Minnesota is looking to telehealth to support mental health during coronavirus quarantine

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Keeping mentally healthy is a challenge and noble goal in these days of sheltering in place. Both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Post Bulletin (via Duluth News Tribune) are highlighting what people are doing to keep healthy around the state.

A Star Tribune article reports…

As one way to adjust, Valkyrie started the Minnesota Mutual Support group on Facebook earlier this week to help people stay connected to resources and to each other. More than 600 have already joined.

“I don’t have access to my normal support,” Valkyrie said. “It’s been reaching out a lot online, to be honest, and helping others. And creating that group actually helps my mental health quite a bit.”

And more formal recommendations to find support online…

Mental health providers are also scrambling statewide to triage care and treatment for patients as the pandemic continues. They are directing patients to telehealth counseling and fielding calls from patients unsure if they should still go to therapy in person. Providers are working to keep their employees safe and reassured, but some have considered laying off staff they cannot afford to pay.

The coronavirus crisis has also put Minnesota’s shortage of mental health services on display. Even as providers urge clients to move to telehealth services, they acknowledge that not every household has internet, a computer or a smartphone. And a remote counseling session won’t necessarily have the same benefit as an in-person session for a patient.

Clinics are embracing technology to provide services…

One clinic has given laptops to clients for telehealth services. Another is working on YouTube videos to share with clients and staff on breathing and self-soothing resources. But all three said they continue to tell Minnesotans who need help the same thing: Keep calling

The Duluth New Tribune talks about what’s happening in Rochester (MN)…

On Thursday, March 18, Family Service Rochester announced the launch of new telehealth counseling services. The services are available for new and existing patients. Counseling sessions can be provided via internet connection on a smartphone, tablet or computer. The process, which is all completed from one’s home, starts with a phone call and completing a few online forms before the patient is scheduled to talk with a mental health professional.

And offers some pandemic mental health advice to tech users…

Stay connected but also disconnected, Sawchuk recommends. Staying connected to social support is incredibly helpful and therapeutic during difficult times, he said. With modern technology, it is easy to reach out to someone but it is important to make sure that those people you may be reaching out to bring you up, rather than down.

NetSqaured meetings for nonprofit techies move online

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NetSquared is a series of groups of techie and techie-inspired people involved with nonprofit organizations or social justice projects. There is a group in the Twin Cities.

It’s been a while but I used to attend their meetings, which were always interesting and often led by folks from the group. Well, their meetings have moved online and so suddenly might be of more interest to readers. Here’s the schedule…

Think of it as an up side to social distancing – for those who have access to broadband.

US Dep of Health and Human Services Awards $100 million to health centers – in part for telehealth

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The Department of Health and Human Services announces…

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded $100 million to 1,381 health centers across the country with funding provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020.  HRSA-funded health centers may use the awards to address screening and testing needs, acquire medical supplies and boost telehealth capacity in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

On Friday, March 6, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, which provides $8.3 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, including $100 million for HRSA-funded health centers. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, and the important role health centers play in communities nationwide, HHS is making this funding for health centers available immediately.

How prepared are MN Counties to shift workers to remote work?

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Roberto Gallardo and Richard Florida recently looked at how prepared US counties were to shift workers to online work…

Our analysis looked at how America’s more than 3,000 counties are able to implement remote work in terms of two key variables—how limited their digital connectivity is (including access to internet and devices) and those that have a higher share of workers employed in industries and occupations least amenable to remote work.

Nearly forty percent of counties had moderate to high vulnerability to remote work (27.7% moderate and 10.6% high vulnerability) compared to more than 60 percent which had lower vulnerability (34.3% low vulnerability, 27.4% of no vulnerability).

The counties that are best positioned for success with remote work are more urban, have larger economies, more educated workers, and higher incomes. Conversely, those that are most vulnerable are smaller, more rural, suffer from high rates of unemployment and have less educated workers.

They sliced and diced the number a variety of ways; one striking table shows the disproportionate percentage of counties that are highly vulnerable and conversely the low percentage of counties that are not vulnerable.

And of course I was interested in how Minnesota counties fared. Turns out no Minnesota counties were listed with High vulnerability. I have listed the low and medium counties below. (If your county isn’t listed you are not listed as vulnerable. Nice job!)

