T&L Mid-COVID-19

A visualisation of alternatives to video conferencing by dstanford considering bandwith and immediacy

This may not be the new normal yet but it definitely is the 'now' normal. Teachers are looking for ways to ensure teaching and learning (T&L) still goes on and that students continue to have access to education even if they are not physically in school. It is nice to know that the various stakeholders in the education industry are helping one another get through this trying times.

For a start, Google sent us Google Innovators the following:

• Teach From Home: You likely have so much information and change being thrown at you, and it probably feels pretty overwhelming. This transition is all the more daunting for teachers who aren’t yet comfortable using technology, let alone our tools, so we want to make it easier to get started. We’ve developed g.co/teachfromhome to help with that. It’s a new hub of information and tools for teachers during this crisis. 
• COVID-19 Resource Page: Our g.co/edu/covid19 page, which we’ve shared with you already, will continue to provide a place for more advanced training materials, blog posts, videos, and other resources to engage students through distance learning.  
• Partners: We have launched a dedicated page on the Chromebook App Hub that showcases remote learning offerings from our Google for Education partners.
• Hangout Meet Features: Finally, we announced new educator control features coming to Hangouts Meet to curb potential misuse. Now, only meeting creators and calendar owners can mute or remove other participants in a meeting. This means that if a teacher creates the meeting or owns the calendar the meeting was created on, students can't remove or mute other students. We’re also adding more controls for certain types of meetings so that students can't rejoin them once the teacher has left nicknamed meetings for education users.

Google tools on the high bandwidth spectrum 

Google tools on the high immediacy spectrum

There's more in the website on Google tools that answer the following questions: 

1. How do I make lessons accessible to all?
2. How do I keep students engaged?
3. How do I keep in touch with other teachers?

Note:  Google extended Hangouts Meet premium features to all G Suite customers through July 1, 2020 to support employees, educators, and students as they move to work and learn remotely.

Besides that, in the Google Innovator group, someone shared about a support team for educators worldwide connected using Google Hangouts. They call the idea 'Ready Learner One' (a wordplay of the movie Ready Player One) and you can access it through bit.ly/rl1support.

"In response to the current crisis, the Ready Learner One team is offering complimentary instructional support for any educator who has a need. Through a calendar appointment system, spanning the next four weeks, educators can book a window of time to connect with a member of the Ready Learner One team. While we may not have all of the answers, our mission is for every educator to know they are not alone and feel supported. Visit bit.ly/rl1support to choose a time and a focus and we will do our best to provide you with what you need. "

– Dr. Micah Shippee, CEO at Ready Learner One

Beyond Google however, educators are sharing tools and resources with each other and online tools like Kahoot, Nearpod, Quill, Pear Deck, Edpuzzle, Deck.Toys and other websites are offering free temporary upgrades (sometimes only after you fill up a request form) to the account meaning premium features for 90 days or until at least the school term in America ends in July 2020. Sites like https://capitalizemytitle.com/free-resources-for-online-learning/ , https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html, and https://www.techlearning.com/resources/free-online-learning-resources-for-schools-affected-by-coronaviruscovid-19 consolidate a list of online tools that will come in handy while the pandemic thrives and the virus still lurks. BONUS: http://www.amazingeducationalresources.com/

Over here at my workplace, many are already telecommuting with the split team operations being applied. I was in a mixed (partly physical and partly digital) meeting yesterday and I must say that it went pretty badly despite the 'hands-up' function afforded by Zoom. I am personally going on a Skype call later to discuss how a dialogue session could be hosted online using Youtube/FB Live (or other livestreaming services) or through a LMS (SLS) lesson package with an embedded zoom link (Zoom also gives free upgrade to educators in light of the covid situation. I am still exploring and experimenting the different features and affordances of the different tools and would appreciate any comments with ideas on how to host a dialogue session online. Cheers!

PS: Any educators want to volunteer to remote teach international students (online) could sign up here.