eLearning eVolution

I read an article in the Boston Globe today that said that many students no longer have much recollection of the events of 9/11, as they experienced them at such a young age. Lessons for today are turning more into historical facts vs. a discussion of remembrances. My memories are still so alive. After all, 8 years ago in an adult’s life seems like just yesterday. And it was 8 years ago on 9/11 that I experienced “continuity of learning” without even realizing it.

Early morning 9/11, I was at work planning for a Customer Advisory Council meeting. I worked for a company that developed virtual learning products, and I needed to learn about what educators needed in future versions. My meeting was to be held online, using web conferencing technology, the next day.

At 9:10 on 9/11, I abandoned my preparation efforts to watch the replays of the twin towers being hit by 2 planes, crowded into a cubical with co-workers all standing in silence. As the day went on, I worried about my family living in the NY area, my co-workers and neighbors who headed to Logan Airport that morning for a flight, and colleagues at a conference in NYC. Like everyone, I experienced distraction, confusion, anxiety, and grief. This was not a business-as-usual day. Would tomorrow be?

The next day, 9/12, was my big Council meeting. I attended my online event from home. As invitees began to enter the virtual room from all over the U.S., I greeted them and said “I’m really not sure what to expect today.” I was referring to meeting attendance, but my comment triggered discussion about concerns of the nation that day. It turned out that in the end my online session was quite successful despite the crisis situation.

In retrospect, the worries I had about my meeting were incredibly minor compared those who were faced with life and family changes as a result of 9/11. They were:

- Would everyone attend? — Why not. Flights were all grounded but internet service was fine. My online meeting was on and reachable at the click of a link.

- Would this session even happen today? — Why not. People displaced by shutdowns or who chose to work from home for safety merely attended from a different PC-equipped location. They had participated in online sessions so many times before. Only their chairs were different now.

- Would we be in the mindset? Sure. Live interaction and discussion allowed for a brief but needed decompress. After that, we were ready to focus on something engaging and positive.

As they say in times of death, life goes on. In times of crisis, learning and productivity can go on, too.

- Donna Christopher, Elluminate Director of Marketing

With the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina upon us, it’s clear that schools throughout the country need to be better prepared for that next disaster, whatever it may be.

In fact, Education Week just published an article about a report by the Southern Education Foundation. The report says the federal government’s response to challenges faced by storm-tossed K12 and higher ed institutions along the Gulf Coast was a “massive failure.” Fortunately, the report also says that it’s not too late to change our course.

So where do we start? Of course, we should be able to look to our federal, state, and local governments for assistance. However, I think it’s important that academia and business work together to develop solutions as well. Case in point: The Hurricane Education Leadership Program (HELP) Team, a consortium of businesses, associations, and nonprofits organized by Intel.

HELP is urging educators to get disaster recovery plans ready NOW! And one key area of any plan should be learning continuity. Recently, we held a webinar about disaster planning, organized by HELP, with guest speaker HELP Team Project Manager Melinda Dinin of Intel. She shared what HELP and its partners, like Elluminate, are doing to develop a 21st Century learning model that can be easily replicated by other states and countries.

Click here to access the recorded session. You’ll also want to check out this related eSchool News article.

We must all, as Melinda Dinin says, start thinking about what we need do today to prepare for the inevitable and to address issues of how we will provide continued learnining. People cannot affort to wait. And, of course, she’s right.

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication