Implementing Emergency Online Schools on the Fly as a Means of Responding to School Closures After Disaster Strikes

Abstract

One means of sustaining school operations when a disaster makes school buildings inaccessible or inoperable for an extended period of time is to use online and other communication technology to temporarily provide online schooling, also known as emergency online schools. However, the current literature on emergency online schools suggests that fully functioning emergency online schools are possible only through thoughtful planning and development before a disaster strikes. As a result, this article addresses the prospect of rapid development of emergency online schools in situations when schools are closed or inaccessible for a long period of time due to a disaster or other emergency, and there is no emergency online or other alternative school plan currently in place. We posit herein that although a fully functioning emergency online school is likely possible only through thoughtful planning and development, some of the key virtues of emergency online schools are, nevertheless, attainable after a disaster or other emergency necessitates complete school closure. We offer a plan for rapid establishment of an emergency online school as a response to a disaster after a disaster has happened and when complete school closure or inaccessibility was not anticipated as part of the current school crisis response plan and a comprehensive emergency online school plan is not yet established. This article first outlines the resources necessary for rapid creation of emergency online schools then follows with an approach to rapidly instituting emergency online schools as a response after disaster strikes.

Keywords

crisis preparation crisis response disasters school emergencies online learning

One means of sustaining school operations when a disaster makes school buildings inaccessible or inoperable for an indefinite period of time is to use online and other communication technology to temporarily deliver schooling as part of an overall crisis response protocol (LaPraire & Hinson, 2007; Rush, 2013; Rush, Wheeler, & Partridge, 2014a, 2014b). The Internet and mobile networks have become vital modes of communication during disaster relief efforts (Atten, Leavell, Gonzalez, Luke, Defee, & Harrison, 2011; Bainer, n.d.; Huang, Chan, & Hyder, 2010; Majchraz & Moore, 2011) and using such technology to plan and, when necessary, implement an emergency online school protocol can provide both temporary schooling and an avenue to systematically identify and evaluate children for needed services during times of disaster (Rush, 2013; Rush et al., 2014a, 2014b). See Rush et al. (2014a, 2014b) and Rush (2013) for a detailed discussion of the rationale and resources necessary for developing emergency online schools as part of a comprehensive, school-based crisis preparation and response plan.

However, the current literature on emergency online schools suggests that fully functioning emergency online schools are possible only through planning and development before a disaster strikes (LaPraire & Hinson, 2007; Rush, 2013; Rush et al., 2014a, 2014b). Therefore, because emergency online schools, like any online learning environment, require significant time, resources, and expertise to plan, develop, maintain, and, when necessary, implement, the following question must be considered: When schools are closed or inaccessible for a long period of time due to a disaster or other emergency and there is no emergency online or other alternative school plan currently in place, how can schools remain open to provide schooling and disaster-related supports to children? We posit herein that although a fully functioning emergency online school is likely possible only through careful planning and development before a disaster threatens, some of the key virtues of emergency online schools are, nevertheless, attainable as a response to a disaster or other emergency that causes unanticipated complete school closure or inaccessibility for a prolonged period. Informed by both the scholarly and popular literature, this article covers rapid development and implementation of emergency online schools in the wake of a disaster when an emergency online school plan has not been previously developed. Rapid implementation of emergency online schools may warrant consideration when a disaster or other emergency incapacitates schools indefinitely and long-term absence of school operations or access is not addressed in the current school crisis response plan and, as a result, a comprehensive plan for emergency schooling is not in place when disaster strikes. This article first outlines the resources necessary for rapid creation of emergency online schools then follows with an approach to rapidly instituting an abbreviated form of emergency online schools within an established school-based crisis response framework.