Low:

  1. Aitkin
  2. Anoka
  3. Becker
  4. Benton
  5. Brown
  6. Chisago
  7. Clearwater
  8. Cottonwood
  9. Douglas
  10. Faribault
  11. Freeborn
  12. Isanti
  13. Jackson
  14. Kanabec
  15. Kittson
  16. Koochiching
  17. Le Sueur
  18. McLeod
  19. Marshall
  20. Meeker
  21. Morrison
  22. Mower
  23. Nobles
  24. Norman
  25. Pennington
  26. Pope
  27. Red Lake
  28. Redwood
  29. Renville
  30. Sherburne
  31. Sibley
  32. Steele
  33. Traverse
  34. Waseca
  35. Wright

Moderate Vulnerability:

  1. Lake of the Woods
  2. Mahnomen – ranks 87 for access to broadband at speeds of 100/20
  3. Mille Lacs
  4. Pine – ranks 81 for access to broadband at speeds of 100/20
  5. Roseau
  6. Todd – ranks 79 for access to broadband at speeds of 100/20
  7. Wadena
  8. Watonwan

For the “medium” vulnerable counties I also checked with how they ranked with access to broadband at the 2026 speed goals (100/20). Access to broadband is a factor but you can see it’s not the only factor in making a county vulnerable to a pandemic and/or future. There’s also value in creating a culture that uses and assumes broadband access.

What are local communities doing to get infrastructure to kids for online learning?

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MinnPost reports on what’s happening with schools moving to remote and/or online education, in terms of capacity for local households…

Households that lack a reliable internet connection — or any connection, at all — pose an added challenge to distance learning. Rural districts have long lobbied state lawmakers to help close gaps in broadband availability that disproportionately impact their communities. Now, faced with an unprecedented ask — to prepare distance learning plans to allow students to complete their studies from home as the COVID-19 pandemic runs its course, if need be — rural districts are troubleshooting ways to immediately expand internet access to all student households.

This Friday marks the end of a statewide eight-day school closure that Gov. Tim Walz announced as part of an executive order earlier this month, giving school administrators, teachers and staff a student-free chunk of time to work out the details involved in delivering lessons remotely in the event of an extended school closure — a possibility that’s sounding more and more likely.

 

They take a look at what’s happening in school districts across the state. In Blue Earth…

Fletcher says her district surveyed families a couple of years ago and found that about 95 percent of its families self-reported some type of internet access, whether through broadband, fiber, or a mobile hotspot. The district also purchased a batch of mobile hotspots to check out to families in need.

In recent years, the local internet company BEVCOMM has done a good job of expanding its footprint, she adds. And it has stepped up during the COVID-19 crisis by offering districts a $3,000 donation to support the purchase of additional Wi-Fi hotspots for distribution, and by offering discounted broadband rates to low-income families.

“We purchased an additional 10 mobile hotspots,” Fletcher said, noting they’ll “be distributed to families that still do not have internet access.”

On the Iron Range…

School districts located across the Iron Range are looking to expand internet access to families currently without through the purchase and distribution of hotspot devices as well, says Steve Giorgi, executive director of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools.

In preparation to support online work as they roll out distance learning plans (potentially starting next week), the Hibbing Public Schools district purchased 500 hotspot devices from AT&T, he says.

In other communities, school leaders he’s in communication with say they’re looking at ways to strengthen the bandwidth at sites that are already connected — like banks and grocery stores — to create a hotspot around those facilities.

And the Mountain Iron-Buhl Public Schools district had already outfitted its school buses with WiFi, prior to the pandemic, he says. They might consider parking their buses in various locations “to create hotspots that way.”

In Warroad…

For students in the Warroad Public Schools district, access to a device doesn’t pose a barrier to online distance learning. Two years ago, the district invested in becoming a one-to-one district.

But as more and more businesses ask their employees to work remotely, following social distancing guidance from state leaders and public health experts, Superintendent Shawn Yates says he and his team are staying mindful of the fact that “there’s only so much bandwidth” to go around.

“To that end, we’re trying to adjust a little bit, as far as our [distance learning] plan,” he said. “So we’re not doing a great deal of live streaming of lessons. In other words, there’s not a particular time that a teacher will be online hosting some kind of a chat with direct delivery to our students.”

