Self-Motivation
David Goggins
Former Navy Seal
Career Development
Bryan Cranston
Actor
Critical Thinking
Liv Boeree
International Poker Champion
Emotional Intelligence
Amaryllis Fox
Former CIA Clandestine Operative
Management
Chris Hadfield
Retired Canadian Astronaut & Author
Learn
from the world's big
thinkers
Start Learningfrom the world's big
thinkers
Get through the pandemic with our best stories, sent straight to your inbox
Remote learning vs. online instruction: How COVID-19 woke America up to the difference
Educators and administrators must build new supports for faculty and student success in a world where the classroom might become virtual in the blink of an eye.
14 July, 2020
Credit: Shutterstock
- If you or someone you know is attending school remotely, you are more than likely learning through emergency remote instruction, which is not the same as online learning, write Rich DeMillo and Steve Harmon.
- Education institutions must properly define and understand the difference between a course that is designed from inception to be taught in an online format and a course that has been rapidly converted to be offered to remote students.
- In a future involving more online instruction than any of us ever imagined, it will be crucial to meticulously design factors like learner navigation, interactive recordings, feedback loops, exams and office hours in order to maximize learning potential within the virtual environment.
<p>If there is one thing that the COVID-19 pandemic should teach educators, it's the fragility of long-cherished assumptions about what is best or desirable for learning. It seems like just yesterday that the arguments were raging about whether colleges were going to be diminished if they relied too much on technology and online learning. Access to college classes, it seemed at the time, was something that must be added carefully to an existing way of learning. One thing that drew nods at faculty meetings was the conviction that making college accessible would not be at the expense of a quality residential experience. It never occurred to any of us (even those of us who were actively promoting online learning as an alternate but equally effective educational experience) that traditional residential classrooms would disappear, not because they had been destroyed by online courses, but because they might become obsolete in a world in which congregating in groups of dozens or hundreds is simply not possible.</p><p>Your child may now be staring at their computer screen instead of going to a physical classroom, but that doesn't mean that they are necessarily participating in quality, online learning. Your student is more than likely learning through emergency remote instruction, <em>which is not the same as online learning</em>. As we face this new era of remote instruction for everyone from K-12 students to graduate students and adult learners, it's essential that we properly define and understand the difference between a course that is designed to be taught in an online format and a course that has been rapidly converted to be offered to remote students. It is also critical that we examine the respective roles of these two forms of instruction in the future of education.</p>
<blockquote>[T]here have always been and continue to be skeptics of online learning and many of their fears are not unfounded. ... However, we often find that these concerns are due to a misunderstanding of the difference between high-quality, online instruction and emergency remote education. </blockquote>
<p>In 2014, Georgia Tech partnered with AT&T and Udacity to launch what has now become the world's largest and most affordable (costing the average student around $8,000), accredited Online Master's of Science in Computer Science (known as <a href="https://omscs.gatech.edu/" target="_blank">OMSCS</a>). The design and development of this degree program was a massive undertaking involving countless faculty members, online instruction specialists, educational technologists, and instructional designers. Due to the immense work and expertise poured into the OMSCS program and its curriculum, it has become a global success and has produced hundreds of successful alumni.<br></p><p>The remote courses offered by universities across the globe as a result of COVID-19 are not the same as online courses offered by a program, like OMSCS, that has been designed from inception to be offered in a fully digital format. For example, in Ashok Goel and David Joyner's popular Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence course, every detail from the user experience of navigating the virtual course content, to the highly interactive, pre-recorded video lessons, to the approach to peer feedback, exams, and office hours have been meticulously designed to maximize learning potential within the virtual environment. This course has been iterated upon and honed over many semesters of offerings.</p><p>A course in, for example, physics, that has never before been offered in the online environment but has been converted to remote learning due to COVID-19 does not have the luxury of many phases of design and iteration. A faculty member teaching a course like this unexpectedly needs to rapidly determine how to offer the best possible course to remote students, even if said faculty member has never before taught an online course. Universities need to be prepared to successfully equip and support the efforts of these faculty members. In the new normal, a university must provide a framework for both online learning and emergency remote education.</p><p>This will be one of the defining questions for the future of higher education: How do we properly equip educators for a future involving more remote and online instruction than any of us ever imagined?</p>
