Coronacast Episode 07 : From Orphanages to Adaptive Online Learning and Helping Children Cope during COVID-19
By Rhea Almeida and Luisa Portugal
This podcast series includes NYU policy students that will analyze policy issues and solutions emerging in real-time around the country.
At the top of the episode, hosts Rhea and Luisa talk about the unlikeliness of developing herd immunity in the US, and the subsequent risks of reopening schools in the Fall.
On today’s episode, The Wagner Review features two NYU undergraduate students. NYU Tandon senior Nelson James walks us through the technological tools that can make the online learning experience adaptive and personalized for students during the coronavirus pandemic.
Founder and director of Project Firefly, and NYU pre-med student Luisa Portugal (yes, there’s two of them!), discuss her efforts to help children in orphanages cope during COVID-19.
Transcript:
0:00: Welcome from hosts Rhea and Luisa
0:46: Top news of the week
7:05: Luisa Portugal discuss her efforts to help children in orphanages cope during COVID-19.
12:58: Nelson James walks us through the technological tools that can make the online learning experience adaptive and personalized for students during the coronavirus pandemic.
Guest Speakers
Luisa Portugal is a pre-med student pursuing a major in psychology at New York University, and the founder-director of ‘Project Firefly’, which strives to help orphanages around the United States combat COVID-19 one state at a time. After dedicating years to medical research at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation on the interaction of the immune system with the neurological system, Luisa started the project in an orphanage in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she was born. The project aids kids by collecting used electronics COVID-19, masks, hand sanitizer and other COVID-19 related supplies, as well as financial contributions.
Nelson James is a rising senior in the Technology, Culture, and Society department at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. He is pursuing his BS in Science and Technology Studies and an MS in Integrated Digital Media. His current research focuses on looking into the technological future of education and its implications on K-12 students. In addition to his studies, Nelson works at Othmer Hall as a Resident Assistant, NYU Wagner as an Instructional Designer Intern, GovLab as a Research Intern, and ScholarStem as a Course Developer and Coding Instructor.
Hosts
Rhea Almeida is second-year MPA international student at NYU Wagner hailing from Mumbai, India. In the past, she has worked in the fields of policy, advocacy, and development for a women’s working rights group in India. Prior to that, she worked as a TV news journalist in New Delhi. Her areas of interest include workers’ rights, gender equality, grassroot level advocacy and coronavirus response policy. In addition to being contributing editor for The Wagner Review, she serves as senator for the Wagner Student Association, and events chair for the Wagner Policy Alliance. She is also the co-founder of the ‘What’s up with Coronavirus Policy’ discussion group.
Luisa Portugal is a second-year MPA student at NYU Wagner specializing in International Development Management & Policy. She earned an LLM in Constitutional Law and Theory in Brazil. Her main topics of interest are international development, climate change and the coronavirus crisis. Luisa will serve as Co-Chair of Events for the Alliance for Climate Change and Environment (ACE) in the upcoming year. She is also the co-founder of the ‘What’s up with Coronavirus Policy’ discussion group.
Music Credit: Pamgaea by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
