Updated April 30, 2020 (Zoom resources and NEA Foundation grants)
FEA has collected a number of resource for educators and parents to engage in education and distance learning while Florida’s schools are closed due to the COVID pandemic.
- Resources for Elementary Grades — General tips and subject specific strategies for Pre-K through grade 5.
- Resources for Secondary Grades (Middle and High School) — General tips and subject specific strategies for grades 6 through 12.
- Resources for Education Staff Professionals
- Resources for Higher Education — General tips and specific strategies for adapting to online learning in higher education.
- Resources for Parents
- Updated 4/30 Digital Learning – Tips and tools for designing and redesigning lesson for online delivery.
- English Language Learner resources – Tips and strategies for assisting students in all grades.
- Exceptional Student Education resources – Tips and Strategies for assisting students in all grades.
- Free and Discounted Education Tools – Lists and links to low and no-cost educational resources for educators.
- Added 4/30 Grants and Funding – Funding resources for educators.
- Professional Learning and Instructional Coaching – Tips for collaborating with colleagues.
- Wellness for Educators – Tips for our new normal and maintaining work-life balance.
Do you have a resource, tool or website you’d like to recommend to your fellow educators? Use our form to submit a distance learning resource you are using or have found useful.
Resources for Elementary Grades
General tips and subject specific strategies for Pre-K through grade 5.
- STEM Resources from NASA – includes grade level recommendations
- Smithsonian Institute Early Enrichment Center – resources for teaching about art
- Scholastic StudyJams – 200 jams (videos, slideshows) on Science and Math topics like the universe, photosynthesis, and creating equations from word problems.
- Flying Classroom – 55 STEM+ global expeditions with Capt. Irving including 165 K-12 engaging lessons
- Studentreasures – resources for parents and teachers to guide a child to becoming a published author
- Oxford Owl – lessons for teaching phonics, grammar, and reading including videos (early elementary)
- BrainPop Jr. – free access during school closures to learning tools for STEM, social studies, reading/writing, health and arts for grades K-3
- Prodigy – free, game-based Math learning platform for 1-8th grade students
Resources for Secondary Grades (by subject)
General tips and subject-specific strategies for grades 6 through 12.
Arts and Humanities
English Language Arts
- NewsELA offers a wide variety of high-interest articles for students to read with standards-aligned questions. User fees have been waived for the duration of the crisis and educators new to the platform or to digital learning in general can sign up for live tutorials hosted by former teachers.
Math resources
- Math Nation is an online resroucre developed by the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center. Through August 31, 2020, Math Nation is offering their resources free of charge to educators.
Physical Education
Science Resources
- Gizmos by Explore Learning, provides 400+ online simulations and labs to help students understand scientific concepts. Free trials are now available for 60 days.
- The Smithsonian Institution has compiled a Google Doc which is updated regularly and provides resources for teaching many scientific concepts via distance learning. (A limited number of the resources are available in Spanish)
- STEM Resources from NASA – These activities and resources are grouped by grade level and subject
Social Studies Resources
- The Smithsonian Institution has compiled a Google Doc which is updated regularly and provides resources for teaching social studies, civics and history via distance learning. (A limited number of the resources are available in Spanish.)
Resources for Education Staff Professionals
Tips and strategies for online instruction with college students. The resources listed below are reproduced from the Digital Learning and COVID-19 (PDF, 174K) written by NEA’s Education and Policy Practice team.
Resources for Higher Education
Tips and strategies for online instruction with college students. The resources listed below are reproduced from the Digital Learning and COVID-19 (PDF, 174K) written by NEA’s Education and Policy Practice team.
- 8 Tips for Setting Up and Teaching Online Classes During Coronavirus Closures – This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to prepare for and teaching in Higher Education from one’s online introductory video to assisting students who are having difficulty adjusting to the transition.
- 7 Guidelines for Successful Teaching Online – Similarly, this article provides tips for online teaching in higher education; however, it also provides guidelines on ‘active’ learning, group assignments, and multimedia assignments.
- Interim Guidance for Administrators of US Institutions of Higher Education: Plan, Prepare and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 – This CDC document provides guidance for Higher Education administrators of public and private institutions prevent the spread of COVID-19 among students, staff, and faculty.
- Preparing for Emergency Online Teaching – The Chronicle of Higher Education provides resource guides that walks instructors through different scenarios, including complex ones, such as how to replicate lab activities online.
- How to Make Your Online Pivot Less Brutal – This article provides tips, best practices, and encouragement for higher education faculty to provide engaging pedagogy regardless of one’s comfort level with online teaching.
For Parents
- PBS is providing daily activities for children
- Virtual field trips to places like Mars, Yellowstone National Park, the San Diego Zoo and many others.
- A Facebook group, Amazing Educational Resources, has compiled a list of (several hundred) free subscriptions from educational companies.
- A list of authors doing virtual readings and other reading resources
Digital Learning
Tips and tools for designing and redesigning lesson for online delivery. Some of the tools anmd resources listed below are reproduced from the Digital Learning and COVID-19 (PDF, 174K) written by NEA’s Education and Policy Practice team.
