For all the parents, teachers, and caregivers struggling with suddenly having to home-school their kids during the coronavirus, Google’s newest feature, Teach From Home, and YouTube’s Learn@Home launched Friday in an effort to lighten the burden.
Schools and universities have closed across the globe in recent weeks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19. This means more and more students will have to rely on learning remotely and engaging with coursework virtually — ultimately changing the educational landscape as we know it, for the time being. Many parents are finding home-schooling young ones to be difficult, and draining, alongside having to also work from home in some cases.
Google’s Teach From Home allows educators access to all of Google’s tools and products. Teachers can video chat with students using Google Meet, assign homework or online tests with Google Forms, and livestream learning sessions with Google Classroom. According to the Teach From Home page, the featured services will continue to expand: “The information here is by no means complete. As we receive feedback from teachers and partners, we will continue to list, create. and discover new tools to try and help make this situation easier for all.”
Right now, Teach From Home tools are only available for English speakers, with more coming soon, per reporting from The Verge.
In partnership with the Khan Academy, YouTube’s Learn@Home is largely similar to Google’s Teach From Home, but more focused on video. Learn@Home features dozens of channels from the platform’s premium content creators, with programming aimed toward educating children preschool age and up. Channels like Amoeba Sisters feature two animated amoebas “on a mission to demystify science with humor,” and language learning staple Duolingo offers users videos on how to say common phrases in a variety of dialects. Other featured channels on Learn@Home include classics like PBS, Sesame Street, and Discovery Education.
According to a blog post from Google, the company is planning on giving The Khan Academy the first $1 million grant of its $50 million contribution toward fighting the coronavirus. The donation is part of a plan to assist with “remote learning opportunities to students affected by COVID-19-related school closures,” while also providing “additional technical support” to educators as they navigate the transition to distance learning.”