In Foley…

Paul Neubauer, superintendent of Foley Public Schools, says he and his educators have explored the flipped lesson option — where a teacher records a lesson that’s downloaded to a device for a student to watch later on — as well. But if students still aren’t allowed to come on site, even if it’s just to wipe old lessons off of their device and download new ones, this workaround becomes a bit more cumbersome, he says.

Technically, Foley isn’t a one-to-one district. But so far the school has been able to equip nearly 200 families with a laptop for students’ use at home. For now, the district is prioritizing students in grades 4-12. If possible, they’ll extend the device distribution to younger students a bit later.

In Westbrook-Walnut Grove…

In the Westbrook-Walnut Grove Schools district, Superintendent Loy Woelber says they’re planning for monthly packets to be used to deliver distance learning at the elementary level.

Older students in one school community are operating at a one-to-one device capacity. For their classmates in the two other school communities served by his consolidated district, he thinks they’ll be able to get at least one device into the homes of each family with school-aged children that’s currently lacking a device to work on at home.

Even after taking measures to eliminate or reduce the hardware barriers to online learning, he’s concerned about things like weak connections — the sort of thing that’s already made conference calls with staff that needed to stay home this week hard to understand — and students relying on cellphones to complete their school work on.

 

How to quickly deploy free WiFi – from CTC Technology & Energy

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As we settle into social distancing IRL (in real life), communities may want to find ways to help make online social interaction easier by setting up wifi hubs where broadband is otherwise limited or not affordable – like a manufactured home park, campus or any multi-dwelling buildings. Here are some great instructions from CTC Technology & Energy…

This approach needs to be customized for each building but would include the same key elements.

1: Ensure there is adequate backhaul to the building. A range of technologies can perform this task. If the building has municipal- or county-owned fiber, this is simply a matter of configuring sufficient capacity. If fiber is absent but reaches a nearby building, and you have line of sight to that building, mmWave, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or other wireless technology can enable backhaul using a mast-mounted or building-mounted antenna.  (If you don’t have line of sight, 900 MHz equipment can serve the same function.) Failing these options, seek commercial service—preferably over fiber.

2: Install Wi-Fi hotspots. These should be installed in hallways, mounted on ceilings or walls (ideally in false ceilings or crawl spaces), with as much density as possible.  The ideal outcome is that no more than 25 feet or one wall separates user from the access point and there are no more than eight users simultaneously using each access point. You will want to interconnect each access point using a single Cat 5/6/7 cable to a power-over-ethernet switch with a 1000 Mbps port. A good practice in a high-rise is to have a switch on each floor and connect each floor’s switch to a building switch located in the basement or on the rooftop that connects to the backhaul service. Where appropriate, consider wireless mesh technologies so as to reduce the amount of cabling.

3: Connect users to the network. You want members of the public to easily connect to the network. Generally, this is a simple matter. Most people own some form of Wi-Fi enabled device, even if they can’t afford ongoing carrier service. Students may have received devices from their schools. What remains is to provide instructions for connecting:  usually just an SSID and a password. For others who are using city-, county-, or school-provided equipment, ideally this equipment is preconfigured with the needed applications (including remote management) and browser links and instruction screens in the appropriate language. You may also need to lock down equipment to protect against inadvertent or deliberate tampering with the operating system or other components that could compromise the network.

4: Set up user support. Your residents may need a moderate level of technical support. In ideal circumstances, a handful of people at a building or development who have basic technological skills can assist clients or neighbors if they get stuck—using text-messaging or voice calls if needed to enforce social distancing. Additionally, municipal or county staff—or volunteers from local schools or technology companies—could also assist from call centers.

5: Set policies to lessen the risk of network congestion. Gaming and interactive video use considerable bandwidth that may slow your network and limit use for critical needs during this crisis. If a locality wants to control use of its devices or its network (for example, to avoid slowdowns and bottlenecks in the building networks), it may consider blocking or limiting some content or applications on those devices, or within its network. This can be done in the network configuration or the device configuration. (Some applications used for teleworking, such as Zoom, should be whitelisted.)

Please don’t hesitate to let us know if we can help you think through these strategies. 

 

National Nonprofit Launches Easy Census Help For Seniors

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A great tool for folks who have sufficient broadband and a great jumping off point for getting seniors who aren’t online more comfortable once they get there…

Millions of seniors who had planned to get help at their local library or senior center filling out their 2020 Census online are now stuck, says Tobey Dichter, the founder of Generations on Line, a national nonprofit that simplifies the Internet for techno-timid seniors. “Certainly not the first of our worries during the pandemic, but we will all suffer the effects of undercounting older adults for a decade to come.” 

