Each week technology leaders from around the globe gather to discuss issues and concerns related to the challenges of the day. In this edition, we discussed ways schools are supporting parents who are working from home and helping their children attend school virtually. We also discussed how tech teams need the support of their leadership and schools to maintain self-care during this crisis. Other issues, such as repair and breakage policies, filled out the hour's discussion. -- SD

[10-minute read; 1-hour video]

Register here for our next Virtual Town Hall on April 8.

The April 1 ATLIS Virtual Town Hall focused on support for parents and tech team self-care during these challenging times. Virtual schooling has made it necessary to call on parents to provide support to their children in their online learning spaces -- requiring everything from troubleshooting bandwidth issues to helping with lessons online

“A lot of our parents are now teachers,” one participant said, “so we treat them like faculty.”

Meanwhile, as technology teams work 24/7 to provide the training and support teachers need to ramp up distance learning programs for their schools, we looked for guidance from technology leaders for helping them establish boundaries and give themselves the care they need to sustain all of our efforts.

ATLIS Virtual Town Hall, April 1, 2020 (Video Archive)

Summary

What are you doing or feel you need to do to support parents during this challenging time? What are the best resources you’ve found for parents during this unprecedented time?

• Offer Zoom chats, check in and get a pulse
• Set up Zoom Camp during Spring Break to give relief to families: online games, story time, student-run classes 
• Create live FAQ page, for example, what to do when a student gets locked out
• Set up online resource board specifically for parents
• Kick off online learning via Facebook Live, specifically for parents
• Explain how virtual office hours work
• Create a well-defined schedule that parents can count on
• Send out frequent surveys to parents for feedback
• Create a status board for parents, to let them know if a tool goes down
• Describe how learning looks different now
• Provide resources about how to connect with each other
• Model parent help web pages on local public school “who to contact” pages used for other school closures
• Reach out to parents in need to offer grocery store gift cards
• Open Help Desk ticketing system to parents; share how to ask for support
• Suggest ways to help parents connect younger children to see their friends’ faces
• Create a parent hub to collect information all in one place on your school’s website 

How are you setting boundaries and promoting self-care for your tech team?

• The Thirsty Three -- Come to an online meeting, bring a beverage, tell about three funny things that happened this week. Change hats and wigs during meetings to keep things light.a
• Tune in to staff anxiety; meet them where they are. I give my name and personal info out to the community in order to be the front person for support and protect my team.
• Instruct your team to take three breaks a day, stop by 4 pm, honor your weekends and evenings. 
• Play Minecraft (or other online games) together to do something silly and have a good time.
• Losing someone on your team adds a new layer about self care. 
• Do a one-on-one check-in with team members each morning. 
• For a  virtual lunch meeting, arrange to have lunch delivered to all of your people.

Resources Shared in the Chat

SnipeIT: Open Source Asset Management

Sample Parent Resources from Providence Day School

ATLIS Virtual Town Hall Archive

Newest Resources from the ATLIS Clearinghouse

Parent Resources

Cybersecurity

• A Guide to Securely Working from Home, Ankura

Humor (for When You Need It)

• Colleen Flaherty, 'I Will Survive' Teaching Online,Inside Higher Ed, 17 March 2020. (Includes viral video and lyrics by  Michael Bruening.)
• David Zhou, Zoom Pro Tip 3: Make it a video background to have a convincing loop of you looking engaged, Twitter Post.

Teaching and Learning Online

• Mike Caulfield, Dirt Simple Mini-Course, Dirt Simple Online, 28 March 2020
• Bill Selak, Our Campus Closed for COVID-19. Here are 3 Things I'm Glad I Did.
• Learning in a Time of Coronavirus

Working from Home (WFH)

• How to Work From Home Like A Boss, Washington Post, 19 March 2020

ATLIS Member-Created Resources

• Lucy Gray, Videoconferencing Options for Schools PDF

 Sample School Web Pages

• Charles Wright Academy, Remote Learning at CWA, Webpage.
• Providence Day School, Remote Learning Family Resources. Webpage.
• Ravenscroft School, Ravenscroft School's Virtual Learning Approach, Webpage.

givethx.org

• Build Classroom Belonging
• Practices Guide

Google

• Explore distance learning resources for schools affected by COVID-19
  
• EDU in 90 is a video series from Google for Education, with new episodes three times each month

Knowing Technologies

• Spark Sessions (Week of 3/30)
• Archived Spark Sessions
  

Microsoft

• Remote Learning with Microsoft Edu: Webinar Schedule
• Join the Microsoft Enabling Remote Learning Community
  
• Follow @Mtholfsen on Twitter for MicrosoftEdu 
• Quick tip videos for Microsoft Education features

Scrible

• Helping Teachers and Students Stay Connected During Coronavirus Disruption (free pro plan)
  

Time for Kids 

• Digital Library Free for the Rest of the Year

Zoom

• Ryan Gallagher, Best Practices for Securing Your Virtual Classroom, Zoom Blog, 27 March 2020
• Michelle Pacansky-Brock, 6 Tips to Deter Zoom-bombers in Times of Disruption, CC document.
• Tony Wan, Holding Class on Zoom? Beware of These Hacks, Hijinks, and Hazards, Edsurge, 27 March 2020
• Eric S. Yuan, Zoom's Use of Facebook's SDK in iOS Client, 27 March 2020