I think that Common Sense Media creates great resources that support learning for use by schools and families. That’s why I’m excited ty their Wide Open School initiative.
There are so many online resources available that it can be overwhelming to figure out what to use and where to start. Wide Open School is a curated list of free resources for learning. There are resources for offline and online use. Each resource is labeled clearly if it’s a video or can be used offline.
To use the site, you can navigate as a family member or as an educator. There are 16 categories, and two bands: PreK – Grade 5 and Grade 6 – 12. Here’s a video showing how to navigate the site:
The site was created by a group of 25 organizations. I hope that the grade bands will be modified to be more in line with the rest of the Common Sense Media site (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12). It’s a great starting point though, of resources that parents and teachers at this time. Suddenly, with the global coronavirus pandemic, children are at home, and this resource can help release the scramble for help.
Check out the resources and share your experience as a comment if you find any of them particularly useful. If you have resources you’d like to share, you can also submit them to the site.
Learning During Lockdown/Stay at Home
No one got a chance to prepare for schools to close. The quick spread of corona virus caught us by surprise. Remember to leave space for yourself, your colleagues, your children and family members to adapt to this new approach to learning and schooling. This is unfamiliar to all of us, and so we’re figuring out how to live with lockdowns, physical distancing and other challenges. Give yourself and each other more space and time than you think you and your child(ren) need to make changes and to construct routines, processes and ways of being. Teachers know that at the beginning of the school year, everything is in disarray. It takes weeks to get the classroom working in a constructive, effective way. So don’t expect to have it all figured out in the next day or even weeks!
Stay safe! And if you have a technical question or need help with your technology tools, drop me a line in the Contact Form. I’m also looking out for ways to contribute to my communities.