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March is Women’s History Month – Let the expert from Georgia Southern help if you are covering

March is Women’s History Month – a full month dedicated to the efforts, rights and advancement of women in America. Felicity Turner, Ph.D., associate professor of history at Georgia Southern University, specializing in women’s issues and is regularly featured in media speaking to the subject. "This year, the pandemic has clearly demonstrated that, despite the great strides that all women have made toward achieving equality, much remains to be done," said Turner. "In many households, ever more women have taken on the multiple roles of principal caretaker and schoolteacher, while holding down full-time jobs. "Looking to the past helps us understand why the burden of this labor has fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of women. Importantly, however, history also helps us appreciate how women today can continue to work toward equality in the future." If you are a journalist looking to cover this angle, or any other aspect of Women’s History Month – then let us help with your coverage. Felicity Turner is available for interviews — simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to set and time and date.

There was a time reparations were actually paid – just not to formerly enslaved people, writes UConn Expert

With the topic of reparations under discussion and debate, Thomas Craemer -- an expert from the University of Connecticut -- had this to offer in a new essay for The Conversation: The cost of slavery and its legacy of systemic racism to generations of Black Americans has been clear over the past year – seen in both the racial disparities of the pandemic and widespread protests over police brutality. Yet whenever calls for reparations are made – as they are again now – opponents counter that it would be unfair to saddle a debt on those not personally responsible. In the words of then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking on Juneteenth – the day Black Americans celebrate as marking emancipation – in 2019, “I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible is a good idea.” As a professor of public policy who has studied reparations, I acknowledge that the figures involved are large – I conservatively estimate the losses from unpaid wages and lost inheritances to Black descendants of the enslaved at around US$20 trillion in 2021 dollars. But what often gets forgotten by those who oppose reparations is that payouts for slavery have been made before – numerous times, in fact. And few at the time complained that it was unfair to saddle generations of people with a debt for which they were not personally responsible. There is an important caveat in these cases of reparations though: The payments went to former slave owners and their descendants, not the enslaved or their legal heirs. Dr. Craemer discusses such aspects as the “Haitian Independence Debt,” British ‘reparations,’ and paying for freedom. Dr. Craemer is an expert on slavery reparations, racial bias, and the psychology of racism, and he is available to speak with media – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Inauguration day - Trump's legacy, Biden's priorities

Speaking this morning on BBC radio, Dr McCrisken said: "President Trump’s legacy is being written right now. He’s ending his presidency under such dark clouds - he’s been impeached, there’s going to be a trial in the Senate that could convict him and prevent him from becoming a candidate again for the Presidency, so he’s leaving with lots of controversy – which of course is something that he’s always cultivated to a large extent, he wants to make everything about him. "Even today, by not showing up at the inauguration, by having a separate departure address, by issuing pardons including to his close former adviser Steve Bannon, he’s still cultivating that attention. That’s going to be the biggest Trump legacy - the degree to which he has attempted to shake up American politics – but the normality of American politics continues, we’re going to have a handover of power today through this inauguration, in the way that it always happens, every 4 years and the pendulum will swing again politically back to the Democrats. "There’s lots of pomp and circumstance around the Inauguration but the main moment is at noon, when Joe Biden will take the oath of office to become President of the United States – place his hand on a bible and say the sacred words with the Supreme Court Chief Justice presiding, and then Kamala Harris, very significantly, will also be sworn in as Vice President. She’s the first woman to become VP and the first VP of Black and South Asian heritage. It’s a really significant moment for both of them. "After the swearing in the next significant moment is the Inaugural Address, the first time Joe Biden speaks to the country as President. He’ll try and set the tone for his presidency – we can expect him to seek unity and healing but also assert his policy positions and his approach and set himself apart from the last four years under Trump. "Biden wants to hit the ground running, as soon as all the ceremonies are over today he’s going to be heading up to the White House and he’ll start business as President. One of the first things he’ll do, which a lot of Presidents do when they take office, is issue a series of Executive Orders – these are orders that are given directly by the President to the rest of the Executive Branch to implement policy in particular ways, and he’s going to use these to very quickly overturn some of the things that Trump did, like re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement, changing policies around immigration, changing policies around COVID-19 as well. "But he’s also putting forward some really significant legislative proposals to Congress, he’s seeking a very quick economic stimulus, another 1.9 trillion dollars of COVID relief, and a new immigration policy is in the offing. COVID-19 particularly is the thing he really wants to challenge as quickly as possible and try to turn around the situation in the United States where the virus is still ripping though the country – from his position as President, he’s going to try and get 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days, that’s what he’s promising. "There’s a lot of challenges here and it’s going to be very difficult for him - particularly being overshadowed perhaps by the impeachment trial – so it will be an interesting few weeks and months ahead at the start of his Presidency." 20 January 2021

