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Texas Resources for the 2020-21 School Year

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, state and national education agencies and organizations have worked to coordinate, provide models, and create plans for the uncertain 2020-21 school year. In Texas, home of TCEA, the state education agency is updating two programs meant to provide support to districts as the school year approaches.

Within the Texas Education Agency‘s (TEA) focus on instructional continuity, it has developed a partnership with PBS, as well as a general instructional continuity framework. In addition, two recently updated tools are available to help schools get the new year off to a good start.

Strong Start 2020

TEA’s Strong Start initiative provides planning tools and example plans, sample school models, and implementation supports, which include webinar and training offerings. Sample school models include detailed options for fully on-campus, fully online, and hybrid instruction models.

texas education agency
Some of the options listed on TEA’s Strong Start page

The Strong Start portal includes downloadable resources and tools directly from TEA, but also links to decision-making tools, plans, and guides from organizations and educational institutions from across the country.

Texas Home Learning

Another TEA project, Texas Home Learning, is being updated for the coming year. Entering its third phase, the program is designed to provide contingency at-home learning resources for Texas schools and districts.

The third phase of the project is designed for the 2020-21 school year, while phases one and two from this spring and summer, were meant to provide resources in between school years.

texas education agency

Phase three includes standards-aligned curriculum, free access to learning management systems, and more, according to the initiative’s website.

Sharing Useful Tools

What resources, grants, tools, or techniques are you using or hope to use this school year? Let us know in the comments!

Photo by Matese Fields on Unsplash

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school counseling
Educational Trends

How School Counseling Is Changing

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

School counselors are a familiar part of the education ecosystem. Charged with guiding students through school safely and confidently, and with preparing students for a world outside of school, counselors are a vital part of education, as well. 

Faced with an uncertain school year, today counselors are working to carry out their duties amidst massive changes to how education is delivered. Here’s how school counselors across the country are responding.

Defining the Counselor

What does a school counselor do? Their jobs might seem opaque to administrators, tech experts, and educators who don’t interact with counselors as directly as students do.

The American School Counselor Association defines the modern role of counselors this way:

Gone are the days of school counselors sitting in their office simply handing out college applications, making schedule changes for students who want to drop a class, or waiting for a crisis to occur. Today’s school counselors are vital members of the education team. They help all students in the areas of academic achievement, career and social/emotional development, ensuring today’s students become the productive, well-adjusted adults of tomorrow.

American School Counselor Association

With these important responsibilities, counselors are now looking for ways to improve the experience of students who are being educated in unfamiliar ways.

School Counseling and COVID-19

Across the U.S., counselors are developing ways to support students during periods of remote and hybrid learning. In New Hampshire, local schools have focused on social-emotional learning (SEL), especially in the elementary grades. In Arizona — a state with one of the highest counselor-to-student ratios — tech tools are vital, and grants are helping schools hire more counselors. 

Funding for counseling is a major concern, as districts and schools face changing funding sources. In California, educators are pushing for more services for students, but running into budget concerns. 

And while some districts in California are not facing substantial cuts, an uncertain economy makes it difficult for districts to plan ahead. As Troy Flint, spokesman for the California School Boards Association, tells EdSource:

Although the state budget leaves K-12 funding mostly intact, the unstable economy has hindered districts’ ability to plan long-term. About 80-90% of a district’s revenue goes toward personnel costs, including salaries, benefits and pensions, leaving very little budget flexibility, he said.

Carolyn Jones, “Schools want to hire more counselors amid budget woes” EdSource

Supporting Students 

Mental health concerns, the long-term effects of illness, isolation, and sudden change, are paramount problems for counselors. From support groups for immunocompromised people to online “relaxation rooms,” counselors at colleges and schools are looking for ways to connect at a distance. 

And while schools grapple with how to re-open safely, counselors from Alabama to Pennsylvania are working to promote social health as well. 

If we can be the kind of people that lead that within the school environment, what to do, how to respond, how to make these kids feel like they are important, if we can take on that role as a leader and everyone else can emulate that, then I think that’s a good head start for the kids, and that’s a good environment for them to be in.

Counselor Trent Bramberg to ABC News Birmingham

Reallocating resources to counseling and mental health is also a consideration for many districts. In some California districts that have eliminated or cut the budget of district police departments are moving those funds to support student mental health services. UCLA doctoral student Elianny Edwards, who has researched the issue, told EdSurge that “Allocating funding to mental health services is a preventative way to create safer schools, whereas hiring more police is reactive.”

Lasting Effects

The current moment in education is likely to have lasting effects as time progresses. Some see this as a sign that counseling services are more important than ever in education.

In Forbes, education writer Brennan Barnard makes an economic case that an investment in counseling now is a long-term investment in society.

As we rush to bolster our nation’s economy with trillions of dollars, we must be sure not to miss the forest for the trees. There is no question that we need to protect small businesses, workers, and many other vulnerable people and companies at this time of crisis. But we also have to be intentional about long-range planning, and the frontlines of our future are school counselors. As revenue dries up in many states that fund their public schools through tax dollars, we need to find ways to support these institutions amid budget cuts and protect the very individuals we will rely on to guide tomorrow’s leaders and workers.

Brennan Barnard, “Stimulate This: How School Counselors Will Help Save Our Post-Pandemic Future” Forbes 

Even comparatively short-term effects — think four months in lockdown, and the accompanying associated social and economic challenges — are changing the need and urgency for counseling. 

Between closed schools, social isolation, food scarcity and parental unemployment, the coronavirus pandemic has so destabilized kids’ support systems that the result, counselors say, is genuinely traumatic.

Cory Turner, “Closed Schools Are Creating More Trauma For Students” NPR Morning Edition

Luckily, that urgency is being felt, and resources are being compiled for educators and counselors to tackle the difficulties of teaching and learning right now.

Resources

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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Leadership

COVID-19: What Should We Do?

by Michael J. Gras, Guest Author
written by Michael J. Gras, Guest Author

We have quite a bit of information about COVID-19. Some of it is conflicting. Considering the definition of conflicting, we know some of the information must be wrong. 

Will inaction take us to a better place than action? We do expect recommendations from our leaders. But that’s a quick way leaders move responsibility downhill. This article is about my disbelief in a piece of alleged information being shared. Have you read that the few children that do contract COVID-19 are generally asymptomatic and not contagious? We are about to bet more than grandma on that statement. 

A Thought Experiment

Two people jump out of a plane. They’ve done it many times before, but this time is different. This time, one jumper will not pull the ripcord.

In life, we have come to understand that both action and inaction have consequences. Though we may have clearly expected outcomes for our jumpers, both have a chance of living, both a chance to die. We make our decisions based on probability.

In my tiny thought exercise, we have clear expectations as to the results of both decisions. Few of us have made a jump from a plane. Yet, because we do have experience with falls, gravity, lesser impacts, and skydiving fatality reports, we know what should be done in this scenario. We also know what action should not be ignored. There are very few suppositions in the decision as to how our jumpers should behave. The thinking is clear and correct action should be almost automatic.

Getting the Facts

Facts are often blindingly dull, but we do have some worthy of consideration. The age where the percentage of COVID-19 fatalities begins to rapidly increase is around 55. Almost 20% of Texas teachers are at or over that age.

