Equipping Teachers to Help Students Returning from Remote Instruction Two free options build on successful Department UDL Programs

The New Hampshire Department of Education announced two new programs to help educators assess and address student learning when they go back to school this fall. Building on the success of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the Department has contracted with CAST, the nonprofit education research and development organization that created the Universal Design for Learning framework, to offer two new professional development options for teachers this summer to help them gauge their students’ baseline for the new academic year.

• A free UDL 1 certificate to train educators to differentiate instruction so that it is accessible to all students and all students can make progress. This approach will help teachers design instruction to meet each child were they are when they return in September.
• A free five-part video series on formative assessment to measure what a student does and does not know. This training series will hone those skills for our educators to better serve students returning in September.

Resources for Effective Implementation of eLearning

State eLearning Plans, SETDA eLearning Coalition
In many cases, states have waived specific policies related to the limits for the number of consecutive days for eLearning and any application process in the wake of the COVID-19 school closures.
https://www.setda.org/main-coalitions/elearning/state-exemplars/

State Education Agency Considerations for CARES Act Funding as Related to Digital Learning
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides flexible funding for states to respond to the COVID-19 emergency in K-12 schools. CARES Act funds allow state and district funds to be spent on resources such as technology tools, professional development for educators, sanitation of buildings, and broadband access for students and teachers.SETDA developed this document to provide a resource for state leaders regarding considerations for expenditures.
https://www.setda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SETDA-CaresAct.pdf

Transformatived Digital Learning: A Guide to Implementation
Education leaders at the federal, state, and local level have the opportunity to provide leadership to ensure that all students have personalized, engaging learning experiences. This resource provides guidance, resources and best practices to support these efforts.
https://digitallearning.setda.org/

State Broadband Initiatives: Selected State and Local Approachesas Potential Models for Federal Initiatives to Address the Digital Divide
Access to high-speed internet, known as broadband, is becoming increasingly essential to daily life as more applications and activities move online. This has become particularly apparent during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as employers in some sectors transitioned their workers from on-site work to telework and schools migrated their students from classrooms to distance learning.
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46307

Essential Elements for eLearning
Essential Elements for eLearning is a free professional learning community that provides policy makers, school administrators and educator leaders a better understanding of policies and practices related to online learning, digital content, and e-learning days.
https://www.edweb.net/eLearning

SETDA eLearning Resources
A compilation of all the eLearning resources available from SETDA
https://www.setda.org/resources/?fwp_topic_areas=elearning

Winners Announced for 2020 New Hampshire Online Mapping Competition

NHEdGIS and NHSTE is proud to announce the state winners of the 2020 New Hampshire’s Online Map Competition for middle and high school students. Students created original online maps focusing on topics of their choosing within New Hampshire.   From wetlands to trails to the veterans of Nashua, this year’s maps displayed remarkable creativity and thoughtfulness in a time of incredible uncertainty.   The continued effort of students and teachers to apply geospatial technologies, in light of the challenges of remote learning, is commendable.

Each of the winning state awardees will receive a monetary prize of $100 thanks to ESRI’s monetary support and the administrative support of NHSTE. The state finalists have been entered in ESRI’s national map competition. 

Virtual Assistive Technology Fair 2020 hosted by NH Department of Education

Join us May 20, 2020 for our Virtual 2020 Assistive Technology Fair!

Review the 2020 Assistive Technology Fair Schedule of Events

Register for the 2020 Assistive Technology Fair

The New Hampshire Department of Education is hosting their second annual Assistive Technology Fair virtually this year.  The 2020 Assistive Technology Fair is being developed by Inclusive Technology Solutions, and promises to be an exciting day long virtual event.

The Fair will run from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM EST.  This event will bring together New Hampshire based practitioners and organizations; national Assistive Technology presenters and vendors. The day is comprised of 25 minute assistive technology presentations.  The program will consist of 25 minute EdCamp-style conversations; and, 25 minute vendor presentations. Over 40 sessions will be available throughout the day and the best part of all – the event is FREE!

Plan. Explore. Create. Share – Assistive Technology
Wednesday, May 20, 2020;   10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

The virtual hybrid conference experience will include:

• 25 Minute Sessions led by Local or National AT Experts
• 25 Minute Sessions Edcamp-style conversations led by participants
• 25 Minute  Vendor Sessions

Details and schedule can be found at https://pecs-at.com/pecs-at-conference-2020/.

Register for the event and explore the on-line schedule at bit.ly/atexpo520.

How to Host Virtual Commencement Ceremonies for the Class of 2020

For those schools wondering about how to plan and implement Virtual Commencement Exercises, here are a few articles that you might find helpful with this process. Ghee are lots of ways to do it, and make it special for graduating senior, the school community, parents, relatives, and friends.  Districts might want to think about really doing a nice virtual celebration, to honor the Class of 2020!  It could really be an awesome experience with a recording that you’ll watch again and again!

Don’t Cancel It: How to Hold a “Virtual Graduation Ceremony”
https://medium.com/@chochinov/dont-cancel-it-how-to-hold-a-virtual-graduation-ceremony-3a6cc4053b63

Don’t Cancel Commencement
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/03/31/tips-holding-your-institutions-commencement-ceremony-virtually-opinion

How to Plan and Execute a Virtual Graduation Experience that Truly Honors Seniors
https://www.finalsite.com/blog/p/~board/b/post/alternative-virtual-graduation-ideas

[How-To Guide] Planning for a Virtual Graduation
https://blog.edmentum.com/how-guide-planning-virtual-graduation

How to Hold a Virtual Graduation Ceremony
https://teens.lovetoknow.com/graduation-ideas/how-hold-virtual-graduation-ceremony

Image courtesy of Get Drawings.

