ting broadband providers in this federally funded COVID-19 relief program; and guides interested families/students about how to sign up for the benefit.
Schools Can Help Families Apply for Federal Help in Paying for Home Internet Access: Explains how families who qualify for the free and reduced price lunch program – and higher education students who receive Pell grants – can qualify for significant discounts to their monthly broadband internet access bills during the six-month term of this federal COVID-19 relief benefit that is available beginning May 12, 2021. Education Week reports Secretary Miguel Cardona’s announcement of this program to help “close the digital divide.”
Apps and Websites for Improving Parent-Teacher Communication (Spanish language resources) Identifies and describes a vetted list of apps and websites that provide practical, regular communication tools to encourage active engagement among students, teachers and parents. More than half of the programs selected by Common Sense Education are available for free.
Power Up Your Parent Teacher Communication: Offers numerous programs, tools and tip sheets, introduced in a short video clip; and recommends Resources for Educators During the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Simple Activities for Children and Adolescents Amidst COVID-19 Outbreak: Recommends best practices for activity ideas to parents and caregivers whose families are sheltering in place, social distancing, and homeschooling due to closures amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.
#PlayAtHome with Playworks: Provides free video tutorials of games that follow CDC guidelines for safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, that can be played at home with little or no equipment. Families can also learn how to play along during a “free virtual recess” with Playworks live on Facebook each weekday, can access demonst6rations of games on Playworks’ YouTube channel.
Digital Citizenship Curriculum: Provides interactive lessons and activities to address timely topics and prepare students to take ownership of their digital lives. Common Sense Education offers free curriculum components (lesson slides, videos, bilingual and customizable materials) by grade level and topic.
Tools for Classrooms with In-Person and Remote Students: Offers 27 tools for concurrent (a.k.a. hybrid or hyflex) learning, a complex blended learning model that can be challenging and frustrating for teachers and students. Teachers are increasingly being asked to manage classrooms with both students who are physically present and students attending remotely. Concurrent learning relies on videoconferencing software (e.g., Zoom, Teams, Skype), and poses challenges including technical difficulties, and creating an inclusive environment to facilitating group work or assessments. Common Sense Education has compiled these tools to help teachers create seamless, collaborative digital classrooms that will benefit students learning in-person and those learning online.
A Virtual Learning Guide for Professional Development: Provides technical and interactive strategies and approaches to virtual learning to support both educators and the school mental health workforce.
Remote and Hybrid Learning May Be a Permanent Strategy: How Will We Know Whether It Is Successful?: Describes tools to inform implementation of remote and hybrid instruction now and into the future.
Emerging Challenges and Creative Solutions for Early Childhood Play-Based Learning in Remote Settings: Highlights strategies for integrating play-based learning into remote instruction. This blog focuses on how play-based learning engages young students in intentional, structured, and developmentally appropriate play that supports specific learning goals.
Updated: Free Resources for Schools During COVID-19 Outbreak: Provides direct links to resources offered by education technology companies and organizations to support distance learning. Links - updated in September 2020 - are categorized by academic subject area, and address broadband/internet access/free Wi-Fi resources, and social and emotional learning resources.