Community-based programs to tackle environmental education and COVID-19: A case study from Millburn, New Jersey.

Contextual and social realities must be built into any educational program for activism to take place. This case study examines an education and environment program which has adapted to the social distancing measures of COVID-19, resulting in an even more community-reliant and community-driven program than the program designers initially intended. The Eco Ambassador Program uses environmental activism within a space that supports mental health during COVID-19 social isolation. While community engagement and action have been elements of the program, the program has transformed to utilize new levels of social capital in the program's network, to overcome the obstacles presented in regular programming. Many aspects of the critical pedagogy of space are utilized to conceptualize this educational program during the pandemic. The limitations of in-person interactions in defined learning spaces led to more technology-reliant programming, hence broadening the space of place-based learning, while enabling personal spaces and personal environments to become new learning spaces.

Rethinking community participation in education post Covid-19.

Covid-19 has put education in a challenging place. With millions of children out of school, education needs to reinvent itself. During the pandemic, communities have used this opportunity to support children's education in various ways, including the launching of new online classes. This article takes the social capital theoretical model as its framework and applies it to help communities strengthen their education support systems. It also looks at models from the literature as best practices to operationalize social capital. The article highlights various models for community participation that could continue after the Covid-19 pandemic. It urges the school system to be flexible and incorporate community-driven parental engagement with project-based and experiential learning. These community-driven educational programs must be supported to provide much-needed place-based supplementary education opportunities to students.

Blockchain Predictions for Health Care in 2021.

With coronavirus (COVID) spreading across the world and the health care system being pushed toward more digitization and technology, last year was a unique year of human tragedy. There is a silver lining to this tragedy, that is, providers, payers, and pharma companies have shifted quickly toward better technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) blockchain, and so on.

Education as the path to a sustainable recovery from COVID-19.

COVID-19 has disrupted education for millions of children across the globe. The education community is re-imagining and re-designing to build back better. This Viewpoint takes the principles behind UNESCO's Futures of Education initiative to highlight their importance in post-COVID-19 recovery. The pandemic has shown how communities can come together to educate children. The article argues that, post-COVID-19, education systems should recognize community-driven support systems, use technology to overcome the digital divide in learning, and focus more on SDG 4.7 and its links to climate crises.