ages of 11 and 14 in Lockhart, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Austin. “This is pushing a lot of us educators in how to reach our kids.”
23rd Apr 2020 - New York Post
Burping Bags and Dancing Raisins: Tricks for Teaching Science During a Pandemic
Texas science teacher Avri DiPietro has a secret weapon in her tool kit to help keep her students engaged now that the coronavirus pandemic has forced them to stay home indefinitely. It's a home experiment known as "the burping bag." The assignment calls for her sixth graders to combine vinegar and baking soda in a plastic bag, either in their kitchens or backyards. If all goes as planned, burps and belches will ring out across the small southeastern Texas town where DiPietro teaches, as the acidic vinegar meets the sodium bicarbonate, releasing gas from the bag. "My thing has been to get science into their homes and get them doing science... it's about discovery," said DiPietro, who teaches about 160 students between the ages of 11 and 14 in Lockhart, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Austin. "This is pushing a lot of us educators in how to reach our kids."
23rd Apr 2020 - The New York Times
Four ways to maximize your virtual learning experience
Whether you are studying for an International Compliance Association qualification online for the first time or participating in other virtual learning opportunities, we have highlighted four key tips to help you make the most of your virtual classroom experience.
23rd Apr 2020 - Compliance Week
Will the Coronavirus Forever Alter the College Experience?
There will be some important lasting impacts, though, experts say: Faculty may incorporate online tools, to which many are being exposed for the first time, into their conventional classes. And students are experiencing a flexible type of learning they may not like as undergraduates, but could return to when it’s time to get a graduate degree. These trends may not transform higher education, but they are likely to accelerate the integration of technology into it.
23rd Apr 2020 - The New York Times
Classes go virtual, kids get real on etiquette
As the world fights a virus, schoolteachers are facing a new battlefront. Virtual classrooms and playful kids. To make the new normal of online classrooms work, schools are coming up with rules and etiquette from being punctual and looking neat and presentable to maintaining silence and order in classrooms at homes
23rd Apr 2020 - Times of India
9 Teachers Going the Extra Mile to Support Students During the Coronavirus Crisis
Heartwarming examples of educators going the extra mile to support their students amid the pandemic.
23rd Apr 2020 - Thrive Global
From Classroom To Computer Screen: One Young Teacher’s Journey During The Coronavirus Pandemic
Christopher Terrazas never imagined finishing his second year of teaching from a virtual classroom set up in a corner of his family game room at home. But when the coronavirus pandemic forced schools across the country to close, the 24-year-old San Antonio native embraced the new challenge.
23rd Apr 2020 - KERA News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: Stars take part in BBC lockdown learning scheme
Sir David Attenborough, Danny Dyer and Jodie Whittaker are among the celebrity supply teachers who will be helping the BBC educate the nation's schoolchildren during the coronavirus lockdown. Footballer Sergio Aguero, Ed Balls and Professor Brian Cox are also involved in the virtual learning initiative. Launched on the day children were due to return to school, the scheme offers 14 weeks of curriculum-based learning. The programme is the biggest education offering in the BBC's history.
20th Apr 2020 - BBC
The world’s your classroom: 10 fun ways to home school
Running out of home schooling ideas? Take the kids on a virtual voyage with these interactive learning tools, from safaris to cooking lessons with an Italian chef
20th Apr 2020 - The Guardian
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 22nd Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullEducating Yorkshire's Matthew Burton joins David Attenborough and Jodie Whittaker for BBC virtual learning scheme
Thornhill headteacher Matthew Burton, who starred in Educating Yorkshire, is involved in the new BBC Bitesize virtual learning programme. Laura Reid reports.
21st Apr 2020 - The Yorkshire Post
Anchor University classes go virtual as students begin online sessions
Vice-Chancellor, Prof Joseph Afolayan had suggested that should the lockdown become prolong, the University would have to administer classes online. “We didn’t plan for classes outside of the University campus before the lockdown order as the University had concluded the first semester and students had gone on semester break. However, we will continue to observe the developments and may revert to online classes if the need arises,” he said while discussing the possibility of classes going virtual after the lockdown.
21st Apr 2020 - PM NEWS Nigeria
Cleveland Metroparks Hosting Virtual Classrooms For Earth Day
On Wednesday, April 22, the Metroparks will host an all-day virtual classroom on a variety of Earth Day topics, offer tips for a greener planet and collect a list of 50 ways to celebrate Earth Day from home. "Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is dedicated to securing a future for wildlife," said Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Executive Director Dr. Chris Kuhar. "By visiting the zoo's website, you can join our conservation community to protect animals and the environment. Securing a future for wildlife is more important now than ever."
21st Apr 2020 - Cleveland, OH Patch
TechSpires, K12 to Boost Nigeria’s Education with Online Classroom Initiative
According to the Director of TechSpires, Mr. Smart Nwachukwu, their objective is to strengthen the academic achievements of students in Nigeria and West Africa who are preparing to sit for the West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) whether it is “O” levels, “A” level or regular examination. “Techspires in partnership with K12 is geared towards putting the Nigerian students on the same academic path with their counterpart in the US, UK and Canada in Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Core Learning, Counselling, Arts and Linguistic (English, and French)
21st Apr 2020 - THIS DAY
Virtual session tackles Jordanian experience with remote learning
Minister of Education Tayseer Nueimi and Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) Zaid Eyadat on Monday held a virtual dialogue session to discuss the Jordanian experience with remote learning. “Remote learning is no new concept, but its requirements and challenges have quickened within the framework of what is happening across the globe due to the pandemic,” the minister expressed during the virtual dialogue session, organised by Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, via the video conferencing platform Zoom which was live-streamed on the foundation’s Facebook page. The novel coronavirus has undoubtedly posed tremendous challenges to all sectors, including the educational sector, Nueimi noted, adding Jordan has taken the initiative of providing education remotely through televised lessons and virtual learning platform Darsak.
21st Apr 2020 - Jordan Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 21st Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullThe world’s your classroom: 10 fun ways to home school
Running out of home schooling ideas? Take the kids on a virtual voyage with these interactive learning tools, from safaris to cooking lessons with an Italian chef
20th Apr 2020 - The Guardian
Authorities see virtual education as an opportunity to raise the bar in terms of standards
The minister said that 92% of the students in the world are now adapting to virtual classes and that the only way any deficiencies can be diagnosed is by practice. He did stress that the system needs to be implemented before any review searching for improvements can be meaningful and when it is, armed with the data, we can raise the standards bar in terms of education in Paraguay. That is why "We are prepared to continue with the virtual teaching process for the rest of the year if that needs to be the case," the minister said.
19th Apr 2020 - Ultima Hora
Tri-Cities private schools 1st to tackle virtual classrooms during the shutdown
Principal Lisa Stueve at Bethlehem Lutheran School in Kennewick explains how they formulated and implemented a plan to continue educating students during a statewide school closure during the coronavirus threat
20th Apr 2020 - Tri-City Herald
Covid19, MCO force education sector to grapple with technology, virtual classrooms
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen private colleges and universities forced to switch from in-person teaching to online learning. Traditional examinations are also being replaced with other forms of assessments following the Movement Control Order (MCO) being enforced. Students, however, have expressed concern over the efficiency and accountability of online testing and assessment. In addressing this, the Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities (MAPCU) said students should not assume and treat alternative assessments as being “easier”.
20th Apr 2020 - New Straits Times Online
Children take part in over 250,000 lessons on first day of virtual school
20th Apr 2020 - YAHOO!
