As a teacher who has personally been in all three of those situations, I want to share my experiences and give an insider look on the pros and cons of each potential choice.

In-Person Education

First of all, we have the tried and true method of in-person teaching, which also may perhaps be the most controversial method in our current situation.

Many may try to argue against this, proclaiming that is the least safe of all these options due to the difficulties in enforcing social distancing, sanitizing, and mask wearing with children.

However, when effective precautions are consistently enforced and positively modeled by all staff in the building, I have found in-person teaching to still be the most effective and rewarding method for properly teaching my students.

Fully Virtual School

On the flip slide, we have schools that go fully virtual for the sake of ensuring that everyone (teachers and students alike) can in theory be safely quarantined at home whilst proceeding with daily learning.

While the idea of teaching or learning from home in your pajamas all day may sound quite alluring at first, the reality is that this is perhaps the most difficult method for teaching during the pandemic.

This is due to the many variables that need to be accounted for. Things such as home environments, parent work schedules, reliable Wi-Fi access, and the potential for students to outright stop participating if there is no enforcement from their parents. These can all create challenges to learning in a virtual environment.

Combination of Both

Finally, we have a combination of the two models mentioned above. My definition of “combination” in this case being several students learning in person while others choose virtual online education.

The teacher is now faced with the dilemma of trying to ensure the students learning from home are receiving the same education as the students in the classroom. This goal is made all the more difficult by the fact that all lessons do not translate to virtual learning as easily as others.

While providing families with a choice is wonderful, the added workload of trying to equally accommodate two groups of students can at times be a struggle. Regardless of what model your local school follows or what your personal opinions may be on all of this, I am constantly reminded of the famous words of John Lydgate: “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”

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The Education ministry had decided to reopen schools in different phases. In the first phase, grades nine, ten, colleges, universities have welcomed students back. However, secondary and primary classes will resume later in this month.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a tweet, “It was our priority and collective responsibility to ensure that every child can go to school safely to learn”.

The National Command Operation Center (NCOC) issued instructions telling parents to ensure their children follow SOPs, which includes wearing masks. The Center also ordered that children should not go to school if they are having symptoms including cough and fever.

In that case, parents should have the child tested. If they any test positive for Covid-19, they are asked to inform the educational institution.

Usage of sanitizer and ensuring social distancing is also advised by NCOC.

Education Minister ‘Shafqat Mehmood’ said parents, teachers, and administrations have to play an active role in upholding all safety measures.

Unfortunately, after the gradual reopening schools, it has been reported that 22 educational institutions have been closed across the country.  These schools reportedly failed to follow SOPs as required by the NCOC.

The agency said that it had to close the schools that were not in compliance in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.

16 of these educational institutions are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1 in Islamabad, and 5 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

It is unclear as to when, or if, these schools will be allowed to re-open.

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One of the latest examples of this occurred recently at the University of Central Florida. As reported by Matt Lupoli of WESH.com, the local NBC affiliate in Central Florida.

After the Labor Day weekend, several online videos surfaced. The videos show very large groups of UCF students at what appears to be a pool party.

Clearly seen in the video is a total lack of social distancing, face masks or any steps to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

The gatherings and behavior are at odds with university guidance and the school is taking the matter very seriously.

In an emergency order, put into effect last week, the school stated that, “The university reserves the right to address off-campus conduct when it is specifically prohibited by law or the Rules of Conduct, may have an adverse impact on the health, safety or welfare of the university community or any members thereof, or where such conduct may adversely affect the operations of the university.”

This indicates that the school may take action to punish some of these students.

In a number of similar instances and other schools across the country, many students have been suspended for entire semesters for such behavior. What’s more, these suspensions have come at quite a cost as tuitions are not being refunded.

The latest tally shows that UCF has confirmed 829 positive cases since the outbreak started.

UCF also reported that it has placed the students in three of its sororities under quarantine.

The 2-week quarantine is in effect for the 79 women of Zeta Tau Alpha, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Alpha Epsilon Phi.

While not all of the women tested positive, the quarantine aims to isolate the virus and allow the university to remain open.

To help police the situation, the university has established a hotline to allow students to anonymously report other students who are not complying with the emergency guidelines.

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When it comes to sending our children back to the classroom it seems, a growing majority of parents are favoring driving them in their car over using the traditional yellow school bus.

The new data comes from online car retailer Cars.com. The company recently released data that shows the growing trend.

In fact, says the company, the number of parents opting to drive their children is close to twice that of those choosing the school bus.

Jenni Newman, editor-in-chief for Cars.com wrote, “It’s not entirely surprising to see that parents want to drive their kids themselves. Americans have used their cars as a safe, reliable escape throughout the pandemic, and the value in personal car ownership will only increase as we continue to feel the impact of this crisis into the second half of the year.”

