Updated: Free Resources for Schools During COVID-19 Outbreak. U - Z

UBTECH is posting a free robotics-oriented challenge each week -- no robot needed. A recent challenge asked students to design then sketch or build a robot that would help doctors, nurses and caretakers with their workload and help them stay healthy. The company is also hosting a free webinar series that take "deep dives" into artificial intelligence to help educators make the subject "relatable and practical" for their students. https://ubtecheducation.com/homelearning/

UnboundEd, for grades pre-K-12, provides thousands of free English and math lessons, which can be filtered by grade level, as well as teaching guides, videos and podcasts. https://www.unbounded.org/

The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) and TED-Ed, along with 30 other collaborators including National Geographic, have launched "Earth School," a freely accessible website for students ages 5-18. The site provides 30 "quests" for students to help them "celebrate, explore and connect with nature." Videos, reading materials and activities, translated into 10 languages, focus on science and the environment. https://ed.ted.com/earth-school

The United States Census Bureau has developed a roster of 200 free home and distance learning activities, for students in grades pre-K-12, from coloring pages to statistics studies. https://www.census.gov/content/census/en/programs-surveys/sis/activities/distance-learning.html

Unity Technologies is providing free access to Unity Learn Premium, a 3D development platform, through Jun. 20, 2020. Registration provides access to live sessions with Unity experts and 350-plus hours of tutorials, hands-on projects, and courses for game developers, covering topics from "Game Mechanic Design Fundamentals" to "Getting Started with Post-Processing Stack for VR." Unity is also delivering virtual classes through "Create with Code Live," free for students, instructors and anyone else interested in learning to code; those sessions kick off on Mar. 23 at 9 a.m. Pacific time or 5 p.m. Pacific time. https://unity.com/products/learn-premium

The University of Waterloo Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC) has launched a new online tool, CEMC at Home, which includes games, problems to solve, videos and other materials to help students with their studies. The Centre said it would post new content "most weekdays," developed by Waterloo faculty members and current and retired secondary school teachers for each of four grade levels: grades 4-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12. https://cemc.uwaterloo.ca/resources/cemc-at-home.php

UPchieve, a nonprofit that provides free, online math tutoring to low-income high school students, traditionally asks schools with participating students to pay a small fee to keep its service running. In response to COVID-19 school closures, that fee has been waived through the end of the school year. And any student who creates an account during this period can keep using UPchieve for free, forever, the organization said. The service works on any device; students choose the subject they need help with, and UPchieve matches them with a volunteer tutor in a virtual classroom. Students can get as many free sessions as they want. https://upchieve.org/school-closures

Upkey, working with The Academy Group, is taking applications for a virtual internship program, offering 1,000 seniors in high school and college students opportunities to develop their skills. The eight-week program begins on Jun. 1, 2020. Students will be learning from expert sources, conducting their own research and completing interactive projects around a specific subject. Applications are open through May 8. https://upkey.com/internship

UWorld is offering a free, full-length practice SAT exam to help students get familiar with the format and content of the real test. Each answer provides a detailed explanation of the answer choices to help students review and retain concepts. https://collegeprep.uworld.com/psat/

Van Andel Institute for Education is providing open access to a project-based learning unit. The virtual version of "Prevent the Spread" is a project where students learn about their unique power to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The project provides everything a teacher needs to conduct the project remotely, including a student-facing slideshow with age-appropriate resources to help students understand the pandemic; a teacher's guide for supporting students as they create public service announcements to encourage people to adopt smart habits to protect against germs; a reflection journal to capture students' thinking; and content suggestions with ties to math, science, English language arts and social studies. The Institute is also curating a list of educational activities that can be done at home. Registration is required to download the project. https://www.blueappleteacher.org/lp-virtual-pts/