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullWho will take BBC’s virtual lessons? The Doctor, of course
The footballer Sergio Agüero, the Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker and the EastEnders actor Danny Dyer will be among the celebrities leading lessons as part of the BBC’s plans to help to educate the nation’s schoolchildren during the Covid-19 crisis. The broadcaster has announced details of its virtual learning programme, which launches today as children would normally have returned to their classrooms after the Easter holidays.
20th Apr 2020 - The Times
Delivering education online: coronavirus underscores what's missing in Africa
In Africa, about 297 million learners have been affected. Their teachers and resources, will remain underutilised for a while. The question for society is, “what next”? This is a valid concern given that no one is certain how long the health crisis will last.
19th Apr 2020 - The Conversation Africa
Kerala govt backed ICTAK pushes for virtual classrooms during coronavirus lockdown
In the wake of the prolonged lockdown on account of Covid-19, the state-run Information and Communication Technology Academy of Kerala (ICTAK) has got down to work to prepare schools and colleges for online classroom sessions. The agency will submit a proposal in this regard to the government through the IT department to help out educational institutions affected by the lockdown.
19th Apr 2020 - The New Indian Express
Covid19: Education sector grapple with technology, virtual, online classrooms
Private colleges and universities no longer engage students face-to-face and have switched to online learning to arrest the spread of Covid-19. Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities (MAPCU) said students should not assume and treat alternative assessments as being “easier”. Its president Datuk Parmjit Singh said the degree of challenge posed by the approved alternative assessments may be at par, if not more stringent than traditional examination methods. He said the Higher Education Ministry and Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) had issued guidelines for the alternative methods.
19th Apr 2020 - New Straits Times Online
Alone Together podcast - how parents juggle time and turn homes into classrooms in coronavirus lockdown
The coronavirus lockdown meant that things, more or less, changed overnight.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, parents suddenly became teachers, classrooms turned virtual, and homes transformed into schools. On this week’s episode of Alone Together, our guests offer advice for parents who need to both entertain and educate their children during the lockdown.
17th Apr 2020 - Birmingham Live
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullHomeschooling during the coronavirus pandemic could change education forever, says the OECD
Around the world, schools in over 100 countries are closed to protect against the spread of coronavirus, affecting the education of nearly 1 billion children. For the lucky ones, homeschooling will take the place of the classroom.
3rd Apr 2020 - World Economic Forum
Coronavirus school closures could lead to greater global collaboration
Matt Jenner, Head of Learning at FutureLearn, discusses how edtech can help support schools and teachers during closures and the opportunities it could bring for greater global collaboration and innovation for the education sector post-COVID-19
16th Apr 2020 - Open Access Government
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 16th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullSouth Korea Restarts School With Concerns About Online Learning
South Korean students will begin taking online classes Thursday after weeks of no school amid the COVID-19 novel coronavirus outbreak. The unexpected closure ends with first and second-year students in middle and high schools starting the new semester online. Elementary school students between the fourth and sixth grades also begin virtual learning Thursday. Public school upperclassmen began logging onto virtual classrooms April 9.
15th Apr 2020 - VOA News
Victorian school students go online
Victorian school students will log into virtual classrooms for term two amid the state’s coronavirus restrictions. Students will mostly be at home from Wednesday after the state government said those who can study at home, must do so. Those students whose parents are on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19 or have to go to work, will go to school.
15th Apr 2020 - 7NEWS.com.au
Covid-19 forces institutions to explore virtual teaching
n the future, online content will be integrated into the regular course curriculum as the education sector transforms with the introduction of new age pedagogy like flipped classrooms.
15th Apr 2020 - Fortune India
Coronavirus: 2,500 tablets for Jammu Kashmir students to help in home study
The JK government has also decided to provide 2,500 low-budget educational tablets to the students of classes 10 and 12 for enhancing their virtual learning experience. The tablets would be loaded with textbooks, problem-solving techniques and other related material.
15th Apr 2020 - Hindustan Times
It was just another virtual kindergarten class in quarantine. Then Jon Bon Jovi dropped in.
The rock icon wowed Bonick’s Marsh Pointe Elementary students Monday by dropping into their online classroom to incorporate their homework assignment into his new crowd-sourced song, “Do What You Can.” “Mr. B got you guys writing and I was very excited to hear that,” the Bon Jovi frontman told the students, “because if you get to put your feelings down on paper sometimes they’ll turn into songs, sometimes they’ll turn into stories and you never know where it might lead you.”
14th Apr 2020 - USA TODAY
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 15th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullHallsville School District adapts to remote learning - ABC17NEWS
Hallsville School District is focusing on flexible learning opportunities, authentic experiences at home and sustaining high-quality teacher-student relationships while schools are closed because of COVID-19. Hallsville teachers said remote learning has been an adjustment and a bit of a struggle at times, but students are adapting to the changes well. Rachel Sides, a Hallsville’s seventh-grade social studies teacher, said she’s proud of her students as the majority of them are still engaged.
15th Apr 2020 - ABC17News.com
Coronavirus impact: This institute has developed new platform to make online classes immersive
S P Jain School of Global Management developed its own technology platform called Engaged Learning Online (ELO). To access ELO, professors have to go to the Studio (that has 18 television screen where students come live) to give lectures
14th Apr 2020 - Business Today
'Virtual Virginia' allowing teachers to host classrooms virtually
“While there is no perfect substitute for in-person classroom instruction, this is an unprecedented public health crisis and we must do everything we can to ensure all children have equitable learning opportunities,” said Governor Northam. “I want to thank our educators, school administrators, and superintendents for their extraordinary efforts to keep students connected and learning. The expansion of Virtual Virginia will help ensure that the closure of schools and interruption of formal instruction this spring does not lead to a widening of achievement gaps.”
14th Apr 2020 - WHSV
Good morning, virtual classroom
"Remote learning can't take the place of in-person instruction at any point," said Angela Dolezal, the director of teaching and learning for Riverside Elementary School District 96. "We can only do our best work and put forth our best effort to ensure our students are having this continuity of learning." District 96 was the best equipped of all area elementary school district to make the switch to online learning. All fifth- through eighth-graders in District 96 have had school provided Chromebooks all year. When school shut down in March, third- and fourth-graders were given Chromebooks.
14th Apr 2020 - Riverside Brookfield Landmark
Is Kurdistan ready to make education work from home?
In these times, the benefits of a remote learning system are obvious. As social distancing and quarantine have become our new way of life, e-learning is an urgent alternative to the traditional classroom methodology. Shifting from a traditional classroom to online learning definitely makes the learning environment very different and students face some problems, but there are solutions to overcome them, says Nivin Burhan, a senior in the English department at the University of Sulaimani. “E-learning is a new experience for universities in Kurdistan because students are used to attending in-person classes to learn,” she says. Transitioning to online learning means embracing change – and will require the collaboration of government officials, telecommunication companies, parents, lecturers, and students. Implementing that change within the Kurdish education landscape today will no doubt face major technological and cultural challenges.
14th Apr 2020 - Rudaw Media Network
There With You: Children across east London learning maths and English together online in 'virtual classes'
Schoolchildren stuck at home during the pandemic emergency who may be behind in maths and English are being offered online tuition by an east London housing organisation to get them up to speed.
14th Apr 2020 - East London Advertiser
K-12 online classes and activities to continue school at home during coronavirus
Attention, parents: Here's how to keep the remote learning when schools are closed.
