Friday’s Resources To Help Teachers Cope With The School Closure Crisis | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Friday’s Resources To Help Teachers Cope With The School Closure Crisis | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Friday’s Resources To Help Teachers Cope With The School Closure Crisis

Ed Tech Digest

by Larry Ferlazzo / 40min

Eight years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this

Friday’s Resources To Help Teachers Cope With The School Closure Crisis

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h

Markus Winkler Here are new additions to either The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions ! or The “Best Of The Best” Resources To Support Teachers Dealing With School Closures: The Monterey Bay Aquarium has some pretty interesting self-guided courses for students . RESOURCES FOR CONTINUITY OF LEARNING looks like a nice colle

Martin Luther King, Jr. Gave His “Mountaintop” Speech 52 Years Ago Today – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h

WikiImages / Pixabay Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “Mountaintop” speech fifty-two years ago today, one day before he was assassinated. I’ve brought together some resources about that speech in this post. You might also be interested in: The Best Websites For Learning About Martin Luther King, Jr The Best Sites For Learning About The Martin Luther King Memorial The Best Resources To Reme

YESTERDAY

Video: “Trump’s ‘Chinese Virus’ Rhetoric Part Of A Long U.S. Tradition Of Scapegoating”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Allie Smith I’m adding this new NBC News video to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS:

Video: “How Are Schools Dealing With The Digital Divide?”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 18h

SchoolPRPro / Pixabay I thought that this new video from Newsy gave a pretty good overview of the problem:

Today Is International Fact-Checking Day – Here Are A Ton of Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 21h

geralt / Pixabay Today is the fourth annual International Fact-Checking Day . You might be interested in The Best Tools & Lessons For Teaching Information Literacy – Help Me Find More .

Statistic Of The Day: Nobody Is Going To School

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

It’s crazy out there. 9 Out Of 10 Children Are Out Of School Worldwide. What Now? is a new piece at NPR that puts it all in good context, along with discussing its future implications….

The Best Sites Where You Can Find Cool Things That Happened On Your Birthday

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

cbaquiran / Pixabay I have several students who have had birthdays this week or having ones coming up, and I know they re less-than-thrilled with being at home. I’ve encouraged them to try video conference parties, but they’re not yet comfortable with using this kind of tech. I did send them some of the tools on this list and that at least said they enjoyed them. Of course, they might also have b

Ten Million People Applied For Unemployment In Two Weeks – We Better Keep That In Mind When We’re Teaching

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

In addition to the technical and pedagogical challenges of teaching online, we teachers MUST be VERY sensitive to the impact of financial stress on our students’ lives https://t.co/7laopkVa4D — Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) April 2, 2020 Our economy is in “free fall,” and we teachers have to bear this in mind when we’re leading distance learning over the next few months – as well as remembering

“Author Interview: ‘Cultural Competence Now'”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Author Interview: ‘Cultural Competence Now’ is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Vernita Mayfield agreed to answer a few questions about her book, “Cultural Competence Now: 56 Exercises to Help 

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

Advice to Parents: Forget the Worksheets! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Advice to Parents: Forget the Worksheets! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Advice to Parents: Forget the Worksheets!

Joel Westheimer has advice for parents who are at home organizing their children’s days.

FORGET THE WORKSHEETS AND TRYING TO REPLICATE SCHOOL

I am really struck by the variety of media inquiries I’ve been getting about the impacts of Covid-19 on education, what parents should be doing at home, and so on. The interest doesn’t surprise me (I am an education columnist on public radio), but the preoccupation with whether kids will “fall behind” or with how they will “catch up” has. I see hundreds of stories, websites, and YouTube videos that aim to help parents create miniature classrooms at home. Maybe some parents have folding chairs they can bring up from the basement and put in rows. Where’s that big blackboard we used to have? Is there a run on chalk at Costco?

