Coronavirus outbreak has led to the shutdown of many schools. However, teachers are reaching out students through online classrooms. To support the initiative, Google is providing free resources and online tools to schools.
Free Online Tools to study
Many educational institutions are facing or planning for closures due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus pandemic). In view of this, Google for Education is providing distance learning solutions, training and resources to help them stay connected.
Today Google supports schools around the world by providing G Suite for Education. It’s a free range of productivity tools to enable teaching & learning. These cloud-based tools are currently used by more than 100 million teachers and students. They are using Google Classroom, Gmail, Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms and more. conveniently, these can be used from any device in more than 40 languages.
Additional resources to support learning
Here are some additional resources around our recent effort to support educators and students globally during the outbreak of coronavirus.
- Sign up for G Suite for Education: Schools can sign up for G Suite for Education (for free). They will get access to Gmail, Calendar, Classroom, Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, Sites, Jamboard and Hangouts Meet, and many more to help with distance learning.
- Distance Learning resources: Resource page, series of blog posts, as well as webinar series discuss tips and best practices for distance learning. Google is collecting and sharing additional stories and strategies through Teacher Center and social channels including Twitter and Facebook.
- Information on how to send school Chromebooks home for distance learning: As school admins prepare contingency plans, Google comes forward to help. Schools can visit Help Center to quickly and securely prepare their Chromebooks to go home with students. Refer to the article: “How to prepare Chromebooks for e-learning days at home.” at the Help Center.
- YouTube Learning Hub: Google has partnered with education-focused content creators on YouTube. They have launched the Learning Hub which is a destination for safe, curriculum-relevant learning content.
- Teach From Home: Teach from Home (g.co/teachfromhome) is an initiative to create a hub of information, tips, resources and tools. It helps teachers keep teaching during the school closures.
- Best practices for Hangouts Meet: Using Hangouts Meet, teachers can find best practices for setting up Meet for distance learning. They can also learn how to turn on live captions, limit bandwidth usage, and use Slides Q&A for engagement while live-streaming. Google also has new educator controls in Hangouts Meet.
- Google for Education technology partners: The Distance Learning page on the Chromebook App Hub shares offers from integrated solutions partners that can help schools during the COVID-19 crisis. These resources are directly related to distance learning and are completely free or discounted tools.