Generations on Line, which has trained more than 100,000 older people, is helping seniors get unstuck, providing free help through its new EasyCensusHelp.org. The site gives seniors a safe place to practice and hone the skills they need to enter their Census information with confidence. It includes a three-minute government-sponsored video on privacy, quick training on filling in forms, previews of some of the actual questions, and tips for Internet safety – all in a cheerful, age-respectful digital package that adapts to whatever device is being used, from tablet to desk to smartphone.

Getting more older adults to fill out the Census is critical, as many senior services are funded through the Older Americans Act, and Congress uses Census statistics to apportion resources. For Pennsylvania, it means tens of billions of dollars a year.

“Right now, even going outside to the mailbox to return a form, if they receive one in the mail, or answering a call from a government worker, as some seniors will, is problematic,” said Dichter. “Even before Covid-19, our studies showed that older people are rightly suspicious of scams and inclined not to share their information with strangers. It also revealed that many were unknowing or timid about entering their information on their computer or smartphone. More than half of people over 65 have smartphones,” she said, “but we have found most use them for very limited purposes–calls and texting.” 

Generations on Line also provides basic digital literacy for seniors through its free app “Easy Tablet Help For Seniors” suitable for families or caregivers to download in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for older friends and relatives. Based in Philadelphia, PA, Generations on Line, established in 1999, is an award-winning pioneer in reducing the digital divide.

Klobuchar, Smith, Cramer, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Sustain Rural Broadband Connectivity During Coronavirus Pandemic

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Introducing the Keeping Critical Connections Act…

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), along with Tina Smith (D-MN), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Doug Jones (D-AL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Barrasso (R-WY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Todd Young (R-IN), and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced the Keeping Critical Connections Act to help small broadband providers ensure rural broadband connectivity for students and their families during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Access to high speed internet is critical for students and their families during the coronavirus outbreak,” Klobuchar said. “The Keeping Critical Connections Act would help small broadband providers continue offering free or discounted broadband services to families and students in rural areas to ensure they remain connected to school, work, and their communities during this period of economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.”

“The federal government asked this essential industry to keep providing assistance to people during COVID—19, and they answered the call,” Cramer said. “The least we can do is make sure they are made whole when this pandemic is over.”

The Keeping Critical Connections Act would appropriate $2 billion for a Keeping Critical Connections fund at the FCC under which small broadband providers with fewer than 250,000 customers could be compensated for broadband services—if they provided free or discounted broadband services or upgrades—during the pandemic for low-income families who could not afford to pay their bills or provided distance learning capability for students. The bill is endorsed by NTCA—the Rural Broadband Association, WTA – Advocates for Rural Broadband, Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA), the Minnesota Telecommunications Alliance, and the Broadband Association of North Dakota (BAND).

“Broadband is the infrastructure of the 21st Century. It isn’t just nice to have, it’s necessary—especially during the coronavirus pandemic,” Smith said. “Students who are finishing up their school year at home need to be able to connect to online classes. Employees who are working from home are counting on broadband to help them do their jobs. And folks are relying on the internet to help them access care through telehealth, which is also made possible by amazing health care workers. I’m glad to work in a bipartisan way to help Minnesotans stay connected during this time.”

Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT-AL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS-01) are introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

“With millions of people required to stay home and students across the country learning from home, broadband access is essential,” Welch said. “Small providers get it – the service they provide is a lifeline to parents and children who need to learn, work, and stay connected with loved ones during these difficult times. This bill ensures small providers can continue to provide their essential service during and after this crisis. We should pass this bipartisan bill immediately.”

“Now more than ever we’re seeing how important it is to have access to a fast and reliable broadband connection,” Marshall said. “With the closure of Kansas schools along with more and more people adopting teleworking procedures, our rural telecommunications providers are working around the clock to ensure students, communities, and businesses have reliable internet access, no matter where they live. This bill will provide assistance to small companies trying to address the unique rural telecommunications needs posed by the coronavirus pandemic, and ensure that all Americans can remain connected during this difficult time.”

UofM Extension finds ways to make distancing fun and/or productive

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All U of M Extension staff members across the state are being asked to work at home. (They are finding that some have an easier time with better broadband than others.) But leave it to these guys to make the most of the opportunity.