<p>Since campuses began to shutter due to COVID-19, faculty and university staff across the country have worked around the clock to convert on-campus courses into remote learning experiences for upcoming semesters. New research data shows us that at Georgia Tech, students have generally been accepting of the newly remote experience and what the university has been able to offer as a substitute for on-campus learning, with only 30% reporting dissatisfaction.</p><p>Yet, there have always been and continue to be skeptics of online learning and many of their fears are not unfounded. Concern about the quality of instruction, the lack of human-to-human interaction, the restrictions placed on instructional methods are more than reasonable--these are the types of concerns that excellent faculty and instructors should be asking of any new approach lauded as a game changer for education. However, we often find that these concerns are due to a misunderstanding of the difference between high-quality, online instruction and emergency remote education. Research has shown that students in an online variation of one of Georgia Tech's on-campus computer science classes do just as well in the course as their in-person counterparts and also take less time to achieve comparable learning outcomes (<a href="http://www.davidjoyner.net/blog/toward-cs1-at-scale-building-and-testing-a-mooc-for-credit-candidate/" target="_blank">Joyner 2018</a>). Yet, students in online courses that are simply recordings of their in-person lessons can find success more difficult because their remote course was not designed for the digital format from inception. For example, in face-to-face classes there is an immediate feedback loop between instructors and students. If a student doesn't understand something, the instructor can instantly try a different approach to help foster understanding. In remote classes that loop is weakened or even missing entirely. Understanding the differing natures of the two modes of instruction is the first step in building a bridge between the quality of programs like Georgia Tech's online master's degrees and the immediate need for a course to be available to students who thought they would be spending those class hours in a lecture hall.</p>
<p>There is no question that we need quality online and remote instruction now more than ever. What we as educators and administrators must do is take a close look at the challenges (and successes) we've experienced over the past few months, overlay that with what we know about meaningful online learning experiences, and build new supports for faculty and student success in a world where the classroom might become virtual in the blink of an eye.</p><p>Beyond that, we need to look past the traditional curriculum, instruction, and assessment aspects of a course and try to develop the less obvious (but perhaps just as important) intangible elements that make up a high-quality educational experience. It can be difficult to build community, establish relationships between students and faculty, and find motivation and career guidance in a totally online environment. But these things are at the heart of the higher education experience and we need to look for a way to bring these intangibles to our students, regardless of instructional delivery mode and even in the midst of unthinkable and unexpected change. </p>
Keep reading
Show less
Jordan Klepper: Comedians vs. the apocalypse
Watch The Daily Show comedian Jordan Klepper and elite improviser Bob Kulhan live.
13 July, 2020
Big Think LIVE
These days, if you don't laugh, you might just scream. Enter comedian and The Daily Show regular Jordan Klepper!
<p>In this Big Think Live session, Klepper will be in conversation with Bob Kulhan, CEO of Business Improv, talking creativity, adaptability and comedy in the age of COVID-19. How does <em>The Daily Show</em> team work remotely? What's it like to brainstorm in real-time on live TV? And what has comedy done for <em>you</em> lately? </p><p><strong>STREAMING LINKS</strong><br></p><p>
<a href="https://edge.bigthink.com/live_streams/102">Big Think Edge</a> | <a href="https://youtu.be/CFQNox-j3wQ">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BigThinkdotcom/posts/10157503083698527">Facebook</a>
</p><p>
---
</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Anti-vax disinformation spreads unchecked on Facebook
Despite fact check campaigns, anti-vaccination influence is growing.
13 July, 2020
Police officers speak to an anti-lockdown and vaccine protester during a demonstration against the coronavirus lockdown at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park on May 30, 2020 in London, England.
Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
- Despite announcing plans to combat disinformation, anti-vax groups continue to gain influence on Facebook.
- An analysis of over 1,300 Facebook pages with 100 million followers shows that anti-vaccination agendas are having a profound impact.
- Only 50 percent of Americans are certain they'll receive an approved COVID-19 vaccine.
