The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for educators, families and students across the nation. The WVPEC expresses our deepest thanks to educators, parents, caregivers and families for all they have done, and continue to do, to reinvent education for our students during these unprecedented times. We hope the resources below help you to keep virtual learning engaging and exciting!
Educators across the state have had to adapt rapidly to a new, online-only learning environment. From free Adobe products for students through May to online language learning programs, this list offers a wide range of digital tools to help teachers move the classroom online.
The SREB has moved to support educators at every level, school districts, and policymakers. Dive into resources for K-12, postsecondary education, CTE, and more.
Staying home from school doesn't mean learning has to stop. We are Teachers has collected 300+ resources for educators, parents and guardians to digitally teach lessons and keep students on track while they study from home. The list of resources is growing each day.
These easy-to-use approaches can help to improve student thinking. This 30 minute
webinar, with Fairfax County Public Schools' Ellen Rogers, models how to facilitate
an adapted Project Zero Thinking Routine that encourages learners to make observations
and connections with more than one museum resource.
The National Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education (EntreEd) presents an immersive
digital course for K-12 educators to gain an understanding of entrepreneurship
education, best practices for aligning entrepreneurship in their classroom, and
insights into EntreEd's America's Entrepreneurial Schools initiative.
Companies are providing free educational resources for students, educators and guardians to use while schools are closed down. The sources provide a wide range of subjects for students of any age group.
Thanks to the power of technology, children and families can go on field trips without even leaving home! Check out a few options and figure out where you'd like to go exploring.
Road Trip from Home: More Virtual Field Trips
Get kids excited about STEM with a short lesson on Hyperloop, a transformative
technology that could move passengers and cargo at over 600 miles per hour -
and download a fun coloring page! Hyperloop has the potential to revolutionize
the way populations move with the ability to connect hubs across the country
in a matter of minutes. On one of the proposed routes, it could travel from Pittsburgh
to Chicago in 47 minutes.
West Virginia is currently a leading prospect for the location to build a new hub for their certification, training, and testing procedures due to our willingness to work collaboratively and efficiently. The selection of WV for this site supports the goal of growing WV as an innovation hub.
Remake Learning has collected useful resources for K-12 educators and families to
navigate the major changes COVID-19 has brought to education. Remake is also sharing
success stories and opportunities for community building to make sudden changes
easier to maneuver. Educators and guardians are also encouraged to share their
at-home education practices and lessons learned on social media using the hashtag
#LearningLessons!
To keep kids engaged and entertained while staying at home, Fairmont, WV native Emily
Calandrelli (AKA "The Space Gal") is sharing science experiments up on YouTube
every weekday. The experiments are all done with common household items so kids
can try out the same experiments at home.
Resources for budding entrepreneurs
Libera has collected resources for emotional, physical, financial, relational, and spiritual well being during this national emergency, as well as some materials for education and growth. Libera also has staff and volunteers trained in listening, a counselor who offers remote sessions, and the capacity to help you get connected to resources if you can’t find what you need in the list of resources shared.
Libera Resources and Ways to ConnectFrom Google Meet and GoTo Meeting to Blackboard and Canvas, the tech behind online school can be tough to tackle. Discover the virtual tools and technological hardware that are common in the online classroom, and what you (or your child) will need to know when class begins in this resource from STEPS.
Libera Resources and Ways to ConnectVirtual and hybrid learning both lead to lots of written assignments, which can mean lots of grammar mistakes. Before your students turn their assignments in, help them double check their grammar with this grammar checker.
Catch Grammar SlipsNow more than ever, parents and teachers need reliable digital resources to help with learning from home. To help find the right tools for children and classrooms, Sitejabber put together an extensive list of reputable, crowdsourced websites that parents and educators can access at home, and many are offering free or discounted services right now.
Browse Crowdsourced Resources
Although children may not fully understand the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic, they do notice when there is tension or stress in the home. WVU's College of Education and Human Services shares some helpful tips to maintain a safe and stress-free environment for kids.
College of Education and Human Resources
Many families are getting their first taste of homeschool education with pandemic-related closures. Education Week shares lessons and resources from homeschool families to help others just starting out.
Check out this resource from STEPSS and learn what students (and their parents)
can do to make the switch from classroom to remote learning easier, tips and
tools to help them transition, and what makes an online student successful.
Keeping kids both educated and entertained can be a challenge. Thankfully, Common Sense Media has pulled together a hub of age-appropriate media for parents and educators to keep students engaged. This includes best practices for learning at home, ways to keep students supervised but entertained and tips for taking care of mental health.
Kids have a unique opportunity this summer to experience Apple Camp from home. Each project takes about an hour, but Campers can create and work at their own pace. The Activity Book will be a project road map, guiding them from idea to finished masterpiece. They’ll learn what to expect from each project during a live Orientation session, and drop in to live Q&A sessions to get help. If you find that all sessions are full, we’ll be adding new sessions each week. Bookmark this page to check back and register. In the meantime, Campers can download the Activity Book and work on their own.
The Center for Excellence in STEM Education at WVU offers resources and ideas to spark at-home STEM learning. These shows, sites and apps will keep students engaged with STEM anywhere they study.
Dolly Parton is releasing her ten week “Goodnight with Dolly” series starting on April 3. Each week, she’ll share a video reading one of her favorite children’s books.
Remake Learning has collected useful resources for K-12 educators and families to
navigate the major changes COVID-19 has brought to education. Remake is also sharing
success stories and opportunities for community building to make sudden changes
easier to maneuver. Educators and guardians are also encouraged to share their
at-home education practices and lessons learned on social media using the hashtag
#LearningLessons!
Because summer camps have been canceled due to COVID-19, groups like Common Sense
Media have created resources for virtual camps to keep kids of all ages busy, learning
new things and having fun from home!
Besides being lots of fun and providing connection with other girls, Libera camp
will help girls find empowerment and purpose. They will learn more of who they
are and how to use their voice. They will learn to overcome obstacles in their
way. Teens will do some fantastic creative art and writing projects along the
way. Libera camps will be offered multiple times during the summer, and will
run 5 weekdays in a row, for an hour and a half a day.