The numbers released show that just a little over half of parents will be driving their kids to school.

If you thought the car rider line was bad before, keep in mind that this is an over 20% increase over the way things were before COVID-19 – so plan accordingly.

The one saving grace for drivers, perhaps, is that for the time being, less than half of parents are letting their kids attend in person classes.

For the many families planning to band together to carpool, the CDC has some recommendations to help everyone stay safe.

Everyone should wear face coverings while in the vehicle. Remember to wipe down surfaces in the car both before and after the kids are on board.

Finally, says the agency, consider opening windows to help better ventilate the car when everyone is riding with you, especially if keeping your distance is less of an option.

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The fact that this course will be accepted worldwide in colleges is something that will be a point of attraction.

The purpose of teaching this course to high school students is mainly to ‘burst the bubble’ which surrounds critical degrees related to science and especially engineering. It is a subject that many students consider but many have no idea what the field really creates.

In this course, students look closely and examine the field and get a chance to explore it more to see if they want to pursue a career in it in the future. Students can think of this course as a chance to explore a field that is widely in demand in today’s world.

With insight into what college courses are actually like, this addition in their curriculum will democratize the learning of the field.

The program will be led by some top-notch universities including the University of Maryland, Arizona State University, Vanderbilt University, and Virginia Tech. All of these institutes will partner together to collaborate, disseminate, and evaluate the curriculum that will be devised.

The course’s main center of attention will be engineering principles and like any other high school and college course, will demand a student project at the end of the term.

The NSF is currently targeting all urban as well as suburban and rural highs schools to make sure no stone is left unturned and this pilot is able to reach to a vast majority of students. The program will be diverse, as it will cater to all students regardless of race and ethnic background. The figures indicate that this pilot will cover approximately 1400 students from 40 different schools.

To ensure that the plan of credit transfer to undergraduate colleges shall not face any hindrances, the pilot will of course follow the course of College Board and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).

The authorities are pretty affirmative about this addition and eagerly looking forward to it. However, the response by students shall be determined in the future once the addition is made.

Indications suggest that a chance to learn something related to a successful field will help students take their future plans more seriously.

An insight into what happens in a serious field will give them a chance to rethink and reassure their choices in order to select a suitable field and career for themselves. 

The National Science Foundation is all set to spend a good amount of money on this pilot; they are proud of this decision and are looking forward to a positive response from the students. 

The course: Engineering Principles and Design, will surely be an addition that will be considered as a highlighted part of high school curriculum history.

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Encouraging students to pursue an education and careers in fields related to STEM, the event, celebrates those students from the area making commitments to attend some of the country’s top technical schools, colleges and universities and to focus their studies in STEM.

AS with just about any large event in 2020, this year’s STEM Signing Day is a virtual event to avoid the spread of the corona virus. To kick off the event, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot gave the keynote speech to four dozen participants who had applied through the Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative which aims at addressing inequities in the STEM education from early childhood to career. Each student was awarded a $1,000 educational scholarship from The Motorola Solutions Foundation.

“This is an exciting day for Chicago’s students and a proud day for our entire city,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “I want to personally congratulate every one of our brilliant and talented young people for their hard-earned accomplishments, and wish them every success as they take this next step in their education and future careers. Bold investments in STEM programming with partners like the Motorola Solutions Foundation and Boeing empower our students to achieve the historic gains they are making, putting our communities on a stronger path towards a brighter future for us all.”

Additionally, this year Boeing will work with 560 students across the United States through participation in similar STEM Signing Day events.

“We are proud to support the Chicago STEM Signing Day and all 560 students participating in events like this across the U.S.,” said Greg Smith, executive vice president of Enterprise Operations and Communications (interim), and chief financial officer at Boeing. “Congratulations to each of you, and thank you for dedicating your bright future to these essential fields.”

Access a replay of the event here.

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Michael Walsh, Mate of Programs at the Transatlantic Sea Scouts BSA, tells us that #BSAMapathon promotes learning and advancement in science, technology, engineering and Math (STEM). “In addition, the youth serving on the council will be able to earn community service hours and acquire the knowledge, skills, and networks needed to become future leaders,” said Walsh.

Due to quarantine restrictions, many Scouts have been unable to complete their community service requirements in person. However, this service project promotes community service and thought leadership through humanitarian mapping from the comfort of their homes.

The Scouts use a series of free humanitarian mapping technologies such as, OpenStreetMap and the HOT Tasking Manager. Once the data is collected, they are then able to make edits and contribute them to the Missing Maps Project.

“To complete the challenge, Scouts will need to become proficient in the use of OpenStreetMap and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team Tasking Manager,” Walsh explains.

