NewLeaf, Chelsea LLC

An interesting review of some of the northeast's higher ed institutions, their levels of preparedness for the forthcoming increase in online learning, and an acknowledgment of the likely psychological effects on students resulting from the changes to come. (NB: This piece was written by an adjunct professor at SNHU, somewhat favorably covered here.) A pithy reflection on this past spring semester is also offered by a Dartmouth Distinguished Professor, tethered to a nod of ho...w we should evolve online learning going forward: "...the months-long trial of distance learning helped differentiate the courses that engage lively discourse from those that easily transfer knowledge in pre-recorded videos. The latter, he says, are deployed at scale, and have few additional costs once they’re established. In March, professors were pushing their face-to-face instruction to Zoom. That tactic bears little resemblance to online education, said Govindarajan: 'When you put lipstick on a pig, it still looks like a pig. You’re not really leveraging technologies to transform the learning experience.'" https://www.concordmonitor.com/What-Does-the-Future-of-Coll

A look ahead at what is likely to be a series of global patchwork measures to bring students back. Without a vaccine, smaller classes, changes in staffing, and distance learning will all be playing their respective parts to help navigate the choppy waters before us. https://www.theguardian.com//full-september-return-unlikel

An interesting dive into the minds of some students concluding their school year amid the pandemic. It seems clear that even well-executed online learning content and services - a fulcrum of moving education forward (and expanding access to it) in this new world - will not be a panacea. Students need and want a sense of community, responsibility, and accountability from their peers and teachers. As instruction shifts online, student success will not simply depend on stron...g content; a comprehensive strategy is needed to provide motivation, guidance, context, and inspiration (and maybe a little well-placed, good 'ol academic stress). It's also worth noting that we can not leave vocational instruction - which often includes and needs hands-on learning - behind. Yet another risk here of opening a gap that students can't afford to fall through. https://wamu.org//the-semester-of-covid-19-the-toll-of-th/

From Monday's New York Times: "Up until now, online education has been relegated to the equivalent of a hobby at most universities. With the pandemic, it has become a backup plan. But if universities embrace this moment strategically, online education could expand access exponentially and drop its cost by magnitudes all while shoring up revenues for universities in a way that is more recession-proof, policy-proof and pandemic-proof." This op-ed offers exciting and current, ...in-place examples of innovative thinking and realized cost-savings; it looks ahead to ways this pandemic could precipitate an exponential expansion of access to higher education... if only colleges and universities would also look in that same direction. https://www.nytimes.com//o/online-college-coronavirus.html

"The modern education system as we know it today was created to support an industrial age. The theory-focused, rote-based model of learning was primed to prepare learners for an industrial age future where they could excel at jobs that require following clear, linear paths and often come with job security and minimal mobility. In the information age, we need to reinvent and reimagine learning." http://bweducation.businessworld.in//Ho/26-05-2020-193154/

As Nelson Mandela said, Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. We're at an inflection point where putting that "weapon" in the hands that need it are in question. The impact of COVID-19 on educational opportunities is obviously not merely a U.S. phenomenon. Countries around the world need to implement new strategies - many of them digital in nature - for teaching our children. But that push brings with it a host of other issues of equity to resolve. We can not simply flip a switch and move instruction online; we must consider issues relative to access, productive learning environments, the quality and availability of teachers, as well as some of humanity's most basic concerns: hunger. https://www.nation.co.ke//440808-5563714-6fjqqlz/index.html

More than 1.2 billion children in 186 countries have been impacted by school closures due to COVID-19. Time is running short, and parents, students, teachers, and governments - all of us - must now dig hard at a knot of interconnected threads to ensuring equivalent learning experiences for all students going forward: internet access, adherence to ADA and WCAG for students with a range of learning challenges, sound digital pedagogical practices that put "achievement within reach" of all students, regardless of physical distance from instructors and other students, social structures, engagements, and interventions that promote learning. https://www.governing.com//Pandemic-Exposes-Equity-Access-

In the past, economic downturns have often led to upticks in college enrollments. The opposite it likely true with the impact of COVID-19. Fears of being in close proximity to other students, budget cuts in response to gutted tax revenues, etc. are already depressing enrollments and leading to dire predictions of institutions shuttering their doors for good. While our public institutions have proven resilient, significant change is needed for survival. Online learning is likely to act as one lifeline (though many are needed) as schools look to resuscitate their futures. https://www.governing.com//COVID-19-and-the-Uncertain-Futu

COVID-19 is shining an even harsher light on existing inequities in education. While the use of new online learning solutions can protect the physical health of our students and instructors, institutions, governments, and companies must find a way to offer holistic measures that help close the learning gap before it widens further and a generation of students fall into it. https://www.wraltechwire.com//equity-gaps-in-digital-lear/ https://www.boston.com//covid-19-community-college-bunker-

Henry Chesbrough in Forbes writes of the "reckoning" COVID-19 will catalyze for colleges and universities, quickly and wisely adding an ownership of outcomes to an embrace of personalized digital teaching strategies. "Unbundling research from teaching, disconnecting faculty from dedicated offices, and embracing digital technology together provide a new basis for a more affordable, sustainable education. Owning student outcomes will place the university in partnership with its students, and also align the university more closely with employers in the job market." https://www.forbes.com//higher-education-at-the-covid-19/

Before founding NewLeaf, Chelsea, founder and CEO Eric Stano spent over 25 years at edTech and educational publishing/media companies as a product and portfolio leader. Throughout his career helming a variety of businesses earning $1 million to $300 million in annual revenue, Eric conceived, developed, and released innovative, best-selling digital products amid often dramatic changes in market conditions and learning needs. Never have the changes in teaching and learning been... more tectonic or global in scope than today. The entire world now recognizes the need for sound, accessible, and intuitive digital learning products and services. Instructors and students require online solutions to help teach and learn; they deserve answers on how to provide and participate in an educational experience at least equivalent in quality to that of a face-to-face classroom, if not better. NewLeaf, Chelsea was founded to help edTech companies help our teachers and students in this new world. The NewLeaf, Chelsea team offers clients research, data, and counsel. Based on our experience as partners to instructors and students, and utilizing the best practices in data-driven product development, we will help you understand and meet tomorrow’s challenges for today’s instructors and learners. Visit us at www.newleafchelsea.com for more information. and to schedule and appointment.