Federal Flash: Updates on Education Policy from the Alliance for Excellent Education

Federal Flash is the Alliance for Excellent Education’s video series on important developments in education policy in Washington, DC. To watch the most recent episode of Federal Flash, click on the video below.

For an email alert when the latest episode of Federal Flash is available, sign up on the bottom of the Federal Flash webpage. For more frequent updates on education news and policy, follow @all4ed on Twitter.

Please Send Your Support for High Speed Bandwidth

Many of you have benefited from prior Digital Wish efforts. : )

The lack of high speed bandwidth in part of New Hampshire has become VERY obvious and an enormous obstacle to the remote learning effort that has been requested by the Commissioner and Governor.

Digital Wish is trying to get $2B in education technology funding added to the next COVID-19 Relief bill.  New England ISTE is working with ISTE’s lobbyist in Washington.

Please review the information below and do whatever you can to support the $2 BILLION addition for education technology funding to the NEXT COVID-19 Relief Bill.  At the very least, complete the short survey and pass this email along.

We desperately need school data on the shortfalls of hotspots, connectivity, and 1:1 devices for distance learning. We’ve got 8 days to accrue data before the politicians come back to Washington. Mississippi, Florida and Kentucky are critical linchpin with politicians. We’re circulating an urgent call to all 50 states for schools and districts to share data through this survey.

http://www.digitalwish.com/dw/digitalwish/covid_stimulus.

Call for help:

1) Digital Wish’s plea letter is below. Can you circulate this plea for data to your educators? Feel free to edit.

2) Please refer me to anyone who can help.  Heather Chirtea, heather@digitalwish.org, 802-379-3000.

3) The “need” data will be shared at www.digitalwish.org  over the coming days. You are welcome to use it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Plea letter from Digital Wish

Hi There!

We need your immediate help to get distance learning technology into the next COVID-19 government relief package. We desperately need to collect data on the educational need for hotspots, home connectivity and 1:1 devices.

Here are two quick-and-easy ways to help: 

1. Please fill out this 4-minute survey for your school or district.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/digitalwishstimulus
2. Circulate this email to every educator in neighboring districts, and ask them to take the survey.

Results will be posted at Digital Wish as soon as they become available.

We have to show the need for education technology or it will not be funded. Congress is already working on a fourth COVID-19 relief bill and we need to convince them to fund education technology so that all students can get connected online to continue learning this spring.

Decisions are happening fast. We only have a few days to collect this information.

Stay home, stay safe…and please help us help you!

SETDA Launches Coalition for eLearning Sharing Resources to Help Schools and Districts

The State Education Technology Directors Association recently launched its Coalition for eLearning. This SETDA Coalition for eLearning focuses state leaders, affiliates, and partners in collective action around teaching and learning in the digital age. The Coalition supports a robust website of vetted materials, an online EdWeb community, and series of informational webinars. It is an ever-evolving compilation of rapidly developing resources around eLearning for state education agencies and school districts. The content already published and all future content is all provided at no cost to users and is supported by SETDA’s partners and underwriters.

URL: https://www.setda.org/main-coalitions/elearning/

Digital Literacy (ICT) Standards Refresh draft out for public comment

Last year, a committee worked on drafting possible language for an update of our current ICT Literacy Standards, which were last adopted in 2005. These program standards are in need of refresh for several reasons.

1. They are old, last updated in 2005, and need new a refreshed focus which parallel the ISTE Standards for Students.
2. The legislature changed the name of ICT Literacy to Digital Literacy when they also added Computer Science as a content area in 193-E:2-a (j).
3. Some of the stuff in the old standards really now should belong in the computer science program standards, Ed 306.44, which are also currently under development. This updated draft removes overlapped material and adds previously lacking, but more relevant, language around information evaluation, cybersecurity, and digital citizenship.

You can see the updated version of the standards, in markup for comparison to the 2005 version here, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jdS7htCPTV7Y6Losqec57Yxvo0VRyJ5ueNE3XW3ckD8/view.

Please use this form to provide your public comment on this draft version of Ed 306.42: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5ho0J9_N89_EPBsMqJbBx5LHzg1creRd1rwH4e3dnshK9JQ/viewform.

Once the public has had time to comment. The committee will use the comments to make any final changes to the draft. The final draft will be submitted to the Professional Standards Board for consideration. The Professional Standards Board would then have the opportunity to make any changes before recommending them to the State Board of Education for adoption.

Some face to face meetings are also in the planning stages to give folks an opportunity to review and comment about the standards in person.

Classrooms Powered by Census Data

Statistics in Schools brings school subjects to life using real-world Census Bureau data to create materials for use year after year at all grade levels.

Why 2020 Matters for Schools.
The 2020 Census count impacts the federal funds that communities receive each year for programs and services that are critical for schools, students, and younger children, such as:
•Special education, Head Start, after-school programs, and classroom technology.
•Food assistance, including free and reduced-price school lunches.
•Maternal and child health programs.
Read More about it. 

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About Statistics in Schools
We provide more than 100 activities that you can use to enhance and invigorate learning in many subjects. New activities, designed specifically for the 2019-2020 school year, spotlight the 2020 Census and the importance of making sure everyone is counted, especially children.