- Video Resources by Zoom for using Zoom
- Zoom holds weekly Education Webinars with a live host to answer questions
- Zoom 101: Breakout Rooms
- Zoom 101: Polling (In-meeting)
- Zoom 101: Manage Participants (In-depth)
- How to use Breakout Rooms
- Screen Share & Annotation for EDU
- Comprehensive Guide to Educating Through Zoom (PDF)
- How to use Waiting Rooms to Manage Office Hours & Drop-In Visitor Times
- How to make lesson videos, screen recordings in less than 6 minutes from teacher Andrew Borne (H/T Jeff Solochek)
- AFT’s Share My Lesson has compiled resources for online learning
- Student Privacy Resources for Distance Learning
- 6 Lessons Learned About Remote Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak – This article provides best practices related to digital learning to ensure quality and engaging instruction during the suspension of face-to-face learning during the COVID-10 pandemic.
- A Coronavirus Outreach Plan: 5 Steps for District Leaders – Included in this article are five action steps to help school leaders craft an effective outreach plan for dealing with COVID-19.
- 10 Strategies for Online Learning During a Coronavirus Outbreak / This article includes best ideas from educators from around the world, many of whom have already been teaching during coronavirus closures.
- COVID-19 Resource List / The National Network of State Teachers of the Year created this Google Sheet, which encompasses online resources, relevant strategies and articles, considerations for educators, and a list of what conversations are looking like in schools and districts across the country.
- Navigating Uncertain Times: How Schools Can Cope with Coronavirus / ISTE and EdSurge published this set of tools – including articles, podcasts, webinars, and community resources – for helping schools navigate the difficulty of dealing with coronavirus.
- Eduscape’s Continuity of Learning webinars
- Top 25 Learning Tools for When School is Closed / Tech & Learning compiled their list of sites, platforms, and online resources that support remote learning when school is closed.
English Language Learner resources
Tips and strategies for assisting students in all grades.
- ¡Colorin Colorado! Provides a wealth of resources in multiple languages as well as best practices for distance learning for English Language Learners
- SupportEd has a series of webinars dealing with teaching ELL students online. The webinars can be watched on demand.
Exceptional Student Education resources
Tips and Strategies for assisting students in all grades.
- How to Serve Students with Special Needs from Afar – Part of EdSurge’s guide Navigating Uncertain Times: How Schools Can Cope With Coronavirus.
- Learning Disabilities Online is all about learning disabilities and ADHD featuring articles, multimedia, columns by noted experts, and a comprehensive resource guide.
- Teacher Vision is available for free during COVID-19. Access hundreds of teaching and classroom management strategies that help you create an inclusive learning environment.
- The National Association of Special Education Teachers provides support and assistance to special education teachers including the Special Educators list of 100 forms, tables, checklists and procedures.
Free and Discounted Education Tools
Lists and links to low and no-cost educational resources for educators.
- Free Tools for Schools Dealing with Corona – This Google Doc has compiled companies that have announced enhanced or free services to schools as they deal with COVID-19-related closures.
- Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions Due to School Closings –This spreadsheet includes more than 100 education companies offering free services to educators during the COVID-19 outbreak.
- 105 Tools for Distance Learning & Strategies for Student Engagement – The Albert team provides a comprehensive list of helpful learning tools, information on common benefits and drawbacks of remote learning, and a few strategies for keeping students engaged while remote.
- Common Sense Media’s Education EdTech Tools List – This robust library of more than 3,500 tools encompasses all P-12 grade levels and a variety of subject areas.
Cenage Learning (Gale) open resource database – searchable index to instructional resources
Grants and Funding
The NEA Foundation is providing three new grant opportunities to support public educators’ emerging needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on teaching and learning:
- The COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants will support educator-led initiatives to adapt to the unique circumstances during the summer months of 2020. The application process will be open through May 28.
- Learning and Leadership Grants will support educators’ professional development focused on adapting to the unique challenges of the 2020-2021 school year. Applications will be available beginning April 30 through July 15.
- Student Success Grants will support educator-led initiatives that increase educational equity and opportunity, responding to student needs that emerged or intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications will be available beginning April 30 through July 15.
Professional Learning and Instructional Coaching
Tips for collaborating with colleagues.
For Instructional Coaches
- Coaching during a Crisis by Learning Forward, provides insights into the role of Instructional Coaches in supporting teachers and students in distance learning. Webinars and resources are available.
Online Professional Learning
- Tech Against Coronavirus – This list encompasses a wide variety of software solutions to maintain collaboration and work remotely with your team.
Wellness for Educators
Tips for our new normal and maintaining work/life balance.
- American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has provided trauma and counseling resources. (Note: These resources are available only for AFT members (FEA members are AFT members). If you experience a problem accessing your account, please contact AFT Membership at membership@aft.org or 1-888-238-5646.)