14th Apr 2020 - CNET
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 14th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow teachers are adapting to working remotely
Being realistic. "Cut your expectations of what you're going to cover in half and then cut it again. The sooner you accept that, the sooner your head won't explode,” recalls Doug Gilbert, a middle school history teacher in upstate New York, who was advised by a teacher in Wuhan, China. "Teachers are recognizing they can’t get to the ‘finish line’ they had in mind for their classes," adds Perkins. "They are learning to forgive themselves and adjust." Mostly, they're doing so in three ways:
13th Apr 2020 - Fortune
Teaching Effectiveness In Virtual Classroom World
It is essential to define the teaching goals of the session and its teaching plan and what one is going to cover in the virtual classroom. Identifying this helps the faculty to decide and define the scope of the session and ensure that one does not make it too ambitious, and becomes difficult to achieve. The faculty needs to focus the Learner all the time, and ensure the Learner can learn what you intend to. The session goal and session plan will also determine the degree to which Lerner will find the session engaging and relevant to the learning goals. It is vital to keep track of the degree to which Learners acquire the intended knowledge and skills and motivate them to use these learnings.
13th Apr 2020 - BW Businessworld
Transitioning to the virtual classroom
Virtual instruction is defined by Purdue University as a “course taught either solely online or when components of face-to-face instruction are taught online”. It is intended to be a digital replica of a traditional classroom. The medium is typically a video conferencing application which allows multiple users to be connected at the same time through the Internet.
13th Apr 2020 - Jamaica Observer
Parent and Educators Platforms Resource Guide
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We have been hearing from parents and educators about some of the new platforms districts are leveraging to run virtual classrooms. We reached out to some of the platforms you told us your kids and teachers are using. Here are some of the companies best practices advice. Please use this and share it as a handy resource guide.
13th Apr 2020 - WPLG Local 10
Deaf and hearing students at McAllen elementary gaining skills in one virtual classroom
13th Apr 2020 - KRGV
Governor Northam Announces Expansion of “Virtual Virginia” to Support Distance Learning During School Closures
Governor Ralph Northam today announced a dramatic expansion of Virtual Virginia, the Virginia Department of Education’s existing online learning system, to allow every teacher in the Commonwealth to host virtual classes while schools are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. These resources include a platform that enables all Virginia public school teachers to share lessons and activities with their students through June 30.
13th Apr 2020 - Blue Virginia
This free digital book will help you explain coronavirus to your kids - and features art from the Gruffalo illustrator
Illustrator of the popular children’s book The Gruffalo, Axel Scheffler, has helped to release a free digital picture book to help children understand the coronavirus pandemic.
The book, released on 6 April by Nosy Cow Publishing, addresses popular questions about how someone contracts the virus and whether or not there's a cure, along with the pressing, ‘What's going to happen next?’
6th Apr 2020 - Burnley Express
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 13th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullHarvard graduate Schools transition to online – Harvard
“There is more participation online,” said Harvard Business School Professor Frances Frei, who co-teaches “Leading Difference” with Francesca Gino to sizable class of 120 students. In a post on LinkedIn, she wrote, “I’m not sure if the technology spurs it or if I was unintentionally stifling it in person, but it was very different. And awesome. And I commit to figuring out how to bring that back to the physical classroom.”
2nd Apr 2020 - Harvard Gazette
The Chicago Teacher Residency to Provide Intensive Virtual Teaching Training to Resident Teachers Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
In response to the state-wide remote learning requirements prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago's Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) will begin providing intensive virtual teacher training to residents in its Chicago Teacher Residency (CTR) program. Residents in the Chicago Teacher Residency (CTR) are career changers training to teach in Chicago Public Schools.CTR will prepare residents to deliver remote teaching in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. On completion of the program, teacher residents will receive Google Educator Certification, meaning they will be well-equipped to provide remote learning options to students.
10th Apr 2020 - PR Newswire
Coronavirus: Students 'staying put' during pandemic
Prof Julie Lydon of Universities Wales said: "That's obviously a considerable community and keeping them safe, while they continue to study with us through our remote mechanisms, is one of our highest priorities." Across Wales, universities are offering support in a variety of ways, such as catering and shopping, mental health services and teaching.
12th Apr 2020 - BBC News
How COVID-19 has helped advance telemedicine
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how doctors provide health care. This public health crisis has shifted the paradigm on how Canadians access medical care and has ushered in the new era of telemedicine. Almost overnight, patients have stopped walking into their doctors’ offices and are instead receiving medical care through online platforms.
11th Apr 2020 - HalifaxToday.ca
Keep Your People Learning When You Go Virtual
At INSEAD, the business school where we work, we’ve been expanding virtual meetings, ramping up virtual classes and coaching, and introducing digital tools to enhance face-to-face work. Then, in the past few weeks, everything else moved online, too. As in many organizations, the transition happened almost overnight in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis that has disrupted everyone’s private as well as working lives.
10th Apr 2020 - Harvard Business Review
COVID-19 pushes trades trainer to virtual classrooms
As health experts urge people to refrain from gathering in large numbers, digital alternatives to meeting are in the spotlight. And while many institutions and companies are scrambling to come up with solutions, Pacific Vocational College (PVC) in Burnaby, B.C. seamlessly switched all its trades apprentice training over to virtual classrooms in less than 48 hours. Sandor Rethy, director of strategic initiatives at PVC, explained that the school has been exploring and building its digital learning system since early 2015.
10th Apr 2020 - Daily Commercial News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 10th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullS. Korea begins online learning, Covid-19 cases lowest in 7 weeks
Teachers at Seoul Girls High School were seen standing in front of empty classrooms from about 8am, taking attendance online before proceeding to conduct lessons. Teething problems at some schools included delays in classes on the state-run Educational Broadcasting System Online due to technical issues and missing sound in pre-recorded video clips. Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae has urged students, parents and educators to work together to make online learning work, stressing the importance of preventing schools from being potential breeding grounds for the virus. "We believe schools should not stop teaching students amid a crisis," she said in a statement.
9th Apr 2020 - The Straits Times
Gerber Elementary School gears up for distance learning amidst coronavirus shutdown
More than 200 Google Chromebooks were handed out to students at Gerber Elementary School during this week in preparation for online learning opportunities that will start April 20. “We are moving to a blended online learning program April 20,” said Superintendent and Principal Jenny Montoya. “Teachers will use Google Classroom as their platform for online learning. They will upload lessons and links weekly and do virtual meeting with students using Zoom, Google Hangouts and phone conversations.”
9th Apr 2020 - Red Bluff Daily News
Teacher’s Virtual Classroom Gains Worldwide Attention Amid Pandemic
For many parents the stress is mounting as they try to figure out how to navigate life during a pandemic and keep their kids safe and calm. A preschool teacher in Loudon County wanted to do more to help. Jamie White took her classroom home with her and starting teaching school through Facebook Live. She wanted life to feel as normal as possible for her students. "I want them to know that their teachers miss them and love them I want them to feel safe. I want them to know that everything will be OK," White said.
9th Apr 2020 - NBC4 Washington
UAE's teachers struggle to juggle virtual classrooms and their own home lives
Mothers who work as teachers said their challenges included finding a quiet corner to conduct classes, engaging pupils in online sessions, planning lessons, and making sure their own children did not fall behind at school. Teachers in the emirates said they were working until midnight to prepare interactive lessons. Eman Halawa, an English teacher at Al Bashair School in Abu Dhabi attends virtual faculty meetings, grades the online work of pupils, holds classes and tries to keep the children fully engaged. She then quickly posts videos and quizzes on genres of novels. As Ms Halawa whizzes through her work schedule, her own three sons aged 10, five, and three wait nearby to get help with their schoolwork.
