COVID-19: Personal Update 2020-03-12 From Kirkland WA
CORONAVIRUS
A deadly new virus from China, which causes respiratory illness and pneumonia, is spreading around the world. CDC calls it COVID-19. I live in Kirkland, WA, about two miles due south of the outbreak's original United States epicenter, with multiple cases and the first substantial (10+) deaths. Through today, King County has 26 deaths attributed to the virus.
(Caveat: one man, one IT worker, one opinion: I have no extra info over and above, one commentary only):
(NOTE: Today, there is uproar on social media and elsewhere that most, if not quite all (at this writing) school districts have canceled or postponed questions, some through the bulk of April. While an economic hardship, it's clearly necessary per the pandemic "How to Handle" manual. And we deal with the outcomes of that, too, notably my absolute incredulity major school systems don't seem fully prepared).
That move is right out of the pandemic playbook, and not too many pages down. What we have (note: on FB, local Groups) are pages and pages of parents with entirely legitimate, albeit immediate and not really looking at the bigger picture, concerns.
The bigger question, I'm learning with increasing absolute incredulity: "Where is the school districts's springing plan for disaster learning, in case of major calamity (absent war): lahar, temblor, pandemic, etc." ...and finding out there isn't one. They have few plans for mass offsite learning, or plans to migrate online fully over a multi-year horizon, etc.
That is a blue sky answer, and when this is over, I'd urge every parent to peacefully march on thier school district and demand to understand their disaster planning and assumptions for moving all learning online, which is invariably where it will go given sufficient time.
In one of the most technologically literate cities in America, if not THE most, the idea that a student cannot immediately open an Internet connected laptop, login securely using biometrics to the school site (not some asinine "username" and "password" BS), have their own home room with file storage, grades, classes, calendars, etc. at the ready, and be greeted with plans and actions for alternative learning, from a familiar teacher or administrator, during a crisis such as this... is intolerable in 2020.
A deadly new virus from China, which causes respiratory illness and pneumonia, is spreading around the world. CDC calls it COVID-19. I live in Kirkland, WA, about two miles due south of the outbreak's original United States epicenter, with multiple cases and the first substantial (10+) deaths. Through today, King County has 26 deaths attributed to the virus.
(Caveat: one man, one IT worker, one opinion: I have no extra info over and above, one commentary only):
(NOTE: Today, there is uproar on social media and elsewhere that most, if not quite all (at this writing) school districts have canceled or postponed questions, some through the bulk of April. While an economic hardship, it's clearly necessary per the pandemic "How to Handle" manual. And we deal with the outcomes of that, too, notably my absolute incredulity major school systems don't seem fully prepared).
That move is right out of the pandemic playbook, and not too many pages down. What we have (note: on FB, local Groups) are pages and pages of parents with entirely legitimate, albeit immediate and not really looking at the bigger picture, concerns.
The bigger question, I'm learning with increasing absolute incredulity: "Where is the school districts's springing plan for disaster learning, in case of major calamity (absent war): lahar, temblor, pandemic, etc." ...and finding out there isn't one. They have few plans for mass offsite learning, or plans to migrate online fully over a multi-year horizon, etc.
That is a blue sky answer, and when this is over, I'd urge every parent to peacefully march on thier school district and demand to understand their disaster planning and assumptions for moving all learning online, which is invariably where it will go given sufficient time.
In one of the most technologically literate cities in America, if not THE most, the idea that a student cannot immediately open an Internet connected laptop, login securely using biometrics to the school site (not some asinine "username" and "password" BS), have their own home room with file storage, grades, classes, calendars, etc. at the ready, and be greeted with plans and actions for alternative learning, from a familiar teacher or administrator, during a crisis such as this... is intolerable in 2020.
