Fast-tracked graduation sends Florida healthcare students straight into the coronavirus fight

The coronavirus crisis has crashed graduation season for so many seniors this year. Not so for some universities that are graduating health care students early. Seventeen Barry University students will be graduating five weeks early so they can head straight to the front lines in helping treat patients during the pandemic. “They’re ready, they’re willing, they’re able,” said Dr. John McFadden, dean of Barry’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences. More from WSVN, WPLG and the Miami Herald.

Florida public schools to remain closed until May

The day after President Trump extended his social distancing guidelines through April 30, Florida’s education commissioner on Monday called on school districts to remain closed until May 1. The move applies to district and charter schools. In-person classes already had been called off through April 15, with all spring testing canceled. Distance learning began in earnest Monday morning for most schools, after an extended spring break. More from the Tampa Bay Times and WCJB.

Colleges extend decision deadline due to coronavirus as new students reconsider

College acceptance letters are already in the mail. Now high school seniors must decide their fate for September. Up until now, National College Decision Day, the deadline for high school seniors to choose which college they will attend, has always been May 1. This year, however, the global coronavirus pandemic and extreme economic uncertainty have pushed many schools to extend the deadline until June 1. [Source: CNBC]

UF plant and soil diagnostic labs essential to Florida agriculture, economy

When many American universities have transitioned to online-only and their employees adapt to working from home, scientists at University of Florida/IFAS laboratories on the main Gainesville campus and elsewhere across the state are working with limited staffing and hours to test samples of soil, water, plants, and even manure sent in from across the state and beyond. [Source: Southeast Ag Net]

Schools using Zoom should be careful, security expert warns

Teachers are using Zoom. As the platform has grown in popularity, so, too, have the problems associated with it. A new term, Zoom-bombing, has surfaced to describe the hijacking of these virtual meetings by participants and, occasionally, outsiders with ill intent. The platform, experts say, can leave children vulnerable to predators. for live lessons with students. Trainers are relying on it to prepare those teachers. Districts are turning to it as a way to support parents. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Campus IT staff takes front-and-center role in FSU's transition to remote learning [FSU News]
When Florida State University announced a shift to remote learning for the remainder of the spring semester earlier this month, the news thrust information and technology staff around campus into an unfamiliar place — the spotlight. Suddenly, tech experts more accustomed to helping newly hired faculty set up their email were now giving crash courses about Zoom to rooms full of professors. It was a role reversal of sorts but a necessary one.

› FIU faculty, students creating 3D printed masks for use at Baptist Health [WPLG]
The one area where healthcare providers are struggling is not having enough protective masks. A group of professors, staff and students at FIU, have found a way to try and help fill that need. FIU Assistant Director of Emergency Management, Bridge Pelaez, took her idea to FIU’s College of Communication, Architecture and the Arts, where she teamed up with John Stuart, the Associate Dean of Cultural and Community Engagement.

› Sarasota Military students win national coral film contest [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
A team of four Sarasota Military Academy students have won the Coral Restoration Foundation’s Natural Coral to Action student film contest with their submission bearing the eponymous title “Coral to Action.” The film is currently available for viewing at the foundation’s website at coralrestoration.org/coral-to-action. It was one of nearly 100 submissions by more than 240 students from all over the country.

› UCF students living off-campus are stuck paying rent after they were urged to go home [Orlando Sentinel]
When UCF canceled in-person classes and urged students to stay home in mid-March to help stop the spread of coronavirus, Nicole Ramos packed up her room in her apartment across the street from campus. Though she moved back to her family’s home in Kissimmee, Ramos is still paying $824 a month for her space in one of the dozens of complexes that surround the University of Central Florida.