9th Apr 2020 - The National
Coronavirus: Lethbridge College offers students virtual support outside classroom
The growing pains of shifting to social distancing measures have given everyone a chance to reevaluate the way they typically see their day-to-day. “It gives us an opportunity to do things in a much different way, a way that things have never been done before,”
9th Apr 2020 - Global News.ca
Coronavirus could finally unleash innovative promise of 21st century technology
Yet, to my pleasant surprise, my mother’s school has been online for two weeks now, only days after California’s statewide shelter-in-place order came into effect. Not only that, she tells me that attendance is strong. Students whose families did not have a computer or internet connection were lent one temporarily with a hot spot connection from the school. In normal times, it would be nothing short of a miracle that a bureaucratic public school system could shift its centuries-old model so quickly. But these, of course, are not normal times.
9th Apr 2020 - Washington Examiner
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 9th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullDes Moines Public Schools will finish the academic year with online classes
After closing its facilities on March 13, the district has decided not to return to in-person classes. Superintendent Thomas Ahart said in a statement that he does not believe returning shortly after the coronavirus' projected peak in mid-April is "in the best interest of the health of our students, staff and community." Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on April 2 ordered that the state's schools closed through the end of the month. Districts have until Friday to inform the Iowa Department of Education of continuous learning measures they are putting in place, which can include online lessons, paper packets delivered to students, or a mixture of voluntary and required programs.
8th Apr 2020 - Des Moines Register
Coronavirus: top tips on how to learn a language in lockdown
8th Apr 2020 - Herald Scotland
A proposal for what post-coronavirus schools should do (instead of what they used to do)
What will schooling look like when the buildings finally reopen (whenever that may be) and authorities have determined it is safe for children and adults to resume their lives beyond their own homes? Will things simply pick up, relatively unchanged, from where they left off before the crisis, or will there be big changes in the way Americans view and do school?
8th Apr 2020 - The Washington Post
‘How do you create a version of school that truly is for everybody but is also virtual?’
Some students are better equipped than others to assimilate to remote learning plans during the coronavirus pandemic. In a perfect world, all kids have school-issued laptops, strong internet access, and someone they listen to around — to make sure they stay on top of lessons. But online school during COVID-19 is far from perfect. Keystone Crossroads’ Avi Wolfman-Arent covers education and joins us to talk about this.
8th Apr 2020 - WHYY
Teachers Face Challenges Too With Virtual Classrooms In Coronavirus Crisis
“It’s been interesting to see how we can use the activities we do in the classroom and trying to switch over to the home.” Students are facing their own challenges. Oriana Dunker is a seventh-graders at Boston Latin School. She too is still adjusting to this new distance learning experience. “The biggest challenge for me is probably time management,” Dunker said. “Now when we go on video calls with the teachers, they’re all spread out and at different times every week.”
7th Apr 2020 - CBS Boston
Amid coronavirus, students flock to Kahoot! and Duolingo. Is it the end of language teachers?
Kaylyn Wilson doesn't yet need to study a language for credit. But during the school shutdowns to contain the coronavirus, her father saw Rosetta Stone advertise free accounts for students – an offer other language-learning software companies have made as well. Wilson decided to give it a go. “I really like learning French, and it doesn’t feel like a chore to me,” she said.
7th Apr 2020 - USA TODAY
Disabled Students Already Faced Learning Barriers. Then Coronavirus Forced an Abrupt Shift to Online Classes.
Organization is key in classroom teaching, and for students with learning disabilities or brain injuries, that significance is amplified in a virtual setting. According to the National Center for College Students With Disabilities, about one-fifth of undergraduates and 12 percent of graduate students have some kind of disability. For many of those students, the nationwide shift to online learning brings additional accessibility problems.
7th Apr 2020 - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Easter 2020 activities for your kids during coronavirus isolation
One Facebook page and website, Socially, has got creative launching Australia's Biggest Virtual Easter Celebration from Good Friday. Socially, established just two and a half weeks ago in response to COVID-19, aims to prevent the effects of social isolation and remote work by running and promoting virtual events. The site is staging two children's events during the Easter weekend - Most Popular Easter Craft and Most Popular Best Dressed Pet. Children are asked to post pictures of their handiwork and much-loved pet.
7th Apr 2020 - The Canberra Times
Not just another WFH guide: tips for homeschoolers, couples and solo isolators
Many 'working from home' guides have failed to take into account the nuanced home life situations faced by workers around the globe, so The Drum has asked individuals from across ad land their top tips for remote working: no matter the setup.
8th Apr 2020 - The Drum
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 8th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullSeamless learning in private schools via virtual teaching
The use of technology amidst the coronavirus crisis exposes the wide digital divide in the Kenyan education system. Private schools appear to do better than public ones, further widening the class gap between the two. Even in the private schools category, high-end international schools appear to have been better prepared to handle a disruption to their program than others.
7th Apr 2020 - Daily Nation
Virtual learning requires adaptability
Many teachers have taken to using Zoom, a video call platform, to simulate (while unable to fully recreate) aspects of the classroom experience. Others have continued to use Google Classroom, a MVRHS mainstay for assigning and collecting assignments online. While most teachers also feel that they will be able to provide enough information remotely to keep students moving forward, this will require that students show up.
7th Apr 2020 - The Martha's Vineyard Times
Free of charge: Cooking, fitness channels on Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel; virtual classrooms for colleges
You can now learn cooking from top chefs, pick up dance moves and watch documentaries on cars, history, space and other interesting topics for free. DTH service providers Tata Sky, Dish TV and Airtel Digital TV are offering their interactive channels for free until the end of the current lockdown, April 14.
7th Apr 2020 - The Asian Age
Americans left stuck at home turn to online learning
Dahwal Shah runs a site called Class Central, which he describes as a "Trip Advisor" for online courses offered by top universities worldwide. "As soon as the U.S. went into lockdown last Sunday, we saw a huge surge in traffic," Shah said.
The site lists thousands of Massive Open Online Courses, also known as MOOCs. The vast majority are free. Many courses require hours of online class time and can take a month or longer to complete. But if you're looking for a source of meaningful self-improvement, the options are endless.
7th Apr 2020 - WCAX
Online Teacher Sees Virtual Classrooms Fill Up
There are some industries that aren’t just hiring, they’re flourishing during this pandemic. Rozine Prock has been teaching online for several years. She teaches art, drawing, and graphic design. Teaching online hasn’t been a stumbling block. In fact, Prock prefers the work-from-home lifestyle.
7th Apr 2020 - Spectrum News 1
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 7th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullVirtual classrooms go online
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LearnCoach, a platform for online schooling, has launched virtual classrooms for secondary schools across the country to enable students to keep abreast of their NCEA studies. "We've packaged over 100 online NCEA courses into a personalised platform for teachers, giving them everything they need to run classes directly through LearnCoach," he said, adding that the Covid-19 lockdown would have a massive impact on the young people of New Zealand who were trying to study. "We wanted to find a way to help minimise the damage that is going to do," he said.
6th Apr 2020 - New Zealand Herald
Remote Learning in South Plainfield: Sandy Doyon's Virtual Kitchen Classroom
A lifelong resident of the borough, Sandy Doyon has taught first grade at Kennedy for most of her career and her classroom is filled with all the necessary teaching tools. “There are a lot of great online resources, but I miss having the books to read myself to the class, the manipulatives for hands on learning, and the ability to just grab something whenever I need it,” said Doyon, noting that since virtual learning began three weeks ago, she, like most South Plainfield teachers and their students are learning to work with what they have.
5th Apr 2020 - TAPinto.net
COVID-19 school closure: What will a virtual classroom look like?
The province announced this week schools will be closed until at least early May — but teaching will resume for students online.
3rd Apr 2020 - StCatharinesStandard.ca
7 Free Virtual Cooking Classes To Take During Self-Isolation
Because of the internet, celebrity chefs have — in lieu of working in restaurants — turned their home kitchens into virtual classrooms for our benefit. It’s a horrible time for the restaurant industry, one we hope can be salvaged with our support. The same chefs responsible for creating stellar dining-out experiences are now doing what they can to replicate that magic in your own home.