Stop worrying about the vague and evidence-less idea of children “falling behind” or “catching up.” This is a world-wide pause in life-as-usual. We’ve spent the last 25 years over-scheduling kids, over-testing kids, putting undue pressure on them to achieve more and more and play less and less. The result? Several generations of children and young adults who are stressed-out, medicated, alienated, and depressed.

This is not a time for worksheets. This is an opportunity CONTINUE READING: Advice to Parents: Forget the Worksheets! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ed Notes Online: Another Teacher Dies of Corona Virus -- A disturbing timeline and possible coverup

Ed Notes Online: Another Teacher Dies of Corona Virus -- A disturbing timeline and possible coverup

Another Teacher Dies of Corona Virus -- A disturbing timeline and possible coverup

Unlike other city agencies, including the police department, the education department has declined to say how many of its employees have died due to the coronavirus or are infected. A principal, paraprofessional, and school safety agent are among those whose deaths have been publicly reported.

Asked Wednesday about why the education department has not confirmed infection or fatality rates, schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said: “You have to keep in mind that the police and fire department are out right now serving the public.” ..... Chalbeat

And teachers aren’t?.... Leonie Haimson

“there is no mechanism” for the department to track how many teachers have tested positive.... Chalkbeat

WTF - they track everything else - too busy with the usual DOE bullshit that doesn't seem to change no matter who is in charge. Here's another beauty:

.... some educators have criticized the department for its shift in policy to no longer confirm coronavirus infections, leaving it to educators to inform each other if they are concerned the infection is spreading within their school community. 

Department officials have countered that because the coronavirus is widespread in New York City, educators were not at greater risk when reporting to school than they were elsewhere in the community.

Double wtf.

I posted the Sue Edelman piece on coverups at the DOE over teachers who were testing positive: Carranzavirus: Sue Edelman, NY Post: DOE, DeB Blood on hands.

Chalkbeat also did a piece on the Brooklyn Tech story on March 19, the last day they had to report as the teacher  CONTINUE READING: Ed Notes Online: Another Teacher Dies of Corona Virus -- A disturbing timeline and possible coverup

CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Path Opens To Killing Public Schools

CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Path Opens To Killing Public Schools

FL: Path Opens To Killing Public Schools

If there was a state most likely to grab the coronaviral opportunity to gut its public school system, it would have to be Florida, some those ducks appear to be lining up.

Florida Virtual School (FLVS) has had its share of rough times. Started by the state in the 90s, spun into a private business (a "publicly-funded non-profit," so a charter school), and then mired in a mess of incompetence and corruption, the entire shooting match had its board replaced by the state, which installed a bunch of politically connected board members, and a half-assed audit was ordered up. Now the Board of Trustees is the Sate Board of Education, headed by evolution-denier Andy Tuck. That was just last year, but apparently everyone is feeling much more confident about FLVS no because, as trumpeted by reformster cheerleading site redefinED, FLVS is "preparing to blast off."

By "blast off" they mean "get a huge infusion of money." FLVS has already been handed some great help from the state legislature, which mandates that all Florida students must take at least one on-line course in order to graduate. That's a great deal for FLVS, which is paid by taxpayers based on CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Path Opens To Killing Public Schools

Teacher Tom: "Their Language Will Always be Adequate for Their Own Understanding"

Teacher Tom: "Their Language Will Always be Adequate for Their Own Understanding"

"Their Language Will Always be Adequate for Their Own Understanding"

We were on the playground, down on our knees in the wood chips, playing with rocks, sticks, general debris, and a variety of broken or otherwise orphaned toys. Sylvia suggested, "Let's play a story."

We all knew exactly what she was talking about even though none of us had heard that particular phrase before. It delighted me, striking me as a uniquely inventive way of expressing herself. It was an invitation to join her in an idea, and not just any idea, but an idea to work together to create more ideas. Her phrase opened a door of understanding for me, giving me insight into something I thought I previously fully understood. I was so impressed that I've since made the expression my own, "Let's play a story," continuing to use it to this day.

