The education of over 90% of the world's enrolled student population–nearly 1.6 billion learners–continues to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers have worked individually and collectively to find solutions and create new learning environments. For six months now, teachers around the world have been finding creative approaches to face school closures, adapting, and improvising to keep their students learning. There are many inspiring stories on how teachers kept doing their job throughout the crisis. They remind us that teachers are a vital lifeline for their students. Some teachers traveled for hours each day to establish small learning groups around a laptop, others walked door to door to distribute thousands of much-needed school meals during the lockdown, yet others delivered their classes from the back of a truck. "This crisis has created an unprecedented context that has brought to the fore teacher leadership, creativity and innovation," said a recent report by UNESCO. "In the majority of cases, teachers were forced to act without much warning and with little time to prepare. Curriculums were modified or condensed, lesson plans adapted, working methods turned on their heads. But, whether via the internet, mobile phone, television, radio broadcast, or the mail, teachers continued to provide an education to their students." In countries with poor connectivity, where over 40% of households do not have a computer or online access, many teachers have prepared take-home packages for their students, along with digital communities and support groups on Facebook and Twitter. In order to celebrate teachers' leadership during the COVID-19 crisis, UNESCO plans to celebrate their work on October 5th, with World Teachers’ Day, on the anniversary of the signature of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. The organization has released an event's website.
Will edtech conferences return to normality in 2021 amid the pandemic? Apparently, not. South by Southwest (SXSW EDU), one of the earliest on the year calendar, announced yesterday that its 2021 edition will be virtual. It will take place on March 9-11, 2021. "Although we can't be certain as to what the future holds, we believe that a special kind of magic takes place when this community is connected," organizers said yesterday. The organization hasn't fully dismissed the possibility of celebrating an in-person show yet. "SXSW is working with the City of Austin and public health authorities on plans for a 2021 physical event, and we will provide updates as more information becomes available." However, since the SXSW EDU event in Austin, Texas, was canceled in March this year, the online edition is the only offering. "This digital experience will feature keynotes and sessions, screenings, showcases, networking, and exhibitions in a whole new way," said the organization. "We are working hard to reimagine an immersive experience for you — and are excited for the potential that SXSW EDU Online has to bring the community together in new ways." Entries for the 2021 online event will open with proposals on Tuesday, October 6.
Facebook–which started as a college-only network–returned to its roots by launching last week a platform exclusively for students, Facebook Campus. The social media giant described the platform in a blog post as "a college-only space designed to help students connect with fellow classmates over shared interests," explaining that due to the pandemic outbreak and the shift to partial or full-time remote learning "it’s more important than ever to find a way to stay connected to college life." Facebook Campus is a dedicated section of the Facebook app designed for students, with a Campus profile that's different from their main Facebook profile. To create a Campus profile, students need their college email and graduation year. Once a Campus profile is set up, students can discover Groups and Events unique to their school, and connect with classmates who share similar interests. When content is shared on Campus, only people within Campus will see it. The platform includes campus-only news feeds, classmates directories, and real-time chat rooms. The social media giant started to roll out Facebook Campus to 30 colleges in the US. Harvard University, Mark Zuckerberg's own alma mater, was not on the list. These are the participating schools: Benedict College; Brown University; California Institute of Technology; College of William & Mary; Duke University; Florida International University; Georgia Southern University; Georgia State University; Johns Hopkins University; Lane College; Lincoln University (Pennsylvania); Middlebury College; New Jersey Institute of Technology; Northwestern University; Rice University; Sarah Lawrence College; Scripps College; Smith College; Spelman College; Stephen F Austin State University; Tufts University; University at Albany – State University of New York; University of Hartford; University of Louisville; University of Pennsylvania; University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Vassar College; Virginia Tech; Wellesley College; and Wesleyan University. Students at these colleges can find Campus within the Facebook app. Users’ initial reviews of the app have been very negative.
ETS–Princeton, New Jersey-based leading assessment nonprofit organization founded in 1947 and making $2.1 billion in revenue–announced this week the creation of ETS Strategic Capital. This unit will invest in educational businesses that help to expand ETS' offering for K-12, higher education, and corporation. Its goal is to establish a global portfolio of emerging education companies. "We bring value-add capabilities in assessments, research and development, global distribution, and innovative technologies to our portfolio and partner companies," said Ralph Taylor-Smith, the Managing Director of ETS Strategic Capital. "We've reached a pivotal point in the ongoing evolution of education — there is a fundamental change in how educational services are delivered, how tools and assessments are structured, and how learners, schools, and companies are engaged and connected," he added. Currently, ETS has a portfolio of five companies: ApplyBoard–A Canadian platform for international student recruitment, with $71 million funding from ETS. Pipplet–A Paris-based start-up specialized in language assessment for businesses. Capti (by Charmtech Labs LLC)–Buffalo, New York-based startup that provides personalized literacy and learning support to K–12 students. EdAgree–A newly formed spin-out company from ETS that will match international students with universities and support those students throughout their education journey. Gradschoolmatch.com–Atlanta-based platform that helps prospective graduate students match with potential graduate academic programs. ETS plans to incorporate it into its offerings to the graduate school market. ETS Strategic Capital explained that mostly will target private equity investments that are typically in Series B, C, or later, where companies already have a proven product. Its idea is to invest up to $15 million. For acquisitions, it’s targeting companies making at least $20 million in revenue.
OpenStax–Rice University's OER publishing initiative–plans to vastly expand its library of free, public use textbooks after it received $12.5 million in new grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, and the Stand Together community. Support also comes from the Charles Koch Foundation and its parent nonprofit organization, Stand Together, formerly known as the Seminar Network. With 42 books now in its library, OpenStax announced last week that those grants will allow doubling the number of titles in the catalog. OpenStax–whose mission is to ensure that students do not stress over the costs of textbooks–aims to raise an additional $17.5 million to increase its catalog to nearly 90 textbooks, reaching 10 million student-seats over the next five years. The organization claims that it has saved 14 million students around the world more than $1 billion since it published its first book in 2012. “Nine years ago, we dreamed about solving the textbook affordability and access crisis for students,” said Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice and founder and director of OpenStax. “Now, with this tremendous investment in open education, we will be able to not only accelerate educational access for tens of millions of students but also drive innovation in high-quality digital learning, which has become commonplace due to COVID-19.” Demand for OpenStax and other open educational resources has increased dramatically over the past decade and it has soared since the COVID-19 pandemic broke. Since schools switched to remote instruction in March, OpenStax has seen a 217% increase in the use of its materials over the same period last year. Open educational resources (OER), including OpenStax textbooks, are educational materials available for free, public use, and licensed to allow modification and redistribution by anyone.