Trump, the Capitol, and Social Media – Let our expert answer the questions everyone is asking

Social media played a significant role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol, and its influence in shaping American politics is unlikely to wane, says UConn's Marie Shanahan. And that’s why UConn recently published a piece where Professor Shanahan took on a lot of the trickier questions people are asking in the wake of the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. In a piece just published – she addresses these key questions: While obscure social media platforms like Parler, Gab, and Telegram have gotten a lot of attention recently as gathering places for the kinds of far-right activists who were instrumental in what happened at the Capitol, most of the planning for that event seems to have taken place in the open, on sites like Facebook and Twitter. To what extent was this event a product of social media? It’s hard to talk about Donald Trump’s presidency without talking about social media. What might change now that he seems to have been permanently banned from the most popular platforms? Speaking of that deplatforming, even though Facebook and Twitter can ban any user who violates their terms of service, is there some validity to the argument that in doing so they’re restricting free speech? What kinds of things can be done to address some of these problems in how the public discourse is shaped? Is repealing Section 230 actually a good idea? The piece is attached and it is an insightful must-read for anyone following these developments. Professor Shanahan is an expert in the intersection of journalism and digital communication technology, online news, and digital discourse. If you are a journalist looking to cover this topic and would like to arrange an interview with Professor Shanahan – simply click on her icon now to arrange a time to talk today.

New York Times, Pornhub, Visa & Mastercard: The Debate

Yet another example of no one listening to sex workers Pornhub just made major changes to how their platform works, including expanded moderation and new guidelines for content uploads. Now, only verified users can upload videos to the platform – a decision which meant the total number of videos hosted on Pornhub were more than quartered overnight from 13.4 million to 2.9 million – and users can no longer download videos from the site. This comes after an expose on the New York Times, The Children of Pornhub, which investigated the number of rape videos being hosted on the site, including those of minors. The article, written by Nicholas Kristof, followed the lives of child sexual assault victims whose videos were uploaded onto the site. The op-ed launched a huge debate within the adult industry over censorship & moderation. People, rightfully so, do not trust Kristof because of his ties to anti-porn organisations and his reputation when it comes to reporting on sex work. In the past he has been accused of conflating sex work with sex trafficking, using misleading statistics, and was instrumental in the shutting down of Backpage, a vital safeguarding tool for sex workers, calling it “the pillar of sex trafficking”. He also quoted Laila Mickelwait in the op-ed, who is an activist and director of Traffickinghub, a campaign launched by Exodus Cry which has anti-sex work, anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion links (it’s founder reportedly compared abortion to the holocaust). This week, two days after Pornhub announced their changes, Visa and Mastercard started an investigation and soon announced that their cards would no longer be accepted on the platform. This has left Pornhub with no way to process payments other than with cryptocurrencies. It goes without saying that the decision from Visa & Mastercard has panicked adult content creators who make their living from paid content on Pornhub. Because let’s be clear, Mastercard & Visa’s decision will not hurt Pornhub, who always have and always will continue to make money off of stolen content, this decision hurts sex workers – the people that Pornhub has never cared for. Adult performers, producers and directors have spent years speaking out about the exploitation within Pornhub and the tube site business model, yet no one has listened. MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, dominates online porn. It has completely demolished the industry and drained money out of the industry by stealing performers’ work and giving it away for free, and by monopolising the industry. MindGeek is an aggressive tech company through and through, it does not care about porn or adult content creators, it cares about traffic and advertising. It also owns production companies which means performers who may want to speak out about the system ultimately can’t for fear of being black listed from the production companies and therefore having less work and even less money. "Adult performers have spent years speaking out about the exploitation within Pornhub and the tube site business model, yet no one has listened" Pornhub does not care about performers and it’s clear that Kristof doesn’t either, but it wasn’t until the New York Times covered this issue that Pornhub did something. I wonder why? If properly implemented by Pornhub, their new regulations could have had a significant impact on illegal and stolen content, which would be a win for adult performers who have no choice but to use the platform. But with the new ban from Mastercard & Visa, they could now be in an even worse position than before. This is yet another example, just like SESTA/FOSTA, that shows that when it comes to making changes to the adult industry we must speak to sex workers & have their involvement in policy. Pornhub, Mastercard, & Visa, do not care about the issue of rape videos or of pirated material, these are policies that were brought in under pressure to “do something” out of fear of negative publicity. We know that Pornhub does not care about the content it hosts, the people it hurts or the lives it ruins – they have shown us this time and again. Just last year they demonstrated this with the Girls do Porn case. Despite 22 women coming forward to sue Girls Do Porn for uploading explicit videos of them to Pornhub without their consent, Pornhub refused to remove the videos from the platform, even promoting them, until Girls do Porn were finally charged with sex trafficking. Now is not a time to protect Pornhub, it’s time to protect and support the people who will actually be harmed by this. We must remember who have been talking about this for years whilst no one has listened; sex workers. Please go and find performers and indie producers that you want to support and pay them for their work. Whether it’s on Only Fans or through their personal websites, pay & support sex workers & adult content creators.