That works out to around 70,000 folks, not counting staff, at higher risk of death. Current recommendations will change, not based on science, but on needs. They are as follows:

  • Stay home as much as possible, especially if you are sick, older, and/or have a medical condition.
  • If you are sick, stay home except to access medical care. If you are able to take care of yourself, stay home. If you need to see your doctor, call ahead.
  • Avoid gatherings of more than 10 people and non-essential trips into public.
  • Cancel events of more than 10 people.
  • Limit close contact (at least six feet) with other people. Employers should allow alternative work options as much as possible.

Watch what is going to happen. Every recommendation will either change or not be required for schools. Acceptance of the risk, to teachers and others, will be demanded by the public. Power of decision, as well as that of responsibility, will be  delegated to individual districts. Money for solutions will be extremely short and almost nonexistent at the district level. Data favorable to district openings will be extracted from the most favorable startups in countries around the world. 

Finding Solutions

Many countries do have earlier openings and there are solutions. Few effective ones are available at a low cost and in time for August. But not to be all gloom and doom, I’ll suggest one example that could greatly reduce the risk to our older instructors.

As the need for blended courses (mostly to reduce the number of students in a building) becomes increasingly clear, it would make sense for more than one teacher to address the work load. Older teachers, or any more susceptible, could be trained in the management of courses in online learning platforms. Those teachers would be in the virtual world and support the efforts of the classroom teachers. 

If the reader is unfamiliar with how this works, check out any of the free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). One can easily see a professor with the help of any number of graduate students effectively educating thousands of students from around the world. Having students in a building, even part time, would increase effectiveness.

Online education can be done well; it’s even better with an occasional non-virtual touch. Hundreds of other learning platforms exist, each serving special needs. It’s not an easy transition or a cheap one. Experience with what passed for online learning here in Texas at year’s end was quite depressing. Online instructors must to learn to work with students, not just work them.

We need to do more thinking through the issues as it is likely that, come August, we’ll be forced to jump out of a plane. Action is required. Did you guess that both of my jumpers survived.? Did you guess why? This time, they made a tandem jump.

Photo by Amy Workman on Unsplash

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ed tech news
Educational Trends

Ed Tech News Roundup: The Semester Ahead

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

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.

Re-opening

The coming fall semester is raising a number of questions for governments, communities, and schools in the U.S. and abroad, including questions about safety — both online and in person.

  • Former Department of Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem writes that much of the struggle around re-opening schools comes from a lack of value placed on education, and that a major social investment is needed. “Even in states where case counts have plunged,” she writes, “doing what’s right for children will require a massive civic mobilization.” [The Atlantic]
  • Higher education offers a microcosm of concerns, as faculty and students are pushing back against some plans to renew in-person instruction this fall. [NPR]
  • According to some experts, the move to remote learning has complicated issues of digital safety in schools that “already had significant cybersecurity shortcomings.” [Wired]

Going Concerns

Meanwhile, businesses are working to respond to the crisis and the changes accompanying it, as responses to remote learning begin to be voiced.

  • COVID-19 presents the “the world’s largest-ever remote learning experiment,” and several new, multi-million dollar ed tech startups are growing to fuel the experiment. [CNBC] 
  • As the ed tech industry grows, and remote learning options are developed and tried, parents are offering some feedback, as are experts ($). [TechCrunch]

Beyond Business

As remote learning continues to affect teaching and learning worldwide, private and public entities are focusing on issues of educational access and inclusion.

  • Chinese tech giant Huawei has launched an initiative in support of the UN’s Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) aimed at addressing “the global challenges impacting education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” [Manila Standard] 
  • A new report from UNESCO, the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report, outlines how remote learning is exacerbating inequities around the world, highlighting “deep disparities in access, with poverty identified as the main barrier, ahead of other factors including background, identity and ability.” [World Economic Forum] 
  • In Austin, AISD’s chief equity officer discusses the district’s push for inclusion and equity in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing movement for racial justice. [KVUE Austin]

…And Finally

In Indiana, an elementary teacher made sure students at her school were safe with a campaign that gave out hundreds of face masks to students as they headed into summer. [RTV6 Indianapolis]

Photo by Derek Story on Unsplash

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ChromebooksCybersecurityGoogle Tips and Tricks

Maintain Teacher Privacy with Google Voice

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

As an educator leading remote learning, you may need to call parents. But sharing your mobile number may cause you concerns. Giving students and parents your personal mobile phone number is unprofessional and you may find yourself

in an uncomfortable situation. After all, what if you are at home relaxing with family and you get a phone call to your smartphone? It will feel like a personal moment, but you have to be ready to put on your professional hat. Avoid that. Get another phone number at no extra cost with Google Voice.

Note: Educators should avoid using Google Voice to contact students. You should adhere to your school district’s or organization’s approved communications tool. For example, that may be Seesaw, Google Classroom, MS Teams, or another learning management system. Use Google Voice for contacts with colleagues, parents, and others from whom you would like to safeguard your personal phone number.

What Is Google Voice?

Google Voice is a free* to start service available to you if you have a personal Gmail account. You can make phone calls via the Voice app on your phone or through your web browser. It’s a boon to teachers who may need to speak to parents during the COVID-19 challenge. It’s also nice to be able to share your Google Voice number with strangers. Only you need know that it’s not your “real” phone number.

*Note: If you decide to use Google Voice, you may have to add credit to it. You can add credit to it as you need it. Since it features a billing history, you can keep a record and share that with your supervisor for reimbursement. Some school districts are offering to provide reimbursement for phone calls since teachers have to call parents. This will vary from district to district, so be sure to get clarification. Privacy has a price. That price in the United States is $0.00 per the Google Voice calling rates.

My Google Voice number is 210-617-3330. I’m comfortable sharing it with you because it’s not my smartphone number. And, if spammers get hold of it, I add them to my blocked list. In fact, I rely on the Should I Answer app on my phone to intercept robocallers.

google voice

Why Sign Up for Google Voice?

A close teacher friend keeps her students’ parents updated all the time via Seesaw but COVID-19 caught her and others off-guard during spring break. But her school district administrators want her to contact parents. Have you ever had to deal with parents or guardians who couldn’t maintain a professional distance? I know I did and I was always grateful that they didn’t have my number.

Worse, if you work with older students, it is inappropriate to share that number.  It opens you up to the charge that you are engaging in private conversations with students. That’s a violation of many responsible use agreements (RUAs/AUPs). How do you solve this problem?

Did You Know?

Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.

Some small school districts who have poor phone systems that fail may want to get an “alternate phone.” The alternate phone (using a personal Gmail account) is one that works even when the district’s phone system goes offline.

The way to solve all these problems is get a Google Voice number based on a personal Gmail account, NOT a G Suite EDU. Follow these steps to get started.

Steps to a Google Voice Number

To get a Google Voice number, login with your personal Gmail account, then go online to the Google Voice website. Be sure to login with your personal Gmail account, NOT your G Suite EDU (school/work) account. If you don’t have your own Gmail account, then you may want to get one first.

google voice

Step 1- Get a Google Voice Account

Go to voice.google.com to get your account. Make sure to use the blue SIGN IN button in the top right and again, be sure to use your personal Gmail account.