Resources Needed for Rapid Creation of Emergency Online Schools After a Disaster

Cost-Effective Sustainable Emergency Power

Disasters often leave people in the affected area without electrical power for an indefinite period of time, such as the widespread power outages for more than 3 weeks in parts of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina struck the state in August 2005 (Beabout, 2007; Newmark & DeRugy, 2006). During such times, sustainable emergency power sources, such as solar-, wind-, and human-powered generators, can economically provide the power needed to continuously maintain basic communication devices and appliances until stable power is restored. Some sustainable energy sources are robust enough to meet basic household power needs and can be used indefinitely after a disaster. For example, Sunforce produces a variety of solar and wind power kits (approximately $1000.00 to $2000.00 USD for hardware and power converter) that can power multiple appliances and electronics for single or multiple households (Sunforce Products, Inc., 2015). Currently being used by many homes in remote areas of Africa that are not on a power grid, the ReadySet (approximately $225 USD) can store power from a variety of power sources (e.g., solar, wind, hydro, turbine, bicycle-pedaled, active grid power, etc.) to provide basic electricity for a variety of small to medium-sized electronic devices, including lights, radios, Wi-Fi hotspots, tablets, and laptop computers (Fenix International, 2015; Kickstarter, Inc., 2015). Similarly, K-Tor manufactures the Pocket Socket (approximately $65.00 USD), a small hand-cranked generator that can charge one small electronic device at a time, and the Pedal Box (approximately $195.00 USD), a pedal-powered generator that can charge a variety of small- to medium-sized electronic devices and some appliances (K-TOR, LLC, 2015a, 2015b).

Mobile Communication Networks

Internet

After a disaster, Internet and cellular access may remain intact, be spotty, or completely absent. Enabling publically available Wi-Fi access (hot spots) is one way to share available Internet service. If cellular connectivity is intact, use of mobile broadband devices also can supply Internet connectivity to single or multiple devices. Mobile broadband also is provided with some smartphones or by dedicated mobile broadband devices that can typically be purchased from major retailers (e.g., Best Buy, Target, Walmart, etc.) for under $100.00 USD, with activation plans by the minute, day, week, or month (see sellers for current pricing).

Satellite

If the aftermath of a disaster has caused widespread loss of Internet or cellular access or if the area impacted is remote and with limited access to begin with, it is possible to regain or enhance connectivity through satellite. Although satellite service can be costly, it is possible through help from the government, military, or other charity or humanitarian organization to quickly set up satellite stations throughout an area affected by a disaster. For example, after Hurricane Sandy hit the New York City area in October 2012, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a division of the United States Department of Homeland Security, quickly set up 40 temporary satellite stations throughout the affected area so citizens with no electricity or Internet access could communicate with others, including obtaining needed assistance (FEMA, 2013). Within 1 day after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Louisiana, in August 2005, Vanguard Technologies provided wireless, broadband internet connectivity to an area covering 100 square miles of the impact area (The White House, n.d.). Shortly after the Haiti earthquake in January 2010, VSAT Systems coordinated with governmental and relief agencies to utilize satellite technology to provide Internet access and services for relief workers, agencies, and families (VSAT Systems, 2012). Phone and Internet access also is possible through personal satellite phones, which typically cost several hundred dollars (USD) to purchase and operate but can be rented and operated for a few dollars (USD) a day (see sellers for current pricing) and are operable in any part of the world independent of the availability or condition of local cellular service (GlobalCom, 2012; Tobias, 2013).

Cell Phones

There are approximately 600 million cell phone users world-wide, including regions of the world that are remote, poor, without stable power, or impacted by disaster (Fenix International, 2015; Proctor, 2013; Reuters, 2010). This is not surprising as prepaid smartphones can be purchased from major retailers for less than $100.00 USD with operation contracts including unlimited, talk, text, and Internet for a few dollars (USD) per day (see sellers for current pricing). Because most cell phones come equipped with built-in video and text as well as audio communication features, the prospect of real-time communication is a viable option for anyone with access to a cell phone with service, even after a disaster in a disadvantaged region. Examples include wide-spread use of cell phones throughout remote areas of Africa without power (Proctor, 2013) and the ubiquitous use of cell phones in Haiti immediately after the devastation from the 2010 earthquake (Reuters, 2010). If local cell phone access is compromised, use of satellite cell phone communication is possible through satellite phones as mentioned above. Therefore, cell phone communication is a viable first line of electronic communication after a disaster, as it is a durable form of communication that is accessible to the masses.

Low-Cost Computers and Laptops

Laptop computers also are becoming more affordable and viable for use in lower socioeconomic regions or regions impacted by disaster. For example, the Chromebook laptop computer (www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/landing.html) is relatively inexpensive (approximately $199.00 USD) and runs on a web-based operating system, which keeps all electronic materials on an external server and requires minimal technical support (also see O’Donnell & Randy, 2012). Furthermore, the price of tablets, netbooks (mini laptops), and e-readers are at all-time lows, with prices for tablets and netbooks starting near $100.00 USD and e-readers typically costing under $100.00 USD at online (e.g., Amazon.com) and traditional retail outlets (see sellers for current pricing).