6th Apr 2020 - HuffPost
Virtual Classrooms At Giis Are Transformative Way Of Schooling: Chairman Atul Temurnikar
Global Schools Foundation has totally adopted Virtual Classrooms across its campuses getting its entire 15,000 cohort onboard this new way of schooling, successfully delivering education online at the time when Covid-19 is causing large-scale disruptions in the education sector as well. Students of Singapore, India, Malaysia and Japan campuses will or have been conducting 100% virtual classroom learning with everyone operating from their homes, while GSF schools in UAE will soon jump on-board. Students are having their daily lessons delivered online, in a similar way to being in an actual classroom, and interacting with teachers and peers through their devices.
6th Apr 2020 - Global Indian International School
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 6th Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullThe coronavirus pandemic is reshaping education
Students will take ownership over their learning, understanding more about how they learn, what they like, and what support they need. They will personalize their learning, even if the systems around them won’t. Schleicher believes that genie cannot be put back in the bottle. “Real change takes place in deep crisis,” he says. “You will not stop the momentum that will build.”
3rd Apr 2020 - Quartz
Coronavirus: a 5-point model to deliver online learning
When I took a fresh look at Rosenshine's Principals of Instruction, I saw that there was enormous potential in using them as guiding principles for setting work remotely in a way that would have the greatest chance of helping pupils to learn at home. This is what I learnt
3rd Apr 2020 - TES News
Teachers must lead schools' response to Covid-19
One of the world’s leading educationalists outlines 17 points that may have been overlooked by system-leaders in the rush to react to coronavirus
3rd Apr 2020 - TES News
BBC offers biggest online education push 'in its history'
The BBC will offer daily programmes to help parents and children with schoolwork at home during the lockdown. Starting on 20 April, videos, quizzes, podcasts and articles will appear on BBC Bitesize Daily via the BBC iPlayer, red button, BBC Four and BBC Sounds. Children's lessons will feature presenters including Oti Mabuse, Katie Thistleton and Karim Zeroual. BBC director general Tony Hall called it "the biggest education effort the BBC has ever undertaken."
3rd Apr 2020 - BBC News
How To Deal If Your Kid Hates Remote Learning During The Coronavirus Pandemic
Even so, getting him to sit down and actually do it has been hard at times. Typically, he’s the kid who runs into the classroom every morning without looking back at us once. He loves his teachers and his classmates. But Zoom morning meetings with a bunch of fidgety 5-year-olds on mute are painful. His father and I don’t have the skills or the patience to make even his super simple math exercises fun. Often, he’ll resist, begging for Legos again. Or TV. Anything but learning with mom and dad.
3rd Apr 2020 - Huffington Post
What the Shift to Virtual Learning Could Mean for the Future of Higher Ed
By freeing resources from courses that can be commoditized, colleges would have more resources to commit to research-based teaching, personalized problem solving, and mentorship. The students would also have more resources at their disposal, too, because they wouldn’t have to reside and devote four full years at campuses. They would take commoditized courses online at their convenience and at much cheaper cost.
31st Mar 2020 - Harvard Business Review
#myfreedomday starts: This is what freedom means for students all over the world
Italian students and students all over the world back CNN's #MyFreedomCampaign which highlights the plight of some young people without it across the world and encourages the young to become knowledgeable about how to recognise it and how to help. With the advent of virtual schooling as a consequence of the coronavirus lockdown, events like this have growing importance in educating and informing young people about how they can get involved
11th Mar 2020 - La Repubblica
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 3rd Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullIPA, WHO and UNICEF launch Read the World on International Children's Book Day to support children and young people in isolation
Much-loved children’s authors are joining an initiative to read extracts of their books to millions of children and young people currently living in isolation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the World is a collaboration between the International Publishers Association (IPA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. It kicks off today, on International Children’s Book Day, at 15.00 GMT/17.00 CET with Italian author Elisabetta Dami, creator of the popular character Geronimo Stilton.
2nd Apr 2020 - UNICEF
COVID-19 Webinar: A New World Opens To Teachers, On The Front Line Of Education
On March 27, UNESCO dedicated its second webinar on the educational response to Covid-19 to those working on the front lines to ensure continuity of learning: 63 million teachers from 165 countries, plus educational staff. This symposium brought together participants from all regions of the world to study a wide range of issues, ranging from training and support to provide teachers to the problem of distance learning in remote or rural areas with access weak or even zero on the Internet.
30th Mar 2020 - UNESCO
VIDEO. Coronavirus: JK Rowling launches "Harry Potter at Home", a free hub for your children
If you don't know how to keep your kids occupied during confinement, JK Rowling has thought of you - and it's free! Harry Potter at Home is a hub on which you will find quizzes, games and the whole world of Hogwarts with free access.
2nd Apr 2020 - 20Minutes.fr
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 2nd Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullBringing Pandemic Lessons to the (Virtual) Classroom
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact so many aspects of people's lives, University of Arizona faculty members from a range of disciplines are finding ways to use the global health crisis as a teachable moment in their courses.
1st Apr 2020 - UANews
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 1st Apr 2020
View this newsletter in fullLine Numa-Bocage: Confinement can it become an educational opportunity?
"The situation of confinement forces us all to introduce and perfect new forms of teaching practice," explains Line Numa Bocage, professor at the University of Cergy. "It updates the creativity and inventiveness of teachers." Would confinement have a positive effect on teaching practices to the point of changing the way the schools operate in practice? We discuss
26th Mar 2020 - Le Cafe Pedagogique
Coronavirus: toddlers are taking online preschool classes
-Schools across the country have closed to slow the spread of coronavirus, but teachers are still working and trying to connect with students, even toddlers as young as two years old. It's hard to imagine a dozen or more toddlers on a Zoom video call, so parents and teachers told Business Insider what the transition to digital learning has been like.
29th Mar 2020 - Business Insider
Under Coronavirus, Not All Virtual Learning Is the Same
The so-called Homework Gap has taken on crippling dimensions now that closed school districts have been trying to maintain a semblance of instruction by putting teachers or course materials online. Internet-savvy school systems that serve connected populations appear to be moving ahead relatively smoothly with the new order of business. At the same time, some districts that lack infrastructure and serve heavily poor populations have given up altogether on remote learning. Still others are hesitant to pursue online instruction out of fear they might be hauled into court for offering course materials to which broadband-deprived families cannot gain access.
27th Mar 2020 - The New York Times
Coronavirus: 11 tips for using Google Classroom
Many of the international schools that have closed already due to Coronavirus have opted to use Google Classroom to teach remotely. Here they give their top tips.
14th Mar 2020 - TES News
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 31st Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullFrance launches Operation Learning Nation
French television stations, Radio France, Arte and National Education are mobilizing to provide teachers, students from their families with quality programs linked to school program curriculums under the banner Learning Nation in France
The programs broadcast on the air will thus be identifiable by the visual "Learning Nation".
30th Mar 2020 - French Government
Will the coronavirus make online education go viral?
How realistic is it to suddenly shift large amounts of teaching online? Are the university leaders surveyed by THE right to assume that students will see the virtual student experience as a poor substitute for the real thing? Or might it be that online higher education becomes the new normal far earlier and to a far greater extent than any experts were previously predicting?
12th Mar 2020 - Times Higher Education (THE)
As coronavirus closes schools, teachers and families brace for massive experiment in online education
"Even those of us who are strong advocates of having this option have to believe that it will not be done well or smoothly in many — perhaps most — places," he said. "You can't simply snap your fingers and say, 'Tomorrow you're going fully virtual.' It takes planning and training, and we don't have time for that." Many teachers and their students are likely to learn — as teachers in Northshore did last week — that there are creative and effective ways to teach and learn remotely.