Step 2- Select Your Phone Number

Google will provide you a list of available phone numbers in your area. Choose one that you would like to use. Make sure to write it down.

google voice

Once you have selected your phone number, you will VERIFY the number you want to connect it to.

google voice

Step 3- Make Phone Calls via Web Browser

You can begin making calls immediately via your web browser. Once the call connects, you will be able to have conversations via your computer’s mic/headset.

google voice

Note: Phone numbers pixelated to protect privacy.

Step 4- Make Phone Calls via the Voice app on Your Smartphone

Need to make phone calls via your smartphone? You can get the app for free via the Google Play store on your phone or iTunes. It’s easy to install. You will need to verify your phone one more time. When you are ready to make phone calls on the go, start with the Voice app on your smartphone.

Step 5- Customize Settings

One of the neat things about Google Voice is that you can customize the settings. Those settings include DO NOT DISTURB. You can turn on DO NOT DISTURB when you want all calls sent to voicemail, such as after work hours. Another neat feature is being able to record one or more professional greetings. For some, this might be an easy way to share daily announcements. You are also able to screen calls. When you do that, you are able to hear a caller’s name when you pick up.

google voice

If you don’t want to disconnect altogether, you can get your voicemails transcribed. Google will work as your assistant to send transcribed voicemails to your email. There are many other settings. Here are a few I recommend you set under Calls:

  • Turn on “Always use my phone to place calls.” This will ensure any calls you start on your computer end up on your phone. If you need to record calls using Audacity, you may want to leave this off.
  • My Devices. Decide what device you want to answer calls on. To push all calls to the web so that you don’t get bombarded on your smartphone, turn on the web, but leave others off. If you don’t mind calls beings forwarded to your smartphone, turn that on.

Google Voice Makes Calling Parents Easy

As wonderful as your parents in your classroom are, you may not be ready to share your number with all. And, with little ears listening, it’s better to keep your real phone number to yourself. Using Google Voice, you can be fearless about sharing your Google Voice number. And you can feel comfortable reaching out to students and parents.

Need a printable document? Share Hunter McConnell’s handout:

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Educational TrendsGood Teaching

Trello for Teachers

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Online tools can make teaching and learning more efficient and effective — regardless of the circumstances. Today, many teachers are looking for ways to stay organized and communicate efficiently. Trello, the online project management tool, is one way to do that.

A number of free or low-cost project management apps are out there, like Asana or Basecamp. But let’s take a closer look in this post at Trello, a free (with premium plans available), card-based project management tool that you can start using to organize, encourage participation and communication, and even ramp up your students’ project-based learning. And if you’re teaching from home while schools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then Trello is a great solution for you.

Getting to Know Trello

Trello allows users to create boards, like a bulletin board, to organize teams and projects. Each board consists of a number of user-generated columns with cards that can be dragged from column to column, for example, to track student progress. Looking for quick guidance? Trello has a quick user guide for educators.

Then, check out the video below from James Kieft on the basics of Trello for teachers.

Organization and Participation

As a tracking tools, Trello can be a useful way to not only organize tasks — whether for yourself or for students — but also to track participation. Students can move their task “cards” through a project process in a shared board, giving teachers real-time feedback on where students are in the process and access to student work.

Trello allows teams to create and organize to-do lists. The tool is much like a big digital board that anyone can create and pin post-it notes on. The features follow a fairly simple logic:
Each board contains lists, which can be big questions, projects or groups of activities.
Each list is made of cards, which are activities or steps related to the list
Every card can include checklists, due dates, links, media files, and the person responsible for completing the card.
Both lists and cards can be rearranged on the board by simple drag-and-drop.

“No Slacking Off! How Savvy Teachers Are Turning to Trello and Slack” by Tony Wan, Ed Surge

Emma Trentman, an Arabic professor at the University of New Mexico, uses Trello to organize her classes weekly. Her website includes a template board, a great place to get started. In a detailed post on her blog, she explains how she uses Trello for many aspects of organization, including keeping track of “little details,” tracking beginning and end-of-semester events, scheduling time for grading and assignment preparation, and coordinating with her fellow educators.

For me, the primary benefit is freeing up mental energy to spend my teaching time on more creative things, like designing lesson plans or implementing genre-based approaches or translanguaging pedagogy.  It also lets me prioritize research (necessary in a tenure-track position) by letting me know that if I get behind on the details, it’s easy to be reminded of what I missed. 

“Using Trello to Organize Teaching” by Emma Trentman

Alison Ryan, a K-2 reading consultant, outlines ways to save time in the classroom on her blog, Learning at the Primary Pond. Her focus is on recording anecdotal data on student participation to help future planning, tracking regular prep work, and even organizing student assessment information.

Lesson planning is another crucial aspect of teaching that Trello can help with. The Australian website Fizzics Education lists five different ways of deploying the app for organizing and planning.

This is the kind of app that allows you to keep track of tasks and their due dates, assign these task to students or colleagues and provide resource links to further support material. The best bit is that Trello is collaborative, which means you can invite all of your students onto the platform where they can then see clearly what is needed and learn not only be organised but also learn to work together as a team.

“5 solutions to classroom organisation & lesson planning using Trello” by Ben Newsome, Fizzics Education

Communication

Organizing your students, their work, and even an educator’s lesson planning through Trello can make teaching and learning easier. But there’s more to Trello. Consider using it not only as a communication tool with colleagues and students, as outlined above, but with parents, too.

On her blog, Erin Wing discusses how educators can use Trello to communicate about major school events, share student progress, post homework assignments, even create volunteer sign-ups and more.

On each card, you can add text descriptions, checklists, images, files and more. You can color code each card if you want, and you can assign a due date to each card as well. You can choose to view the cards in list form, or you can see the cards with due dates in a calendar view. It’s a collaboration tool, so you can add other users to view and edit certain boards. But you can also just use it on your own, minus the collaboration.

“Trello for Teachers: A Parent Communication Tool,” by Erin Wing

Project-Based Learning

Trello is, after all, a project management platform, so it’s no surprise that it’s a helpful tool in guiding, observing, and assessing project-based learning. With the ability to track and customize cards, keeping up with large projects is simpler for both teacher and student. Here’s how educators are using Trello for PBL.

Biomedical science educators Michael Burke and Josh Clemmer are teaching an entirely project-based classroom as part of a national initiative called Project Lead The Way. The entire class culminates in one large project at the end of the semester focused on a topic in the biomedical field. …Since the entire class is based completely on projects, some key aspects of the students’ grades are around organizing the project, creating a timeline, and executing on their responsibilities. Given the nature of the project planning needs of the curriculum, Trello felt like a natural fit. Each group of 3-4 students collaborates on their project using a shared Trello board where they can assign tasks, communicate back and forth, and, most importantly, move each task to a “Done” list.

“Trello for Teachers: A Roundup Of Trello Boards For The Classroom” by Lauren Moon, Trello blog

Project-based learning gets a jump start by having accessible ways of tracking like Trello. A number of project-management tools can also be used in a similar way.

When engaging in group work, it is crucial that team members communicate and collaborate with each other. Teachers can more easily track participation across group members when collaboration tools are used to track activity. Use of project management tech tools encourages students to be responsible and timely in their work performance, and prompts each individual to participate equally.

“5 Project Management Tech Tools for Students,” k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com

Conclusion and Best Practices

One of the greatest strengths of a tool like Trello is the ability to customize your boards. So don’t be afraid to experiment. Add-ons like Boosted Boards can help you tag, categorize, and add calendars to your creations. Trello can even integrate with tools like Slack.