Varsity Tutors is providing students with 20 hours of free live, online instruction each week. Each class is led by an expert tutor with experience in the course topic, as well as familiarity with virtual instruction. Classes refresh weekly, with age-appropriate options for grades K-12. Subjects include math, English, science, writing and "enrichment." The company is also planning free half-day, week-long virtual summer camps, taught by expert instructors, where students can develop skills in foreign languages, chess, theater, coding, Minecraft, how to be a detective, photography and more. Currently, some 200 live, online camps are scheduled for the summer. https://www.varsitytutors.com/virtual-school-calendar

Vernier has produced free remote learning solutions to keep students engaged in STEM during school closures. That includes access to Vernier Video Analysis, which lets students use their mobile devices in video analysis work (through June 2020); Pivot Interactives for allowing students to vary experimental parameters one at a time (for 30 days); a free demo version of Logger Proto allow students to collect and analyze data that is good until Oct. 1, 2020; as well 200-plus experiments with sample data covering numerous subjects. https://www.vernier.com/remote-learning/

VEX Robotics has launched VEXcode Virtual Robot (VR), a free web-based tool for delivering computer science lessons for those who don't have access to a physical VEX Robot at home. There are no software installations required, and the program functions on all major devices. https://www.vexrobotics.com/vexcode-vr

Vidigami is providing the class of 2020 with free access to software that will enable high schoolers to celebrate their graduation virtually. Teachers can help build a "living media portfolio" unique to every student, visually documenting his or her journey to graduation. The free service includes a consultation call, a template site, and a self-service project management board for completing the graduation site. The download is available to users until Jul. 5, 2020. https://about.vidigami.com/grad/

ViewSonic is offering myViewBoard free to schools, to help teachers conduct distance learning. The program allows for real-time collaboration through video audio conferencing, "huddles" and digital whiteboarding. https://www.viewsonic.com/us/distance-learning

Virtual Field Trips is providing its online learning videos free of charge. The service specializes in K-8 social studies, life science, geography and ancient civilization curriculum content. To participate, email the company at info@virtualfieldtrips.org with your name and email address (for logging in), and it will grant access to all videos and quizzes for 60 days or more. https://www.virtualfieldtrips.org/

Voice of Witness' "Sharing History Initiative," is offering free teaching resources, including free class sets, of Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders With Youth Refugees From Central America. Applications are open until Jun. 21, 2020. The organization's education program provides Common Core-aligned lesson plans for its books and implements oral history projects, while also supporting English language learners. https://voiceofwitness.org/education/sharing-history/

Voyager Sopris Learning is providing free access to VmathLive, a math program that lets students master the content at their own pace while earning badges, trophies, and points. The program is intended for grades K–8 and is available through Jul. 31, 2020. The trial is set up for a single-student login, but teachers may request access for a whole class. The company has also put together a "Step Up to Writing" program, to help teachers develop various strategies for supporting the writing done by their K-12 students. https://www.voyagersopris.com/remote-learning

VTech Electronics North America launched the "Learn Through This" program, using its VTech and LeapFrog products to support teachers and parents with free content such as articles, printable activity books and educational activities; and an extended free trial of its interactive learning program, LeapFrog Academy. https://www.learnthroughthis.com/

Waterford.org, a Utah state-funded family advocate, is producing a thrice-weekly email (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) on early learning, available in English and Spanish. They feature a video and an activity teaching literacy, math or science concepts for three- and four-year-olds. They're intended to enable parents to do these activities once with their children and then allow the children to do the activities by themselves. https://www.waterford.org/early-learning-boost/

We are Knitters is teaching students how to knit, short video by short video. https://www.weareknitters.com/learn-knit?type=1#homeschool

The White House Historical Association is making its distance learning resources available. Classroom resource packets include access to online videos, historical essays, presidential images, reading lists and virtual tours of the White House. They're available in three grade bands: K-5, 6-12 and "all ages." https://www.whitehousehistory.org/online-resources

Wild, Free & Crafty, an online arts and crafts business, has launched daily online art lessons for students. The initial set of lessons uses supplies that many homes have (such as printer paper and markers). After the lessons are streamed, they're posted for viewing afterwards on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/c/wildfreeandcrafty