How to Get Along During the Holidays Despite Post-Election Conflict

With partisan lines drawn and family gatherings approaching, you may be thinking, "How am I going to survive the holidays?" Well, if you don't want to sever relationships with friends and family, it's essential to understand some key elements of communication. Heidi Rose, PhD, professor and chair of Villanova University's Communication Department, has expertise in speech communication—and gave some tips to remember at your next holiday get-together. When speaking to others about controversial topics, she advises, "It is important to think about how the other person might perceive or hear you and what you can control, e.g., tone of voice and calm manner. It's also important to actively listen to the other person, e.g., to remain present (don't plan your reply before they're done), to not interrupt, to suspend judgment and to ask questions when you don't understand." While some conversation concerning politics might be tempting, remembering where your relationships stand with others is important to maintaining these bonds. At a gathering, Dr. Rose also gave tips to understand where you fit in with your group dynamic. "Recognize the different selves we perform and different roles we play with different people in our lives and how those roles and selves impact the interpersonal dynamics and the consequent challenges of talking openly and transparently. These roles and selves are especially important to recognize at holiday times, even if the usual large gatherings are less likely to occur in person this year," said Dr. Rose. In the end, prioritizing relationships may take precedent over differing views—and require acceptance that you can't always change another person's perspective. "Ultimately accepting that despite your best efforts you may not achieve closure—but at least you'll have moved towards greater understanding of where the other person is coming from, and you'll have done so with respect and empathy, on your terms, with what you can control," said Dr. Rose.

