25 Useful Resources for Remote Learning

The year 2020 will go down as the year that education changed! We might have been forced into the changes by COVID-19 but I’m not sure that we will ever go back to “the way things used to be.” I believe that the increased use of technology in education is here to stay. I’ve put together a list of 25 of the most useful resources for remote learning (aka distance learning, virtual learning, home learning – you know what I mean)! But these resources can also be used in the classroom with technology integration.

25 Useful Resources for Remote Learning

Resources for Remote Learning: Student Work

1. Kami

girl doing a video lesson during distance learning

If you have years of lessons and related pdfs and you are now learning using devices then you NEED Kami! Kami is an app that allows your students to digitally write on a pdf, e-book, or other digital resources without the need to print it out or change it to a different format. You can upload the pdf activity and assign it to your students. They can write directly on the pdf page digitally and then turn it into you. Use the resources you already have with Kami!

2. DocHub

DocHub is another online app that students can use to type directly onto a pdf. All you have to do is assign the pdf to the students and then have them open the file using DocHub. Once in DocHub they can add text, highlight, add images, and a lot more! It’s a great way to use those pdf resources you already have on a device.

BONUS TIP: Want to assign only one page or a part of pdf file? You must hop over to TpT and download this FREE tutorial from Pam at Rockin Resources. She walks you through step by step on how to pull out one or more pages from a pdf file.

3. Home Learning Printables

During remote learning, don’t underestimate the practice that students can complete at home. Whether you are teaching virtually or using a hybrid model where you only see students a couple of days a week, students can still get quality skills practice using printables.

third grade math activities

Don’t forget that these activities don’t have to be printed out and completed on paper. Try them with Kami and DocHub above!

Use printables just like you would in the classroom. They are a great independent practice activity for students after you have taught a concept and completed guided practice. Printables also make a great review activity to keep prior skills fresh. Review activities can be a very powerful tool to ensure skill mastery. I’ve heard people say “it’s just review” but that really diminishes their value. We don’t want to have a ‘do it and forget it’ classroom. Instead using review activities intentionally will help our kids master skills for the long term.

paired reading passages

Here are some NO PREP ready to go printable packs that you can use in the classroom or at home as part of remote learning. These Reading & Math No Prep Packets are available for seasons and holidays throughout the year. Students love themed learning.

back to school no prep printable activities for centers or review

Whether you choose printables or other Distance Learning Activities, your students will learn and you will have a great impact on them.

4. Boom Learning

Boom Learning is the home of Boom Cards – a free and easy to use website for assigning digital task cards to your students. You can find Boom Cards for many different skills and topics. These digital task cards are a hit with students because they feel like a game, but you will know that they are getting the skills practice they need. Find more ideas on how to use Boom Cards in your classroom in this blog post.

Here are some of the Boom Cards you can find in my store! Upper Elementary Teachers and their students are loving Boom Cards!

Resources for Remote Learning: Class Organization

5. Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a popular online Learning Management System (LMS) used by teachers, schools, and school districts all around the world. In Google Classroom you can easily set-up a class, communicate with your students, assign lessons, and have them turn in the lessons directly to you. Choosing an LMS is often a decision made by the school district or administration, but this doesn’t always happen. With Google Classroom you can create your free online learning platform for just your class.

Google form math activity for 3rd 4th and 5th grades

Google Classroom easily integrates with activities on Google Drive and other Google apps. Due to the ease of using, storing, and sharing resources on Google Drive it has become popular for digital learning activities.

main idea task cards for google classroom

You can also easily use digital stickers inside of the Google Apps. These are a fun and easy way to encourage your students and celebrate their work.

digital stickers are a great encouragement when grading student work

6. SeeSaw

SeeSaw is another online Learning Management System that is being used by teachers and schools all around the world. One thing SeeSaw has that other LMS’s don’t have is the ability to connect with parents through the platform.