Itching to get started? Check out the Online Tools for Teaching and Learning from the University of Massachusetts. It includes an exhaustive review for Trello for education and is a great place to learn the basics, get inspired, and get started.

Are you using a project management tool like Trello in your class? Let us know in the comments!

unsplash-logoPhoto: Christina @ wocintechchat.com
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ChromebooksContent AreasGoogle Tips and TricksMicrosoftOnline Tools and AppsProfessional Learning

Remote Learning Tools for Schools

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Remote learning providers are moving in a fast way to make their services more available in the wake of COVID-19. At the same time, K-16 educators and their organizations are working hard to put in place the ability to offer remote learning. In light of the prompted social distancing, this work is life-saving. Children who may carry the virus can infect vulnerable parents and grandparents. Providing at-home learning opportunities may lessen the exposure for immune-compromised individuals.

In this blog entry, we’ll explore over twenty resource links and solution providers. The goal of sharing these with you is to assist you in launching remote learning for your school or district.

This blog was last updated 08/2020 with new information and digital tools.

Resources and Assistance Abound

If you have additional resources, be sure to add a description and link in the comments section for this blog entry. In the meantime, you might want to check this School Closure Planning document via educator Nicole Zumpano. EduroLearning also offers a fantastic site replete with resources.

Social Distancing: What Is It?

The CDC mentions social distancing as one of the ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

The community can take measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Currently a vaccine or drug is not available for COVID-19.

The CDC points to community-based interventions such as the following:

  • School dismissals
  • Event cancellations
  • Social distancing
  • Creating employee plans to work remotely

Social distancing is “a term applied to certain nonpharmaceutical infection control actions” (source). Public health officials take these actions to stop or slow down the spread of a disease and thus reduce virus transmission. This happens when people increase the physical distance between persons. It can also happen when you reduce the frequency of congregation in certain places such as schools and/or workplaces. Per research studies, social distancing is effective at reducing disease spread. Many universities have taken this step. K-12 campuses and districts may follow as needed.

Students Need Home Internet Access?

If low-income students need Internet access at home, consider these solutions:

Hotspot Donations and $10/Month Wireless Access for Education – With nationwide school closures due to COVID-19, educators can request wireless hotspot donations at Digital Wish, then get Mobile Beacon’s unlimited high-speed 4G LTE mobile broadband service for only $10/month. Each donated hotspot ($70 value) has a 10 hour battery life and can connect up to 10 people to the internet. Use hotspots to set up a lending pool that will provide equitable internet access for students and teachers. A one-time $18 admin fee applies for a single hotspot and the $120 full-year service subscription must be paid in advance. Learn more and get your hotspots here.

Lifeline. “Lifeline typically provides up to a $9.25 monthly discount on service for eligible low-income subscribers.” Learn more about Lifeline from this FCC.gov website. 

Comcast is now offering “Internet Essentials.” Comcast is offering, effective Monday, March 16, 2020,  two months free to new Internet Essentials customers. Click here for more details. Xfinity WiFi from Comcast will be available as well.

Spectrum will also offer 60 days of free internet to households with K-12 or college students who lack a Spectrum account. Their WiFi hotspots will be opened for public use. Read this ABC News article for more providers.

Another great idea is equipping your school buses with Cradlepoint WiFi and park those around the District.

Just-in-Time Online Learning Support

Many individuals, businesses and non-profits are now offering free professional learning to educators. The professional learning focuses on how to teach online. Here is a quick round-up of some of those resources:

Flipgrid has curated a variety of resources for educators:

Wondering what to do about students taking home a school device? You may want to watch this March 18, 2020 (on demand after date) webinar, Preparing Your District for CIPA Compliant Device Take Home.

Services Listed

How do you reduce social distancing in schools? One part of the answer involves moving teaching and learning online. This can be a challenge for schools since students and/or teachers may not yet have learned how to function online. Below are some recommendations that Cary G. Hart gleaned from international educators:

  • Keep it simple
  • Use ONE method to communicate with parents, not multiple
  • Use already-introduced platforms as much as possible
  • Train teachers now while you can
  • Offer tech support for teachers, students, and parents

Getting up to speed in a short time may not be possible. That aside, online learning providers have rushed to make their solutions available. Many educators are compiling and sharing resources for online learning.

In the space below, you will find the most current list of services offered in alphabetical order. You may be aware of free or almost free services like Flipgrid, Seesaw, Wakelet. Each has a set of features that is available at no cost (e.g. Flipgrid, Wakelet, Seesaw). Others (e.g. Seesaw for Schools) have a cost associated for more features.

Other video conferencing providers, such as Zoom, while not designed for school use may very well be a go-to tool that offers some free services.  For example, Zoom is lifting limits for K-12 schools provided they complete an online form. Services offered include any or all the following:

  • Video conferencing (Google EDU, Microsoft, Zoom)
  • Learning management systems (Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Education Perfect)
  • Curriculum and training (Tynker, Microsoft, G Suite EDU)
  • Online teaching and learning assessment tools (e.g. EdPuzzle, PearDeck, Book Creator)

Explore the services below.

Achieve 3000

Message from Achieve 3000: “As many of you are moving to or have moved to a remote learning model, we understand that a sweeping change like this brings challenges. As your partner in literacy instruction, Achieve3000 has created the Achieve3000 Remote Learning site to support your at-home learning plans. Our site provides free resources to any school in any of our partner districts. We have created solutions that are accessible to all students in your district, including digital access for all and print resources for students without internet.

Please find the link to Achieve3000 Remote Learning that you can share with your students and families. On this page, you’ll find more information about each of the solutions available.

Adobe

Adobe is now offering free home access to their Creative Cloud apps. Access will be free of charge through May 31, 2020. Students can request it online. They are also offering free 90-day access to Adobe Connect, a web conferencing solution, until July 1, 2020.

Amazon Prime Video Free Family Titles

Whether you have Amazon Prime or not, a free Amazon account gets you and your child(ren) access to free family titles. These titles are age-appropriate, include PBS Kids Series titles. These are shows your kids are sure to love (mine did!) and will help whittle away the hours.

A&M System

The Deans of Education of the A&M system  would like to share some exciting news regarding free access to professional learning resources. After speaking with Veronica Calvo (Sr. Manager, Partnerships at Sanford Programs) we are pleased to announce, given the current COVID 19 situation, TCEA members are now in a position to access free educator professional learning opportunities. This access is made possible through the generosity of Mr. T Denny Sanford and the efforts of the team at National University .