<p><br></p>
<p>This morning I received a direct message from someone I'm connected to in the wellness community. By now, I'm accustomed to the language: "I would be interested in your take on xxx," followed by a video of a "medical doctor" who "appears to be knowledgeable and sincere, and also speaks from the heart." </p><p>While bedside manner is important, the ruse is immediately apparent. Another way of phrasing an anti-vaxx agenda is to claim, "I'm just asking questions," wherein the questions answer themselves. The video in question tries to connect vaccines with "Nanobots, GMO's [sic], trans humans [sic]" and "Covid-19 [sic]." </p><p>The monologue is an incoherent rambling of numerous buzzwords from different disciplines united by one goal: to make you believe a giant conspiracy is happening right in front of us that only the woke can see. </p><p>That I received the video on Facebook isn't surprising. As Media Matters <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/most-notorious-anti-vax-groups-use-facebook-lay-groundwork-against-novel" target="_blank">points out</a>, the social media giant has become Ground Zero for the anti-vax movement. Despite the company's stated intentions to combat anti-vax disinformation, that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/20/health/facebook-anti-vaxxer-investigation-update/index.html" target="_blank">doesn't seem to be changing</a>. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Facebook pages for NVIC, CHD, ICAN and their associated leaders and media projects have a combined more than 950,000 followers. This represents the tip of the iceberg; according to a recent report, anti-vaxxers have a combined Facebook following of 58 million people."</p><p>Facebook's recent fact-checking efforts appear to be doing more trouble than good. A friend recently posted an NPR article discussing the dangers of conspiracy theories. Since CTs (conspiracy theories) were mentioned, Facebook's AI tagged the article with a warning. This sort of misstep causes consumers to question the validity of the fact-checking process, which only fuels the anti-vax movement. </p><p>This longstanding problem transcends social media. One <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20348365/" target="_blank">2010 study</a> found that spending 5-10 minutes on an anti-vax website is likely to sway your opinion on vaccines—<em>there are two sides to the story</em>—while the opposite <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6140172/#b6-ms115_p0180" target="_blank">does not occur</a>. Anti-vaxxers dig their heels in when confronted with opposing information.</p>
Facebook announces plan to 'tackle vaccine misinformation'
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="997c512b8b8afcd4db98fdb7ece75680"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZTZ3Lq67yiY?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>This trend is having real-world consequences. Only <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/just-50-americans-plan-get-covid-19-vaccine-here-s-how-win-over-rest" target="_blank">half of Americans</a> are willing to get a coronavirus vaccine, with a quarter wavering and a quarter against. While we should be confident of efficacy—gossip about a <a href="https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200511/covid-19_vaccine_by_fall_possible_but_at_what_cost" target="_blank">vaccine arriving in the Fall</a> is ambitious and potentially unsafe—the idea that a quarter of the country will refuse any vaccine is a potential public health disaster (as if we're not experiencing one now).</p><p>Making matters worse, we can't fight disinformation with data. No matter how many articles <a href="https://bigthink.com/coronavirus/the-plandemic" target="_self">debunk Plandemic</a>, Mikki Willis gains momentum. Do <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mikki.willis/posts/2875973472513592" target="_blank">27,000 doctors</a> really support his efforts to "reform our corrupt global healthcare systems?" There's no way to tell, but that's the thing about Facebook: it doesn't have to be true. Willis's claim, which he made in conjunction with a fundraising effort for the film, has been shared 4.4k times. Convincing his fanbase that perhaps tens of thousands of doctors aren't on board will be a Herculean task. </p><p>Media Matters notes the official-sounding National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), which, though sounding governmental, opposes every effort to vaccinate children. Beginning in February, the organization's website started publishing a "<a href="https://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/Reports/covid-19.aspx" target="_blank">special report</a>" on COVID-19, laying the groundwork for vaccination disinformation. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"The first three installments of the 'special report' adopt right-wing themes unrelated to vaccines, such as the claim that public health orders that promote social distancing result in a 'loss of civil liberties' and subject Americans to 'quarantine shaming.' The fourth installment, published on March 29, includes the first attacks on vaccine development in the series … The fifth installment of the 'special report,' published on April 1, frames the vaccine development efforts of pharmaceutical companies and other entities as a cash grab."</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ1MzkxMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTQ1NzQ3MX0.W1on2fdVPB_yu2_mr9VC8Z37cI-kyncWlx6T_Jnnrpg/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C71%2C0%2C35&height=700" id="5e27e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a24c926833eec7138164dba975061837" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="A truck with writing "JESUS IS MY VACCINE"" />