Online Video Communication

Live video chat is possible on smartphones, laptops, and tablets via a number of free applications, including Skype (www.skype.com), Google Hangouts (www.google.com/hangouts), and ooVoo (www.ooovo.com), which are directly downloadable. Similarly, Ustream (www.ustream.tv) provides live video streaming and archiving of video directly from a mobile communication device, which can be viewed by anyone with Internet access without any special software. One-way video sharing can be accomplished using a number of free video posting services that do not require special software, such as YouTube (www.youtube.com.) or Vimeo (www.vimeo.com). The Second Life (www.secondlife.com) virtual reality platform is a free downloadable platform for computers that allows life-like interactions in a simulated environment through use of an online avatar.

Social Media

The Internet is used by more than one third of people in the world or approximately 2.4 billion users, and approximately 1 billion of Internet users use social media sites every month (Internet World Stats, 2012; Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2013; Pingdom, 2013). Free social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, can facilitate communication between people in affected areas, including posting of pictures and videos, and aid in relaying information to government and relief agencies of where and what kind of resources are needed. For example, after the 2009 monsoon in Taiwan, medical workers used information from Twitter feeds to help locate and rescue 14 people who had been trapped by the damage caused by the monsoon (Huang et al., 2010). Similarly, free online applications dedicated to search and rescue effort after disasters, such as Google’s Person Finder (google.org/personfinder/global/home.html) and first aid Internet resources available through the Red Cross (www.redcross.org), have proved successful for locating people in disaster areas and alerting family, friends, and authorities of their locations (also see O’Neill & O’Neill, 2012).

Email

Email is another avenue to reaching both individuals and large groups. Almost all of the 2.4 billion internet users in the world use email (Pingdom, 2013). Although email accounts that are run from local servers in a disaster area may become compromised after a disaster, Web-based email accounts will remain functional with internet access. Free Web-based email accounts can be created through popular providers such as Google (www.google.com) and Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com).

Course Management and Related Systems

If practical, course management systems (CMSs) can be employed at some point after a disaster to facilitate teaching, learning, and to create online communities of children, caregivers, and educators (Doe, 2010). CMS are online learning environments that allow educators to house and deliver curricula and interact with students and caregivers. Some features of and content within CMSs may be accessible by smartphone or tablet while others only by computer. Moodle (www.moodle.com) and Sakai (www.sakaiproject.org/about-sakai) are popular free CMSs that must be run and technically managed from a server operated by or on behalf of the school using the CMS. Popular commercially available CMSs include WebCT (www.blackboard.com), Apex Learning (www.apexlearning.com), and K12 (www.k12.com), which charge a fee for use but are run and managed from corporate server networks external to schools using the CMSs. Although not a CMS per se, Second Life (www.secondlife.com) is a free, Web-based virtual reality platform that allows life-like interaction in a simulated environment with the capability to house and deliver curricula but can only be accessed by computer. Other options in addition to a CMS include dedicated education blogs or Websites, which can house materials and allow some limited interaction, such as posting responses, from a variety of electronic devices. Free education blog hosting is available from a variety of providers, such as Edublog (www.edublogs.org) and Weebly (education.weebly.com). Weebly also provides free Web hosting, specifically for the online education environment. Email can be a good augment to a course delivery system or, if necessary, as a stand-alone mode of course delivery and communication.

Education Content

Education content can be created in-house or come from an external source and can be housed in and accessed by a CMS, Website, or blog. Free online-ready education content aligned with applicable education standards is directly downloadable from government and nonprofit organizations, such as the Federal Registry for Educational Excellence (FREE; www.free.ed.gov) and Curriki (www.curriki.org). Education content also is available for a fee from commercial providers, such as Apex Learning and K12. Given the proliferation of K-12 online learning around the world, including less developed regions, (Cavanaugh, Barbour, & Clark, 2009; Cavanaugh & Clark, 2007; Moore, 2007; Moore & Kearsley, 2012; Picciano & Seaman, 2007, 2009), it also may be possible for students and teachers to virtually join classrooms in other locations that may share online education content and allow access to CMS or other forms of communication and content delivery. Organizations, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO; www.unesco.org) and the Virtual High School (VHS; http://thevhscollaborative.org) may be helpful to that end.

