Yes, the U.S. Government Shutdown is Affecting Classrooms

nasa app error

Yes, the image is me, and one of my favorite apps on my iOS devices; the NASA app provided by the U.S. government’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration. And yes, that’s a lovely  “Network Error” you see in the middle of the app. It’s been that way since yesterday. Many of NASA’s other media outlets, including their main website, are also down or severely hampered during the federal government shutdown.

How am I supposed to get my daily fix of gorgeous space imagery? How can I get my geek on by watching NASA TV? Alright, so there are other ways, but come on Congress, think of the kids! I wonder how much learning is being disrupted in science classrooms across the globe because teachers suddenly found themselves without their resources this week. As someone who advocates using free and open resources, such as those supported by the U.S. government, this is a real blow to my way of doing things; “Hey everyone, come check out these awesome resources that I just found, you can….oh wait, sorry, the politicians are being childish right now.

Although the mainstream media isn’t likely to pick up on small issues like this (and who can blame them), it makes me curious how many other small (or large) disruptions like this will be occurring this week in classrooms.

 

6 comments

    1. That’s a HUGE blow for historians, social studies, and government teachers, not too mention some digital media teachers as well. There’a HUGE wealth of media and resources in the archives that I know many teachers use on a weekly basis.

    2. ERIC database is not available. It is more of a problem for higher ed, but our seniors are scrambling.

      1. Ouch! That’s a HUGE loss for a lot of serious researchers and students, even K-12. I was introduced to ERIC in high school, and while I don’t use it anymore, I remember how essential it was to collect great resources for papers.

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