Opening Plenary (US) - Staying Connected, Fueling Innovation, Affirming Core Values
Channel: Connected Learning Alliance
Date: 2022-08-18

The twin pandemics of covid and a global racial reckoning resulted in unprecedented and unequal challenges for learning organizations. These crises also offered opportunities to double down on commitments to justice, foster new forms of online learning, expand service to the local community, and affirm the importance of caring relationships and the holistic health and wellbeing of learners and their families. As pandemic restrictions recede, most schools, libraries, and community-based organizations have rushed to return to “normal” pre-pandemic practices and mindsets. In contrast to this dominant tendency, this panel features a group of organizations actively carrying forward the positive innovations and learnings from the pandemic. 


Jessica R. Chaney who leads the CLOUD901 Teen Learning Lab at the Memphis Public Library, Bill Izábal, President and Founder of Clubhouse ListoAmerica, and Adam Kulaas, Principal of Tacoma Online will share the ways in which the pandemic pushed their organizations towards new practices and innovations, and how these experiences infuse their work even as the pandemic recedes. The discussion will be moderated by Jal Mehta, Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, who has conducted extensive research on how learning institutions responded to and fared during the pandemic.