"(T)here is no reason to give children "language tools" in order to facilitate clear thinking, intelligence, or greater knowledge. Their own use of language will always be adequate for their own understanding."  ~Eleanor Duckworth

Sonya definitely understood what she was proposing and her language was obviously equal to her understanding. She was an avid player of pretend and her understanding of it, judging from her use of words to talk about it, told me that she really CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: "Their Language Will Always be Adequate for Their Own Understanding"

Federal Coronavirus Relief Act Will Provide Urgently Needed Money for Public Schools, But Not Nearly Enough | janresseger

Federal Coronavirus Relief Act Will Provide Urgently Needed Money for Public Schools, But Not Nearly Enough | janresseger

Federal Coronavirus Relief Act Will Provide Urgently Needed Money for Public Schools, But Not Nearly Enough

Education Week‘s Andrew Ujifusa contrasts the public education support in the new federal coronavirus stimulus passed this week by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump to the 2009 federal stimulus passed during the Obama administration to address the Great Recession: “Remember the last time we had a big federal stimulus for education? The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ended up being a lot smaller than the coronavirus aid package President Donald Trump signed last week, but it included much more money for education in coping with the impact of the Great Recession. And it also teed up President Barack Obama’s education agenda for his two terms… The majority of the 2009 stabilization cash—$48.6 billion—went out to states by formula for early learning, K-12, and postsecondary education. The remaining money? It was earmarked for Race to the Top and the Investing in What Works and Innovation programs.” (Emphasis is mine.)

Let’s pause for a moment and express gratitude that this week the Trump administration has not earmarked any of what will be desperately needed education relief funding to force states to qualify to participate in a competitive grantmaking process like Race to the Top.  Remember when, just to qualify for money from that particular federal stimulus program, states were forced to grade their teachers according to their students’ test scores and spend the money on rapid school turnaround plans like firing principals and teachers, charterizing schools, and closing schools. In this very significant way, we are all much better off.

But, according to experts, we are also worse off in 2020 than in 2009.  Why?  So far, at least, there is a whole lot less federal money available to meet the challenges public schools will need to address in the current emergency and as they try to get back up and running in the context of what is likely to be a state fiscal crisis. All the things states tax in order to generate the revenue to operate public services are now losing money. Sadly many businesses are closing and many people are losing their jobs. State budgets are likely to be much reduced in the immediate future.

The Education Law Center’s David Sciarra, Jessica Levin, and Wendy Lecker provide the CONTINUE READING: Federal Coronavirus Relief Act Will Provide Urgently Needed Money for Public Schools, But Not Nearly Enough | janresseger

NYC Educator: Better Than Nothing

NYC Educator: Better Than Nothing

Better Than Nothing

 I've never done online instruction before. I've been trying different things almost every day, kind of throwing darts to see what sticks.

The lesson I spent the most time on was a song called Morning Has Broken. I really love that song. My goal was to get students to love it too. The first time I taught it, it fell flat. The vocabulary was a little rugged for my newcomers.

But I got a chance to do it again. The second time, I reviewed the vocabulary a second time and spent more time on it. It wasn't the best lesson I'd ever delivered, but my students were a little more engaged. Maybe I leaned on the more eager participants a little too much, in an effort to not bomb twice in a row.

 This week I'm moving back toward things I'd use in my physical classroom, and by next week I'll be giving more at-home assignments. I'll try not to give them more than 15 minutes worth per class. I hear they are overworked.

When I'm in a classroom, I'm always looking around to see who's listening and who's lost in space. If a students head goes down, my voice might get remarkably loud as I'm CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Better Than Nothing

Several Colleges Waive ACT/SAT, Other Admission Requirements, Due to Coronavirus | deutsch29

Several Colleges Waive ACT/SAT, Other Admission Requirements, Due to Coronavirus | deutsch29

Several Colleges Waive ACT/SAT, Other Admission Requirements, Due to Coronavirus

For high school seniors unable to take the ACT and SAT, a number of colleges and universities are waiving testing and other requirements as part of admission for fall 2020 and possibly beyond.