A truck with writing "JESUS IS MY VACCINE" drives by demonstrators rallying outside the Pennsylvania Capitol Building to protest the continued closure of businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic on May 15, 2020 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images
<p>The irony is that NVIC's Facebook page is listed as an "Educational Research Center." Just today the organization posted about the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831678/" target="_blank">long-disproven link between the measles vaccine and autism</a> (via Robert F. Kennedy's anti-vax organization, Children's Health Defense), <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/wxevj5/the-coronavirus-truthers-dont-believe-in-public-health" target="_blank">opportunist Joseph Mercola</a>'s questioning whether the COVID-19 surge in Texas has anything to do with the novel coronavirus, and conspiracy theory-rich GreenMedInfo, whose founder traffics in ridiculous ideas, such as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1720256541450732" target="_blank">germ theory being false</a>. </p><p>And so here we are: instead of reporting on pressing global issues, Reuters has to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-metal-strip-medical-masks-5/fact-check-metal-strip-in-medical-masks-is-not-a-5g-antenna-idUSKBN24A2O1?fbclid=IwAR2nqo5OaXP3unV7v3jOhtdGY5JjivJgyBSqrKcW0pcEJfhdGWieDb1K5C8" target="_blank">fact check</a> whether the metal strip in face masks is really a 5G antenna or if Wayfair is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-wayfair-human-trafficking/fact-check-no-evidence-linking-wayfair-to-human-trafficking-operation-idUSKCN24E2M2" target="_blank">involved in human trafficking</a>. (The woman that posted the "medical doctor" video above is convinced Amazon is involved as well.) No matter how ridiculous these sound—and they should, to any functioning adult—common sense is losing ground: an <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/vaccine-opponents-are-gaining-facebook-battle-hearts-and-minds-new-map-shows" target="_blank">analysis</a> of over 1,300 Facebook pages with 100 million followers shows that anti-vax agendas are becoming more influential.</p><p>When the printing press was first invented, <a href="https://apple.news/Agz3WmeyWTEKLg-9yHo2BMA" target="_blank">anyone could hire a printer</a>. The idea of objective news took some time to work out, and it is questionable that it ever did get worked out. But we're in a truly disturbing place when one of the most effective therapeutics ever discovered—the <a href="https://www.tmrjournals.com/tmr/EN/abstract/abstract321.shtml" target="_blank">millennia-old idea</a> of allowing the body to build up immunity by introducing a small dose of an offending agent—is being used as, what? A political tool? An ideological battering ram? An apocalyptic battle song sung by the woke as they laugh at all the silly sheeple? </p><p>It's impossible to tell what the end game is. Being contrarian is now its own currency. Whether or not your agenda accomplishes anything is secondary to just being on the team—a participation trophy for simply showing up. Putting in the intellectual and emotional effort demanded by the complex and nuanced realm of science is proving too much for America to tolerate. When a nation descends into such intolerance, anything becomes possible. </p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://derekberes.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a>. His next book is</em> "<em>Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</em></p>
Keep reading
Show less
LGBTQ+ community sees spike in first-time depression in wake of coronavirus
Gender and sexual minority populations are experiencing rising anxiety and depression rates during the pandemic.
13 July, 2020
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
- Anxiety and depression rates are spiking in the LGBTQ+ community, and especially in individuals who hadn't struggled with those issues in the past.
- Overall, depression increased by an average PHQ-9 score of 1.21 and anxiety increased by an average GAD-7 score of 3.11.
- The researchers recommended that health care providers check in with LGBTQ+ patients about stress and screen for mood and anxiety disorders—even among those with no prior history of anxiety or depression.
