Resources for Providing Virtual Service: College Access Professionals 

Scroll down for resources related to the following areas: 

• Access to Technology
• Campus Visits, Preview Days, & Summer Activities
• College Admissions       
• Counseling/Advising     
• Equity  
• Exam Updates  
• Examples from GEAR UP Programs Offering Virtual Services      
• Financial Aid and Literacy: Virtual Games and Lessons    
• Higher Education Updates         
• Mental Health and Coping        
• Online Instruction          
  • Creating Online Content
  • Meeting Platforms        
  • Planning Tools  
  • Resources to Make Your Own Game     
  • Scheduling Platforms    
  • Tech Tools and Distance Learning          
• Professional Development         
• School Planning
• Student and Family Communication        
• Student and Family Engagement
• Transitions        
• Tutoring and Mentoring
• WA State College & University COVID-19 Updates       

 

ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY

• 14 Tips for Helping Students with Limited Internet Have Distance Learning (KQED)
• Comcast Extends Free Public WiFi Access to Everyone for the Remainder of 2020 (Comcast)
• http://driveinwifi.wa.gov/ Drive-In WiFi Hotspots provide free temporary, emergency internet access for Washingtonians who do not have broadband service to their homes. 
• Online Learning Vs. Different Types of Online Education—Are We Talking About the Same Thing? (ID Tech)
• Why Helping Families Access the Internet Is So Challenging (Ed Week)
• ‘Wireless On Wheels’: Rural District Takes Wi-Fi On The Road (SREB)

CAMPUS VISITS, PREVIEW DAYS, & SUMMER ACTIVITIES

• 3 Steps to Making the Most of a Virtual College Fair (Common App)
• 5 Ways to Tour Colleges at Home (College Board)
• Choosing Your College While Campuses Are Closed (Get Schooled)
• College & Career Compass Tool (WSAC)
• College Spotlights. (NACAC's Rural Special Interest Group)
• Get Ready for Virtual Visits (WA State GEAR UP)
• Military Pathways and Exploration Tools (WA State GEAR UP)
• NACAC Virtual College Fair Promotional Kit for Counselors (NACAC)
• National Virtual College Tours Spreadsheet (Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and CollegeWise)
• PNACAC Virtual College Fairs (PNACAC)
• UW Virtual Self-Guided Tour (UW)
• Virtual Summer Enrichment that Aims for Real-World Impact.  (Harvard GSE)
• VirtualCollegeFairs.org (NACAC)
• Washington State Institutions Offering Virtual Tours (WA State GEAR UP)

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

• ACT/SAT Test-Optional 101
• College Admission Status Update (NACAC)
• Common App Resources and Support during COVID (Common App)
• Considering A Gap Year Due To COVID-19?  (WA State GEAR UP)
• Making the Case for College During COVID-19. (On-Demand Webinar by ACT)
• Plan Your Future (WSAC)
• Top 5 Activities: Remote Activities for High School Juniors and Seniors (WA State GEAR UP)

COUNSELING/ADVISING

• Counseling Toolkits. Including Crisis Planning and Response, Choosing a College When You Can't Visit Campus and Virtual School Counseling Guidelines. (ASCA)
• Pivoting to Virtual Advising? Consider the Evidence and These Approaches (NCAN)
• School Counseling from a Distance: Supporting Students During COVID-19 (SREB)
• Virtual Advising Tips. (NCAN)

EQUITY

• 2020-2021 Equity Guides (For more COVID-19 planning materials, visit the toolkits from Education Resource Strategies and The Education Trust.)
• An Educator’s Guide to Virtual Learning and A Parent’s Guide to Virtual Learning (National Center for Learning Disabilities)
• Challenges and Strategies for Serving Students Experiencing Homelessness (SchoolHouse Connection)
• Connectivity and Creativity in the Time of COVID-19: Immigrant Serving Districts Respond to the Pandemic (Immigration Initiative at Harvard)
• COVID and Homelessness Strategies (SchoolHouse Connections)
• COVID-19 Impact on Education and Equity: Resources and Responses (Ed Trust)
• COVID-19 Resources Useful for Rural People and Communities (Aspen Institute)
• Creating an Inclusive Virtual Classroom (Edutopia)
• Family and Youth Homelessness in the Wake of COVID-19: A Virtual Congressional Briefing Series In Collaboration with the Congressional Caucus (Watch Recordings from July 2020, SchoolHouse Connections)
• How Designing Accessible Curriculum For All Can Help Make Online Learning More Equitable (KQED)
• How Ibram X. Kendi's Definition of Antiracism Applies to Schools (KQED)
• How to Develop Culturally Responsive Teaching for Distance Learning (KQED)
• Identifying Students Experiencing Homelessness During School Building Closures (SchoolHouse Connection)
• Lessons from Rural Communities: Navigating the College-Going Process in A Virtual K-12 World (ACT featuring OR GU)
• LGBTQ Community and COVID-19 (Human Rights Campaign)
• New Report Explores Innovation of Educators in Immigrant-Serving Districts (Immigration Initiative at Harvard )
• Remote Learning and the Digital Divide (Harvard EdCast)
• Social, Emotional, and Academic Development Through an Equity Lens (Ed Trust)