Next steps

  1. Please access the courses via this link
  2. Once you click the access course link you will be asked to create a profile
  3. Please ensure you identify TCEA as your organization when creating your profile. This step will enable us to monitor the number and type of modules our members are accessing
    1. Note, when creating your profile, if your postcode includes letters please list the numbers as letters only as the registration software is not set up to accept letters in the postcode field.
  4. Once you have created a profile you can immediately access the modules and sign up for webinars.
    1. Sanford Harmony, is a PreK-6 social emotional learning program.
    2. Sanford Inspire provides educators and pre-service educators with online professional learning for creating inspiring PreK-12 classrooms.
      1. Each module ends with a self assessment and a certificate of mastery when the user successfully completes the assessment. This is a useful tool for teacher educators who are looking for innovative ways to supplement field based learning during school closures.Harmony at Home Toolkit
        Sanford Programs has also created the Harmony at Home toolkit to ensure that parents and children continue to have high-quality learning experiences during the period of school closures. Harmony at Home provides a variety of lessons, activities, and resources from our Sanford Harmony and Sanford Inspire programs to help parents navigate the social and emotional needs of children during this difficult time. You can access the Harmony at Home toolkit via this link  

        Next steps 

  1. If applicable,  share the Harmony at Home link with your local school districts and partners
  2. Watch the  Harmony at Home training video
  3. Review the annotated Getting Started Guide to navigating the Sanford Harmony Online Learning Portal and other materials.
  4. Explore Everyday Practices at Home
  5. Explore the Lessons & Activities at Home.
  6. Register for a live training webinar  

Watch this video about SEL for parents from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

Audible

We know listening to stories has the same benefit as reading with one’s eyes. Audible Stories is now offering, at no charge, a collection of audio stories. Stories are organized into a variety of categories, such as the following:

  • Littlest Learners
  • Elementary
  • Tween
  • Teen
  • Literary Classics
  • Folk & Fair Tales for All

Their stories are also available in various languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian and more. No login is required.

Book Creator

One of my favorite tools for creating ebooks and comics, Book Creator offers a free version. It is augmenting its free offering with a 90-day premium feature access. They are offering the following two features at no cost:

  • The ability to collaborate together on books in real-time
  • A list of ideas for using Book Creator for remote learning

Find the list of ideas online.

BrainPop

Need some instructional materials that explain the COVID-19 virus to children? Look no further than BrainPop’s multi-lingual resources (view Spanish version) on the subject.

Bulb

bulb Digital Portfolios offers their flagship education product, bulbEd, available at no charge to educational institutions around the world. bulbEd is free until the end of summer 2020. Per this announcement,

bulb Digital Portfolios is prepared to deploy and support remote teaching and learning needs at scale. bulb’s customer care team is ready and on-call to help train administration, educators and students. bulb’s robust library of resources includes access to grade and subject-specific templates and assignments, so virtual learning experiences can be up and running in a matter of days. Mr. Goldreyer said, “bulb is an all-in-one solution for remote learning. bulbEd is accessible anywhere, anytime on any web-enabled device, iOS, and Android.” bulb is FERPA, COPPA, and GDPR compliant; safe, secure, and ad-commercial free. It also integrates with Google and Microsoft education tools along with learning management systems.

Learn more online.

Buncee Learning

Get free access to Buncee Classroom if you are in an affected area.  Consider what Buncee offers:

With Buncee’s assortment of media options, creating a virtual lesson is quick and easy. Teachers can include text, video, audio, or even links to additional resources. Record your lesson using the video feature, or create an activity template for your student to complete at home. The classroom dashboard can then be utilized to share and track assignments. Teachers could also create a Buncee Board, so students can access materials, share their work, interact with their classmates, and participate in class discussions no matter where they are.

With Buncee and Microsoft Immersive Reader, teachers can ensure all students, regardless of their individual needs, can learn remotely as well. Students can use Immersive Reader to read the material at their own pace, and in a way that’s comfortable for them. Immersive Reader ensures learning is accessible for all types of learners both in the classroom and beyond. (Source: Supporting Remote Student Learning)

Canva

Canva has made available a free Education product with the world as teachers, students, and educational institutions transition to online learning during this time. This product is Canva for Education. You can check out a quick overview of C4Edu here:

Chemix Lab Diagrams

Chemix Lab Diagrams is now offering all their features for free for one month. And, they have extended their trial period for the Boost plan from seven to thirty-one days. Read this blog entry to find out how Chemix can assist you as a Physics/Chemistry teacher. Learn more about the COVID-19 related offer.

Classtag

Used by over 57,000 classrooms and 2 million parents/teachers across the U.S., Classtag is a free communication platform for schools that’s designed to boost parental engagement. Teachers can message parents directly (via SMS or web) and even translate their messages if English is the parent’s second language. Plus, it serves as a fully-functioning classroom management system.

It’s been especially useful to have during the transition to education going remote, as keeping parents and students engaged is priority number one for schools. Explore their Remote Learning resources.

Coding UnPlugged Resources

Need to teach coding but don’t have an Internet connection? Check out this Wakelet collection on the subject. You are welcome to make a copy and if you know of other resources, please share them in the comments.

Education Perfect

This New Zealand-based company offers a learning management system (LMS) at no cost to schools that is in wide use across many countries.

“As we finish our 4th week of online learning (thank you COVID-19) all I can say is EP has been a lifesaver… I can monitor students, comment on their progress and reassign tasks based upon their understanding. Brilliant.”

Learn more online at their website.

Educreations Pro

“We’re offering free Educreations Pro upgrades to teachers through May 1, 2020. You can take advantage of this offer by clicking the button below. This offer is not available for current Educreations Pro subscribers.” Want to take advantage of Educreations Pro account offer? Use this link. Note that their Pro features require an iPad. Some of Educreations Pro features include the following:

  • import documents, presentations, webpages, maps, and images
  • save unlimited drafts so you can work on multiple projects at once
  • 5GB of cloud storage, enough to store over 150 hours of lessons
  • use the pointer tool to direct student attention
  • export your lessons as MP4 video files for uploading to other platforms

Those are in addition to their features for free accounts:

  • record and replay your voice, handwriting, and drawings
  • add typed text in a variety of colors and sizes
  • import content from your Google Drive, Dropbox, or the Web
  • draw on top of everything with the drawing tool
  • edit out any mistakes with the built-in video editor

If you use an iPad with your students and they have the same, then Educreations will be useful to you. One key point is that you can save your lessons as MP4 video files. Those MP4 video files can be saved online via YouTube, G Suite EDU, and other places.

EdPuzzle

Need to connect with students or insert assessments into videos you create? Some of what EdPuzzle makes possible include:

  • Access to more than five million videos
  • Ability to create your own interactive video lessons
  • Add questions, audio, and notes
  • See detailed analytics on your students’ results
  • Get storage space videos

EdPuzzle makes that all available and more at no cost to affected schools. Apply online to gain free access.

EPIC!

Looking for a free source of books and audio books? Check out epic! which offers free teacher accounts through June 30, 2020. It’s easy to get setup as a teacher, then add your students. Creating the students’ accounts is as easy as copying-n-pasting their names into a text box.

You can find quite a bit of content online, and your students will have easy access.  Here’s some of the content, featuring audio and video books:

Flipgrid

This is a fantastic, FREE, and easy tool you can use with teachers and students to stay in contact. Above, you will find a list of some the remote learning resources Flipgrid is sharing. Flipgrid offers a one-page PDF that will help you set up Flipgrid for a remote classroom. Be sure to watch these FlipgridPD webinars to learn the basics of Flipgrid. Share this simple guide to “help the families in your community use Flipgrid to keep their children active, connected and engaged while they are home from school.”

Gale Resources

Gale is offering educators, librarians, student and parent free access to digital content and resources to enhance instruction and learning. Resources include: Interdisciplinary, curriculum-aligned resources to support online learning from pre-K through undergraduate; Live and on-demand training materials to help you optimize your existing resources; Professional development eBooks to help transition to and strengthen virtual learning and Authoritative Gale resources on health-related topics and global issues.

