Home learning - Educational resources
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In response to schools transitioning to remote teaching and learning due to COVID-19 concerns, AISWA Libraries wishes to support all school library staff to be able to continue to provide the best digital library services they can to their school community.
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Below are links to various free educational resources that are available or that have recently become freely available for a period of time. We hope you find this page helpful to provide your staff, students and families with a range of online resources to support learning at home.
Last updated: 5th April, 2020
Information Resources
ABC Education - educational games, videos, digibooks and teaching resources for schools and students. Free Primary and Secondary resources covering history, science, English, maths and more.
DKFindout - Fun facts site for children, developed by Dorling Kindersley.
Jstor & Artstor - find millions of journal articles, ebooks, images, and other media available as open access or free to everyone.
Kidtopia - A custom Google search engine containing websites suitable for primary students, selected by teachers and librarians.
Smart History [Art History] - Smarthistory is a leading resource for the study of art and cultural heritage. Our growing collection of videos and essays are designed to be engaging and conversational and cover art that ranges from the paleolithic to the present.
DKFindout - Fun facts site for children, developed by Dorling Kindersley.
Jstor & Artstor - find millions of journal articles, ebooks, images, and other media available as open access or free to everyone.
Kidtopia - A custom Google search engine containing websites suitable for primary students, selected by teachers and librarians.
Smart History [Art History] - Smarthistory is a leading resource for the study of art and cultural heritage. Our growing collection of videos and essays are designed to be engaging and conversational and cover art that ranges from the paleolithic to the present.
Literature & Reading Resources
Audible stories
Audible has made hundreds of its audiobooks available for free. All titles can be accessed by desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.
Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare Library has released a range of free resources to support teachers and students:
Teaching during Covid-19
Harry Potter: A history of magic - Explore the wonders of the British Library exhibition
Harry Potter at home - an online space your younger children to discover the magic of Harry Potter.
Project Gutenberg
A free library of over 60,000 free eBooks that include a children’s literature category where kids can download or read online classics like Little Women and Peter Pan.
Storybox library
This Australian based subscription educational website is providing free access for an initial two months. created for children to view stories by local authors and illustrators, being read aloud by fantastic, predominantly Australian and New Zealand, storytellers. Storybox is providing free access for an initial two months.
TeachingBooks and Book Connections: Book and reading engagement kit: Home edition
This website is providing permission to access links through to at least the middle of September, 2020.
Vooks
A kid-safe, ad-free streaming library of read-aloud animated storybooks. There is a teacher appreciation offer providing a free first year of Vooks exclusively to all school teachers and homeschool educators! You may like to share this with parents. Terms and conditions apply.
Virtual storytimes for children:
- Brightly storytime
- CLPE - Reading Books Aloud
- The World of David Walliams - Elevenses & Catch Up
- Michael Rosen's YouTube channel
- Save the stories (on Instagram)
- Storytime online
- The StoryTime Family
Other links
- Librivox - free public domain audiobooks (most are classic works that are out of copyright or works that have been released by the author for free)
- OpenCulture - 1000 free audiobooks (mostly classics)
Open Educational Resources
ABC Education - brings you thousands of free, curriculum-linked resources for Primary and Secondary students and teachers.
Big History Project
This is a free online social studies course for middle and high school students that emphasises skill development as students draw connections between past, present and future.
Digital searching Excellence
Teacher Librarian, Barbara Stout, provides links to a range of other OER resources (made available at her presentation at the AISWA Libraries PLD meeting, "Digital Searching Excellence," held on the 13th September, 2018).
Google Arts and Culture
Features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.
Khan Academy
A non-profit educational organisation providing short lessons in the form of videos and a set of online tools that help educate students. The website also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials for educators.
OpenCulture
200 free kids educational resources: Video lessons, apps, books, websites & more.
Parliamentary Education Office
Smithsonian Learning Lab - millions of carefully curated, easily accessible, customisable, and shareable open educational resources.
Big History Project
This is a free online social studies course for middle and high school students that emphasises skill development as students draw connections between past, present and future.
Digital searching Excellence
Teacher Librarian, Barbara Stout, provides links to a range of other OER resources (made available at her presentation at the AISWA Libraries PLD meeting, "Digital Searching Excellence," held on the 13th September, 2018).
Google Arts and Culture
Features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.
Khan Academy
A non-profit educational organisation providing short lessons in the form of videos and a set of online tools that help educate students. The website also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials for educators.
OpenCulture
200 free kids educational resources: Video lessons, apps, books, websites & more.
Parliamentary Education Office
Smithsonian Learning Lab - millions of carefully curated, easily accessible, customisable, and shareable open educational resources.
Copyright Resources
Smartcopying
Read aloud copyright permissions
Read aloud copyright permissions
- Allen & Unwin - An Update on Virtual Read-Alouds for Teachers and Librarians
- HarperCollins - Permissions for online readings 2020
- Penguin & Random House Australia - Open Licence: Online Story Time and Read-Aloud Videos and Live Events
- Scholastic Australia - Rights licensing and permissions
- Walker books - Storytime, Reading and Virtual Book Promotion GuidelinesClick here for more
Online teaching & learning PLD
Teaching Online training - A Griffith University education expert has created a free online resource to help teachers keep students engaged outside the classroom. Read the Griffith University news article here.
Lynda.com (video courses) - Available through City of Perth Library eResources. Residents of Western Australia who are members of the library have free access. Join the library here.
Lynda.com (video courses) - Available through City of Perth Library eResources. Residents of Western Australia who are members of the library have free access. Join the library here.
More Resources
Amazing Educational resources - an extensive spreadsheet of 300+ educational companies offering free subscriptions for a period of time due to school closures COVID-19 school closures.
Commonsense Media - A leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. How to find great learning resources for your students during school closures.
Joyce Valenza - Resources for learning at home
Junior Library Guild - Free access to JLG Digital
Learning at home - The Western Australian Department of Education has resources and information to support learning and wellbeing in the home.
School library journal - Free access to digitised edition of SLJ
State Library of Western Australia - Membership is free for all Western Australian residents.
Wide Open School (just released)- an amazing free collection of learning experiences and activities for kids, organised by grade band and subject. You will also find daily schedules with creative breaks and recommendations to keep kids engaged and exploring, one day (or one hour) at a time.
Commonsense Media - A leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. How to find great learning resources for your students during school closures.
Joyce Valenza - Resources for learning at home
Junior Library Guild - Free access to JLG Digital
Learning at home - The Western Australian Department of Education has resources and information to support learning and wellbeing in the home.
School library journal - Free access to digitised edition of SLJ
State Library of Western Australia - Membership is free for all Western Australian residents.
- eResources - Library members have free access
- Mystery Box - request a box of library materials
Wide Open School (just released)- an amazing free collection of learning experiences and activities for kids, organised by grade band and subject. You will also find daily schedules with creative breaks and recommendations to keep kids engaged and exploring, one day (or one hour) at a time.
Image credit: “Together” by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