I wanted to share their recent newsletter, written by Extension Educator Angela Gupta; highlights ways Minnesotans can take a few cleansing moments of fresh Spring area and resources for exploring our outdoors to revive and refresh ourselves.

Here are some of the highlights…

Social Distancing in Nature
You’re trying to do the right thing and maintain an appropriate social distance. Check out these nature based activities for within your home and yard.

The Two for You
Stress Series brings you tangible practices you can do today to improve your wellbeing. Each video also includes resources and research links.

OK this is my favorite so I’m going to include a few videos..

And something for kids…

Youth Project Ideas
Check out the many resources and lessons available through 4-H for your youngsters who are home right now.

 

Community Use of E-Rate-Supported Wi-Fi is Permitted During Closures

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This came up on a call today and will hopefully make it even easier for libraries and schools that are closed to keep their wifi networks open  to support local residents who don’t have access at home.

The FCC reports…

By this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau reminds schools and libraries that are closed due to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak that they are permitted to allow the general public to use E-Rate-supported Wi-Fi networks while on the school’s campus or library property.  Specifically, libraries may offer access to E-Rate funded services on their premises as well as services that are “integral, immediate and proximate to the provision of library services to library patrons”[1]—and because the mission to serve the public is ongoing, libraries are permitted to allow the public to access E-Rate funded services even when they are closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Similarly, closed schools may allow access to E-Rate funded services “to community members who access the Internet while on a school’s campus” so long as they do not charge for the use of the service.[2]  We hope

that this reminder will promote connectivity to Americans impacted by the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

We leave it to individual schools and libraries to establish their own policies regarding use of their Wi-Fi networks during closures, including hours of use.[1]  And we remind all parties that health and well-being are paramount, and to follow any applicable health and safety guidelines, including those on social distancing, as may be set out by relevant federal, state, local, and Tribal authorities.

For further information, please contact Joseph Schlingbaum, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-7400 or (202) 418-0829 (TTY), or at Joseph.Schlingbaum@fcc.gov

 

[1] Cf. id., 25 FCC Rcd at 18775-76, para. 25 (finding that “the decision about whether to allow community access rests with the school, and we thus leave it schools to establish their own policies regarding specific use of their services and facilities, including, for example, the hours of use”); id. at 18776-77, para. 27 (“We emphasize that the revision of our rules [to allow community use of school’s E-Rate funded services] creates an opportunity for schools, but not an obligation.”).

[1] 47 CFR § 54.500.

[2] See Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Mechanism, Sixth Report and Order, WC Docket No. 02-6, 25 FCC Rcd 18762, 18775-76, paras. 25-26 (2010) (E-Rate Sixth Report and Order).  Additionally, schools that choose to allow the community to use their E-Rate funded services “may not request funding for more services than are necessary for educational purposes to serve their current student population.”  Id. at 18775, para. 24.

Rural Minnesota needs better broadband for students and workers to be productive

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KNSI Radio reports…

Last week, Governor Tim Walz pulled the plug on $30 million dollars for rural broadband funding and reallocated it to the fight against COVID-19. Nathan Zacharias, with the Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition, says broadband internet funding should be considered an essential service.

“We’re going to see more pressure and more stress with the COVID-19 outbreak. And that’s putting pressure and stress on all our institutions, and it’s going to show that, really, broadband is no different than some of the other basic services that people need.”

The coalition estimates that 17% of Minnesotans lack broadband access. Zacharias says that means students won’t have access to lesson plans.

And makes the point that broadband would help workers and students during the COVID-19 pandemic…

Steve Grove heads the Department of Employment and Economic Development and says while they continue to push lawmakers to provide emergency assistance to businesses and their employees, they hope companies will be mindful of staff members put in tight situations. Some people he says won’t be able to check or send important e-mails, in addition to missing out on video conferences.

“We know that employers are already demonstrating extraordinary creativity during this time of crisis, and we ask that they continue to be collaborative and creative and help parents navigate school closures.”

That could include providing flexibility to workers who don’t have the capability or technology to work from home.

Education Commissioner Mary Catherine Ricker says the state isn’t just accommodating for a couple of snow days. They need to think about the long term.