Access Gale resources here: https://www.gale.com/covid19support

Get More Math (GMM)

Get More Math® (GMM) is offering complimentary use of their program across the state of Texas. Teachers can assign work, monitor students in real time, send personal messages to kids as they are working online. They can also track progress. GMM is TEKS aligned grades 4 through 8, Algebra 1 and Geometry. Alignment for grade 3 and Algebra 2 is not complete. Despite that, there is quite a bit of content already available. Need a contact person? Reach out to Shelly Pelton, Account Manager, via email at spelton@getmoremath.com. You can register for a Get More Math® account.

GoNoodle

GoNoodle created a free online resource GoNoodle: Good Energy at Home. It includes premium content and learning materials including movement and mindfulness videos as well as downloadable learning resources and ideas for off-screen activities – and if you sign up for email updates, they plan to send new ideas, activities, and tools to you weekly. There’s also a Good Energy channel on all GoNoodle home apps (iOS, Android, AppleTV, Fire, Roku) where all the best GoNoodle videos can be used by kids directly. Whether it takes the form of a family dance party, a song and activity that reinforces something kids are learning at school, or a mindfulness or yoga video to help us all relieve stress and get a break from the intensity of it all – let’s all work to create Good Energy with our kids during this stressful time.

Goosechase

Goosechase is now offering free-of-charge upgrades to the Educator Plus tier of the GooseChase EDU platform until September 1, 2020 for all K-12 educators. If you are a teacher looking to utilize this upgrade to engage with students during school shutdowns, please complete the form linked here.

Grammar Check

Grammar Check offers a free, safe, and secure online tool to proofread any English text with a simple “Copy & Paste.” All texts get processed instantly and deleted immediately after processing your text. You might combine this with Hemingwayapp.com to improve your writing (or as a set of tools to share with your students).

G Suite EDU

Google is now offering free access to advanced Hangouts Meet videoconferencing capabilities. This free access will be available until July 1, 2020 and is available to all G Suite and G Suite for Education. The feature includes the following:

  • Support for larger meetings (up to 250 participants per call)
  • Live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain (e.g. Ardent ISD domain or your district)
  • The ability to record meetings and save them to Google Drive

The last piece is important since it makes it easier for schools to share content. G Suite EDU admins may find this walk-through helpful. This enables asynchronous sharing of content. This free access is rolling out now for Hangouts Meet and Google Classroom.

Internet Archive – National Emergency Library

Heard the announcement? If not, here it is:

During this unprecedented time in history, access to printed books is becoming difficult or impossible. COVID-19 is forcing students, educators, and everyday readers to rely on digital books more than ever before. That’s why the Internet Archive has temporarily suspended all waitlists, allowing you to immediately check out any of the 1.4 million books currently in our lending library. Until June 30th or the end of the US national emergency (whichever comes later), every borrowable book will be immediately accessible by anyone—creating, in effect, a National Emergency Library.

You can check out to ten of anything, “whether you need classic literature, science textbooks, genre fiction, or even just bedtime story material.” Start browsing here.

Kami App

This online services seeks to make transitioning from paper to digital easier. To achieve this, it suggests you can load any document into their system. This can include assignments, book reports, team projects, website research, homework, and surveys. Once loaded into their system, you can type, write, or draw on the document(s). You, as teacher, can share the document, embed images, comments, audio, or video clips to instruct.

To claim a free school-wide license, send an email to support@kamiapp.com. Each school license will be valid for seventy days. This license will extend Kamifor so long as schools have shut down.

Khan Academy

This provider is offering student schedules. Explore this Google Doc online.

KERA Programming

KERA is offering a new curriculum-based television lineup offering free PBS programs and digital resources aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards. The new At-Home Learning schedule will air weekdays from 6am to 6pm on KERA TV with specific blocks of time for pre-K through 12th grade levels. This special programming block also will stream live on learn.kera.org, expanding access to this free educational content and enabling students to watch the programming on mobile devices. You can find the program schedule and more information at learn.kera.org.    The weekday television lineup is segmented by target grades:

  • 6 a.m. – 8 a.m. – Programs for kids in pre-K to 3rd grade.
  • 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. – 4th through 8th-graders.
  • 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. – 9th through 12th graders.

In addition to the new on-air programming, KERA is sharing an At-Home Learning Toolkit, which includes a curated list of educational resources and a weekly calendar with fun and engaging KERA Kids activities for the entire family. The Toolkit includes links to subscribe to KERA’s two education email newsletters – one for parents of young children and one for educators. It also includes a link to PBS LearningMedia, a large, FREE collection of curated TEKS-aligned resources for teaching. Many of the videos, lesson plans, handouts and other materials come from great shows like NOVA, Nature, Masterpiece and Sesame Street.

Children can still watch all their favorite PBS Kids programs around the clock on KERA Kids 24/7 on digital television and channel 13.2 for over the air viewers. You can also stream PBS Kids shows anytime you want from our website. Find the KERA Kids schedule and the streaming link at kids.kera.org.

Kialo Edu

Kialo Edu is a custom version of Kialo (http://kialo-edu.com/), the world’s largest argument mapping and debate site, specifically designed for classroom use. Its clear, visually compelling format makes it easy to follow the logical structure of a discussion and facilitates thoughtful collaboration. Kialo’s mission is to promote well-reasoned discussion online, and to that end, Kialo is free for educators to use. Check out their Twitter page to hear what teachers have to say about Kialo Edu.

Legends of Learning

Legends of Learning offers 2,000 3rd through 8th-grade math and science games and simulations correlated to state standards.  Teachers create playlists of games based on standards and students work through completing each one, while the teacher receives real-time data from each student. Using our various assignment options, teachers can create custom playlists, or have a playlist built for them with a top-rated game.

The basic Legends of Learning site is always free.  We are offering free access to all premium features for schools closed due to the outbreak for the duration of their closure.  This includes assigning an unlimited number of assignments, creating customized assessments for students, and integration with Google Classroom, Clever, Classlink, or Schoology.

Sign up here: app.legendsoflearning.com

Logo Design

This site shares share “twenty-six of the most fantastic and productive graphic design resources that will keep the kids engaged when you can’t go out due the coronavirus pandemic (or otherwise). These will help them learn something new, and may enable them to develop a new hobby or think of a future career choice. Learn more online.

MackinVIA

MackinVIA has compiled free content, helpful videos, links, downloadable resources and more to help you with this distance learning transition. MackinVIA offers two main resources:

  1. Distance Learning Essentials page
  2. Distance learning – Digital content

Be sure to review their resources.

Merge Cubes

Students can print and build their own paper Merge Cube, then download Merge EDU apps for hands-on augmented reality experiences that kids and parents will love. Merge products are simple and easy to use, and even younger students can complete activities with accessibility features like Immersive Reader. With over 10 different languages, students from all over the world can continue learning wherever they are. Access Remote Learning with Merge online.

Microsoft

The Microsoft Teams for Education offering provides schools with an online classroom space that is free for schools and universities. What’s more, Microsoft has some on-demand webinars you can watch. Each showcases Microsoft Teams as a way to support student-teacher, student-student interactions. You will need to register to watch the recording.

