Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • State of Texas: Lawmakers weigh ‘solutions' proposed for education equity during pandemic

    In Texas, 2 million households in the state don’t have high speed internet, affecting students of color at a greater rate. Some districts have also had problems with chronic absenteeism. This segment explores creative solutions enacted by different schools in Texas. In Lockhart ISD the district built seven cell phone towers to provide high speed internet to rural students who lived in dead zones. In Leander ISD, a librarian and a parent when door knocking to reconnect with absent bilingual students. In Manor ISD, a digital tracking system helped boost the rate of contactable students from 91 percent, to 99.

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  • How South Korea Successfully Managed Coronavirus

    Despite never mandating a lockdown, South Korea has been able to better control the spread of COVID-19 as compared to other countries of similar economic and development status. Focusing on information management and testing, as well as the use of technology to aid both of these tactics, the country has kept the case count to fewer than 80 cases per day. According to the chairman of the World Health Organization’s global outbreak alert and response network, “No country has adapted to living with, and containing, the virus like South Korea."

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  • Purple Keys, Part 2

    A mobile app called App-Elles was used 5,400 times during the early months of the pandemic by either the survivors of gender-based violence or witnesses and helpers trying to connect the survivors to assistance. Created by French singer Diariata N'Diaye, the app lets users designate three "protectors" chosen in advance to receive alerts. Once alerted, they can summon help via text message or other discreet means of contacting women who are trapped at home with their abusers. The app is among other examples of digital survivor-aid services developed for women during the pandemic.

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  • A parent-led effort to close the digital divide

    When Clark County School District moved to an all-remote plan for school, it distributed 10,000 devices, close to 20,000 students had no way to connect their online classes. A parent, with the help of a SCSD teacher and a board of education member, created a Facebook group to help spanish-speaking families express if they needed a device for their kids and help fill those needs. The group gained traction and attention and has since received 550 device requests, fulfilling 162. The group relies on monetary and computer donations from individuals and businesses.

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  • ‘Vigilantes' on a mission to reunite owners with their stolen bikes Audio icon

    Facebook groups are reuniting bicycle-theft victims with their property by creating a place to report thefts and alerting others to be on the lookout for the bikes. A pandemic-inspired boom in bicycling, as a means to avoid public transportation, has fed a concurrent boom in bike thefts. Police praise the Facebook groups' public spirit and effectiveness, but warn of risks when confronting those trying to sell stolen bikes. More than 90% of bike theft reports to police hit a dead end, lowering faith in the police as a solution.

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  • Public Health Workers Stand Behind Contact Tracing

    The Carolina Community Tracing Collaborative (CCTC) is the first statewide coordinated care network that contact traces new COVID-19 cases and electronically connects people to community resources. Investigators interview newly diagnosed patients, provide information about appropriately isolating, and identify people who were potentially exposed, all of whom are also contacted and connected to resources. Information is entered into a secure online system at each stage and individuals are followed up with. It is not clear that CCTC has successfully tracked the origins of many widespread COVID-19 infections.

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  • Can't Pay Your Rent? ‘Lawtech' Is Here to Help.

    Soon after the federal government imposed a second moratorium on evictions, SixFifty, a tech firm, released Hello Landlord, a mobile app for tenants to generate a legally compliant form letter invoking the law with their landlords to block a threatened eviction. In the first nine days after its release, the app was used by more than 200 people. The free service is an example of what's called lawtech: technology giving access to legal information to individuals and small businesses. Hello Landlord asks 19 questions that serve to automate what a tenant's lawyer might do – if only the tenant could afford one.

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  • How the book industry is weathering the COVID-19 storm

    Despite book sales being up during the coronavirus pandemic, many book stores aren't seeing a viable source of income due to the cancellation of book launches and many digital purchases being made on wholesale sites. Authors and publishers, however, have found a silver lining by using technology to host virtual book readings which allows them to reach audiences they may not have before.

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  • Pa. Supreme Court halts Philly criminal trials streamed on YouTube over possible harassment

    Philadelphia criminal trials were broadcast live on a public YouTube channel to provide for public access to the courts during the pandemic shutdown, but the practice was halted over a complaint by prosecutors that this means of public access created opportunities for harassment and intimidation of victims, witnesses, and defendants. Responding to an emergency petition by the Philadelphia district attorney, the state Supreme Court halted the YouTube broadcasts. Prosecutors said they will explore alternatives including private Zoom calls and closed-circuit feeds.

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  • Texas Teacher Takes Her Students On A Road Trip Through U.S. History — Remotely

    Students taking AP U.S. History at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, may have been limited in their ability to attend in-person classes, but their teacher decided to supplement their lessons by taking on a 15-day virtual road trip across the U.S. to see the places often mentioned in their textbooks. Cathy Cluck traveled as far as the east coast to show students historic sites like Jamestown, Gettysburg, the Lincoln Memorial, and many others.

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