School of Education marks one year of edTrends
Albany, NY (March 30, 2021) – The University at Albany has just marked the one-year anniversary of the creation of the School of Education’s weekly webinar, edTrends. The webinar series launched last spring as a vehicle to foster a virtual community of educators, leaders, students, families, and the community to come together to learn about and discuss topics related to education and mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic. edTrends now attracts hundreds of viewers from around the world each month to explore critical issues facing all levels of education.
“What started as an idea to foster community while everyone was stuck at home has turned into a major weekly forum for exploring the future of education,” said Jason E. Lane, dean of the School of Education. “I look forward to continuing to see edTrends tackling critical conversations about some of the biggest issues facing education from equity to access to learning loss.”
edTrends is part of the School of Education’s newly created Remote Education Resource Center at RemoteEd.org to support student learning during a time of crisis. The webinar series was created by and run through the Academy for the Advancement of Teaching, Leadership and Schools (AATLAS).
A series of weekly conversations that take place every Wednesday from 4-5 pm, edTrends engages participants in timely and significant dialogs in education, with special considerations in remote education in the times of COVID-19 pandemic. Since edTrends sessions are broadcasted through Zoom, educators from anywhere worldwide can join at no cost. Over the course of the year, edTrends has attracted several thousand participants from 52 states and territories and over 130 countries.
edTrends has touched on and more closely examined a myriad of topics including but not limited to school at home; equity in remote schooling; mental health and well-being; stress and trauma; coping, self-care and mindfulness; digital tools and resources; and the future of remote learning. Some of the most popular sessions have even been revisited for a closer examination of the subject matter, such as Joe Feldman’s session based on his book, Grading for Equity. Feldman’s edTrends session last fall was such a hot topic it became the subject of edTrends’ first book study, a three-part series hosted earlier this year. Another recent session with national partners illustrates the reach of edTrends. It brought together state education leaders from California, Florida, and New York to talk about how decisions were being made regarding K-12 education during COVID-19.
The more than 40 edTrends sessions that took place this past year have brought together education experts from around the country, NYS Master Teachers, leaders of local school districts and BOCES, industry experts, research institutes, and academia.
“From digital equity to restorative justice and everything in between, it has truly been an honor to be a part of this professional forum. I am so proud of everyone on our team who shared their work and progress while supporting fellow educators’ learning and growth safely during this era of social distancing,” said Joseph P. Dragone, senior executive officer at Capital Region BOCES.
Jerusalem Rivera-Wilson, director of professional development and continuing education at UAlbany’s School of Education, spoke of the true team effort. “I am grateful to the School of Education undergraduate and graduate interns, alumni and volunteers, the faculty, and the educational community near and afar, which continue to support this work that is impacting the lives of children, teachers, and families.”
edTrends will continue to provide and share educational insights and resources from academia and the education community to best support teachers, parents, and schools.
Watch the edTrends anniversary video and anniversary session.