Wiley has made WileyPLUS, Knewton Alta and zBooks available through the Spring 2020 term. Also, the company has made more than 5,000 COVID-19-related articles freely available on a Wiley Online Library site. https://secure.wiley.com/COVID19OpenWPAccess, https://www.zybooks.com/, https://novel-coronavirus.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

Windstream Enterprise is offering 90-day trials of its remote conferencing programs, voice-focused OfficeSuite UC and the Zoom-like substitute, OfficeSuite HD Meeting. Up to 500 participants are allowed, with no time limits. Set-up help is provided by the company. https://www.windstreamenterprise.com/solutions/officesuite-free-trial/

WonderStories is offering short chapter books at the second and third grade reading levels, with "interactive mysteries, puzzles and adventures to keep children engaged." The company said the books work "especially well for struggling readers." It's free for 60 days. https://www.wonderstories.app/

Wooclap has made its software free for K-12 educators to use "forever." The program helps teachers inject interactivity into remote lessons through quizzes, polls, wordclouds and other methods. The platform also includes flashcards ("wooflash"), which promote student memorization and comprehension while generating data to help educators track student progress. https://www.wooclap.com/

World Trade Press is offering a minimum of six months of free and unlimited access to its K–12 educational databases: ABC World Culture, ABC World Food, ABC Food America, ABC The USA, ABC Maps Online and ABC Lingo Lite. Each covers a specific topic area and contains content with photos, videos, maps, historic timelines, biographies and more. https://www.abcdatabasesuite.com/

Write the World is a global online community of young writers that invites teens ages 13-18 to write, share and publish their work and enter free monthly writing competitions. Designed by educators at Harvard University to improve student writing and build communication and critical thinking skills, Write the World has become a means for fostering global citizenship and engagement. Educators can create an online private classroom writing space with prompts, assignments, and guided peer review tools. They can also start an online writing club using the platform and free resources. https://writetheworld.com/

Writing Blueprints is promoting free access to "Young Writer's Blueprint," a step-by-step guide for writers ages six to 10. Topics cover gathering ideas, creating characters and settings, writing short stories, writing long works and editing. The course features short, downloadable videos and worksheets to enable students to work offline. https://writingblueprints.com/p/writing-course-ages-6-10

WURRLYedu is offering 30 days of access to a web-based version of its teaching software and creation tools for students. According to the company, the program includes access to lessons on general music, modern band, vocal ensemble and jazz, along with non-music subjects; and a recording studio to let students and teachers adjust the key and speed of the track, select instruments, apply one-touch audio and video filters and perform remote duets. The students don't require access to musical instruments. https://www.wurrlyedu.com/distance-learning

Zapzapmath, a line of programs under Visual Math Interactive, is providing free premium subscriptions to "Zapzapmath School," through July 2020 for parents and teachers. This application for students in grades K-6 includes 180 math games, with a reward system, where students can redeem and personalize their own spaceship using coins they have earned from completing math games. https://www.zapzapmath.com/school

Zearn has made its K-5 math curriculum available for free to teachers. The content includes 400 hours of digital lessons with on-screen teachers and "supportive remediation," as well as paper-based materials that can be used device-free. The company is running continual webinars for district administrators, teachers and parents to help them get the service set up for their students. https://about.zearn.org/distance-learning

Z-kai has released extensive booklets with math worksheets for students in grades 2-5, selected from the company's Zoom-Up Workbook Math. According to the company, the worksheets contain "challenging problem sets and [are] tailored to develop students' math skills." https://zkaibooks.com/free-resources/#

Zoom has lifted the 40-minute meeting limit on its free basic accounts for K-12 and teamed up with Clever to make Zoom accessible to Clever districts that experiencing closures. Outschool, a marketplace for live online classes, has made available free remote teacher training webinars demonstrating how to adapt teaching practices and curriculum to a live video chat classroom. https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/03/13/how-to-use-zoom-for-online-learning/

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