U.S.-Iran Crisis: Outlook and Implications

Executive Summary: The immediate crisis following the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike and Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes against two U.S. airbases appears to have settled down. However, the conditions for a future flare-up remain in place because the underlying conditions have not changed. Going forward, each side is likely to double down on its stated strategic objective, with Iran pushing for an end to U.S. presence in the region and the U.S. pushing for an end to the Iranian nuclear program. Further, the norms that had previously prevented an open exchange of fire between the two sides have been eroded. Why It Matters: The events of January 3rd and 8th represent the first time since the skirmishes of the “Tanker Wars” of 1987-88 that the military forces of the United States and Iran have directly and openly exchanged fire with each other. For the last three decades, the contest between the two states has been a shadow war of proxy conflicts, plausible deniability, and non-military measures. The American decision to strike Soleimani and the Iranian decision to fire missiles in response removed many of the guardrails that have set limits on previous escalations of tensions. The Iranian decision to renounce cooperation with the 2015 nuclear agreement places back into contention an issue that had previously brought the U.S. and Israel to the point of war with Iran in 2012-13. Business Impact: Markets have been largely taking a wait-and-see approach in order to determine the form of Iranian response to Soleimani’s death, and they responded with relief when President Trump signaled that the U.S. would not retaliate. To an extent, uncertainty in the Middle East had already been priced into the markets due to tensions in the second half of 2019. A significant or prolonged conflict would have an obvious negative impact on energy markets and regional economies. In addition, American and Western companies operating internationally or their employees could suffer collateral damage from any future Iranian proxy attacks against visible symbols of U.S. presence overseas. Looking Forward: In the immediate term, the resolution of the crisis represented one of the best possible outcomes: Iran has publicly signaled that the missile launches conducted on January 8th constituted the extent of their military retaliation to Soleimani’s death and President Trump’s White House address acknowledged Iran’s desire to de-escalate and spoke of finding mutually beneficial outcomes with no further mention of military action. Going forward, both Iran and the United States are likely to double down on their desired strategic outcomes. Iran will seek to use all of the levers of its influence to drive the United States from the region, beginning with Iraq but also including indirect pressure on the Gulf states that host U.S. forces. Offensive cyber operations and deniable proxy attacks against civilian infrastructure in the Gulf could be part of that campaign, returning to tactics observed in the past. For its part, the United States will continue its maximum pressure campaign over the Iranian nuclear program, with President Trump promising additional economic sanctions even as he stepped back from military action. Therefore, although both sides appear to be committed to non-military means, the points of tension that caused the most recent crisis are all still present and have arguably increased based on Iran’s increased non-compliance with JCPOA. It remains to be seen whether coming close to the brink of open conflict will have changed the risk tolerance of either side or whether the first acknowledged exchange of fires between the U.S. and Iran for 32 years will usher in a new period of low-level conflict. The View from Tehran: Iran has played Soleimani’s death for maximum strategic benefit. The messaging of the past 96 hours was aimed at various audiences within the country, the region, and around the world. Having been caught on the backfoot by the U.S.’s strike on Soleimani, the Supreme Leader allowed the IRGC to retaliate against U.S. forces in Iraq in a calibrated manner, likely calculating that a strike with limited casualties would satisfy demands for vengeance while not prompting a response. Khamenei’s Decision: Ayatollah Khamenei is an inherently conservative figure and one who is above all else motivated by the priority of regime survival. Given their long-standing personal relationship, there is ample reason to believe that his displays of emotion of Soleimani’s death, including weeping over his coffin during the funeral on January 6th, were genuine and heart-felt. However, his expressed desire for revenge has been tempered by the overarching imperative to avoid a conflict that would have threatened the regime’s hold on power, either from within or without. Rally Around the Flag: Within Iran, the regime is seeking to use Soleimani’s death and their subsequent retaliation to build national unity following a period of significant domestic unrest. This has been emphasized by the extended period of mourning for Soleimani, days-long funeral spectacle, and the invocation of religious and cultural symbols associated with Shi’a martyrs. The death of Soleimani comes on the heels of a series of mass protests in Iran that originally began on November 15th in response to proposed increase in the price of gas, but which have since expanded to a wider challenge to the regime. Media reporting from late December suggested as many as 1,500 Iranian civilians have been killed as part of a regime crackdown on the protests, which have been characterized as the most serious challenge to the regime since the Green Movement of 2009. JCPOA as a Wedge Between U.S. and Europe: Iran announced on January 5th that it would cease compliance with the remaining provisions of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action but would be willing to return to compliance if sanctions are removed. The nuance in Iran’s position highlights the fact that it is continuing to attempt to use the nuclear issue to drive a wedge between European signatories to the agreement and the United States, which unilaterally walked away from the treaty in May 2018. Regime Dynamics: Soleimani was a high-profile figure within Iran, but his outsized influence on Iranian foreign policy also created friction with other stakeholders in the regime, including leaders of the conventional military forces, the ministry of foreign affairs, and the intelligence services. He was one of few genuinely strategic thinkers in the Iranian national security apparatus and the one with the most extensive and deepest connections within the Arab-speaking world. His replacement as commander of the Quds Force is his long-time deputy who will be familiar with the day-to-day operations of the IRGC’s external operations arm but will not have the stature or the network of