From the March 30, 2020, Inside Higher Ed:

Colleges are dropping the SAT or ACT for admissions, they are waiving fees and they are extending deadlines. These are some of the ways admissions officials are responding to the coronavirus — and they’re just getting started in what is likely to be an unprecedented and potentially difficult spring.

At least 17 colleges have dropped the SAT or ACT in recent weeks for one or two admissions cycles, specifically citing the impact of COVID-19.

Boston University announced that it will go test optional for those applying in the fall of 2021 or the spring of 2022, but only those two semesters. …

Tufts University announced a three-year experiment with going test optional. …

In Oregon, the University of Oregon and Oregon State University announced that they would no longer require the SAT or the ACT, permanently. …

The approach of combining concern over COVID-19 and equity concerns generally is prompting many colleges to act.

Among them is Drury University….

Scripps College announced a similar change and said that the policy “will CONTINUE READING: Several Colleges Waive ACT/SAT, Other Admission Requirements, Due to Coronavirus | deutsch29

CURMUDGUCATION: Of Pandemics And Teacher Motivation

CURMUDGUCATION: Of Pandemics And Teacher Motivation

Of Pandemics And Teacher Motivation

Remember that time that schools were shut down because of a pandemic, and all the teachers said, "Yippee! Extra vacation! I am out of here" and all jumped in their Porches and drove to their beach homes?

Yeah, neither do I.

Here's what I'll remember. Teacher after teacher, from the ones in my Twitter feeds to the ones in my email to the ones that I know personally, sharing how miserable and worried they are, how they can't sleep for worrying about their students. Teacher after teacher frustrated about a lack of clear direction and leadership-- can we work? how can we work? what resources are we going to be given, or do we just have to hunt down the right tech ourselves?

And the scrambling. I'll never forget that when our governor finally closed schools, he announced it after 3:00 on a Friday afternoon, leaving many teachers no time to say "see you soon" to students or to grab materials from their rooms (this morning, my wife was finally allowed back into her classroom for twenty minutes, to grab whatever she could). The scrambling mixed in with the waiting for communication from bosses, political leaders, or a chance to connect with colleagues.

The scrambling was everywhere, with some teachers expected to convert to some sort of crisis schooling model in twenty-four hours. The varied and bizarre obstacles (like these teachers who work where wi-fi and cellphones are illegal).

Plus the pitching in. A thousand little stories, like the teachers who helped out medical workers with CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Of Pandemics And Teacher Motivation

Please take action NOW on the state budget & cancelling Regents exams! | Class Size Matters

Please take action NOW on the state budget & cancelling Regents exams! | Class Size Matters 

Please take action NOW on the state budget & cancelling Regents exams!  

Dear Friends,

1 -Sadly, it looks like the state budget that was just voted on by the NY Senate will freeze education funding for next year, which given increased costs will be experienced in many schools and districts like a cut. Please call your Assemblymembers now and ask them to vote no on the education budget, and to raise revenue instead by boosting taxes on ultra-millionaires. You can find their phone numbers by filling your address in here. But do this ASAP as they’re due to vote today.

2- Please also send a letter to the State Education Commissioner and the Board of Regents, demanding that they cancel the Regents exams immediately. It is simply unfair to require students to pass a series of high-stakes exams to graduate from high school given that their education has been hugely disrupted by the school shutdowns and the coronavirus pandemic. You can send them a letter by clicking here.

3- I interviewed Randi Weingarten yesterday on my WBAI radio show “Talk out of School” where we discussed the Governor’s order that schools cancel spring break, on the need to eliminate the Regents exams this year, about the threat to schools of looming budget cuts and to privacy by the rapid adoption of ed tech programs, and about Randi’s proposal that students should be assigned a capstone project of their own choosing this year instead of trying to complete the standard curriculum. You can listen to our conversation here.

Hope you’re all staying healthy and safe, Leonie

Please take action NOW on the state budget & cancelling Regents exams! | Class Size Matters