Google, ALA, Kahn Academy push for home education during quarantine

Today Google, ALA, and Kahn Academy expanded upon the efforts they've made in the last few weeks for those students and teachers in quarantine for coronavirus (COVID-19). Google's released a portal for information, tips, training, and tools for teachers called "Teach From Home." They've also announced a $10 million USD Distance Learning Fund "to support organizations around the globe that help educators access the resources they need to provide high quality learning opportunities to children, particularly those from underserved communities."

The $10 million USD grant is part of the full $50 million Google.org COVID-19 response. This Distance Learning Fund's first $1 million will be granted to help Khan Academy to provide learning opportunities to students around the world that are currently sitting at home watching television instead of learning how to write cursive lettering at school.

If you'd like to access "free resources to keep everyone learning" via Kahn Academy, you can head to Kahn Academy right this minute. The first thing you'll find are "Daily schedules for students ages 4-18 to keep them learnng." Part of this schedule works with Khan Academy Kids, an app system that works with iOS, Android, and Amazon devices (which run their own version of Android).

The app Khan Academy Kids is free, with no advertisements, no subscriptions. It seems almost too good to be true. This app is made for children ages two to seven. You'll also want to take a peek at the Kahn Academy's suggestion for reading materials. Take a peek at the ALSC 2019 summer reading list – there'll likely be a 2020 version coming sooner than usual this year.

Also take a peek at the ALSC 2020 Notable Children's Digital Media list. It's a comprehensive list of apps you'll want to work with if your child is the sort that cannot live a single day without a touchscreen device.

Teachers and parents (who've suddently found themselves thrust into the role of full-time teacher) should take a peek at Teach From Home from Google. This site was developed in cooperation with the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.