lunchbox said:

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BBRex said:

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I posted this on the Houston board, and I think it is relevant here:

I went last fall to a k-12 conference about technology in education, and most school districts are still caught up with the idea that every student needs a teacher trying to differentiate instruction for 28 kids with different educational needs. Technology could help k-12 education on a bunch of levels, not just emergencies like this, but I don't think there are any districts in Texas really ready to offer classes online at this scale.

Also, parents and community groups in economically disadvantaged areas will scream that their kids don't have access to the technology they need to work from home.

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As I said above K12 is 100% online and run by Huntsville ISD - those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged have their laptop, printer, etc. provided by the program. It IS possible...but you would have to convince everyone of it first.

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Gotta think a rollout of something like this will be much harder when
1) Every surrounding district not already doing this is trying to start doing it (seems like that would be millions and millions of machines needed across the state)
2) None of the teachers have been trained on this and there won't be any group training available for obvious reasons

Not saying it can't or shouldn't be done, just saying that this is probably about as disadvantageous a situation in which to try and roll something like this out.

JDCAG (NOT Colin) said:

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lunchbox said:

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BBRex said:

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I posted this on the Houston board, and I think it is relevant here:

I went last fall to a k-12 conference about technology in education, and most school districts are still caught up with the idea that every student needs a teacher trying to differentiate instruction for 28 kids with different educational needs. Technology could help k-12 education on a bunch of levels, not just emergencies like this, but I don't think there are any districts in Texas really ready to offer classes online at this scale.

Also, parents and community groups in economically disadvantaged areas will scream that their kids don't have access to the technology they need to work from home.

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As I said above K12 is 100% online and run by Huntsville ISD - those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged have their laptop, printer, etc. provided by the program. It IS possible...but you would have to convince everyone of it first.

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Gotta think a rollout of something like this will be much harder when
1) Every surrounding district not already doing this is trying to start doing it (seems like that would be millions and millions of machines needed across the state)
2) None of the teachers have been trained on this and there won't be any group training available for obvious reasons

Not saying it can't or shouldn't be done, just saying that this is probably about as disadvantageous a situation in which to try and roll something like this out.

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Yeah I was thinking you would take the several ISDs that are already doing it and roll kids to those programs...not create new programs. They are the experts and have been doing it for years. If you wanted to sign your kids up in the K12 program today, you could do it.

I think this is the best approach. We are a rural community so many students will not have access and will have no supervision to do the lessons.

Most importantly I think it's foolish to get too far ahead. We had school boards choosing to open or close then 4 hrs later change their mind. Do it week by week and a predictable announcement period. The sooner we confidently get folks back a normal schedule the better off the economy and the communities.

I have to admit, I very seriously considered not going.

Probably could have been more conservative and not gone, but it was all outdoors and all parties present were lower 30's. Still kept a distance from others and washed my hands a lot... my company is working remotely for the indefinite future so I plan on staying put for the next week at least.

This may not work in families that have multiple kids. Even those who are well-off, they may not have a computer, phone, or iPad for 3, 4, or more kids. Especially if mom and dad are working from home, too.

As a teacher, I need more a a day or two for planning units if we go fully online. We were told to hold off till we hear from the district level. Right now my junior class is 100 percent in Canvas because this is how I set up their research unit.

But my 10th grade classes are co teach with a significant percentage of special education, ell, 504, and at risk kids in them. These classes need lots of one on one and lots of different approaches to covering the material. They are rarely online for that reason. Two teachers and we circulate to each student.

It certanly can be done on Canvas but it woudl take some time to set it up. Since we wer told to hold off on creating assignments until Monday, I am thinking they may plan them at central office and we just implement. Will see. We have a four hour window on Monday to get things from our rooms. After that the school building will be off limits. So I will go get my school computer because it has some files I may want. Hard to say when we don't know much.

We don't usually use a text book in our English team. So I dont' know if I will get one or not. We were reading Night in English II and had a scholarship to cover costs of Dallas Holocaust Museum field trip for our entire 10t grade on level, including transportation costs. I am pretty sure that (planned for mid April) is off the table now.

I don't like uncertainty, but that is the norm now.

Four whole hours? I'm jealous. I have a 30 minute window and my school is being strict with the social distancing requirement. I am not allowed to come within 10 ft of another person while on campus and no one is allowed to help me bring stuff out.

TXTransplant said:

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This may not work in families that have multiple kids. Even those who are well-off, they may not have a computer, phone, or iPad for 3, 4, or more kids. Especially if mom and dad are working from home, too.

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Usually the classes are recorded and you just have to watch it if you miss it live before the end of the week.

All schoolwork is self paced and again needs to be done by the end of the week.

Looks like Barbers Hill ISD just posted that they will begin online school starting 3/23.

law80 said:

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Looks like Barbers Hill ISD just posted that they will begin online school starting 3/23.

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And heeeere we go...

lunchbox said:

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TXTransplant said:

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This may not work in families that have multiple kids. Even those who are well-off, they may not have a computer, phone, or iPad for 3, 4, or more kids. Especially if mom and dad are working from home, too.