Volunteer and Humanitarian Organizations and Initiatives

In addition to support from local, regional, and national government agencies, it is important to be aware of reputable charitable and nonprofit organizations around the world that specialize in helping children and schools on-site after disasters, such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC; /www.ifrc.org), UNESCO, and the United Nations Service Fund (UNICEF; www.unicef.org). Other established charities that also may be of particular relevance to implementing emergency online schools after a disaster include Worldreader (www.worldreader.org) and One Laptop Per Child (OLPC; http://one.laptop.org), which provide free or low-cost tablets, e-readers, and digital education content to schools in distressed and remote areas across the world. It may also be possible to secure other support provided entirely at a distance, such as the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) crisis services initiatives that are offered at a distance as well on-site to schools in the United States and other parts of the world (NASP, 2012).

Executing Rapid Establishment of Emergency Online Schools After a Disaster

Ideally, any school-initiated crisis response should be implemented within a larger established crisis response plan. Below is a plan for rapidly implementing an emergency online school following some of the basic principles of PREPaRE, a comprehensive school-based crisis preparation and response plan that has application to schools around the world (Brock, Nickerson, Reeves, Jimerson, Lieberman, & Feinberg, 2009), the Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans (United States Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students (USDOE), 2013), and Rush et al. (2014a) emergency online school training curriculum, a curriculum for training educators and mental health professionals on how to construct and implement emergency online schools. We offer here a plan for rapid establishment of an emergency online school as a response to a disaster after a disaster has happened and when complete school closure or inaccessibility was not anticipated as part of the school crisis response plan and a comprehensive emergency online school plan is not yet established. As opposed to preparation, this plan only addresses response after a disaster has already destroyed or otherwise made schools inoperable or inaccessible. Informed by the disaster response tasks outlined in PREPaRE and by the USDOE and Rush, Wheeler, and Partridge’s phases of an emergency online school professional training curriculum, we propose the following five stages for rapid construction of emergency online schools after a disaster: (stage 1) appraisal of school operations and community needs, (stage 2) key considerations for development and implementations, (stage 3) garnering resources and supports, (stage 4) outreach, and (stage 5) execution, maintenance, and reintegration. To the extent possible, we recommend that each of the five stages be addressed with multidisciplinary expertise, including input from school administrators, teachers, mental health professionals, technology specialists, parents, local officials, and other stakeholders, who we refer to from here on as planners. Each of the five stages is outlined later.

Stage 1: Appraisal of School Operations and Community Needs

Before considering implementation of an emergency online school after a disaster, planners must determine if school operations are sufficiently incapacitated to warrant implementation. Even if school functioning is severely compromised, it must be determined if the span of delay in reopening or the availability of other alternatives justifies the effort in moving forward with making plans for an emergency online school. The decision on whether to pursue emergency online schools or not will likely require input from a number of stakeholders, including government officials, school personnel, emergency agencies, community members, and others.

Stage 2: Key Considerations for Development and Implementation

Although every disaster presents its own unique circumstances, planners contemplating emergency online schools after a disaster may benefit from considering the following 13 steps of emergency online school development and implementation, which are divided into three phases. Steps 1 to 6 can be considered the establishment phase, Steps 7 to 9 the active phase, and Steps 10 to 13 the maintenance phase.

Establishment phase

The following steps represent the key considerations for developing the basic infrastructure of emergency online schools after a disaster:

Establishing emergency stations as necessary at accessible points throughout the affected area to supply resources and services, such as wireless Internet connectivity (hot spots), power charging stations, and satellite service, and well as serve as a general distribution, information, and communication center.

Providing portable emergency power sources and electronic communication devices to households and elsewhere as needed.

Reestablishing Internet and cellular service to households and elsewhere as needed.

Communicating with families and children to ascertain needs and provide or arrange provision of services, such as counseling (electronically and live) to children who seem the most distressed or notifying the proper authorities about children or their family members who are sick or without food or water or are not communicating or are otherwise not accounted for.

Seeking assistance from online classrooms and schools in other locations that may allow virtual participation and sharing of resources, such as education content and course delivery platforms.

Seeking online assistance from experts and others around the world that may be able to help in any way through online communication, such as teachers, curriculum specialists, medical and mental health professionals, technology experts, and so forth.

Active phase

The following steps represent the key considerations for implementing emergency online schools after a disaster:

Facilitating the emergency online school community by bringing together children, caregivers, and school personnel by way of electronic communication media, including social media, texting, video and audio chat, message boards, email, instant message, blogs, and so forth and, when possible and necessary, community gatherings at emergency stations, neighborhoods, and so forth.

