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Supporting rural students during remote learning
Brian Stack EducationAfter nine months, the impact that the pandemic is having on our nation’s most isolated and rural communities continues to rise. With rising cases, the pandemic has forced many schools into extended periods of remote programming this holiday season. In rural communities that often already have equity gap challenges to overcome, this simply does not help to make things better.
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How educators can best focus on the social-emotional needs of boys
Sheilamary Koch EducationCreating safe spaces for youth, in particular boys and young men, to express what they’re going through and heal from trauma is one of Chad Reed’s overriding objectives. His personal history and work with nonprofits serving youth of color in the San Francisco Bay Area has made him a strong advocate for social-emotional learning (SEL), which he believes is a must before academic subject matter. While developing the soft skills reflected in CASEL’s five competencies can be challenging for all students, one's gender, socio-economic level and cultural background can shape how readily a student can integrate this learning.
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Survey: Firms fight to operate during COVID-19
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe breadth and depth of the pandemic’s effects on private businesses has surfaced in new government data collected from July 20 through Sept. 30, 2020. In these numbers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conveys how businesses big and small operated. Spoiler alert: the BLS data on employment, wages, job openings and terminations, employer-provided benefits, and safety and health paints a tough picture of firms fighting to stay afloat. Nationally, 52% of surveyed businesses, or 4.4 million, told their workers to avoid work (paid or not) for some time.
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Hindsight is 2020: Putting the year in perspective
Linda Popky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAdmit it. If two years ago someone had walked into your office with a movie script containing half of the things that happened in 2020, you would have laughed them out of there. Or perhaps suggested they needed psychological help. None of us saw this coming. Yes, the infectious disease experts warned we should be on the lookout for a viral pandemic, but they couldn’t tell us how or when this would arrive or the impact it would have on our society. Now that we’re getting close to the end of this tumultuous year, what learning can we take forward for the future?
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Will ‘robots’ make good teachers?
Patrick Gleeson EducationWe humans have long been fascinated by our interactions with robots. For decades, the interaction was largely fictional. In reality, robots were primitive, shaky and limited. Recent advances in artificial intelligence, however, make the idea of a classroom led by a robot or other artificial intelligence-informed entity at least plausible. They won’t look like HAL 9000 or R2-D2, but eventually artificial intelligence-informed programs will almost certainly take on a significant part of a child’s education — and probably sooner than you think. Here’s why and likely how.
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Building and fostering positive relationships with diverse students in…
Erick Herrmann EducationAs virtual and hybrid instruction continue, positive relationships are pivotal in keeping students engaged in learning. By now, you have long established positive relationships with all of your students, and they are engaged in the learning process. The process of developing and building relationships with your students is ongoing, though, and we must continually foster, nurture, and celebrate these relationships, especially as we continue with virtual and distance learning. The following strategies will help to do just that. These strategies, while beneficial for all students, are especially important with culturally and linguistically diverse students.
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US economy gains 245,000 jobs; unemployment rate drops to 6.7%
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementU.S. employers added 245,000 nonfarm jobs in November after 638,000 new hires in October and 661,000 in September, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. November’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.7% from October’s 6.9% and September’s 7.9%. The November federal jobs report reflects an easing of COVID-19 restrictions to slow coronavirus transmission, which have been unsuccessful as local and state governments resume restraints on gatherings of businesses and public places. November’s national nonfarm jobless rate has decreased 8.0 percentage points from an April high. However, November’s rate is 3.2 percentage points higher than February’s figure.
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Study: Number of adults seeking additional education surges
Sheilamary Koch EducationInterest in pursuing additional education is greater now than prior to the pandemic, according to results of a recent poll. This trend foresees an exciting year ahead for the savvy education marketer, teacher or even prospective student. In a study of more than 1,200 adults by the higher education marketing and research firm SimpsonScarborough in conjunction with LinkedIn, 47% said their interest in furthering their education has increased since the onset of COVID-19 while 67% said they currently are actively researching education options and 53% plan to enroll within the next 6 months.
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Why the federal ban on diversity and inclusion training is bad for business
Simma Lieberman Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementA September executive order by the White House bans diversity and inclusion training for the federal government as well as for contractors and anyone who does business with the federal government. The letter that accompanied the order calling for a halt to any scheduled diversity training described it as divisive, propaganda and unpatriotic. We live in a diverse society, our workplaces continue to be more diverse, and business continues to be global. In order to do business on a global level and provide the best products and services to a diverse customer base, organizations need to help their employees learn the right skills.
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Report: The impact of COVID-19 on student achievement
Bambi Majumdar EducationA recent report sheds light on the adverse effect of COVID-19 school disruptions on K-12 learning. Titled, “How Kids Are Performing: Tracking the Impact of COVID-19 on Reading and Mathematics Achievement,” the report was released by a leading pre-K–12 education technology leader, Renaissance. It considers student assessments from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The results total over 5 million student assessments. The report touches upon all the aspects of learning issues and gaps and seeks to guide educators as they address learning gaps.
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