Soleimani. As a result, other stakeholders may jockey to move into the vacuum created by his death. The View from Washington: The present challenge for the U.S. is how to maintain both a deterrent posture and establishing the means to avoid further escalation. The policy on Iraq going forward will have to balance President Trump’s desire to disengage from the conflict while not creating the appearance of having been pushed out by Iran. Escalate to Deter: President Trump’s decision to kill Soleimani reflected an “escalate to deter” strategy, using a sudden and unexpected escalation of force during a crisis in order to reestablish deterrence after previous provocations in 2019 had gone largely unanswered. However, deterrence is only as good as the last demonstration of a willingness to respond. The decision to not respond to Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes reflected a pragmatic decision to de-escalate. National Security Decision-Making: Nearly three years into his presidency, Donald Trump feels increasingly confident making national security decisions based on his own instincts. The original coterie of experienced national security establishment members such as Jim Mattis and H.R. McMaster who had populated the Situation Room during the early days of the administration have largely resigned or been fired and replaced with individuals of lower profile and/or proven loyalty. Although the mechanisms of the formal interagency process continue to function, President Trump increasingly makes decisions based on a network of informal advisors and media sources. Domestic U.S. Considerations: The decision to launch the strike on Soleimani came during a period of high political tension in Washington, as it had been expected this month that the U.S. Senate would begin a trial in response to articles of impeachment passed by the House of Representatives in December. The Soleimani strike is being taken up by both Trump’s supporters and opponents as evidence of either his credentials as a decisive commander-in-chief or his unsuitability for office, depending on their perspective. Congress has proposed votes to limit President Trump’s independent authority to initiate hostilities with Iran, but this is unlikely to gain traction in the Senate. Separately, the first voting in the Democratic primary is less than one month away, and a sudden shift in focus to national security issues could have results that are difficult to predict, either boosting those with national security credentials (such as former vice president Joe Biden and military veteran Pete Buttigieg), or rallying support among primary voters for anti-war (such as Bernie Sanders). Third-Party Perspectives and Responses: Iraq: The strike at Baghdad International Airport that killed Soleimani also killed the deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Front, a coalition of militias that forms a part of Iraq’s official security apparatus. Iraq’s new Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has condemned the attack as a “massive breach of sovereignty” and an “aggression on Iraq”. Iraq’s parliament passed a draft law on January 5th calling for the removal of all foreign troops from Iraqi soil, but the law was non-binding and the session had been boycotted by most of the Sunni and Kurdish members of the legislature. Iranian presence has also been the recent target of Iraqi ire, such as in November when a crowd of Iraqis burned down the Iranian consulate in the Shi’a holy city of Najaf, and the Iraqi government will likely try to play both sides against each other to maximize its leverage for military and financial support. Withdrawal from Iraq would mean that the remaining American forces in Syria could no longer be supplied or supported through the western desert of Iraq and would therefore also have to be withdrawn. Iran will likely seek to use all its considerable levers of influence in Iraq to convince the government to see through the expulsion of American forces. The United States leaving Iraq and Syria due to Soleimani’s death would be a fitting legacy from the Iranian perspective and a perverse one from the American perspective given that Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American servicemembers in Iraq (and thousands of Iraqi civilians) through his support for Shi’a militias in the mid-to-late 2000s. Europe: Statements from European capitals emphasized the need for restraint and de-escalation. French President Macron is likely to view this event as further justification for his proposals that the EU develop a defense and security apparatus independent of NATO in order to avoid being entangled by potentially reckless American actions. Iran will likely continue to use this event as an opportunity to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Europe on the nuclear program and other issues, and their chosen retaliation was likely calibrated at least in part to allow them to continue positioning themselves as a responsible actor. For his part, Trump is urging the European signatories to join him in walking away from the JCPOA in order to increase Iran’s international isolation. United Kingdom: The British government has tried to tread a fine line in its responses to the strike, with Prime Minister Johnson calling for de-escalation while also stating that he “will not lament” the fact that Soleimani is dead. The U.K. is likely trying to balance its desire to remain aligned with France and Germany in trying to keep the JCPOA together with its traditional close alliance with the United States and Johnson’s personal relationship with President Trump. Russia: Unsurprisingly, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the American strike, which removed a valuable interlocutor for Russian forces in Syria. Russian troops and Iranian-backed militias in Syria had periodically found themselves with diverging interests in their campaign to support the Assad regime, and Soleimani performed a critical function in directing the activities of those militias to ensure that both Russia and Iran achieved their strategic objectives in Syria. A potential American withdrawal from Iraq and Syria would advance Russia’s interest in establishing itself as the indispensable foreign power in resolving the crisis in Syria and within the region more broadly. China: In line with their long-standing principle of non-intervention and their own interest, China condemned the strike, but the response was muted overall. Chinese interests are primarily economic and tied to ensuring a steady supply of petroleum. One of China’s newest and most capable naval destroyers recently participated in trilateral naval exercises with Iran and Russia in the Gulf of Oman. Although such exercises primarily serve a strategic messaging and diplomatic function, they do signal an emerging alignment of interests between the three states that would be significant for the response to any future crises.

