K-12 related

New resources to support students with disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis [ncld.org]

On 04/03/2020, in accessibility, K-12 related, special needs, student-related, youth, by Daniel Christian

An Educator’s Guide to Virtual Learning: 4 Actions to Support Students With Disabilities and Their Families — from ncld.org / National Center for Learning Disabilities

Excerpt:

Begin implementing best practices in online special education. Most of the best practices in online instruction are the same as for in-person, in-school instruction. This includes using multiple ways to present content, assess progress, provide feedback, and engage students (the hallmark of Universal Design for Learning). Students will still need explicit instruction, and providing what amounts to virtual 1:1 or small group instruction to so many students will take creativity, planning, and flexibility. Here are some helpful resources:

A Parent’s Guide to Virtual Learning: 4 Actions to Improve Your Child’s Experience With Online Learning — from ncld.org / National Center for Learning Disabilities

Excerpt:

Here are some resources that will help you be an effective partner with school personnel and an informed advocate for your child during this challenging time:

Homeschooling During the COVID-19 Pandemic — from cato.org by Kerry McDonald

Excerpt:

In a recent three-part Cato Daily Podcast series, I spoke with host Caleb Brown about this unprecedented educational moment, including sharing strategies and resources for overcoming the challenges of unexpected, unchosen homeschooling, as well as possible outcomes as more parents seek alternatives to conventional schooling post-pandemic.

More Free Resources For New Homeschoolers — from forbes.com by Nick Morrison

Excerpt:

Last month I highlighted some of the free resources available for parents — and teachers — during the pandemic, but since then a number of other organizations have offered their resources, expertise and support for free, so here is another selection, for the benefit of ordinary homeschoolers in these extraordinary times.

From DSC:
Below are excerpts from a recent email that I received as a cc: to our son and am passing it along in case it helps others out there.
I would like to share with you important guidance on how to get the most out of your online learning experience.

ORGANIZING YOUR SPACE
Set up your home classroom space. This is important. Be sure you have a space that is comfortable and where you can focus on your studies, your practice, your craft and your learning. This can be private or shared, whatever works for you and your family.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Computer
Internet Access, preferably high-speed broadband, is required for video conferencing and class assignments. Most of the expected work will not require streaming, but a secure internet connection will help a lot.
Headphones help minimize extraneous noise. They can also help signal to others in your home that you are online and on-task.
Zoom, our preferred video conferencing software, can be downloaded here.

SCHEDULE
You will complete your work and engage in your lessons in two ways. Some assignments are laid out in your Canvas class and can be completed at your own pace, turning work in when due. And some of your classes and lessons will require you to connect with faculty and students in real time. When a real-time option is possible, be sure to take it.

STAYING CONNECTED
Again, be sure to connect in real time as often as possible. There are lots of opportunities to connect with faculty and students every day.
…
Join in as many real time experiences as you can. These human connections, across the internet, are so important during this time when we are all separated physically.

NORMS FOR VIDEO-CONFERENCING

Log in on time, and be fully prepared with any necessary materials, notebooks, etc.
Wear clothes like what you would wear to school.
Remain present and engaged throughout the session. Do not open additional windows or use other technology during the session, unless it is part of class.
Join sessions in a quiet space, if you can, where you will not distract others and not be distracted.
Mute your microphone when not speaking.

SUMMARY OF STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Establish a daily routine for your school work.
Find a comfortable, distraction-free place in your home where you can work.
Check email and Canvas each day to learn about the expectations for your work.
Perform tasks as outlined by instructors in Canvas and seek clarification from teachers on any assignments where you need it.
For classes meeting “live,” login to real-time video services (Zoom) for dialogue with teachers and members of your class. Attend faculty office hours. They want to see you!
Put forth your best effort.
Communicate with your instructors, your advisor, your residence life coordinator, and/or Academic and College Counseling.
If you need anything, let us know.

Under the Table and Teaching: 11 Expert Tips for Schooling Kids with ADHD from Home — from additudemag.com
Unschooling. Homeschooling. Crisis schooling. What is the difference? And what are the best learning strategies for your child with ADHD at this stressful time? Here are tips and strategies from education experts who understand the distinctions and today’s inescapable realities.

Excerpts:

11 Ways to Support Learning at Home

1. Focus learning on your child’s natural interests.
2. If your child gets stressed, take a break.
3. Make learning a game.
4. Embrace Minecraft.
5. Add movement to promote learning.
6. Build focus with busy hands and feet.
7. Tap into online tutors.
8. Ditch the worksheets. Use educational videos, phone apps, educational podcasts, or other media to introduce or expand on a subject.
9. Take things one day at a time.
10. Follow your child’s lead.
11. Accept that homeschooling may not work for you.

