By Robert Sanders, Berkeley News
When the growing coronavirus pandemic compelled campus officials to halt all lectures and most in-person classes as of March 10, most faculty and lecturers were caught off guard. Most had to scramble to learn how to deliver lectures via Zoom or through b-Courses or other teleconferencing services and to pick up tricks from colleagues about how to be remotely engaging. Hands-on classes, such as labs, physical education and performance classes, seem spared. But then, on Friday, March 13, the campus canceled all in-person classes too, throwing a wrench into the interactive training critical in many fields. How do you teach dance or theater, how to craft a vase on a potter’s wheel, run a gel, titrate an acid or use a micropipette without in-class practice and coaching?
April 3, 2020
Coronavirus forces hands-on learning to go online and hands-off
CHLOE Report Advice for Online Learning: Focus on Completing Course Reqs
Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
This year’s report on The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) comes as nearly every college and university in the land is taking its courses online in response to COVID-19. In an 11th-hour addition to the report, CHLOE researchers suggested that the immediate goal for any institution right now should be to have faculty communicate with students on completing the tasks and assignments they need to satisfy course requirements.
Juliette Levy, who has taught online for almost a decade, has some advice for professors and students
TESS EYRICH, UC Riverside
What do you think this moment in time is revealing about the current state of online education in the U.S.? Most research campuses have been slowing trying to educate faculty about online tools and online instruction, but this is an entirely different medium — faculty have to change both how they teach and how they assess. What’s obvious now is that there’s an enormous lag between training people and having enough people ready to do this kind of instruction.
https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2020/03/21/professor-shares-tips-surviving-pandemic-university
Share on FacebookVPNs Are a Valuable Tool in COVID-19 Times
Chandra Steele, PC Magazine
VPNs are a major piece of internet infrastructure holding together the work-from-home workforce right now and providing a way for people to get vital news in countries with censorship. VPNs encrypt web traffic, keeping data safe and protecting privacy. You may have a corporate VPN that you connect to for work, or you can elect to use one for yourself. During the last two weeks of the COVID-19 crisis, VPN usage in the United States has gone up 124 percent. In that same period in Italy, it has gone up 160 percent, according to Atlas VPN. In these countries where social distancing is a necessity, VPNS provide a way to make online behavior safer, whether you’re working remotely or streaming hours of video.
April 2, 2020
Free and Discounted Ed Tech Tools for Online Learning During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
As more and more colleges and universities are shutting down their campuses over the next several weeks in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, education technology companies have stepped forward to help move student learning to the virtual realm. Some companies are making their paid services free through the rest of the school year; others are lifting limits to services and/or adding premium features to what’s free. The following list will be updated regularly as announcements are made.
Joint Response Regarding COVID-19 and Advice on Transitioning Face-to-Face Courses Online
National Council for Online Education
Over the next several weeks, we anticipate there will be increased conversations about the effectiveness of online education, the role online education can and should play in continuity planning, how to effectively transition face-to-face courses online during a crisis, and how to best support both faculty and learners who might unexpectedly need to navigate online learning spaces. These are all critical conversations that the four organizations are working to address, both independently with their members as well as collaboratively for higher education. We will shortly be releasing plans for joint research, writing, and sharing of information about online education during the upcoming year.
Share on FacebookWhat’s Next: How long will colleges have flexibility to offer online classes due to coronavirus?
Hallie Busta, Education Dive
“Institutions are making some very rapid changes right now and all of those changes are happening under flexibility that is temporary,” said Clare McCann, deputy director for federal higher ed policy at New America. While colleges may be in emergency mode, she added, “we need to be thinking further down the line.” Colleges would be smart to document those changes, she said, adding that the U.S. Department of Education should require schools to report what they’re doing. Accreditors are also in a position to ask colleges to show their work, she noted, though their guidance has ranged widely.
Share on FacebookApril 1, 2020
Planning for Mode of Course Delivery in Summer and Fall
Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed
As many of us are still grappling with the daily details of remote delivery of campus classes, we must turn our eyes to the summer and fall. Many of us have been working day and night to launch our campuswide remote learning response to the virus. Exhausting as that is, we should carve out some time to look ahead. Will this continue through the summer? Will it spill over into the fall? How will we respond? How should we plan?
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‘This is online education’s moment’ as colleges close during coronavirus pandemic
Emily Bary, Marketwatch
As colleges move to hold remote classes amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Zoom Video Communications Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. are among tech companies offering deals to attract institutions looking to offer online lessons. “This is online education’s moment” to prove a positive experience in front of a big audience, Chief Executive Chip Paucek told MarketWatch. The leader of the online-education company expects that after schools are introduced to new online tools due to the outbreak, they’ll be more inclined to opt for “blended” educational experiences that mix in-person classes with online tie-ins after the situation improves.
Don’t Get Scammed: 5 Security Tips for Work-From-Home Professionals
Ben Dickson, PC Week
But while working from home will reduce your chances of contracting (or spreading) coronavirus, it will expose you to new risks. Your company network usually has plenty of safeguards that provide a measure of protection against hackers and scammers. When you’re at home, you’re less protected against these threats. The first thing you should know is that you’ve just become a more valuable target. Hackers now have a bigger incentive to go after those working at home, because if successful, they’ll have access to valuable company data and resources.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/dont-get-scammed-5-security-tips-for-work-from-home-professionals
Share on FacebookCOVID-19 Isn’t Crashing the Internet … Yet
Sascha Segan, PC Week
Ookla analyzed internet performance data in China, Italy, and the US over the past several weeks. In Hubei, China, the population was locked down on Jan. 22-23, but internet speeds began to decline the week of Jan. 13. In Italy, lockdowns started on March 9, and Ookla saw notable speed declines in both the province of Lombardy and in Italy as a whole that week.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/covid-19-isnt-crashing-the-internet-yet
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