Introducing education content into the emergency online school community via CMSs or other mode of delivery, such as dedicated Websites and blogs or email, which may include videos, readings, discussion questions, and so forth, and, to the extent possible, live interaction through video, audio, or text.

Providing regular feedback to students and updates to parents.

Maintenance phase

The following steps represent the key considerations for maintaining emergency online schools after implementation:

Ascertaining the needs of children and their families and addressing as appropriate.

Communicating with community, government, charitable, and other organizations that can offer advice and assistance.

Soliciting feedback from children, family members, school personnel, and others as to emergency online school effectiveness.

Implementing changes as needed.

Stage 3: Garnering Resources and Supports

At this stage, planners will have considered the basic tasks required of implementing an emergency online school plan. Given the outcomes of Stages 1 and 2, the key basic questions that planners should ask and answer at this stage are: (1) What do we need? (2) Who can help meet our needs? (3) What can we get? (3) When can we get it? (4) How will resources best be used? (5) What are the approximate time frames? Sufficiently answering all five questions above can serve as a good indication that it is time to make an informed decision to either move to the next stage, outreach, or discontinue pursing an emergency online school plan.

Stage 4: Outreach

To the extent possible, the key task at this stage is to inform children, caregivers, and the general community of (a) the basic elements of the ultimate emergency online school plan, (b) how the plan is anticipated to help, (c) the expected resources to be provided, (d) the expectations of children and caregivers, (e) the resources that are immediately available, (f) contact information for schools and important post-disaster resources, and (g) ways community members, including children, can help. If possible, caregivers and children should be given an opportunity to ask questions, offer input, and convey concerns and needs.

Stage 5: Execution, Maintenance, and Reintegration

This stage basically consists of enacting the three phases of development outlined above in stage 2, key considerations for development and implementation. However, how the phases ultimately pan out likely will depend largely on the nature of the disaster, access to resources, priorities of stakeholders, and characteristics of the community. Executing and maintaining the emergency online school plan likely will require monitoring of both the status of children and their caregivers and the infrastructure of the communication system. Such will necessitate obtaining feedback from all parties involved in teaching, learning, and receiving and providing services facilitated through emergency online school delivery. To the best extent possible, emergency online school implementation should be gauged continuously and changes made as deemed necessary and appropriate, including eventual reintegration back to the physical school environment. Furthermore, continued communication with organizations and experts that can offer assistance either on-site or from a distance will likely be vital to emergency online school success.

Limitations and Conclusions

Documentation of rapid implementation of emergency online schools appears to be absent at this time. Nevertheless, rapid development of emergency online schools due to long-term school closings after a disaster when such closings were not previously considered merits consideration given the wide empirical support for school continuance after a disaster, including emergency online schools, as a means to aid the post-disaster recovery of children and their families. The elements necessary for rapid development and implementation of an abbreviated form of emergency online schools do exist. Therefore, it is our hope and anticipation that the information provided herein will serve to both spark scholarly dialog on the general concept of rapid development of emergency online schools and provide needed direction for schools to rapidly develop and implement emergency online schools in the unfortunate situation of being faced with unanticipated, long-term school closing due to a natural or other disaster.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

S. Craig Rush graduated from the University of Alabama with a PhD in school psychology and an EdS in educational psychology-school psychology. He also earned MS degrees in rehabilitation counseling, substance abuse counseling, and vocational evaluation from East Carolina University. Before his faculty appointment in the Department of Psychology at Towson University, Dr. Rush was a member of the faculty in the Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling at the University of Alabama and the Department of Psychology at Barry University. His research interests are primarily focused on technological applications and alternative methods related to consultation, professional training, school-based disaster preparation and response, and various forms of intervention and assessment. Before working in academe, Dr. Rush worked in public rehabilitation agencies in North Carolina and Nevada. He holds the Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential and is a Licensed Applied Psychologist in Virginia.

Ashley Partridge is currently a doctoral student in the School Psychology Program at The University of Alabama. She also holds an MA in educational psychology-school psychometry from The University of Alabama.

Joanna Wheeler is a school psychologist with the Nashville Public School System, in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Wheeler graduated from the University of Alabama with a PhD in school psychology and an MA in general educational psychology. Her research interests include investigating the role of self-efficacy, motivation, and locus of control in improving academic success, and understanding factors that enhance teacherण128;™s acceptance of Response to Intervention implementation.

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