You can assign lessons, students can complete the activity including writing or typing with the built in tools, and the completed work can easily be seen by you on the SeeSaw platform. SeeSaw also makes it easy to grade and send comments to your students about their work. My digital stickers also work in SeeSaw and you can find step by step instructions on how to use them in this blog post.

digital stickers for google and seesaw

7. Flipgrid

Flipgrid is a great way to engage your students in discussion in a way they love – video. It’s like Snapchat or TikTok for the classroom! You post a topic or question and send it out to your students. Students will respond with a short video and can add comments to the videos of others. It’s a great way to facilitate a discussion related to a lesson or topic you are learning.

8. Remind App

The Remind app has been around for a while, but it is a great tool for communicating with parents. The best way to get information to parents is to make it easy for them. Don’t make them dig through the backpack or even their inbox. With Remind, you can send communication to parents via text. Your message pops up right there on their phone – now that’s easy! This app is just as easy for you to use to send messages. It’s a great communication tool that doesn’t require you to share your personal cell phone number.

9. Class Dojo

Class Dojo is a wonderful classroom management tool that can be used in the classroom or in the virtual classroom. The Class Dojo app is an easy way to connect teachers with students and parents. Give points to students when they are caught with good behavior or doing good deeds. Let students create a portfolio of their learning. Share classroom happenings (including pictures) with parents.

Resources for Remote Learning: Engaging Lessons

resources for remote learning to help teachers

10. Pear Deck

Pear Deck is a great tool for turning your Google Slides (the Google version of Powerpoint) presentations into interactive lessons. All you have to do is add the Pear Deck Add-on to Google Slides and you can use the pre-made features to build in interactive questions, check for understanding, and utilize formative assessment opportunities into your lesson presentations.

You can present your lesson using Pear Deck and students can easily join the slideshow presentation with a simple code. Throughout the lesson, students can answer questions (giving you real-time information on what students are understanding), do a self-assessment, or respond in writing or drawing. You can quickly and easily see students’ responses from your Teacher Dashboard.

11. Book Creator

Book Creator is a fun and interactive way for students to show what they have learned through creating a page or book. The simple and easy to use tools make it a fun, digital project for students of all ages.

Students can add text, images, audio, and video to create many different projects or assignments like interactive stories, science lab reports, a unit portfolio, and even a comic strip.

12. Kahoot!

digital activities and boom cards for older elementary students

Kahoot! is a website that makes creating interactive games for your lessons easy. You can add these activities as real-time games where students select answers during the lesson or assign students a Kahoot! game as an assignment or lesson follow-up.

The Kahoot! website has lots of great tutorials and resources to get you going in just a few minutes.

13. EdPuzzle

EdPuzzle is not what you think. It has nothing to do with creating learning puzzles. But it has everything to do with creating fun, interactive, and engaging lessons. It is a wonderful site that allows you to quickly and easily incorporate video into your lessons. You can create your own lesson videos or use videos you find on YouTube, Khan Academy, or other online sites.

When you assign through EdPuzzle you can see which students have watched the video, how many times they have watched, and even incorporate questions to assess learning during the video. Sound complicated? It’s not and EdPuzzle has some wonderful help resources for teachers to get you started.

Resources for Remote Learning: Online Learning

14. Brain Pop

Brain Pop is a website with lots of amazing content-based videos to support student learning. The Brain Pop library is filled with video resources for all content areas and grade levels. These videos make a great introduction for a lesson or unit, or an independent review a student can do before completing an assignment. Brain Pop is a paid subscription, but there are some free videos that will allow you to give it a try with your students.

Here’s a free Brain Pop video for teaching theme that will give you an idea of what Brain Pop videos are like.

15. Khan Academy

Khan Academy is an online classroom that is jam-packed with video lessons for every subject and every grade level. It is run by a non-profit organization whose goal is “to provide a world-class education to anyone, anywhere.” If you need video lessons to support your academic instruction during remote learning you definitely need to check out Khan Academy.

16. CK-12

CK-12 is an amazing online resource filled with online textbooks and lessons for every subject you can think of. These textbooks have videos, images, questions and activities included and make a great option for online learning.