Convalescent plasma - let Michigan State’s Nigel Paneth explain how important this is in treating patients recovering from COVID-19

On July 30, President Trump approved the use of convalescent plasma in an effort to aid the recovery efforts of those suffering from COVID-19. Michigan State’s Dr. Nigel Paneth has played an instrumental role in the research and development of this ground-breaking process which could see health care take a monumental step forward in the treatment and recovery of this disease. Background: On March 25, the Food and Drug Administration expedited the compassionate use of convalescent plasma – plasma from those who have recovered – for care of seriously ill patients infected with coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease. The use of convalescent serum involves taking the antibodies of those who have recovered and giving them to someone else to fight the virus. Currently, the FDA has approved the treatment for compassionate use, which means it can only be used in very severe cases of COVID-19 disease, but it is anticipated that broader use will be approved soon. Epidemiologist Nigel Paneth, a Michigan State University professor and member of the project’s leadership team, along with colleagues from Johns Hopkins University and the Mayo Clinic, led the development of the National Convalescent Plasma Project last month. The project includes 170 physician-scientists from 50 universities and hospitals across the nation studying the use of convalescent plasma in COVID-19 treatment and prevention. Dr. Nigel Paneth on the Today Show explaining convalescent plasma: If you are a journalist covering this topic, Nigel Paneth is available to speak with media. Simply contact: Kim Ward or Caroline Brooks to arrange an interview today. Kim Ward, University Communications: (517) 432-0117, kward@msu.edu Caroline Brooks, University Communications: (517) 432-0920, brooks78@msu.edu