EXAM UPDATES

• ACT/SAT Test-Optional 101
• ACCUPLACER
• ACT 
• AP
• Free Test Preparation Tools and Fee Waiver Info
• PSAT/SAT

EXAMPLES FROM GEAR UP PROGRAMS OFFERING VIRTUAL SERVICES

• Cal State Fullerton
• California State University, San Bernardino
• Chicago GEAR UP
• Examples of calling scripts from GEAR UP 4 LA (1 & 2).
• GEAR UP Iowa
• GEAR UP Topeka
• GU Florida Summer Bridge
• KU GEAR UP
• Norristown Area School District
• NYGEARUP
• Oregon GEAR UP
• Oregon Goes to College
• University of Oklahoma K20 Center
• University of Texas at Austin GEAR UP
• Utah GEAR UP, USU Stars! GEAR UP
• Virtual College Tours

FINANCIAL AID AND LITERACY: VIRTUAL GAMES AND LESSONS

• 10 Free Financial Literacy Games for High School Students. (Edutopia)
• Budget Wizard: An Interactive Experience.  (NEFE)
• Financial Education and Create a Budget/Financial Wellbeing Interactive Lesson (WSECU and Everfi)
• Financial Literacy Curriculum for HS Students (NEFE)
• Financial Literacy Games: (Money Smart Week)

HIGHER EDUCATION UPDATES

• WA State Campus Reopening Guide (ICW, COP, SBCTC)
• Here for You (ICW, COP, SBCTC)
• Joint Statement on COVID-19 Fall 2020 Admissions from Council of Presidents (COP) and Independent Colleges of Washington (ICW) 
• Joint Academic Statement
• Joint Statement on College in the High School (CiHS)
• Joint Statement on Dual Credit
• Joint Statement on Concurrent Enrollment Courses and Grading Policies
• Joint Statement on Transfer Students

MENTAL HEALTH AND COPING

• 3 Ways to Reduce Stress and Build Connections During Distance Learning (Edutopia)
• Six Online Activities to Help Students Cope with COVID-19. (Greater Good, Berkeley)
• 7 Things Teachers Can Do to Address Student Trauma – Especially During Distance Learning (EdSource)
• Address Students’ Race-Based Stress and Trauma. (ASCA)
• COVID-19 Resources for School Counselors (Crisis Management Institute)
• Educator Resource for Supporting LGBTQ Students During Distance Learning. (HRC and NEA)
• How Stress Affects Your Memory (KQED)
• Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Mental Health Support for Students of Color During and After the Coronavirus Pandemic (Center for American Progress)
• Pandemic Response Resources (National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement)
• Resources for Families Concerned About Remote Learning, Stress, & Anxiety Due to COVID (National PTA)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Resources During COVID-19 (SAMHSA)
• Talking to Children About COVID-19: A Parent Resource (National Association of School Psychologists) 
• Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus (Child Mind Institute)
• Teachers Are Living in a Tinderbox of Stressful Conditions. These Scientific Approaches Can Help. (Ed Surge)
• WA Listens (A new program that provides nonclinical support to people experiencing elevated stress due to COVID-19)
• Your Coping and Resilience Strategies Might Need to Shift as the Covid-19 Crisis Continues (Route 50)

ONLINE INSTRUCTION

• 3 Lessons From Online Learning to Take Back to the Classroom (Edutopia)
• 4 Tips for Productive Online Discussions (Edutopia)
• 7 Takeaways from Our Experiences with Distance Learning (Edutopia)
• Distance Learning FAQ: Solving Teachers’ and Students’ Common Problems (Edutopia)
• How Designing Accessible Curriculum for All Can Help Make Online Learning More Equitable (KQED)
• MaiaLearning makes online tools to engage middle and high school students in envisioning and planning exciting futures. Students get assessment-based career suggestions, then develop detailed plans to bring their career dreams to life. They explore colleges, build financial plans, and manage their essays, recommendations, and applications. They use Portfolios to showcase the unique stories that help them stand out from their peers.
• Reflections—and Lessons Learned—From Remote Learning (Edutopia)
• Shifts in Practice at HGSE (Harvard GSE)
• Six Steps to Improve Your Online and Blended Instruction. (SREB)
• What Makes a High-Quality Remote or Hybrid Learning Program? View recording. (Harvard GSE)
• What Makes an Excellent Online Teacher? (Harvard GSE)