17. Newsela

Newsela is just Wow! When I first discovered Newsela I thought I had hit the jackpot with thousands of high quality, high-interest texts to support the teaching of all content areas. With the goal of providing students with authentic and engaging content, Newsela has a wealth of resources for teachers. This online content can be used by students whether learning in the classroom or at home.

resources for remote learning can make learning fun at home or school

18. IXL Learning

IXL Learning is a website filled with skills-based practice for topics of all content areas and grade levels. These questions can be used as guided practice in class or assign them to students as independent practice. The IXL site is super organized and you can quickly find the questions related to the topic you are teaching.

If you don’t have a membership you are limited to answering 10 questions each day. But use those questions in the right way to support your teaching and you will have a great review or skills practice activity for your students.

19. Wonderopolis

Wonderopolis is just wonder-ful! Thousands of “I wonder . . .” questions are answered on this site in all different content areas. Each question includes a high-interest reading passage that is supported with great video and images. Through the reading, vocabulary words are highlighted and defined. There are reading comprehension questions and suggestions for additional activities that further student learning on the topic.

20. Virtual Field Trips

Virtual Field Trips is a membership site (although very reasonably priced for all that you get) that is filled with an array of video-based field trips. Taking virtual field trips is a great way to engage students on a topic or unit without leaving the classroom or home.

The site is organized by topic, location, and grade level which makes it really easy to find what you are looking for. With high-quality videos for science, social studies, geography, and ancient civilizations you can bring your studies to life with virtual field trips.

21. Kaizena

If you assign work to your students using Google apps like Slides, Forms, or Docs, then you should take a couple of minutes to look into Kaizena. Kaizena is an app that allows you to check student work and provide student feedback using voice comments instead of typing. This is a great way to make a personal connection even when you aren’t face to face with your students. You can also attach instructional videos or reinforcement lessons with your comments which makes re-teaching easy and seamless.

22. Discovery Education

Discovery Education is more than just a collection of videos from their networks. This website has some amazing e-books that schools around the world are using as textbooks. These online textbooks are a key piece of the site that connects reading with video and simulation activities to engage students in learning. The Discovery Education site also has a STEM program and some amazing virtual field trip opportunities.

The downside to this site is that it requires a paid subscription to access the amazing materials. There are many places on the site where you can request a demo of the resources you are interested in. If your school or district offers grants for teaching resources – this would be a great proposal!

23. PBS Learning Media

resources for remote learning make learning fun at home

PBS Learning Media is an amazing site that is filled with content related videos from the PBS family. By creating a free account, you can access all of the videos and lesson resources available on the site. There are videos for every content area and grade level, as well as some interactive activities that students can complete or that can be completed as a whole class.

There is also a Student Page on the PBS Learning Media site that has videos and activities that students can access directly. A great option for video lessons, student research, or even early finishers.

Resources for Remote Learning: Virtual Teaching

24. Screencastify

Screencastify is an amazingly easy to use screen sharing video creator. Using Screencastify you can quickly and easily video your screen and your voice as you present a lesson. You even have the option of adding a personal touch with yourself on video in the corner.

We know that video lessons are more engaging than just sending a reading assignment in a textbook. Creating a screen sharing video is an easy way to put your lesson in video format.

With Screencastify you can create and edit videos for your students. Their new Submit option even allows you to send an assignment to students where they video their response to you.

This video was created for another blog post using Screencastify. It’s just a sample of what you can do. I love teaching you how to use different resources like these Bitmoji Morning Messages, and you can teach your students using screen share videos too!

25. Screencast-o-matic

Like Screencatify, Screencast-o-matic is another option for creating screen-sharing videos. Quickly and easily put your lesson into a video format and share it with your students. Have students complete assignments or projects using video as their mode of presentation. This easy to use online app is perfect for teachers and students.

Save these Resources for Remote Learning

Just pin this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can quickly come back when you need a new tool or app for your remote learning!

25 Useful Resources for Remote Learning

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