Weekly check in

We are all doing our best in an unusual situation and as our lives move online, it is more important than ever for us to check on each other. To that end, I’m asking you to fill out a short form every week to let me know how you are doing.

You can complete the form in about 10 seconds but there is room for you to write more details about your own situation, if you’d like to share them with me. You are not required to tell me any personal information you don’t want to. Nobody other than me will have access to your responses to these questions. These submissions will be used in place of attendance moving forward, though you are still expected to attend our virtual class meetings if you can. Each submission is worth one participation point.

You can also send me an email if you have anything you need to talk about. I’ll do my best to get back to you quickly. My address is kpoirier@citytech.ccuny.edu.

Here is a link to your check-in form. You can also access this link in the menu at the top of the OpenLab site.

Submissions are due by 11:59pm on Sundays:
– March 22
– March 29
– April 5
– April 12 (optional)
– April 19
– April 26
– May 3
– May 10
– May 17

Tutoring

Some of the college’s tutoring services are moving online. Here is the information for tutoring offered by the math department over Zoom.

Perkins Spring 2020 Virtual

I’m not exactly sure how it will work, but if they are able to give you some kind of electronic verification slip, please forward it to me for participation credit.

I know the Atrium Learning Center is working on trying to get online tutoring up and running too, so I’ll let you know when I have that information.

Internet Access

Everyone who filled out last week’s internet access survey said they had internet at home, so this might not apply to any of you, but it might apply to someone you know, so you could pass the information along. I just got an email from the math department chair listing different companies who are offering students some kind of free or discounted internet. I’ll copy-paste it below. Not every deal will apply to everybody, so check to see who’s eligible.

Altice USA:
Starting Monday, March 16, 2020, eligible households interested in this solution can call: 866-200-9522 to enroll in Optimum region. For households with K-12 and/or college students who may be displaced due to school closures and who do not currently have home internet access, we are offering our Altice Advantage 30 Mbps broadband solution for free for 60 days to any new customer household. Altice is the parent company for Optimum.

Comcast:
Comcast Increases Access to and Speeds of Internet Essentials to Support Americans Through Coronavirus Pandemic.  We’ll send all new customers a free self-install kit that includes a cable modem with a Wi-Fi router. There will be no term contract or credit check and no shipping fee.  To sign up, applicants can simply visit www.internetessentials.com. The accessible website also includes the option to video chat with customer service agents in American Sign Language. There are also two dedicated phone numbers 1-855-846-8376 for English and 1-855-765-6995 for Spanish.

Spectrum:
Charter to Offer Free Access to Spectrum Broadband and Wi-Fi for 60-Days for New K-12 and College Student Households and More.  Parents have to call 844-488-8395 starting Monday, March 16 for grades k-college.  Free internet for 60 days with more information coming on installation instructions and programs guidelines.  Format 100 mbps speed Open internet (your device needs to set up filtering apart from this).  Public Wi-Fi hotspot will also be made available so no credentials should be needed. 

ATT:
https://about.att.com/pages/COVID-19.html

Verizon:
Verizon response to the coronavirus COVID19 | About Verizon
https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizons-covid-19-relief-efforts

T-Mobile:
https://www.cnet.com/news/t-mobile-provides-unlimited-data-on-all-plans-for-60-days-during-coronavirus-spread/
60 days unlimited smartphone data: 20GB of additional mobile hotspot service. Future reference- T-Mobile’s EmpowerED 2.0 program for hotspots-https://www.t-mobile.com/business/education/empowered2

Optimum:
Free WiFi 60 days – Optimum is rolling out a free Internet program on Monday. Families will need to call optimum and ask for the free Internet program and
are students in the house, schools have closed and lessons are online.) Optimum will set up a router at their location. NY sales rep 1-718-617-3500