Free Resources to Help with Remote Learning in 2022
LabXchange from Harvard University is an always-free resource that provides digital content compiled from multiple sources in the sciences, including lab simulations, which educators can mix into their own learning narratives and share with students. Among the functionalities provided are social networking, class groupings, discussion forums and "mentorship" (to bring learners together with educators and researchers around the world). https://www.labxchange.org/
The Library of Congress has developed a portal where faculty and students can access content that's free to use and reuse, from the library's digital collections. The collections comprise millions of digital items, including books, newspapers, manuscripts, prints and photos, maps, musical scores, films, sound recordings and more. https://www.loc.gov/free-to-use/
Librivox provides access to 16,000 books that have been read aloud by volunteers, including 2,000 in non-English languages. https://librivox.org/
Loom is making its quick-response video software free for educators forevermore. The program captures a person's screen, voice and face and allows for editing, "instant sharing" and controlled viewing. Registration with an EDU e-mail address required. https://www.loom.com/education
Lumen offers open educational resource courses as well as supplemental resources, including slide decks, question banks, assignments and discussion forums. Registration required. https://lumenlearning.com/courses/
Manticore Games has launched "Core Academy," a destination for free online classes for game creation and design. Courses include tutorials, videos and hands-on examples. Registration required. https://learn.coregames.com/
Mathematica has compiled an extensive set of COVID-19 resources, including public databases, tools and insights relevant to the pandemic, which may be useful for academic research. https://www.mathematica.org/features/covid-19-curated-data-modeling-and-policy-resources
Microsoft Office 365 Education provides colleges and universities with a free set of productivity applications: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, Sway, Forms, Stream, Power Automate, Power Apps, School Data Sync and Yammer. Registration required. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office
Money Fit offers a self-guided, scenario-based activity, "My Life My Choices," which leads students through their fictional first month of independent living away from home. After the activity, students receive a free, personalized certificate of completion in PDF format via e-mail (their own e-mail or their teacher's). https://moneyfit.org/my-life-my-choices-students
Musescore offers its community-developed music notation software available free. https://musescore.org/en
New Literacy Project offers "Shakespeare & The Plague," a timely 20-minute mashup of the playwright's creations with a viewer's guide for discussing the performance in class. https://www.newliteraryproject.org/teaching-tools