<p>In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depression rates are spiking in the LGBTQ+ community, especially in individuals who hadn't struggled with those issues in the past, say researchers. </p><p>"What I was hearing at the beginning of the pandemic was that people who were already anxious were more anxious than ever, and we didn't find that," <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-07-06/coronavirus-ups-anxiety-depression-in-the-lgbtq-community" target="_blank">said researcher Annesa Flentje</a>, an assistant professor in the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, in a university press release. "In looking at averages across the LGBTQ+ population, we found the greatest changes in anxiety were among people who weren't anxious prior to the pandemic." </p>
Study findings
<p>For the study, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-020-05970-4" target="_blank">published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine</a><em>, </em>Flentje and her team evaluated survey responses from nearly 2,300 individuals who identified as being in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community. Most of the participants were white, while nearly 19 percent identified as a racial or ethnic minority. Multiple genders were represented with cisgender women (27.2 percent) and men (24.6 percent) making up a majority of the participants. Sixty-three percent had been assigned female at birth. For the most part, participants identified their sexual orientations as queer (40.3 percent), gay (36.5 percent), and bisexual (30.3 percent).</p><p>The JGIM study participants were recruited from the 18,000-participant <a href="https://pridestudy.org/" target="_blank">PRIDE Study</a> (Population Research in Identity and Disparities for Equality), which is the first large-scale, long-term national study focusing on American adults who identify as LGBTQ+. It conducts annual questionnaires to understand factors related to health and disease in this population. </p><p>Participants filled out an annual questionnaire (starting in June 2019) and a COVID-19 impact survey this past spring. Flentje noted that on an individual level, some people may not have experienced a big change in anxiety or depression levels, but for others there was. Overall, depression increased by a <a href="https://patient.info/doctor/patient-health-questionnaire-phq-9" target="_blank">PHQ-9 score</a> of 1.21, putting it at 8.31 on average. Anxiety went up by a <a href="https://www.mdcalc.com/gad-7-general-anxiety-disorder-7" target="_blank">GAD-7</a> score of 3.11 to an average of 8.89. Interestingly, the average PHQ-9 scores for those who screened positive for depression at the first 2019 survey decreased by 1.08. Those who screened negative for depression saw their PHQ-9 scores increase by 2.17 on average. As for anxiety, researchers detected no GAD-7 change among the study participants who screened positive for anxiety in the first survey, but did see an overall increase of 3.93 among those who had initially been evaluated as negative for the disorder. </p>Risks among gender and sexual minorities
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc3fd1ae68b77bbbf58a6995638d6d65"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EnUqDjCqg0A?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The LGBTQ+ community is a vulnerable population to mental health concerns because of their fear of stigmatization and previous discriminatory experiences.</p> <p>Previous research by the Human Rights Campaign has found "that LGBTQ Americans are more likely than the <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/general+population/" target="_blank">general population</a> to live in poverty and lack access to adequate medical care, paid <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/medical+leave/" target="_blank">medical leave</a>, and basic necessities during the pandemic," said researcher Tari Hanneman, director of the health and aging program at the campaign.</p> <p>"Therefore, it is not surprising to see this increase in anxiety and depression among this population," Hanneman said in the release. "This study highlights the need for <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/health+care+professionals/" target="_blank">health care professionals</a> to support, affirm and provide <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/critical+care/" target="_blank">critical care</a> for the LGBTQ community to manage and maintain their mental health, as well as their physical health, during this pandemic."</p>What should health care providers do?
<p>The authors of the study recommend that health care providers check in with LGBTQ+ patients about stress and screen for mood and anxiety disorders in members of that community—even among those with no prior history of anxiety or depression.</p><p>As cases of COVID-19 continue to mount, the sustained social distancing, potential isolation, economic precariousness, and personal illness, grief, and loss are bound to have increased and varied impacts on mental health. Effective treatments may include individual therapy and medications as well as more large-scale coronavirus support programs like peer-led groups and mindfulness practices. </p><p>"It will be important to find out what happens over time and to identify who is most at risk, so we can be sure to roll out public health interventions to support the mental health of our communities in the best and most effective ways," said Flentje.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
The key to better quality education? Make students feel valued.
Building a personal connection with students can counteract some negative side effects of remote learning.
11 July, 2020
Future of Learning
- Not being able to engage with students in-person due to the pandemic has presented several new challenges for educators, both technical and social. Digital tools have changed the way we all think about learning, but George Couros argues that more needs to be done to make up for what has been lost during "emergency remote teaching."