Family Service Rochester opens telehealth door for therapy

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The Brainerd Dispatch reports…

On Thursday, March 18, Family Service Rochester announced the launch of new telehealth counseling services. The services are available for new and existing patients. Counseling sessions can be provided via internet connection on a smartphone, tablet or computer. The process, which is all completed from one’s home, starts with a phone call and completing a few online forms before the patient is scheduled to talk with a mental health professional.

Ashleigh H. Dowis, director of clinical services for Family Service Rochester, said last week that the organization hadn’t seen a great influx of new clients but the new service may allow for more people to feel comfortable accessing counseling.

They also touch upon the impact of the online world on the pandemic…

Stay connected but also disconnected, Sawchuk recommends. Staying connected to social support is incredibly helpful and therapeutic during difficult times, he said. With modern technology, it is easy to reach out to someone but it is important to make sure that those people you may be reaching out to bring you up, rather than down.

“It is OK to disengage from watching, reading, listening to news and news stories about the coronavirus,” Kinsella said. “If you are inundated with that, it can create a secondary traumatic stress.”

Both Kinsella and Sawchuk recommend limiting news consumption. Stay informed, but not plugged in 24/7.

Coronavirus distancing leapfrogs patients into telehealth for therapy

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Like all of us – I wish we were on the other side of coronavirus looking back – then I’d say remember how social distancing got us to jump into telehealth for mental health therapy? We let go of a little HIPPA. We made the best of the technology we had, finishing on the phone when need be.

Today I’ll just point to the MPR article highlighting the shift to online mental health therapy…

Until last week, Jen Atherton, a mental health counselor, had rarely ever seen clients outside of her office — Not anymore. Like a lot of us, Atherton is working from home now and she’s seeing her patients via video. She said for her office, the switch to telehealth “was pretty much an overnight thing.”

So far, the biggest challenges have been technological: Some of it is bandwidth, which can get crowded with so many people on the internet and on Wi-Fi networks. Atherton said she’s also encountered problems with clients’ cellphones or when they’re sitting in noisy places.

She said she’s trying to adjust the best she can.

And of course, there’s the reminder that until we have ubiquitous broadband, these services are not available to everyone…

He’s worried that with new rules about social distancing, clients who can’t access care through telehealth won’t get any mental health care at all. He estimates that 20 to 25 percent — maybe more — of the families they serve don’t have smartphones, computers or the kind of internet access that would let them access telehealth services. For now, he said his providers are getting around that by informally checking in on clients on the phone.

EVENT Mar 26: Broadband and Education in the Time of Coronavirus webinar

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Invitation from the Blandin Foundation – and as the moderator, I’m excited for the event coming up on Thursday…

Please join us for a special webinar on Broadband and Education in the Time of Coronavirus.

Schools are going online. Are your students prepared? Are your schools prepared? How can schools create digital equity quickly while planning for the future? In this webinar, we’ll talk about access to devices, making broadband affordable, and plans to extend broadband in the short and long term with an eye toward what you can do now and what you should be thinking about moving forward.

The webinar will take place Thursday, March 26 at 10:00 am. Join at https://zoom.us/j/378628779. Pre-registration is not required.

I’ll post the archive of the event on the blog once we’re done.

MN Broadband Task Force March 27 meeting moved online

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Update from the Office of Broadband Development…

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
March 27, 2020
Webex/Conference Call
Dial-in: 1-619-377-3319 or 1-888-742-5095, Passcode 3249482049
https://intercall.webex.com/intercall/j.php?MTID=m57f6df8334a16bb0b0e4248175f2bdc1

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.                Welcome, Introductions, Public Comment

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.                General discussion of subgroup role and full task force

10:30 a.m. – 10:55 a.m.                Subgroup 1: Minnesota Model—Work plan, challenges, deliverables (Chair: Shannon Heim; Members: Steve Fenske, Brian Krambeer, Theresa Sunde, Paul Weirtz)

10:55 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.                Subgroup 2: Barriers and Technology—Work plan, challenges, deliverables (Co-Chairs: Marc Johnson, Dave Wolf; Members: Nolan Cauthen, Steve Giorgi, Jim Weikum)

11:20 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.                Subgroup 3: Economic Development and Digital Inclusion—Work plan, challenges, deliverables (Chair: Bernadine Joselyn; Members: Dale Cook and Micah Myers)

11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.                Other Business/April Meeting Plans/Wrap Up