Creating Online Content

• Adobe Spark or Powtoons for videos
• Canva for slide decks and infographics

Meeting Platforms

• Bluejeans 
• Cisco Jabber
• Google voice
• GoToMeeting
• Microsoft Teams 
• PlatformQ
• Skype
• Slate
• WebEx
• Zoom 

Planning Tools

• Note Taking: Evernote, Google Drive, OneNote for pre-meeting notes 
• Surveys: Google Forms, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey to gather information

Resources to Make Your Own Game

• GEAR UP College Knowledge Games & Activities for Students and Families  (WA State GEAR UP)
• Game-based learning platforms that students can access via web browsers.
  • Gimkit: https://www.gimkit.com/
  • Kahoot: https://kahoot.com/
  • Quizizz: https://quizizz.com/
  • Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/latest
• Word Searches and Crosswords: https://crosswordlabs.com/

Scheduling Platforms

• Calendly includes questionnaire during registration and syncs with calendar systems.
• Doodle scheduling platform that is useful across time zones.
• RepVisits allows high schools to set up their visit schedules and college fairs easily and quickly, and college admissions personnel can search and sign up for visits and fairs with the click of a button.
• Sign Up Genius provides online sign up sheets and forms for schools.
• Slate.org is a free platform for school counselors, independent counselors, and community-based organizations with a commitment to supporting and promoting access to education. Slate.org is designed to foster stronger relationships between school counselors and admissions offices by keeping everyone on the same page with your students' best interests at heart. 
• You Can Book Me Connect with your calendar and only share the times you want with your customers - they book straight into your calendar. Customers get their own notifications, reminders, calendar invites and more.

Tech Tools and Distance Learning

• Canvas a learning management platform helps you create a custom K–12 learning environment to equitably scale student achievement. Use discussion boards.
• Discord An invite-only place with plenty of room to talk. Discord servers are organized into topic-based channels where you can collaborate, share, and just talk about your day without clogging up a group chat.
• Flipgrid offers a platform for recording and sharing videos (free for educators)
• Google Classroom allow educators to create classes, distribute assignments, grade and send feedback, and see everything in one place.
• Google Docs can use for team assignments.
• Loom allows you to capture your screen, voice and face and instantly share your video (free for educators).
• My Blueprint offers a platform for students to create portfolios (free access)
• Nearpod provides a platform for live lessons.
• Perusall is a new e­book platform with collaborative annotation that keeps students on track before class. Perusall ensures ​students learn more, get instant answers to their questions, come to class prepared, and enjoy the experience. It enables ​you to teach more effectively, understand student misconceptions, structure class discussion, and save time. Perusall is free. It is based on extensive patent­pending behavioral research at Harvard and is used by a growing number of faculty and students at different universities.
• Screencast-o-matic an easy-to-use screen recorder, you can capture any area of your screen with the option to add narration from your microphone and video from your webcam.
• Talking Points lets you translate your messages for students and families in any language (free access)
• WA Teacher Tech Project's Help Desk. Operated by expert Washington teachers! The Help Desk Teams will be running all summer through September 30. Any question or issue is welcome. There are several ways to ask a question or seek assistance from the Help Desk teams: Ask a question in a Facebook Groups (https://www.facebook.com/WACSTP/groups/) and follow these Facebook Pages:
• Canvas Help Desk WA - https://www.facebook.com/CanvasHelpWA 
• Google Class WA - https://www.facebook.com/GoogleClassWA/ 
• Microsoft Teams WA - https://www.facebook.com/MSTeamsWA 
• Schoology WA - https://www.facebook.com/SchoologyWA/ 
• Seesaw WA - https://www.facebook.com/SeesawWA/ 
• Or submit your question/issue by form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJgvFjJsXh7ezhzOOrZgHRRlrwHcPRToQJIAMLDu33tvsg1Q/viewform
• Wevideo provides a platform for student-created videos (free to schools closed due to COVID-19)
• WhatsApp Group Chat with group chats, you can share messages, photos, and videos with up to 256 people at once. You can also name your group, mute or customize notifications, and more.
• Zoom offers free resources for educators during school closures. Allows for synchronous meetings and breakout rooms for teams.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Planning for Better Professional Development in an Uncertain Future (Edutopia)
• Planning for the Next Normal at School. (Kaiser)
• Using Social Media to Build a Personal Learning Network (Edutopia)