16th Mar 2020 - NBC News
The Coronavirus Outbreak And The Challenges Of Online-Only Classes
A massive shift like this is unprecedented in higher education. It's led to an onslaught of questions for online learning specialists such as Karen Costa. "I think like many folks there has been a lot of shock and stress on a personal and professional level," Costa says. "My first instinct after that initial shock was how can we get our students and faculty the support that they need to navigate this crisis?"
She has been fielding questions on twitter, giving webinars online, and uploading youtube tutorials, all in hopes of easing this transition — which she admits is less than ideal. "To ask someone to go from a land based course to an online course without any previous online teaching experience is a huge ask and it's not something that can be done overnight," Costa says. "And we're trying to do it overnight."
13th Mar 2020 - NPR
The school of Mum and Dad
Many educationalists were arguing long before the coronavirus crisis that the school system needed drastic change. This is a time to put new ways of learning to the test, thinks Andy Salmon, the creator of the SirLinkalot spelling app. "Online is the way forward. You have to get into the child's world to inspire them, and that is online." But like the school day, it is important to establish a routine, says Sarah Dove, a teacher who works online with children who cannot attend school.
21st Mar 2020 - BBC News
What Happened When Hong Kong’s Schools Went Virtual to Combat the Spread of Coronavirus
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A temporary solution during months-long school shutdowns, the online classrooms may be an experiment the rest of the world can learn from
9th Mar 2020 - Smithsonian Magazine
‘Classroom to Cloud’: What happened when coronavirus forced my kid’s school to go online
While this new online model, which the district has dubbed “Classroom to Cloud,” doesn’t have the predetermined structure of the traditional school day, some of the changes that come with it are welcoming. Besides some bits of scheduled live instruction, my daughter is generally able to go about her day in a way that works for her as long as she completes all of her assignments. That’s a good thing, because she can take a break when she needs one and dig into math when she’s ready. She can take her time eating lunch rather than being rushed out of the cafeteria door.
11th Mar 2020 - Geekwire
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 30th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullRTÉ launches daily virtual classroom for primary school children during Covid-19
RTÉ has announced a new Home School Hub across its television and online platforms, which will provide primary school children with fun daily lessons from the comfort of their homes. RTÉ and Macalla Teo, with support from Mary Immaculate College, have collaborated to introduce a cross-platform teaching initiative for primary school kids across the country. This is available on RTÉ2, RTÉ Player, and rte.ie/learn. Children will be able to watch, download and engage with curriculum-based content, project work, and fun activities that will keep them entertained and learning.
26th Mar 2020 - TipperaryLive.ie
1.37 billion students now home as COVID-19 school closures expand, ministers scale up multimedia approaches to ensure learning continuity
Meanwhile, several ministers highlighted that the current crisis is also ushering in new thinking around the practice of education. “We have made more progress with digital and distance learning in the past 10 days than in the past ten years. Without a doubt this crisis will change the way we think about the provision of education in the future,” said Egypt’s Minister Tarek Shawki, while France’s Minister underlined the impact of new approaches and mindsets. “Education is a key answer to the crisis and to the rebuilding of our societies after.”
24th Mar 2020 - UNESCO
Updated: Free Resources for Schools During COVID-19 Outbreak
The Academy of Active Learning Arts and Sciences and the Flipped Learning Global Initiative have published the "Rapid Transition to Online Learning," a roadmap for making the rapid shift to online learning during school closures. The resources include a checklist for administrators, another for IT managers, a transition plan and video tutorial for teachers and access to an international team of volunteers who have stepped forward to answer questions.
26th Mar 2020 - T.H.E. Journal
Universities are closing worldwide, forcing instructors to turn to remote teaching. Here’s some expert advice on how to embrace the digital classroom.
With technological help from colleagues at NYU Shanghai, he developed a strategy for teaching remotely from the other side of the world. Each day, using a program called Voice-Thread, he records several short videos of himself explaining maths concepts, adding up to 15–30 minutes collectively. During their day, the students watch the videos on a website and, in turn, insert videos they make of their assigned theorem proofs, for example, or a question, a comment or a critique of a classmate’s proof. Together, Rolla and his students produce an interactive, if asynchronous, class recording.
24th Mar 2020 - Nature
The COVID-19 online pivot: Adapting university teaching to social distancing
As universities respond to the COVID-19 outbreak by closing campuses and shifting to online forms of distance learning, many institutions and educators are scrambling to develop online engagement plans. In this repost, Martin Weller (Professor of Education Technology at the Open University) brings together a number of useful for resources for anyone looking to develop online learning courses and questions why it has taken the current crisis for distance learning to be taken seriously.
12th Mar 2020 - LSE Blog
3 ways the coronavirus pandemic could reshape education
These changes have certainly caused a degree of inconvenience, but they have also prompted new examples of educational innovation. Although it is too early to judge how reactions to COVID-19 will affect education systems around the world, there are signs suggesting that it could have a lasting impact on the trajectory of learning innovation and digitization. Below, we follow three trends that could hint at future transformations:
13th Mar 2020 - WEForum
How universities and schools are going online amid the COVID-19 outbreak — and the hurdles they face
“These are trends that have been in place for a long time,” said Eric Burns, CEO of Seattle-based Panopto, a company supporting digital lectures and meetings. “We’ve been in this space for over 13 years. It’s been a long slow build up. This is a trigger that causes organizations to hit the gas.” The UW, which serves 46,000 students across three Puget Sound-area campuses, provides instructors with three main tools for online instruction:
11th Mar 2020 - GeekWire
Online tools for teachers and students to hold virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic
Classdojo is a free educational app that enables teachers, students and parents to interact online. It allows teachers to create a virtual classroom in which they can share videos and pictures. An account on the app can be created only by the teacher. The student can access the virtual classroom with an access code sent by the teacher. EkStep is an on-demand platform that allows educators to create, share and distribute free community-sourced educational content for K-12 class students. The app is loaded with several educational videos that students can access any time and learn in a self-paced way. Khan Academy provides complete course material from K-12 that can be accessed by students at their own pace. The app also tracks student’s progress in each lesson.
12th Mar 2020 - The Hindu
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 27th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullGovernment makes provision for virtual learning during lockdown
26th Mar 2020 - ITWeb
Schools Closed: CA Teachers Connected in Virtual Classrooms
25th Mar 2020 - Spectrum News 1
What professors are learning about virtual classrooms
Some of the lessons Richmond-area professors are learning in the first few days of running virtual classrooms relate directly to thousands of workers who are currently teleworking from home. Dr. Kelly Lambert, a neuroscience professor at the University of Richmond, taught her first online class Tuesday. Lambert said all of her students “Zoomed” into their online meeting from places like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
25th Mar 2020 - wtvr.com
Broadcast lessons important step to bridge education inequalities
26th Mar 2020 - Sowetan Live
Nobel International School Algarve opens virtual classrooms
Having anticipated this closure, the school’s leadership teams for both national and international sections began meeting to plan a move to online learning in February and was ready to launch a virtual learning programme for students aged five to 18 on the first day of closure, Monday, March 16.
26th Mar 2020 - Portugal Resident
Making School Work at Home: Local Advice on Adjusting to Remote Learning
It’s not easy for teachers to adjust curriculum plans to remote learning and what feels like a moving target of expectations and needs, and it’s not easy for students of any age – or their families – to figure out how to help make learning work. Patience with each other and ourselves will be key in helping the Montclair school community find successful outcomes this spring.
