Message from the Consortium’s Executive Director: A tale of two
We know this has been a deeply unnerving time for the schools and educators we serve as well as our community and business partners. We think about all of you daily and hope to continue working with you even amid this anxiety-ridden backdrop of silenced school bells and business shutdowns. Along with you, we are mourning the losses that come with social distancing, the daily interpersonal connections—with students, colleagues, clients or others—that bring warmth and fullness to our relationships and lives.
But if ever a time was a “tale of two,” this is it. Our lives have been completely disrupted. And yet, just as “disruptive” innovations create entirely new markets and networks in commerce, so too have they opened new possibilities for all of us in our professional worlds.
Any ambivalence we might have had about using technology in classrooms—much less as classrooms—of necessity, is falling by the way. Some schools already have operated virtually; others soon will follow. All of us will experiment with new media and tools. Whatever reluctance we might have had, many of these will prove invaluable long after our schools and businesses reopen.
At the Consortium, our staff is examining the amazing possibilities new technologies offer for enhancing and expanding our work with you and the resources we can offer not just during this difficult time, but long after it has passed.
Very soon, for example, we plan to bring you some new tools and/or strategies to support career learning, Project-Based Learning, and Human-Centered Design. Watch your inbox, our website, and social media for alerts about these and other resources as we roll them out over the coming weeks. And, as always, please feel free to reach out to us if there are additional ways you think we might be able to help. We can’t promise we’ll be able, but we’ll certainly always try.
Meanwhile, our thoughts and good wishes are with all of you.
Sincerely,
Mary Kay Babyak