- One interesting way he has seen to bridge that gap and strengthen teacher-student and student-student relationships is through an event called Identity Day. Giving students the opportunity to share something they are passionate about makes them feel more connected and gets them involved in their education.
- "My hope is that we take these skills and these abilities we're developing through this process and we actually become so much better for our kids when we get back to our face-to-face setting," Couros says. He adds that while no one can predict the future, we can all do our part to adapt to it.
<p><em>This video is part of <a href="https://z17.global/" target="_blank">Z 17 Collective</a>'s <a href="https://bigthink.com/future-of-learning/" target="_self">Future of Learning</a> series, which asks education thought leaders what learning can and should look like in the midst and wake of the coronavirus pandemic.</em></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://bigthink.com/future-of-learning/" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3MDgzOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTIxMDU0Nn0.RnamarLhJ2fAVmEm83vDol1Fw3tvuAywPAeO0cQSgw4/img.jpg?width=980" id="52023" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2753f2ed9ee710dd63ed00327fad831f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt=""></a>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3MDgzOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTIxMDU0Nn0.RnamarLhJ2fAVmEm83vDol1Fw3tvuAywPAeO0cQSgw4/img.jpg?width=980" target="_blank"><br></a></small>
</p>
Keep reading
Show less
COVID-19 brain study to explore long-term effects of the virus
A growing body of research suggests COVID-19 can cause serious neurological problems.
09 July, 2020
Brain images of a patient with acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis.
- The new study seeks to track the health of 50,000 people who have tested positive for COVID-19.
- The study aims to explore whether the disease causes cognitive impairment and other conditions.
- Recent research suggests that COVID-19 can, directly or indirectly, cause brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage and other neurological problems.
<p>As the coronavirus pandemic enters its fifth month, many questions remain unanswered over how the virus damages the body. Now, a group of researchers are planning a large-scale study that aims to shed light on how COVID-19 affects the brain. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.cambridgebrainsciences.com/studies/covid-brain-study" target="_blank">COVID-19 Brain Study</a> plans to monitor the long-term health of 50,000 participants who have tested positive for COVID-19. The research could help answer questions like: Does COVID-19 cause cognitive impairment? And, if so, how do age, race, and sex factor into the equation?</p><p>Considering recent studies that suggest COVID-19 may cause neurological damage, the researchers say it's important to start tracking patients' health as early as possible.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"The problem is a bit like when governments were deciding to enter lockdown – timing is everything," Adrian Owen, a Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging professor at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, told <a href="https://news.westernu.ca/2020/06/study-explores-long-term-brain-impact-of-covid-19/" target="_blank">Western University of Health Sciences News</a>. "We need to start collecting this data now. We can't start looking at this issue in a year's time because if there are cognitive impairments, and we know there will be, it's going to be too late."</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0NTg2Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjcxNTg5Mn0.dinNRn3OCcl_lTjX3FS879ZRiX14zWrb9Ibqy_mRsxQ/img.png?width=980" id="d4b5d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6e65d6b5bd46af5add092e8c63c80553" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="COVID-19 effects on the brain." />
Brain images of a patient with acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis.