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Usually the classes are recorded and you just have to watch it if you miss it live before the end of the week.

All schoolwork is self paced and again needs to be done by the end of the week.

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That makes sense and is good to know.

I used to teach engineering at a university. When schools started announcing they were going online until for the rest of the semester, I just thought "Glad I'm not a prof anymore."

If one thing really blows this up, it will be the misplaced belief that youth protects you.

In SK 1 in 3 tested positive are 20-29.

If you are under 10, your youth protects you. If you are older than 10, your risk is not defined by age group. It is defined by contributing factors and the strength of your immune system.

Can you jog a 5k? Do you get sick? Are you an anti-vaxer? These are the questions to ask yourself when you make decisions about distancing.

Under 10 are far less likely to show symptoms sounds like but are still able to cause spread. Older but still young show symptoms but are far, far more likely to recover without serious complications. So I'm not sure what your point is.

There is very clearly different risk levels that are in some way impacted by what age group a person falls in.

I don't have access to the Houston Chronicle, but I just saw a headline "Large numbers of Texas kids could miss rest of school year, education commissioner warns"

I have read notes from his meeting with leaders several places, He basically said that depending on proximity to virus, some schools will be out extended times. I would imagine small schools in ranching country might not miss a day. In some cases all year will be out. Said disctricts would not be punished financially.

In a conference call with superintendents, legislative officials and others, Morath said the state is "likely looking at large numbers of kids" possibly missing the rest of the school year, the Houston Chronicle has learned. He added it's "marginally optimistic" to believe already-shuttered schools in areas with an outbreak will re-open within the next eight weeks.

According to my wife (DISD asst. principal) the governor can't cancel school/STAAR. That's up to the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency. A series of ISDs wrote a joint letter asking for STAAR to be canceled. We'll see what happens.

That sounds less than optimistic...

Thanks Charpie.

Charpie said:

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Talked to the teenager who attends Westwood in Austin. Her teachers said that they are prepared to go through google classroom. The district is planning on issuing laptops to the kids on the east side of the district who may not have access to a computer.

This sucks for seniors.

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Wife is at Lovejoy ISD. Definitely seems like they are gonna go google classroom as it stands

88planoAg said:

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CDC released updated recommendation for schools to close for 8-20 weeks.

Out of the box thinking : half day shifts for lower primary with less kids per class?

I realize that isn't the recommendation for social distance, but idk how these kids won't be a half year behind if school is just done.

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That's not what it said. Read the actual CDC document. This is why no one should be getting any of their "facts" from the media.

It actually says data suggests school closures are ineffective and create other negative impacts.

"There may be some impact of much longer closures (8
weeks, 20 weeks) further into community spread, but that modelling also shows that other mitigation efforts
(e.g., handwashing, home isolation) have more impact on both spread of disease and health care measures. In
other countries, those places who closed school (e.g., Hong Kong) have not had more success in reducing spread
than those that did not (e.g., Singapore)."

Do you have a link for that?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/considerations-for-school-closure.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj9jdio753oAhVP7qwKHY2zDWAQFjAAegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw24d1SPrdN1bVxhOFPYYSaJ

Hopefully that worked. On my phone and it was acting weird when trying to copy the link.

Perfect...so why again are schools canceled when the CDC is clearly NOT recommending long term closures?

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/amp/Houston-schools-could-stay-closed-for-rest-of-15133141.php?__twitter_impression=true

I can't speak to public schools. Not all schools are closed.

All actual guidance to date at multiple levels is to only close for confirmed cases, work with health authorities to document and track, then sanitize and reopen within 4-5 days.

Kids aren't going to magically stay home because school is closed. Malls, movie theaters, etc. can make this worse than essentially being isolated at school each day with the same kids. Parents have to find ways to care for them and if those parents are essential personnel, well we're just making things worse.

The role of schools is to educate and that's going to be severely limited remotely or if closed.

What is better isolation. Kids in school 5 days a week or running the streets still socializing and pulling parents from work?

If a school has enough Chromebooks for every student, how difficult is it to set up all the classes to be taught online?

VaultingChemist said:

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If a school has enough Chromebooks for every student, how difficult is it to set up all the classes to be taught online?

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Biggest hurdles are having content that every teacher can adapt, ensuring every student has internet access, and maintaining content delivery is appropriate for students schedule. You can't have teacher live streaming all at once or expect a student to watch hours of content a day.

VaultingChemist said:

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If a school has enough Chromebooks for every student, how difficult is it to set up all the classes to be taught online?

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It's not that simple. Not every ISD is set up to conduct online classes. There are many families who do not have access to internet in their homes. There are many student who have accommodations for learning that cannot be met for online teaching. There are many more considerations than just making sure every student has access to a device.

These are the discussions we are having and there are no easy solutions.

There's a point where the technology isn't the roadblock, but the child's ability to learn that way. Junior high and up it's probably fine, but younger kids are going to see an academic decline.

pantherag,

Why are schools doing something that the CDC actually argues is ineffective? I'm so lost? People are running around screaming that the CDC says to close to the schools, and that's actually not what the CDC says AT ALL...