Research Quest Live sign up
Though the museum is currently closed, the Natural History Museum of Utah is allowing kids around the globe the opportunity to transport back in time to a past where dinosaurs roamed the world. With the recently launched Research Quest Live, offering a taste of the world with virtual tours and free access to daily online science classes taught by museum educators.

Common Sense Launches Wide Open School to Help Families and Educators Transition to Students Learning from Home — from commonsensemedia.org
As Schools Continue to Close as a Result of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Some of the Most Respected Companies in Education, Media, and Tech Join Forces to Offer a Free and Open Collection of Quality Online Learning Resources to Educators and Families.

Excerpt:

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2020—Common Sense, the leading nonprofit organization whose mission is to help kids, families, and educators thrive in a world of media and technology, has convened a group of education, media, and tech partners to launch WideOpenSchool.org, a free online resource to support families and educators who are transitioning to remote learning as a result of the coronavirus.

Wide Open School features the very best resources from publishers, nonprofits, and education companies, including the American Federation of Teachers, Amplify, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Head Start, Khan Academy, National Geographic, Noggin, PBS, Scholastic, Sesame Workshop,Time for Kids, XQ Institute, and YouTube. Find the full site at WideOpenSchool.org.

Important settings to turn on when using @zoom_us:

?Disable “Join Before Host”
? Enable “Co-Host”
? Disable “File Transfer”
? Disable “Allow Removed Participants to Rejoin”
? Disable “Anyone Can Share Screen”#RemoteLearning https://t.co/5oQGFuh5xd

— Jake Miller (@JakeMillerTech) March 30, 2020

Per Techcrunch article:

The world is vulnerable to a new type of trolling as people turn to Zoom video calls to feel connected amidst quarantines. Jerks are using Zoom’s screensharing feature to blast other viewers with the most awful videos from across the internet, from violence to shocking pornography.

Canvas Video Resources

On 03/29/2020, in adjunct faculty, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, education technology, faculty, higher education, K-12 related, online learning, online media, online tutoring, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Canvas Video Resources — from instructure.com

Are you in the middle of #remotelearning, and could you use a refresher on how to do certain things w/Canvas LMS? Don’t worry, a group of community members came together & produced videos about key features to help you get moving.

#edtech #onlinelearning #coronavirus #education #highered #k12 #CMS #LMS #Canvas

K-12 resources for teaching remotely

On 03/27/2020, in distance education, education, education technology, elearning, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, online learning, online media, online tutoring, student-related, teachers, Technologies for your home, tools, youth, by Daniel Christian

Updated: Free Resources for Schools During COVID-19 Outbreak — from thejournal.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

(Updated March 26; originally published March 13) In response to the number of states, districts and schools that are shuttering schools to students over the next several weeks in response to fears about the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), education technology companies have stepped forward to help educators reach students in virtual ways. In many cases, the companies are making their paid services free through the rest of the school year; in other cases, they’re lifting limits to services and/or adding premium features to what’s free. The following list will be updated regularly as announcements are made.

Also see:

EducationDive.com
Getting Through from gettingsmart.com
Edutopia.org

Growth-Minded Pivot to Online Teaching— from scholarlyteacher.com by Kathryn Smith and Todd Zakrajsek

Excerpt:

What is essential when one starts to teach in an unfamiliar arena is to keep an open mind, be open to change, and expect some mistakes.

Now is the perfect time to embrace a growth mindset regarding teaching online. Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, states, “… growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments, everyone can change and grow through application and experience.”

Having this growth mindset allows for a different definition of success, and that definition can change daily. Right now, you are likely in a position that requires you to reassess your educational practices, your teaching, and your content delivery method. You are facing challenges in learning a new skill set and an opportunity to model for your students how to grow as well.

Discussion Question:
When a pandemic arrives, few people are asked how they would like to proceed. Online learning was a global health decision. When you first started to think about moving your courses online, did your first inclination feel more growth minded or fix minded? Explain.

My thanks to a friend for causing me to further reflect on this article: “Can computers ever replace the classroom?” [Beard]

On 03/26/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, algorithms, analytics, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, Asia, career development, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, data mining, digital learning, distance education, education, education reform, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Europe, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, India, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, Law Schools, leadership, learner profiles, learning, Learning Agents, learning ecosystem, learning from the living [class] room, learning preferences, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, more choice more control, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, policy, political science, programming, society, teachers, teaching & learning, the downsides of technology, tools, training / L&D, UK, United States, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual tutoring, vision, Walmart of Education --> New Amazon.com of Higher Education, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I’d like to thank Mr. Eric Osterberg — a fraternity brother and friend of mine — for sending me the following article. I wrote back to him. After thanking Eric for the article, I said:

Such an article makes me reflect on things — which is always a good thing for me to try to see my blindspots and/or to think about the good and bad of things. Technologies are becoming more powerful and integrated into our lives — for better at times and for worse at other times.