SCHOOL PLANNING

• 5 Radical Schooling Ideas For An Uncertain Fall And Beyond (KQED)
• 7 Research-Based Recommendations for What Schools Should Do Next (Ed Week)
• Confronting the Challenges of Restarting School (Harvard GSE)
• Education Now: The Challenges of Reopening (Harvard GSE)
• ExtraOrdinary Districts in Extraordinary Times (Ed Trust)
• How Giving All Stakeholders a Voice Can Improve School Reopening Plans (KQED)
• How Should Education Leaders Prepare for Reentry and Beyond? (Chiefs for Change and Johns Hopkins)
• How Students Benefit from a School Reopening Plan Designed for Those at the Margins (KQED)
• How to Plan When You Don’t Know What to Plan For (Edutopia)
• Imagining September: Online Design Charrettes for Fall 2020 Planning with Students & Stakeholders (Harvard GSE)
• Imagining September: Principles & Design Elements for Ambitious Schools During COVID-19 (Harvard GSE)
• Marie Kondo The Curriculum (Albert Shanker Institute)
• Reopening Washington Schools 2020-21 Workgroup (OSPI)
• Reopening Schools Is Way Harder Than It Should Be. So Is Leaving Them Closed. Now What Do We Do? (NY Times)
• Resources for Reopening Schools (Johns Hopkins)
• Restarting Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic (Washington Roundtable and Partnership for Learning)
• States, Colleges Navigate Fall Plans Amid Pressure to Reopen (NASFAA)
• The Pivot Back to Remote Learning: Checklists for Teachers, Principals, and Ed-Tech Leaders (Ed Week)

STUDENT AND FAMILY COMMUNICATION

• 4 Important Lessons Schools Learned About Communication During Distance Learning (We Are Teachers)
• Keep in Touch with Students and Families Experiencing Homelessness During Closures. (SchoolHouse Connection)
• Phone Calls Become Crucial Tools for Teachers to Stay in Touch with Students (KQED)
• Special Edition for Remote Learning: College Knowledge Family Newsletters (WSAC)
• Strategies for Connecting with Students and Families. (Attendance Works)
• Student Resources. and Resources to Share with Students & Families (Get Schooled)
• Washington Student Achievement Council Senior Newsletters (Non-customizable edition)

STUDENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

• 8 Ideas Designed to Engage Students in Active Learning Online (Caitlin Tucker)
• Beyond Zoom U: The Online Learning Experience Students Want (Forbes)
• Career & College Clubs Free Activities. (NCCEP)
• COVID College Support. This guide is created by Edquity staff members to help college students navigate emergencies during the COVID-19 crisis. 
• Engaging Families from a Distance (Proving Ground, Harvard)
• Finding Reputable Online Resources for Distance Learning (Edutopia)
• Free Curriculum for Online Classes: Support During COVID-19 (First Generation)
• How GEAR UP Schools Are Virtually Supporting Students and Families. (OR GEAR UP)
• How to Coach Parents Who Are Teaching at Home (Edutopia)
• How to Keep Students’ Attention in a Virtual Classroom (Edutopia)
• Oregon Goes to College's Virtual College Nights. (OR GU)
• Promoting Student Collaboration In The Age Of COVID-19 (SREB)
• Remote Learning with Khan Academy During School Closures. (Khan Academy)
• Resources for Educators and Families During Closure. (Sound Discipline)

TRANSITIONS

• Supporting Students in the Transition from High School to College During the COVID-19 Crisis (Ed Trust)
• COVID College Support. This guide is created by Edquity staff members to help college students navigate emergencies during the COVID-19 crisis. 
• RISE FREE: Student Navigator Network.The student navigator network is a 1:1 online student referral service that connects students impacted by COVID-19 with resources and helps them apply for public benefits.

TUTORING AND MENTORING

• Virtual Mentoring Portals (Mentor.org)

WA STATE COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COVID-19 UPDATES: COP | ICW | SBCTC

Each of these institutions has created a dedicated webpage for COVID-19 related updates. These links have the most up-to-date details about class and campus operations, housing, and other logistics.

• Bates Technical College
• Bellevue College
• Bellingham Technical College
• Big Bend Community College
• Cascadia College
• Central Washington University
• Centralia College
• Clark College
• Clover Park Technical College
• Columbia Basin College
• Eastern Washington University
• Edmonds College
• Everett Community College
• Gonzaga University       
• Grays Harbor College
• Green River College
• Heritage University
• Highline College
• Lake Washington Institute of Technology
• Lower Columbia College
• North Seattle College
• Olympic College
• Pacific Lutheran University
• Peninsula College
• Pierce College
• Renton Technical College
• Seattle Central College
• Seattle Pacific University
• Seattle University
• Shoreline Community College
• Skagit Valley College
• South Puget Sound Community College
• South Seattle College
• Spokane Community College
• Spokane Falls Community College
• St. Martin's University
• Tacoma Community College
• The Evergreen State College
• University of Puget Sound
• University of Washington
• Walla Walla Community College
• Walla Walla University
• Washington State University
• Wenatchee Valley College
• Western Washington University
• Whatcom Community College
• Whitman College             
• Whitworth University
• Yakima Valley College