To gain access, your school district will need to deploy Office 365 A1 license (which is free to education). Once your district enables MS Teams, you can access it at https://teams.microsoft.com. Learn more about Teams availability for schools and businesses.

MobyMax

MobyMax is offering remote learning guides and free webinars on how to teach from home. They are also offering:

MobyMax is offering free licenses for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year to districts and schools that would like to leverage Moby as a remote learning resource while their schools are closed.

Here’s the list of resources you can explore at no charge:

MobyMax hopes you find these resources useful during this time.

MyList

Teachers can create a personal list of the online learning tools they are using, add notes for each tool and publish it out to parents.  It is really simple to use: they search a library of 7,000+ edtech tools, click the “add” button, add any notes (optional), publish, and then share. See it online.

NearPod

Need access to a teaching, learning, and assessment platform? NearPod is another digital tool making itself available to affected schools. NearPod makes it easy to create interactive lessons, create quizzes, polls, and more. It integrates with Google Slides and you can synchronize lesson slides across all remote learners. It’s a must-have tool in your toolkit and one of my favorites. You can learn more about it online.

Northwestern University and Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research

Elementary educators looking for a free resource to teach students about the Coronavirus and COVID-19 will have help from a zany book character named Mrs. Can. Thanks to a grant from Northwestern University and its Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research, a free download of “The Class That Can: Coronavirus” will be available to teachers nationwide, along with a virtual resource to libraries and school systems by request.

The book features third graders from a fictional “Class That Can” who are learning from home because of the Coronavirus. The students are excited when their teacher, Mrs. Can, introduces them via computer to her friends, Dr. Kenneth Fox and Dr. Ruchi Gupta, both of whom are real-life, seasoned pediatricians.

“Teachers create meaning for students, and this resource can be a powerful part of their toolkit as they boldly innovate in the age of COVID,” says Dr. Fox, a pediatrician for more than 30 years and Chief Health Officer of Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s third-largest school district. “The Class That Can: Coronavirus is written in a fun, honest voice that kids can understand and that our times recommend.”

Get the book online.

OneScreen Hype with Zuni Learning Tree

Get free-of-cost access to the powerful distance and blended learning package, OneScreen Hype with Zuni Learning Tree. It is available to any public or private school in the United States wanting to take their classes online. The software allows teachers to conduct online video classes for their students ( just like Zoom), but comes with additional features and educational resources for educators.

OTIS For Educators

Need free professional learning on Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams? OTIS for Educators has made their professional development content available for no-cost to teachers on an individual basis or schools. Here’s their announcement:

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are making all of our PD courses FREE to help schools implement distance learning and online professional development.  Individual teachers, sign up for a FREE Basic account. You will be automatically upgraded to a full subscription for free.

Schools fill out the following information and we will assist you with setting up your free accounts. If you need immediate assistance setting up an account for your school, please call 877.455.9369

Learn more online.

PearDeck

PearDeck makes adding interactivity to Google Slides easier. It’s integrated with G Suite EDU already. This makes it easy to share and save work via Google Classroom. You can get free access to PearDeck online. They offer 30-days free to all new users. They extend that with a 90-day premium access offer. You can request individual or district access via their online forms. They are now hosting live, daily remote learning webinars.

PenPal Schools

PenPal Schools is offering free access for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. With schools closing around the  world, parents are scrambling to find online learning resources that are effective and engaging. Isolated learning software doesn’t cut it – students need to be connected to be engaged. PenPal Schools is so engaging that we have quickly grown to nearly half a million students in 150 countries. Teachers and parents are invited to enroll for free at
penpalschools.com. PenPal Schools connects students from around the world to learn together! Students collaborate through online projects ranging from human rights and the environment to fake news and robotics, all while practicing literacy, technology and social-emotional skills.

Promethean Online Learning

Promethean has free resources that they are offering teachers. Schools can use their free software, ClassFlow, to communicate and share resources with their students. See those resources online.

Ranger Rick Magazine

Need some exciting reading material? One of my childhood favorites was the Ranger Rick Magazine. They are offering three months of free access to all games, jokes, videos, awesome animal articles. This offer is good through June 30, 2020. Sign up online.

Seesaw

Seesaw offers incredible, age-appropriate tools that teachers can use with students and parents. Learn about their remote learning offerings.  Per Seesaw’s website:

Seesaw is a platform for student engagement. Teachers can empower students to create, reflect, share, and collaborate. Students “show what they know” using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links.

Seesaw is easy to use and get started with. It offers many powerful features for free, even more at cost. Teachers can get started here. Here is a quick tutorial video for home learning codes for all students in your class.

Showbie

Showbie is a real-time application for communication and assessment tool. Showbie is providing free additional licenses to existing customers. These additional licenses cover all staff and students on Showbie Pro and Socrative Pro through July 31, 2020. For non-customers, free access to Showbie Pro and Socrative Pro will be provided through July 31, 2020.

To take advantage of this opportunity, please have your school or district administrator in charge of your COVID-19 response plan, complete this application form. Our team will get back to you within one business day with setup instructions and next steps.

This tool works on desktop/laptop computers, tablets,  iPads, and/or mobile phones.

Slido

“We have just launched Slido for Education (with new integrations with PowerPoint and Zoom Webinar) which will be free for all teachers and students until July 1st,” says Juraj Pal, Slido. Slido already integrates with Google Slides. What is Slido? It is a tool designed to assist lecturers. The goal is keep them connected during virtual or live classes. It powers two-way interactions. Learn more about Slido for Education, a new offering, online.

STEM Fuse

STEM Fuse is offering their entire suite of distance learning and training resources at no cost. All courses are CSTA aligned and very easy for teachers to use. Learn more about it in their guidebook. At this link, you will find a form that teachers can use to automatically get access to the course(s) of their choosing.

Texthelp

Texthelp is currently providing FREE access for students, teachers, and parents to Fluency Tutor for Google Chrome through the end of the school year. With Fluency Tutor  teachers can assign reading passages from over 500 built-in, leveled content pieces and students can practice reading aloud, building fluency and understanding, before submitting their recordings to their teacher. And because it’s web-based, it’s great for remote learning.

If you’d like to learn more about Fluency Tutor, you can visit them online.

Tynker for Schools

Need access to a how-to-code curriculum for your students to engage in at home? You will want to explore Tynker for Schools. They are making their offer available to all K-12 schools. You can read their announcement:

If your school or district is planning a closure for preventative health-related reasons, please complete this form to get full access to the entire Tynker curriculum and platform at no cost. This will give you and your students access to our self-paced, on-demand courses until May 2020, but we will happily extend this offer until your school reopens.

In addition to our existing free online professional development, we will be running a series of webinars to train teachers on how to use Tynker in a remote learning environment. Please visit our training page for details and schedules.

This is a generous offer of accessible curriculum and training for schools.

WriteReader Lesson Plan and Book Templates

WriteReader, which is free, is offering lesson plans and book templates. Teachers can use these to enhance how they are planning activities for students stuck at home during COVID-19.

Xtensio

If you want to make your teaching easy and streamline during COVID 19, use Xtension. Using this, you can create, manage, and present the course syllabus, and with ease sharing features, share it with every student.

