A list of school-away-from-school educational websites for students of all ages to learn and have fun while practicing social distancing.
Written by: Jordan Green & Tif Ho
From Preschoolers to Professionals
Coronavirus has led to the close of many schools in the U.S. and around the world. With schools shuttered for the remainder of the school year, more than 1.2 billion students of all ages are missing out on their education. This has left teachers, parents, and students alike struggling with a new reality for the foreseeable future. While teachers and parents of younger students transition to remote learning and homeschooling, college students try to keep up with their studies. Even adults and professionals, aware of rising unemployment rates, are wondering whether they should take up online learning to build new career skills.
To alleviate this problem, Helpful Engineering has put together a list of resources that can be used by teachers, parents, and students. These resources are for students of all ages and cover various subjects. Some of these resources are available for little or no cost.
Below is a list of fun, educational websites.
General & Multiple Subjects
The following platforms offer general education on multiple subjects.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is free for teachers and students. In fact, the platform is a nonprofit whose mission is “to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.” Content for this platform is created to align with general education standards for grades K through 12, and even early college. Students can access lessons on reading, math, history, science, and more. Khan Academy provides personalized learning that lets students go through lessons at their own pace and helps teachers to identify students’ needs.
Udemy
Udemy offers low-cost crash courses for students of all ages, including professionals. Courses include professional, practical skills, hobby, lifestyle training, and personal development. Some of the current offerings are IT certification, Basic English, piano, pet care, yoga, and happiness training. Students of all ages can start learning for as low as $12.99 per month, and businesses can invest in their employees through an unlimited course plan.
Brilliant
Brilliant is a paid platform that has an annual cost of $149.85 for single users or $299.99 for three users. Currently, the platform is offering a free, seven day trial. Brilliant has over 8 million users and is primarily geared towards older students in college or professionals seeking to build career skills. These individuals can take guided lessons, solve daily problems, and join community discussions on math, science, and computer science. Coursework includes logic, statistics, and python programming.
FreeRice.com
Free Rice is part of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and is offered for, well, free. While not an educational resource, this platform offers individuals of all ages a fun way to contribute to the fight against hunger. Individuals can compete against others on trivia questions of varying difficulty. For every question answered correctly, sponsors send the cash equivalent of ten grains of rice to the WFP. The WFP then uses this money to purchase food for those who suffer from food insecurity due to conflict or climate change.
DuoLingo
On its website, DuoLingo states that individuals can “Learn a language for free. Forever.” DuoLingo gives individuals a no-cost way to learn a new language; those who want to avoid ads can upgrade to the premium version. The platform makes learning accessible, personalized, and fun. In fact, DuoLingo is available online and through both the App Store and Google Play. Over 300 million people around the world use the platform – including schools who implement it in their curriculum. Individuals can learn languages from Spanish to Navajo.
Coolmath, Coolmath4kids, & CoolmathGames
Upon visiting Coolmath, individuals will notice all the bright and colorful colors. CoolMath.com uses these colors, easy explanations, and games to keep math fun for students from ages “13 to 100.” Coolmath4Kids is for students 12 and under, and CoolmathGames is for students of all ages. From addition to division, algebra to precalculus – this platform is a fun and easy way to learn math.
Crash Course & Crash Course Kids
Crash Course and Crash Course Kids is a free, quick, and easy way to learn about everything from astronomy to world history. Short, 15 minute Youtube videos help kids and adults to stay focused. These videos are especially helpful for older students in high school and college who need to study quickly for a test.
Coding
As the world increasingly relies on technology, coding has become a useful skill for students and professionals.
Scratch
For younger students, Scratch is a free coding tool. The platform is highly visual with its animations and helps students to learn through stories, games, and communities. Parents and educators alike can use the website to help students learn.
Tynker
Tynker is similar to Scratch and is geared towards students ages 5+. During COVID-19, the website is offering free resources. Currently, more than 8,500 schools and 3.2 million students in 121 countries are using Tynker for distance learning.
Codecademy
Codeacademy is one of the most popular resources for learning how to code. This website is directed towards older students and professionals. The platform offers a free basic plan with 180 hours worth of content and, for $19 per month, a pro plan with 1,800 hours worth of content. Businesses can also sign up for Codeacademy and invest in their employees’ continued education through real-world application and practice.
Hobbies
With the stress of all that is going on, sometimes it’s important to take a break. Learning a new hobby is a great way to relax.
Makezine
Makezine offers blogs and tutorials for arts and crafts and other do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. While not specifically geared towards kids, some projects are ideal for parents and their children. Others are more suited for adults. These projects range in difficulty from easy (boomerang) to hard (robot companion), and in duration from one hour (mini Star Wars Droid) to less than 16 hours (solar-powered workspace).
Yousician
Yousician is a resource for learning an instrument. Whether that instrument is piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, or even your own voice – this platform lets you pick up a new hobby quickly. Yousician currently offers a free seven day trial so that individuals of all ages can access free video lessons and practice. Individuals can download the app on their phone or tablet and start playing.
Creativebug
Creativebug is a website for arts and crafts lessons. The platform is offering a free trial so that users can learn how to sew, crochet, make jewelry and more. The platform also includes activities for kids, including drawing and painting. Lessons are offered through video format for an easy way to learn.
Tate Kids
Tate Kids is a website that offers free guides, games, and quizzes that are geared towards younger kids. Tate Kids help parents keep their kids occupied while still letting them to explore their creativity through projects such as egg painting and kaleidoscope making.
TinkerCAD
TinkerCAD is a “free online collection of software tools that help people all over the world to think, create and make.” Students, teachers, and hobbyists of all ages use TinkerCAD. The website offers Simple 3D modeling that helps students to learn and educators to teach.
University for Adult Students
For adult students, many schools are offering online content for free. These include top ranking universities such as Princeton, Harvard, and Stanford. Some of these universities are listed below:
