Ed Tech News Roundup: Taking It Online

Howdy, folks! Welcome to another in a series of periodic ed tech news roundups. We hope you enjoy this one, and if you have a story you’d like to see included, let us know.

New Tools for Online Schools

New digital tools are emerging, and some existing tools are expanding (or going free), as part of the global response to COVID-19. Here are a few ways the landscape of online learning is changing and growing.

• Google and Google-owned YouTube have launched new pages focused on online learning. Google’s Teach From Home page includes creative uses of G Suite products, while YouTube’s Learn@Home page organizes a variety of educational videos by age and grade level. [The Verge]
• Houston ISD has launched its own online learning portal for students, educators, and parents called HISD @ H.O.M.E. [Houston Chronicle]
• In an interview with Forbes, Dr. Becky Takeda-Tinker, president of Colorado State University – Global Campus, talks about lessons taken from online learning thus far, and what can be done during periods of increased online learning. [Forbes]

Accessibility Online

In the midst of massive new experimentation with online learning, meeting the needs of all students is a crucial function of educators and parents.

• Former educator, academic, and policy expert Laura McKenna explores how to help students with disabilities when learning and teaching from home. [USA Today]
• The U.S. Department of Education has released a fact sheet outlining resources for educating students with disabilities while teaching remotely. [Department of Education]
• The Department of Education Office of Civil Rights has also released a webinar and related fact sheet for ensuring web accessibility for students with disabilities. [Department of Education]

Getting Physical

One crucial part of schooling that we don’t often hear about when it comes to ed tech? Physical education. Now, schools are looking for innovative ways to keep students healthy and active, even at a distance.

• After the closure of schools nationwide, the U.K. found a way to host a live PE class for students across Great Britain and beyond. [Reuters]
• China has worked to accommodate online learning for a variety of usually in-person subjects, like art, music, and PE. [EdSurge]
• Looking for virtual physical education inspiration? Check out how a school in Hong Kong hosted an online field day. [Quartz]