I’m wondering how the legal realm can assist and/or help create a positive future for societies throughout the globe…any thoughts?

Can computers ever replace the classroom? — from theguardian.com by Alex Beard
With 850 million children worldwide shut out of schools, tech evangelists claim now is the time for AI education. But as the technology’s power grows, so too do the dangers that come with it.

Excerpts:

But it’s in China, where President Xi Jinping has called for the nation to lead the world in AI innovation by 2030, that the fastest progress is being made. In 2018 alone, Li told me, 60 new AI companies entered China’s private education market. Squirrel AI is part of this new generation of education start-ups. The company has already enrolled 2 million student users, opened 2,600 learning centres in 700 cities across China, and raised $150m from investors.
…
The supposed AI education revolution is not here yet, and it is likely that the majority of projects will collapse under the weight of their own hype.

The point, in short, is that AI doesn’t have to match the general intelligence of humans to be useful – or indeed powerful. This is both the promise of AI, and the danger it poses.

It was a reminder that Squirrel AI’s platform, like those of its competitors worldwide, doesn’t have to be better than the best human teachers – to improve people’s lives, it just needs to be good enough, at the right price, to supplement what we’ve got. The problem is that it is hard to see technology companies stopping there. For better and worse, their ambitions are bigger. “We could make a lot of geniuses,” Li told me.

DC: Yes! Perhaps teachers will gain some very well-deserved respect from this whole thing!!!

On 03/26/2020, in education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, parents, society, student-related, surviving, teachers, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Yes! Perhaps teachers will gain some ***very well-deserved respect*** from this whole thing!!!

Eric Chilton talks about how homeschooling his own children has given him a deeper understanding and respect for what teachers do daily.

Moving to remote instruction immediately: Where to get started — from thejournal.com by Dian Schaffhauser
To help schools make the transition as quickly and comprehensively as possible, THE Journal reached out to education technology experts across the country to answer the questions we believe nearly every educator is rushing to answer right now.

Learning ecosystems across the globe are going through massive changes! [Christian]

On 03/25/2020, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, Asia, Australia, business side of he, Canada, change, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, Content aggregration, content development, content repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, Europe, face-to-face, faculty, flipping -- inverted learning, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, India, instructional design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, Law Schools, learning, learning ecosystem, learning from the living [class] room, learning spaces, Michigan, Mobile learning, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, parents, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, Smart/Connected TV, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, Technologies for your home, telecommunications, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, UK, United States, universities, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, virtual reality / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision, Walmart of Education --> New Amazon.com of Higher Education, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Due to the impacts of the Coronavirus, learning ecosystems across the globe are going through massive changes!

Each of us has our own learning ecosystem, and the organizations that we work for have their own learning ecosystems as well. Numerous teachers, professors, and trainers around the world are now teaching online. Their toolboxes are expanding with the addition of several new tools and some new knowledge. I believe that will be one of the silver linings from the very tough situations/times that we find ourselves in.

Expanding our teaching toolboxes

At the WMU-Cooley Law School, our learning ecosystem is also fluid and continues to morph. This blog posting speaks to those changes.

Learning from the Living [Class] Room: Due to the impacts from the Coronavirus, this is happening today across many countries. But this vision is just beginning to develop. We haven’t seen anything yet.

From DSC:
Below are some resources for teaching at home. And some of this (much of this?) is not typical homeschooling, just as much of what’s being done out there isn’t necessarily typical online-based learning. And some out there may not like such lists, and would prefer a detailed report on just one tool. But this last week was incredibly busy — and time is not a luxury I have right now. And these resources might provide someone out there with just the right tool or pedagogy that they’ve been looking for.

Also, I might suggest:

Creating a Google alert (google.com/alerts) on HSLDA, on homeschooling, on homeschoolers, and/or on related searches.
Create a Keyword Alert on an RSS aggregator such as Feedly
Follow relevant hashtags on Twitter such as #homeschooling

Some analog ideas:

Reading a book together
Watching a play, drama, or another type of program together
Taking a walk out in nature together
Gather together as a family and/or lingering over breakfast or dinner
Drawing
Painting
Taking pictures

And now is a great time to see what your child or children WANT TO LEARN ABOUT! Turn over the control to them for a while — and watch what happens when intrinsic motivation takes hold!

Not a teacher but find yourself homeschooling? These educational apps are free — from parade.com by Stephanie Osmanski

This posting covers 25 Free Learning Apps

We are all homeschoolers now (podcast) — from cato.org featuring Kerry McDonald and Caleb Brown
Thanks to COVID-19, many parents find themselves with kids at home all day. What’s the best way to keep them engaged in their educations? Kerry McDonald, author of Unschooled, comments.