24th Mar 2020 - Baristanet.com
Education remains uninterrupted with shift to virtual classrooms — Nuaimi
Education Minister Tayseer Nuaimi on Sunday said that the learning process in the Kingdom is continuing despite the suspension of classes at schools. During a joint press briefing with Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh and Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Muthana Gharaibeh at the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management, Nuaimi announced the launch of online educational platform Darsak via www.darsak.gov.jo, which will provide services from 7am until 4pm. The Darsak platform provides educational content for students from grade one to 12, he said, noting that access to the platform is free.
22nd Mar 2020 - Jordan Times
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 26th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullHow Aussie schools are preparing for a COVID-19 shutdown
Officially, public schools, at least in NSW are still open; yet the advice on offer realistically means children for the most part are being kept home. Household broadband is now the primary connector as the nation shuts down. So how well-placed are schools to deal with a surge in demand, particularly in light of the technical glitches with NAPLAN online platform last year?
25th Mar 2020 - iTnews
1.37 billion students now home as COVID-19 school closures expand, ministers scale up multimedia approaches to ensure learning continuity - World
Over the past 10 days, the number of students affected by school and university closures in 138 countries has nearly quadrupled to 1.37 billion, representing more than 3 out of 4 children and youth worldwide. In addition, nearly 60.2 million teachers are no longer in the classroom. Opening the meeting, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay stressed that the “the responsibility to act is a collective one,” and announced the forthcoming establishment of a Global Covid-19 Education Coalition to further mobilize the expertise of multiple partners and strengthen support to national educational responses.
25th Mar 2020 - ReliefWeb
Chandigarh: School classrooms all set to go virtual amid Covid-19 lockdown
Amid the coronavirus outbreak some schools in the Tricity region are moving to the April academic year, albeit digitally. Teachers are recording online assignments and live or recorded classed for senior students. teachers are also sharing activities with their respective classes of other schools. Tools used include live classes, recorded lectures, online worksheets, voice messages, audible stories, daily quizzes and fun tips, vocabulary and maths
25th Mar 2020 - Times of India
'Panic-gogy': Teaching Online Classes During The Coronavirus Pandemic
As colleges across the country pivot online on very short notice, there are a host of complications — from laptops and Internet access to mental health and financial needs. Digital learning experts have some surprising advice: do less.
25th Mar 2020 - NPR
COVID-19 pandemic | Are virtual classrooms a window into the future?
Besides technical issues, such as broadband and bandwidth, there are other factors that impact the setting up of virtual classrooms. Some of these factors are social and cultural, peculiar to India, over and above the economic factors.
25th Mar 2020 - Moneycontrol.com
Amid Covid-19 lockdown, Lucknow switches to virtual classrooms
City Montessori School (CMS) is using the Google Classroom platform, a free web service that aims to simplify creating, distributing and grading assignments in a paperless way.
24th Mar 2020 - Hindustan Times
Taking or teaching online classes because of COVID-19? Here are some tips and tricks.
However, these are unprecedented times, and we’re fortunate enough to have unprecedented technology to answer the challenge. As America’s students and educators begin to transition to a virtual classroom, here are a few early notes from my experience.
23rd Mar 2020 - USA Today
Local school moves to online learning in response to the coronavirus
It's the middle of March, which is a time for students to typically be in the classroom, but as the coronavirus pandemic has closed schools, it has forced faculty and staff to transition to virtual classrooms. Tandem Friends School officials announced the transition to online classes last Friday, just as Governor Ralph Northam ordered Virginia schools to close for two weeks.
20th Mar 2020 - CBS19 News
As classes move online during COVID-19, what are disconnected students to do?
Closing schools and transitioning to online learning is
critical to stymying the spread of the virus, but
experts agree that the transition won’t be easy. Among the many challenges—from
providing meals for low-income students to finding
child care for essential workers—relying on remote learning and online classes also exposes the country’s deep digital divides. Simply put, too many American children live without essential internet services.
20th Mar 2020 - Brookings Institution
Australian schools and universities preparing for shutdowns over coronavirus
Following a meeting with state premiers on Friday, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced mass gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. But schools, universities, public transport and airports were exempt from the advice, Morrison said, because they were essential services.
14th Mar 2020 - The Guardian
As COVID-19 pushes classes online, some students are caught in the broadband gap
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As COVID-19 spreads within the United States and across the globe, public health officials are calling for fewer public gatherings — which is pushing many activities online. The issue is particularly severe for schools, where the risk of spreading the disease is high. But as many US schools try to shift to online lesson plans, they’re running into the limitations of our threadbare broadband networks, which leave many students unable to connect to their new online classrooms.
6th Mar 2020 - The Verge
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 25th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullPhilly students will receive laptops during coronavirus shutdown
“We are looking into acquisition and distribution over the next couple of weeks,” Hite said. While the task may seem impossible, the New York City Department of Education distributed 175,000 laptops, Chromebooks, and iPads over the last few weeks and began online learning Monday.
24th Mar 2020 - WHYY
Online classes and activities children can take part in during the coronavirus outbreak
24th Mar 2020 - Yahoo Style
No Classroom, No Problem: Students Adjust to Virtual High School
A charter school in Kearny Mesa is showing its flexibility and innovation in dealing with the school closures due to the coronavirus by turning its regular school classrooms into virtual classrooms over the weekend. "I’m at home inside my bedroom,” said Ms. Erica Gibson who teaches 12th grade English at School for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SET) High School in Kearny Mesa. “We have class online. We’re learning about The Crucibles."
17th Mar 2020 - NBC 7 San Diego
Coronavirus: Academic City Adopts Virtual Classroom For Students
Academic City University College, a premium STEAM and Entrepreneurial tertiary education has resumed active teaching and learning sessions online to enable students continue their education. This is as a result of the shut-down of the physical university due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Prof. Fred McBagonluri, President of Academic City explained that the university has adopted a virtual classrooms mechanism to create an environment where faculty and students can engage, interact and discuss presentations and assignments in the comfort of their homes.
23rd Mar 2020 - Modern Ghana
STEMROBO Technologies Announces Launch Of Online Virtual Classrooms Amid Coronavirus
To bring the solutions for k-12 students, India’s Ed-tech startup STEMROBO Technologies working in the field of STEM education for K-12 students has announced that they have started providing online virtual cloud-based Learning Management Model through its Tinker learning platform for students without any cost. Through this initiative, students in class 4-12 can learn, program and experiment in the field of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at home. The objective to start the online classes is to provide all the STEM learning facilities which students were getting in schools from Atal Tinkering Labs and also to maintain stability in their studies so that their flow won’t get a break by this amidst a crisis.
24th Mar 2020 - BW Businessworld
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 24th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullSchools conduct lessons via virtual classrooms for pupil
Many platforms are providing their services free of cost to enable teachers and students to conduct live online classes, share learning material, address student queries, share assignments, conduct quizes and exams, record attendance and a whole lot more to conduct online classes seamlessly
24th Mar 2020 - Times of India
'Let your kids get bored': emergency advice from teachers on schooling at home
School may have closed for the foreseeable future, and all exams cancelled, but children still need to be educated and entertained – as well as reassured. Many schools plan to send work home and there are lots of free resources available via online platforms such as BBC Teach.
23rd Mar 2020 - The Guardian
Our first virtual assembly for our Degerloch Lower School students took place on Friday
23rd Mar 2020 - @SchoolStuttgart
Covid-19 in UAE: Virtual classrooms would be just like real ones
Though classes will go online from today, the general setup would resemble real classrooms, educators have told Khaleej Times. The classes would entail a proper routine and students will learn from a setup similar to the desk-and-chair one they are used to in schools. Classes would be conducted as per timetables shared with parents and students previously.
