There are few positives that come from COVID-19 from an education perspective. Millions of students had their academic, athletic, and social lives interrupted. Not only have students fallen behind but they are also missing out on critical services like food, counseling, and in many cases, medical attention. But if you had asked someone to give…
Author: Andrew Pillow
E-Learning Has Exposed Gaps in Tech Skills
COVID-19 has brought many things to light. It has exposed weaknesses in our systems. It has exposed gaps in our planning. It has illuminated inequality. Much of the conversation has centered around the material gaps highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic. Things like internet and technology have come to the forefront due to the now ubiquitous…
Yes, We Should Still Be Evaluating Schools During E-Learning
As COVID-19 expands and retracts across the country, schools are engaging in some vastly different learning environments than they are used to. Many schools are online only, and some are hybrid, but even the schools that have their full array of students have not returned to “normal.” The CDC and various state and district guidelines…
We Just Learned Chadwick Boseman Was a Superhero in Real Life, Too
When he took up the mantle of T’Challa, The Black Panther, he gave us one of the first Black superhero movies. Anyone who interacts with kids knows how important representation can be. That was on full display while Black Panther was in theatres: Inner-city schools taking field trips to see the movie. Folks showing up…
Lessons From the Front Lines of E-Learning
COVID-19 isn’t over yet but school has started back. For some schools that means resuming in-person classes but for many others that means the start of e-learning. E-learning happened at the end of last year, but it is different when you are starting school. Many people know what e-Learning is like from the perspective of…
School Districts Are Not Equipped to Close the Digital Divide
The digital divide is defined as “any uneven distribution in the access to, use of, or impact of information and communications technologies between any number of distinct groups, which can be defined based on social, geographical, or geopolitical criteria, or otherwise.” You can find references to this phenomenon as early as the mid-90s from both…
For Better and Worse: E-Learning Will Be Different This Time Around
Last March when students and teachers learned they would not be returning, districts scrambled to put distance learning plans in place. Some educators resorted to thick packets which were as ineffective as they sound. Most people quickly came to the conclusion that e-learning was the only real way to have any kind of long-term success…
Should Teachers Be Allowed to Work From Home During E-Learning?
Many school districts have decided that students will be working from home or will, at a minimum, have the option of doing so. For the schools where one hundred percent of the students will be working from home, some teachers have also been given the option to work from home … some have not. This…
Local Teachers’ Union Leader Supports Strike Over COVID Concerns
Coronavirus is still kicking. In many places, it is actually worse now than it was when everything initially closed. This fact has many teachers around the country crying foul. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has approved a resolution in support of strikes around school safety. The idea is that if local leaders don’t believe…
Indianapolis Area School District COVID-19 Plan Tracker
Updated 7/24/20 As of 7/23/20 Indianapolis students are barred from in-person classes until Aug 5 per order of Mayor Hogsett District Reopening Plan E-Learning Option Indianapolis Public Schools Delayed till Aug. 17 Yes Hamilton Southeastern Schools Online instruction till Sept. 7 Yes Lawrence Township Delayed till Aug. 13 Yes Pike Township Delayed till Aug. 11…