<p>The researchers also want to find out whether there are significant differences between patients who recovered from the disease in intensive care units and those who got better at home. After all, studies have revealed that some patients may suffer a constellation of long-lasting physical, emotional, and mental problems after staying in an ICU, a condition dubbed <a href="https://www.sccm.org/MyICUCare/THRIVE/Post-intensive-Care-Syndrome#:~:text=Post%2Dintensive%20care%20syndrome%2C%20or%20PICS%2C%20is%20made%20up,and%20may%20affect%20the%20family." target="_blank">post-intensive care syndrome</a>.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"A year from now, we will have more than eight million people worldwide recovering from COVID-19," Owen said. "So, we may also have eight million people with short- and long-term cognitive problems."</p>COVID-19 and the brain
<p>A growing body of research reveals alarming neurological complications among COVID-19 patients. On Wednesday, for example, researchers from University College London published a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/doi/10.1093/brain/awaa240/5868408" target="_blank">study</a> in the journal Brain that describes how some patients have suffered temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage, and other neurological problems concurrent with COVID-19.</p><p>Some patients suffered brain inflammation as a result of a rare disease called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which can cause numbness, seizures, and confusion. One patient in the study even hallucinated monkeys and lions in her home.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0NTg4Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjQyODM3MH0.nW1_EykXQyKoamADL0uPHnDKwgQ0pCQxjt5mIpaHcAI/img.jpg?width=980" id="6ac2f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b4ae84584bb17c263f3daf9ddcfa9223" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="medical staff standing around patient in bed" />San Diego-Area Hospitals Treat Coronavirus Patients During COVID-19 Pandemic
<p class=""><br></p>Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
<p>A separate study published in the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7198407/" target="_blank">Journal of Clinical Neuroscience</a> notes that some COVID-19 patients have also suffered neurological complications like impaired consciousness and acute cerebrovascular disease. The study notes that past viruses like MERS and SARS also seemed to cause neurological problems.</p><p>A troubling finding among this growing body of research is that some patients seem to suffer neurological damage even when respiratory symptoms aren't obvious. Additionally, scientists aren't sure whether damage from the disease will be permanent.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Given that the disease has only been around for a matter of months, we might not yet know what long-term damage COVID-19 can cause," Dr. Ross Paterson, joint first author of the University College London study, said in a <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/ucl-iid070620.php" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Doctors needs to be aware of possible neurological effects, as early diagnosis can improve patient outcomes."</p><p>If you've been diagnosed with COVID-19 and want to enroll in the study, visit <a href="https://www.cambridgebrainsciences.com/studies/covid-brain-study" target="_blank">cambridgebrainsciences.com/studies/covid-brain-study</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Better reskilling can future-proof jobs in the age of automation. Enter SkillUp's new coalition.
Coronavirus layoffs are a glimpse into our automated future. We need to build better education opportunities now so Americans can find work in the economy of tomorrow.
09 July, 2020
Image: metamorworks / Shutterstock
Sponsored by Charles Koch Foundation
- Outplacement is an underperforming $5 billion dollar industry. A new non-profit coalition by SkillUp intends to disrupt it.
- More and more Americans will be laid off in years to come due to automation. Those people need to reorient their career paths and reskill in a way that protects their long-term livelihood.
- SkillUp brings together technology and service providers, education and training providers, hiring employers, worker outreach, and philanthropies to help people land in-demand jobs in high-growth industries.
<p><br></p>
<p>With COVID-19 ravaging our economy—leaving 40 million workers seeking unemployment benefits and<a href="https://www.stradaeducation.org/publicviewpoint/" target="_blank"> 55% of Americans</a> reporting lost income—the country desperately needs a better set of solutions to help workers reorient in the face of an uncertain future.</p><p>Employers have historically provided outplacement services to employees they lay off. Outplacement is a $5 billion industry in normal years that spikes dramatically during recessions. Companies that provide outplacement services typically charge <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alextaub/2016/09/13/meet-velvetjobs-transforming-the-5-billion-career-transition-industry/#1fea8472b42e" target="_blank">$3,000 to $10,000 per worker</a>.</p><p>But the standard offering is paltry. Employees who have been laid off or are about to be laid off receive a bit of coaching, access to job listings, and resume reviews—and that's about it.</p>
<p>Yet we know that a couple of short coaching sessions, job listings and resume reviews don't result in jobs. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/how-to-get-a-job-often-comes-down-to-one-elite-personal-asset.html" target="_blank">Research shows</a> that 70% of all jobs aren't posted on job sites, and 80% of jobs are filled through connections, not blind applications.</p><p>Nor do these services result in the sort of higher paying jobs that allow individuals to become more productive working members of society on sounder footing, ready to navigate the twists and turns of a future that will see more technological unemployment and a vastly different set of required skill sets to future-proof jobs.</p><p>Instead, those who are laid off require something more: reskilling, relationships, and navigation to step it up and make progress in their lives.</p><p>Against this backdrop, a new effort, <a href="https://www.skillup.org/" target="_blank">SkillUp</a>, is launching to help workers select and prepare for career paths that align with the economy of the future. SkillUp is a non-profit leading a coalition of technology and service providers, education and training providers, hiring employers, worker outreach, and philanthropies to support laid off and furloughed workers.</p>
