Smart Learning Institute

Scholastic has made a "Learn at Home" digital hub available to support virtual learning plans that will remain open "indefinitely." "Learning journeys" are divided into four grade bands: pre-K-K, grades 1-2, grades 3-5 and grades 6-9-plus. Lessons cover English language arts, STEM, science, social studies and social-emotional learning. The program currently offers about three hours of programming per day, for up to four weeks of instruction. That includes activities such as writing and research projects based on nonfiction articles and stories, virtual field trips, reading and geography challenges and access to a digital community for kids. Teachers can plan virtual learning meetups to discuss and expand on any of the resources found on the site. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

Science News for Students has compiled COVID-19-specific content for students in grades 9-12. The organization, which is dedicated to expanding scientific literacy in schools, recently released the "Coronavirus Outbreak Collection," which includes articles and updates about the virus, freely available resources, and even advice on how to cope with social distancing. For younger students, Science News is promoting experiments that can be done by students at home; a weekly vocabulary lesson, "Scientists Say"; discussion questions, puzzlers and "Let's learn about," a new series that offers multiple stories on a given topic, among other resources. https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/

Smart Sparrow is making its "inspark Smart Courses" available free at no cost to institutions and schools. These are replacements for textbooks, that use interactive activities for learning. Instructors get tools to track student outcomes and customize the content using the Smart Sparrow platform. Courseware topics include biology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, astrobiology, astronomy, geology, science for citizens, science writing, Galapagos exploration, global challenges and English composition. https://landing.inspark.education/teach

SMART Technologies has made its Learning Suite Online available free. The software will give students and teachers access to tools for active distance learning and lesson creation, which can be delivered on any device, including Chromebook computers. Among the features: Collaborative Workspace activities allow students to work together from home on a shared digital canvas to co-create, add content and problem solve. Shout It Out activities let students send texts and images from their devices to a lesson. Teachers can then rearrange, organize and discuss contributions. https://go.smarttech.com/distancelearning

Sparx, a UK company, is making its math virtual classroom available free to schools affected by the coronavirus. Sparx Maths has been adapted to help teachers build online math lessons that can be delivered through a streaming channel of the teacher’s choice. The platform includes a "bank" of 2,000 learning objectives. As students complete their classroom online, it's automatically marked. Teachers can monitor the progress of every student in real-time, including whether students have joined the lesson and who might be struggling. https://learning.sparx.co.uk/virtualclassroom