How online options are ensuring COVID-19 doesn’t impede education and learning

As schools and academic institutions across America prepare to react to the COVID-19 outbreak, the likely scenario is students will be going online to continue their studies. But that's okay since the world has transformed with the internet and social media, and remote work and telecommuting have increased 159% since 2005.  Though a safe and excellent alternative – there are some aspects that need to be considered to ensure studies are delivered effectively. Christine Greenhow is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology and Educational Psychology at Michigan State University – she was able to offer her expert insight on some popular questions that are being asked. When it comes to remote teaching and learning, will using a Learning Management System (LMS) be enough? Using a Learning Management System (LMS) like Blackboard will not be enough. To fully engage students in remote teaching and learning, educators cannot simply take an existing class and put it online; effective remote teaching and learning requires revisiting your goals for students’ learning and classroom culture and considering how using the online technologies available to you can help you meet, or even re-imagine and improve on those goals.  For instance, maybe your goals are to give students multiple opportunities to practice skills they need to be successful in future work places—skills like collaboration, public speaking, writing, and socio-emotional skills like establishing and maintaining positive relationships—all within a fun, cohesive, and supportive classroom culture. What are some other resources and technologies that may be useful for teachers, students, and parents? Widely available social media as well as robot technologies are two technologies that can be especially useful for teachers, students, and parents when teaching and learning move online. Our work at Michigan State University’s College of Education has found that using social media for education has several benefits, such as enhancing students’ collaboration, community building, writing and active learning. For instance, in one study, using Facebook as the site for students’ debate of contemporary science issues enhanced their collaborative learning over other online settings. In another study, students’ use of social media was associated with their increased sense of belonging to peers and others, which is important because when students feel connected to their classmates and teachers they tend to be more engaged and perform better in school. In my own classes at Michigan State, I teach on-campus and online students in the same class period as well as asynchronously online when we are not meeting. I integrate social media in my teaching for various purposes; it helps me get to know my students, stay connected when we are apart, connect what we are learning to a wider network of people and resources, and provide a playful space for students to practice essential skills. Will school closings necessarily reduce the capacity of educators to teach their students? School closings do not necessarily have to reduce the capacity of educators to teach their students. If teachers have adequate and timely support for reflecting on their goals for student learning, considering the technologies available to them and how their capabilities align (or not) with these goals, and for designing lessons where there is a good match, they can be as -- or perhaps even more successful -- in their teaching. School closings could provide teachers with the opportunity to tackle some of their persistent teaching problems, re-thinking what is not working and redesigning their approaches to take advantage of the capabilities of technologies like social media and robots. On the other hand, teachers will need help and support at the school and district level. Effective remote teaching often requires more organization up front and ensuring that materials are readily available and accessible to the full range of learners will be key. In addition, tech support in the form of colleagues and others who can help not just trouble-shoot but think through technology integration and pedagogy will be vitally important. Are you a journalist looking to learn more – then let us help. Christine Greenhow is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology and Educational Psychology at Michigan State University and is a leader in the areas of educational technology, where she studies learning and teaching in social media contexts and innovative teaching online with the goal of improving theory, practice and policy in K-12 and higher education. A former public high school teacher, Greenhow is the winner of MSU’s Teacher-Scholar Award for teaching and research excellence and the AT&T award for Innovative Teaching with Technology. She has taught in face-to-face, online, and hybrid formats since 2012. She is available to speak with media regarding this topic – simply click on her icon to arrange an interview.

Interested in the Ethics of EdTech Apps? Let our Experts Help with Your Coverage

There’s been a lot of talk lately about EdTech apps. There’s a long list of benefits and advantages for students looking to succeed in these modern and digital times.   However, with anything app-related – user privacy and what’s being done with all of your data that’s collected always comes to the forefront of the conversation. EdTech apps are a billion-dollar industry, and recently the experts from the University of Mary Washington were asked their opinions on the industry, the apps and privacy.   Jesse Stommel, senior lecturer of Digital Studies at the University of Mary Washington, said that EdTech providers had a responsibility to do more than just legally protect themselves with terms and conditions. “The onus has to be on the tech companies themselves to educate the users about data security and data monetisation…say ‘here’s why I’m collecting it, here’s what I hope to do with it, here’s why it should matter to you’,” he said. For Dr. Stommel there was also still a danger when technologies were adopted widely across campuses and every student or lecturer was required to use them. “When certain companies become universal, staff and students don’t have a way to say ‘I won’t use it because I don’t want them to have my data’,” he said. The fact that certain products had become so widely adopted, such as plagiarism tracking software Turnitin, was another reason to be cautious about data protection, he said. Turnitin, which was sold last year for $1.8 billion (£1.4 billion), has been accused of monetising students’ intellectual property, since it works by checking submitted papers against an ever-growing database of previously submitted essays and detecting any similarities. “Companies can start off small and they say ‘we will be good stewards of this data, we’re small, we talk to each other,’ but then that company achieves more and more success and it doesn’t necessarily have the standards in place to maintain that,” said Dr. Stommel, speaking generally. “Then what happens when they are bought out? What are the ethics of the company that has purchased them? What happens to the student data then?” Dr. Stommel said that the most “moral” thing to do was for companies to collect as little data as possible but admitted “no company is approaching it in that way”. January 14 - TimesHigherEducation.com Are you a journalist covering how EdTech is now becoming a regular part of modern-day higher education? Then let our experts help with your stories. Jesse Stommel is a senior lecturer of Digital Studies at the University of Mary Washington and is an expert in faculty development, digital education and modern learning. He is available to speak with media regarding EdTech apps – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.