The maps being edited show frontline responders the places in a community that are at greater risk of humanitarian crises like COVID-19 and Ebola. The initiative, #BSAMapathon, has already contributed over 1,800 to the Missing Maps Project covering over 1,400 buildings and 130 kilometers of roads across Asia, Africa and the Pacific.

Several other branches of Scouts including the Scouts from the Aloha and Transatlantic Council have led the way by contributing over 450 and 650 edits in their first two weeks.

This initiative is instilling Scouts with practical skills like using a compass, reading maps and navigational charts for their outdoors activities. Dr. Jose Lepervanche, Commodore of the Transatlantic Sea Scouts BSA stated, “In addition, their mapping service is one of the essential values of all Scouts, service to communities in need.”

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The program’s eclectic curriculum integrates marine science, citizen science, and diving science to provide an original “learning through exploration”. This novel program aims to enable and inspire the upcoming generation of ocean and environmental stewards with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive.

Citizen Scientist participants will partake in an array of exciting activities. Most notably, they will experience first-hand a 24-hour undersea habitat experience. Asides from that, participants will be taught about physiology and diving physics, as well as opportunities in oceanography and marine sciences at Citizen Science.

Moreover, participants will engage in multiple hands-on underwater activities like utilizing dive tools to conduct a safe cleanup of coral reefs, as well as performing fish identification. The participants will experience what it’s like to work in microgravity as they engage in these seafloor excursions from their underwater habitat.

The SEA STAR’s Citizen Scientist program is a hybrid education model that combines multiple instructional delivery methods, online learning, and hands-on instruction. After participants have completed all facets of the program, they receive SEA STAR program’s certificate of completion. Moreover, they will receive 3 specialty diving credentials from the Professional Association of Diving Instructions (PADI); including PADI Aquanaut, PADI Underwater Maintenance, and PADI InnerSpace Diver.

The inaugural Citizen Scientist Aquanaut course ran from March 28 to 29, 2020, and was quickly followed by the second from May 30 to 31, 2020. Each course restricted to 6 people that were selected on a first-come basis. Venture Beyond LLC is dedicated to the furtherance of human exploration of Earth and Space through multidisciplinary and innovative educational programs.

If you are interested in the Citizen Scientist Aquanaut Program or any other of their programs, you can visit their website at https://sites.google.com/view/venturesbeyondllc/home for more information.

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“Our mission with Novovu is to provide users around the world a utility to create games at the low cost of free,” said Davis. “To then share these creations with friends and family, while in return eventually earning from monetization.”

The platform allows game enthusiasts to develop and publish games using Novovu’s proprietary custom tools and game engine. With a wide range of freedom, users can create multiplayer online games that foster self-expression. Through Novovu’s Wiki and Workshop, newcomers can learn about the ins and outs of game development.

“Our goal is to allow developers to be able to push the limits and do amazing things with our game engine,” Davis continued.

According to Novovu.com, users are also able to customize and create their own personal avatars. These can not only be used across different games on the platform, but also to socialize on forum boards.

Davis went on to say that part of his vision with the company and the platform is to inspire others of his generation, perhaps pushing them to create businesses as well and to embrace technology. He believes that Novovu users can take advantage of the free platform see if they might like to pursue a career in the game development field.

Although Novovu is targeted at teenagers, the young CEO made it clear that his platform is not ‘kid’s stuff.’ “We have the goal of creating a professional, friendly, and cooperative development environment no matter if you are 14 or 21 years of age,” he said.

According to ZipRecruiter.com, game developers in the US make an average of $130,000 per year. Many developers do not have college degrees, which could steer many newcomers in the field to use Novovu.

The platform is free to use and will be released this summer on Windows, MacOS, and mobile outlets in the near future.

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According to a press release, the money will be utilized to create 4 new centers by the tribal enterprise advancement. The main goal of these centers is to equip individuals with the resources to make their community thrive by building upon the existing science and engineer expertise present at TCUs.

These science and engineering professionals will be given further employment opportunities in the national and state government agencies. This will provide them with the resources they need to make changes in the standard of life and financial well-being of other indigenous communities.

Federal funding is nothing new for the TCUs. Since the 1970s they have invested heavily in the STEM capacity of such colleges and universities. However, with this new award, many things are set to change for the good of the community.

“We anticipate these new centers will produce greater innovation and economic expansion within the communities served by the TCUP institutions,” said Jody Chase, program director in NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate.

New centers awarded to these colleges and universities are:

• The Aaniiih Nakoda Nic’ –Mni (Water) Center
• Tribal Enterprise Advancement Center For Community Marine Research
• United Tribes Technical College’s Intertribal Research and Resource Center
• Navajo Technical University’s Advanced Manufacturing Center

All these centers will have a specific function and their work will promote the life of native communities everywhere. The main focus area is that of research and development in all these centers.

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