Getting Smart’s Getting Through

Free, Online Learning Resources When Coronavirus Closes Schools — from cato.org by Kerry McDonald

Homeschooling Mother and Author: 6 Ideas For Parents While Schools Are Closed — from fee.org by Kerry McDonald
Amid the Covid-19 lockdown, there are steps parents can take to make time at home with their children more rewarding and tolerable.

Apps for Special Needs Students—As School Buildings Shutter — from edutopia.org by Janey Clare
The coronavirus creates a unique challenge for special needs students—educators share recommendations for apps to support learning at home.

How to Support Home Learning in Elementary Grades — from edutopia.org by John Thomas
A first and second grade teacher shares his home learning plan for his students and how he is engaging their families.

6 Lessons Learned About Remote Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak — from blogs.edweek.org by Mark Lieberman

Coursera, EdX offer free access to courses for universities impacted by Coronavirus [Kelly]

On 03/19/2020, in colleges, community colleges, health, K-12 related, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, online media, open courseware and systems, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Coursera, EdX offer free access to courses for universities impacted by Coronavirus
— from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly
With universities all over the world looking to quickly move face-to-face classes online, massive open online course companies Coursera and edX have stepped in to offer access to their vast portfolios of course content.

Excerpt:

Coursera announced today it will provide the Coursera for Campus platform free to higher education institutions impacted by coronavirus. “Universities can sign up to provide their enrolled students with access to more than 3,800 courses and 400 specializations from Coursera’s top university and industry partners,” explained Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda, in a blog post. The access will last through the end of July….

Also see:

Updated list of statewide school closures with closure dates — from thejournal.com by David Nagel
Getting Smart has launched the Getting Through series to support educators, leaders and families on the path forward during such an uncertain time.
Excerpt:
Getting Smart has launched the Getting Through series to support educators, leaders and families on the path forward during such an uncertain time. This series will provide resources and inspiration as we face long term school closures, new learning environments, and address equity and access from a new lens. Whether you are just getting started with distance or online learning, or you’ve had plans in place and have the opportunity to share your work and guidance with others, there is a place for your voice and an opportunity to learn.

My wife sent me this video from John Bennett, a math teacher. This was posted to YouTube back on 11/8/11.

In fact, if it were up to me, I’d would no longer require math to be taught…in middle school and high school.

NOTES:

300 million people in the U.S. (as John mentioned back in October 2011)
- 1.5 million engineers
- 1/2 of a percent; and you can add another 1/2 of a percent for other kinds of jobs that require that kind of math
- That leaves 99% of us in the United States who don’t use what we learned about in middle school and high school math classes. But the problem is, math has caused major stress for people in the last 40 years.
John Bennett had some major cognitive dissonance to the reasons WHY he was suggesting his students know the math concepts that he was trying to relay.
He came to ask, “When do most of us use math in real life?”
- Money. Financial stuff. Balancing checkbook. Tipping. Cooking and carpentry.
Why are we still teaching algebra? Because it teaches us about inductive and deductive reasoning. Math helps us develop that kind of reasoning.
So a better plan would be to:
- Let people who want to take math in middle school and high school take it.
- For the rest of the students, provide strategy games and logic puzzles that help develop those cognitive reasoning skills.

From DSC:
When this math teacher meets people out in society, people confess how much stress math brought to them in school….and they’re aren’t joking.

Given that we are all required to be lifelong learners these days, I love what John Bennett is saying here…because we really aren’t serving society at large by requiring math be taught in middle school and high school.

It causes stress and very negative learning experiences for many people.
We don’t use it. (By the way, I could plug and chug ok, but I had no idea what I was doing. No real understanding. I haven’t used algebra and/or calculus since my youth.)

What does it take to change our curricula like that?! Is it possible? I sure hope so.

DC: Some potential ideas for sharing your students' artwork:

Consider setting up a free blog at https://t.co/vDKpVl1iWv

Canvas gives out free accounts/classes; see https://t.co/BJEiuC2KCn

Google Classroomhttps://t.co/JSQqqxhUhd https://t.co/DTXmkDPs6k

— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) March 18, 2020

Coronavirus has led to a rush of online teaching. Here’s some advice for newly remote instructors — from edsurge.com by Jeff Young & Bonni Stachowiak

Excerpt:

The simplest way to go online is to shift to a video conference platform
Stachowiak says that just lecturing to a webcam instead of an in-person class isn’t the best way to teach online, but it is the easiest way to switch. Under the circumstances, it is better than nothing. “I’d rather that you do that for your students, for yourself than to cancel all the classes,” she argues.

Think shorter
If it’s hard to hold students’ attention in person, it’s even harder online, says Stachowiak: “You’ll want to think about shortening that experience. The online environment tends to have shorter, more-compact opportunities and then other things to do that are more engaging than just sitting and listening.”

Categories

Tags

Looking for something?

Visit our friends!

Archives