Page 15 - IEC Insights May-Jun20
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Responding to COVID-19:
Online Options for Chapters
TOP 4 FREE INTERNET When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and began affecting the
ACCESS RESOURCES IEC family, the Education and Training Department took swift action
to assist IEC’s chapter network. With chapters temporarily closing
IN ORDER OF IEC RECOMMENDATION their training centers and migrating to an online platform, it was
necessary to augment the current CMS system and Big Blue Button
(BBB) capabilities. In addition, it was imperative to increase internet
1 Internet Essentials by Comcast bandwidth to accommodate this sudden increase in usage. Working
www.internetessentials.com with the ATP team, this was achieved.
Comcast is expanding access
to this existing service and will For those unfamiliar with BBB, it is the program the IEC CMS uses
offer new families free internet to perform training and video recording for instructors. It is similar
service for 60 days. to Zoom and GoToMeeting. BBB can be used for office hours, mid-
term/final exam review, guest speakers, presentations, and classroom
2 FreedomPop instruction. It is a feature embedded within the CMS and is available at
www.freedompop.com/ no additional cost.
Do-You-Believe-That-
Internet-Can-Be-Free With the abrupt move to online classes, many chapters expressed
You must create an account. that their student body did not have reliable internet access outside
of their training center. In response, the Education and Training
3 Xfinity WiFi Hotspots Department compiled a list of low-cost or free internet resources (see
wifi.xfinity.com infographic). Our hope is to offer realistic options to all IEC students so
they can remain engaged during these unusual times.
4 To check local options:
www.allconnect.com/ “I was extremely impressed with the quick response and leadership our
internet/cheap chapters displayed with the outbreak of COVID-19. Chapter Executive
Directors and/or Training Directors jumped into action to find a
solution to finish out the year,” said IEC Vice President of Education
and Training Paul Dolenc. “Through a strong partnership with ATP, the
ADDITIONAL FREE INTERNET Education and Training department, the Apprenticeship and Training
Committee, and IEC CEO Spenser Villwock were able to provide a solid
ACCESS RESOURCES solution to our chapters and apprentices. I am
pleased that we had BBB to accommodate our
chapters during this difficult time.”
“Although there is somewhat of a learning
curve,” Dolenc added, “many chapters were
able to use BBB with very few issues since many
were already using the CMS.”
To receive the Big Blue Button tutorial PDF,
contact Paul Dolenc (pdolenc@ieci.org). To
learn more about Big Blue Button and its
capabilities, visit www.bigbluebutton.org.
If you have technical questions, direct them to
Adam Schuldt (Adam.Schuldt@atplearning.com)
or Liz Quinn (Elizabeth.Quinn@atplearning.com)
at ATP.
Chrissy Skudera is the director of curriculum
development for IEC National.
www.ieci.org | May/June 2020 | Insights Magazine 13