<blockquote>The coalition SkillUp is assembling is ultimately more than a set of solutions around outplacement that should persist past the current pandemic, but the coming promise of a more flexible, affordable, and convenient set of solutions to support individuals' upskilling and reskilling throughout their lives to fulfill their <strong>human potential.</strong> </blockquote>
<p>SkillUp offers a three-pronged approach:</p><ol><li><strong>Career navigation:</strong> Technology tools and coaching resources to help workers choose a productive pathway and orient around jobs and careers that will grow in the future of work.</li><li><strong>Training programs</strong><strong>: </strong>The coalition helps workers find educational and training programs matched to their career goals to help them upskill, so that they do not just go back into frontline or entry-level roles, but can make progress in their career and fortunes.</li><li><strong>Job opportunities: </strong>Using relationships with hiring employers and technology to match workers with open positions, SkillUp pairs workers with available opportunities.</li></ol><p>In addition, SkillUp is leveraging the technology of Next Chapter, an offering of Guild Education, where I'm a senior strategist, as well as Guild's partner network of large employers—many of whom are in a position to hire employees—and education providers. These relationships will help SkillUp move quickly to serve workers with a ready-made solution.</p><p>SkillUp's solution shows how employers can transition parts of their workforce to more productive pursuits over time. Employers have an incentive to drive this work to refresh their workforces in intentional ways that manage employee churn; to bolster employee morale; to preserve their company brand; to aid in personnel recruitment; and to ultimately help power the country's consumption-driven economy.</p><p>The coalition SkillUp is assembling is ultimately more than a set of solutions around outplacement that should persist past the current pandemic, but the coming promise of a more flexible, affordable, and convenient set of solutions to support individuals' upskilling and reskilling throughout their lives to fulfill their human potential. What that necessitates is a much broader shift in postsecondary education and a reshuffling of how higher education works.</p><p>Rather than just bank on existing colleges and universities and sources of debt-driven funding to disrupt themselves, the future of higher education will also rely on novel programs and arrangements, like SkillUp.</p><p>New funding mechanisms to pay for more education—from leveraging employers' willingness to pay in order to reap a return on investment to income share agreements that align incentives around the success of learners—will emerge to fund the education of learners.</p><p>On-ramp and last-mile programs along with hybrid colleges that marry online, competency-based learning with learning model innovations, no-excuses mindsets, and non-academic supports are emerging to alter how we prepare students to enter the workforce. Mobile learning solutions are making learning far more bite-sized and accessible on the job.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0NTY4OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODkxODQ1M30.D410ne123uFlY13fF-tG-mfz4AMSEH9kyPoAi5JFaa0/img.png?width=980" id="f2b83" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f7b97cdbfabea668df1de365ca0da15" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Source: McKinsey Global Institute analysis [PDF]
<p>Work in understanding the skills at the heart of the new digital economy is leading to novel assessments that allow individuals to prove mastery to faithfully represent their abilities—but also to give weight and stackability to the emerging ecosystem of micro-credentials that make education more seamless across time and education providers. And we are seeing the beginnings of a renewal in the liberal arts, focused on building human skills in affordable ways that are accessible to many more individuals and far more effective.</p><p>Amidst these dark times, there is much opportunity to refresh the nation's education and training solutions to support the success of individuals and society writ large.</p>Michael Horn is the author of:
<div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="628545219b2b1636ffdb74fac778bf9d" contenteditable="false"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119570115?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank"> <img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41qvW7Foe+L.jpg" class="amazon-assets-widget__image widget__image"> <div class="amazon-assets-widget__description"> <div class="amazon-assets-widget__title" style="display: block;">Choosing College: How to Make Better Learning Decisions Throughout Your Life</div> <div class="amazon-assets-widget__by-amazon"><!-- <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119570115?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">by now at amazone</a> --></div> <div class="amazon-assets-widget__list-price"><span class="grey">List Price: </span><span class="list-price">$13.47</span></div> <div class="amazon-assets-widget__new-price"><span class="grey">New From: </span><span class="new-price">$14.95</span> <span class="grey">in Stock</span></div> <div class="amazon-assets-widget__used-price"><span class="grey">Used From: </span><span class="used-price">$9.49</span> <span class="grey">in Stock</span></div> </div> </a> </div>
Keep reading
Show less
Popular