21st Mar 2020 - Khaleej Times
Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic
What do we gain and what do we lose when classrooms go virtual?
13th Mar 2020 - Scientific American
‘Normal school day’: Perth students trial virtual classrooms amid crisis
20th Mar 2020 - WAToday
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 23rd Mar 2020
View this newsletter in full10 strategies for online learning during a coronavirus outbreak
Members of ISTE’s professional learning networks have been hard at work identifying key practices for successful online learning. Here are some of the best ideas from educators from around the world, many of whom have already been teaching during coronavirus closures.
16th Mar 2020 - ISTE
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 20th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus homeschooling? Five ways to keep your kids learning, happy and healthy
Tom Rose and Jack Pannett are qualified teachers and sports coaches and run an activity business that helps children learn. They also broadcast their own podcast. Here, they set out their five top tips on how to keep your kids engaged, learning, healthy and happy while schools are closed because of coronavirus...
19th Mar 2020 - Sky News
Are you a parent trying to find activities for kids home from school?
19th Mar 2020 - @JacquelynGill
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 19th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullHomework now comes via WhatsApp
On Monday, school lessons in Liechtenstein were moved home. The Liechtenstein schools have found different solutions to provide the pupils with tasks. These measures have been taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Classes should therefore take place by distance learning until the Easter holidays - or longer depending on the how the health crisis evolves. Students are currently sent homework and weekly plans with instructions to be solved via WhatsApp and email. The time window required for this is tailored to each individual as is the form of the task and its size.
19th Mar 2020 - Vaterland
Darmstadt: virtual classroom on online platform
The free online platform schulforum.info is based on tingtool, which the start-up founder Peter Fischer developed in Darmstadt. According to its press statements this Internet application, which is free of charge for schools and teachers in Darmstadt, enables virtual classrooms to be set up within ten minutes without the need for software to be preinstalled on the home computer. Tingtool is a cloud-based tool for meetings and discussions in virtual space and, according to the information, was specially developed by Darmstadt to force the digital networking of actors from the school and education sector. Around three months ago, the interactive platform schulforum.info was already given to the Darmstadt City Parents' Advisory Board by the digital city of Darmstadt, for its own use
19th Mar 2020 - Frankfurter Rundschau
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 18th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullFaced with the suspension of teaching educational software company GoSchool offers its virtual classroom services for free to schools across the country
With the measures being implemented by the national government in the face of the advance of the Covid-19 coronavirus, leading to the suspension of classes at different educational levels throughout Argentina, many now realise they need to turn to virtual classrooms and teaching. Although there are free resources, the platforms have a certain complexity for those who are not accustomed to their use, which generates a predisposition on paid services. In this framework, a Mendoza-based company, GoSchool, dedicated to improving and streamlining academic management, has decided to offer its virtual classroom software at no cost to schools and teachers across the country to face quarantine.
17th Mar 2020 - El Litoral
Coronavirus in Argentina: virtual classrooms, apps and social networks so that the children are up to date while there are no classes
Coronavirus in Argentina: virtual classrooms, apps and social networks so that the children are up to date while there are no classes. Some schools are already sending content and activities online, but in many others the implementation of virtual classrooms has been delayed. As another prevention measure against the advance of the coronavirus , which in Argentina has already caused two deaths and more than 50 infections, the national government announced several prevention measures on Sunday night, including the suspension of classes until 31 of March.
16th Mar 2020 - Clarin
In Uruguay, ANEP and Ceibal have created a virtual classroom to cover classes for two weeks
The National Administration of Public Education ( ANEP ) reported that during the two-week suspension of classes, by government decision to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, the educational centers will remain open with four-hour shifts in administrative, management, service or teacher support. Meanwhile, the 1,026 rural schools across the country will remain closed. For this reason, ANEP together with Ceibal have created a virtual classroom so that the children can take advantage of the time on these days and talking to a teacher is encouraged. It will be switched on from this Tuesday; and although there is no obligation to enter the website, families are encouraged to get their children to use it during the suspension of classes.
16th Mar 2020 - Subrayado
Virtual Classrooms - Connecting Communities for COVID19 News - 17th Mar 2020
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: Simple tips for better online teaching
1. Record your lectures - don't stream them - 2. Show your face during the teaching session 3. - Keep videos short 4 - Test out slides 5. - Using exisiting resources 6. Make sure they are open access 7. Give specific instructions 8. Provide interactive activities 9. Set reasonable expections 10. Use auto-checking to measure attendence 10. - Use group communication carefully 11. - Let students take control 12 - Don't hide your feelings & Repeat
17th Mar 2020 - Malaysia Sun
Middle East discovers value of the virtual classroom amid coronavirus threat
In the UAE, where more than 80 coronavirus cases have been reported so far, the Ministry of Education ordered the closure of all schools and universities for a period of four weeks starting from March 8. Soon afterwards, Saudi Arabia’s education ministry announced the closure of all educational institutions, including public and private schools as well as technical and vocational training institutes. Many institutions in the Kingdom intend to ensure uninterrupted education through digital learning methods in tandem with other measures to reduce the spread of the virus through movement and public interaction.
17th Mar 2020 - Arab News
All students could soon be learning in 'virtual classrooms'. Here's how they work
17th Mar 2020 - Sydney Morning Herald
NYC Plans To Feed All Students, Deliver Laptops For Remote Learning
The grab-and-go program is one of the main tenets of Mayor Bill de Blasio's schools shutdown plan. As pressure mounted over the past week to close schools during the novel coronavirus outbreak in the city, de Blasio repeatedly emphasized that one major obstacle was the fact that hundreds of thousands of public school students depend on the free breakfasts and lunches offered at school. On Sunday de Blasio announced that schools are closed through the end of Spring Break on April 20th, and they may remain shuttered for the rest of the school year. Remote learning is to begin March 23rd for the system's 1.1 million students. Meanwhile, the grab-and-go program rolled out Monday morning and is available every weekday from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to any child under 18, no matter what school they actually attend, be it charter, private or public, Carranza said. The city is also running the program at every school site for this week, and students don't need to go to their actual home institution but can pick up the food at whatever school is convenient. The plan is to then switch to centralized hubs for food service as the city does during summer breaks.
17th Mar 2020 - Gothamist
How a top Chinese university is responding to coronavirus
Although online teaching is no longer a novelty, we are aware that not all faculty members are equally adept at harnessing related technology and managing virtual classrooms. As part of the quality assurance process, ZJU organized a series of training sessions in mid-February for 3,670 faculty members. An instructor of one of our most popular MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) courses was invited to demonstrate how he adapted pedagogy to online tuition and forged a strong sense of community. Student success is what online teaching efforts are all about. It is, therefore, crucial to ensure no one is left out. Seeking to bridge the digital divide, since January ZJU has funded access to online learning for more than 1,000 disadvantaged students. The university has also negotiated deals with several network providers to subsidize the data plans of its faculty and students. For students without access to live streaming or grappling with shaky internet connections, ZJU provides them with lecture playbacks and courseware packages.
16th Mar 2020 - WeForum.org
COVID-19 pushes universities to switch to online classes—but are they ready?
While the work to transition face-to-face instruction to online environments would mean an initial massive increase in working hours, the results for some educators and some students so far are promising. In the emerging and ever-changing COVID-19 context, New York University Shanghai and Duke Kunshan University offer examples of successful adaptation and rapid deployment of educational technology products, like the video-conferencing platform Zoom and online course provider Coursera. Significantly, these universities had existing experience with these technologies that they were able to expand; they weren't starting from scratch with new and untested tech solutions.
13th Mar 2020 - Phys.org