Furthermore, to make studies intuitive and interesting for kids, you can create stunning presentations with images and videos using this tool.  Xtensio also allows students to study with their fellow mates under one team space.  The best part, its extremely secure, as its plans include 128 bit SSL encryption and backups. This means you can add passwords to turn on/off links.

Get started with Xtensio.

Vook

Teachers get a year free of access to Vook. This is also open to homeschool educators. From their website:

“Vooks brings children’s books to life with animated illustrations, read-a-long text and narrated story. The ad-free platform features a variety of titles that have been engaging students all across the world. Whether being used as part of the lesson or to wind class down, Vooks is a fun and versatile tool for the classroom.

Learn more about Vook content:

Learn From Home Club

Self-serve learning platforms Codecademy, Duolingo, Quizlet, Skillshare, and Brainly have teamed up to create the Learn From Home Club – a joint offering of free learning resources for teachers and students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (offer details for each company are available at the link provided). The offering was announced Monday, April 6, 2020 in a tweet by Codecademy CEO Zach Sims. The participating education companies have a combined reach of nearly 600 million users. The participating companies are as follows:

  • Codecademy is a platform for learning programming, web development, data science and other technical skills online. They have given away over 100,000 free Codecademy Pro scholarships to students so far.
  • Skillshare is an online learning community where millions come together to take the next step in their creative journey.
  • Quizlet provides free study tools including flashcards, practice questions and games for students and their teachers. Choose from 400 million study sets or create your own.
  • Duolingo is the world’s most popular language-learning platform, with the mission of making education free and accessible for everyone.
  • Brainly offers a free learning platform, where students and parents get homework and study help from peers and experts. Brainly is democratizing access to education and helps students answer questions. Students from anywhere can ask about their doubts and get a step-by-step explanation from others.

Powerful Tools At Hand

These are all powerful tools made available for educators. Whether COVID-19 prompts social distancing in your area, you should know what tools work best. Be sure to coordinate with other educators and school administrators and decide together how to best approach teleschooling and remote learning. Looking for more resources? Check out Loreen A. Sullivan’s Wakelet collection. You may also find Clay Smith’s collection of interest. Finally, this Google Doc may be of interest. It shows education companies offering free subscriptions.

“Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after will seem inadequate” -M. Leavitt

Note: This blog has been updated to reflect new services as of 3/14/2020. Check back since new services will continue to be added as we become aware of them.

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Content AreasCTO/CIOGood Teaching

Teleschool Ready? Learning in the Time of COVID-19

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

“[Parents should] ask schools, are there plans for teleschool?” says a CDC representative. An inconvenient truth has pushed its way into our consciousness. No, I’m not speaking of climate change. The inconvenient facts are that schools may need to close for an extended time. Consider this news (edited) that appeared recently:

Dr Messonier said she called her children’s school. She asked if there are plans for tele-schooling if necessary. She recommended parents do the same.

Source: Edited for readability. Daily Mail, available 2/27/2020

While the COVID-19 frenzy may prove to be a non-starter here in the United States, the ability to provide learning during a time when a school’s physical buildings are not available is critical. (Do you remember hurricanes Rita, Ike, and Harvey, all of which had a big impact on some Texas districts’ ability to hold school?)

Virtual learning, distance learning, and blended learning are all familiar terms to us. While Dr. Nancy Messonier (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) may have used a term we’re unfamiliar with, her meaning is clear. Schools may soon need to rely on strategies few educators are currently comfortable with. Are students equipped for at-home learning? Is your district ready for teleschool?

Be sure to read the companion blog entry, Remote Learning Tools for Schools.

Gauging Teleschool Readiness

How do you decide if teachers and students have what they need to teleschool? One way is to ask how other educational institutions are approaching it. No doubt, some schools will resort to make-up days when the pandemic winds down. The problem is, no one knows how long that will be. Like other disasters that schools face, if you don’t have preparations set up prior, it’s too late when the disaster hits. So this may be your district’s wake-up call. Take a moment to gauge how prepared you are.

Join us for a free-to-anyone Zoom Discussion on this important topic on Monday, March 9, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Central. We invite schools at all stages to jump in and share how they might engage in teleschooling if the need arises. In addition, a TCEA Lunch and Learn on Blended Learning Made Easy takes place March 4, 2020 at 11:45 a.m. CDT. You can also read the TCEA TechNotes blog’s blended learning archives for more insights now.

For New York University’s Shanghai campus, professors worked to meet students’ needs. They relied on several resources to make the job easier:

  • A plan to do the following:
    • Move face-to-face content into online format
    • Communicate via social media about what is happening
  • Website(s) to address questions and support students and parents who might have questions
  • A range of digital tools including:
    • Learning management systems (LMSs)
    • Video conferencing tools (e.g. Zoom, Adobe Connect) to ease communication with educators
    • Messaging platforms (e.g. email, social media-like tools)
  • Pre-created videos on subjects a professor might lecture on
  • Online assessments

Reviewing that list of plans and resources, we can start to come up with a checklist of what K-12 schools can do.

Formulating the Checklist

Checklists for blended learning abound. A two-second web search will get you started. What are some specific steps your organization is prepared to take? Consider doing the following in a quick, methodical manner. To quote an old surgeon’s saying, “Go slow now so you can go fast later.”

Assessment of the District’s Readiness

  • How much of your K-12 curriculum and lessons are available in digital format for students? This would include videos, activities, assessments, etc.
  • How much digitized content exists in a learning management system? That is, a tool like Canvas, Classroom (Google), Schoology, or Teams (Microsoft)?
  • Do you have a team of educators who could digitize content and arrange it in an LMS?
  • What grade levels would be most critical to begin with?
  • What budget do you have available to buy pre-packaged content or get a team to work after hours? Will any YouTube or Khan Academy videos be usable under fair use?
  • How many teachers on staff could organize a month’s worth of content for online consumption?
  • Do teachers and students have necessary connectivity and devices to access content and complete assessments?
  • Create a “who would do what by when” task chart for all project aspects and how they will report completion of the task.

Things the Staff Should Do

  • Organize small teams to digitize content and decide what’s the most important to focus on
  • Decide what grade levels and content areas/subjects have priority
  • Streamline lessons and activities to use high-effect size strategies. Be repetitive in the use of the same strategies across lessons. Find a chart online here.
  • Figure out how to best make Pre-AP and Advanced Placement (AP) courses self-paced
  • Invite a core team of educators to create content in five to 10-minute increments
  • Put standard modifications for special education in place with specific suggestions for parents
  • Create a school hours schedule students can follow while at home
  • Assign two teachers by campus to monitor online during the workday; they would work from home

Resources Needed for Parents

  • Create a website that shares critical information about the district’s efforts
  • Include a sample lesson that shows what content will be available for students
  • Make recommendations about internet bandwidth and devices for homes that lack access
  • Articulate the process for checking out equipment
  • Provide a list of locations that provide internet access. These should be accessible from inside a car (e.g. parking outside library or school building)

Resources Needed for Students

  • Create a video of how to navigate online modules
  • Encourage student reflection and feedback on online modules
  • Engage students with hands-on projects when possible

Bigger Fish to Fry

While it’s easy to say, “There are bigger fish to fry right now and we need to let people focus on that,” planning on how you  will provide a stable learning environment in the midst of a crisis is critical. Use the technologies you have to connect with children and parents in a fresh way and ensure that education moves forward.

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