Good Online Learning Resources

In this article we will focus on online learning resources for personal use, work and school. We have gathered together some of the tools we use at SDM. We have also included some round-up posts that have been published recently to help you find the best option for your needs. Our suggestions are by no means exhaustive, but will hopefully help you get started, or keep going!

Learning Resources

One of the tools that we use regularly in the shop is LearnFree, formerly GCF Global. This website has online tutorials across many subject areas. We use it for Microsoft Office, Email, the Internet, Online Safety, Workplace Skills, Applying for Jobs, Writing, Reading, Photos and Design, Social Media… You name it! Take a look at their website and see what’s available. You can read more about this platform in our blog post, How to Use LearnFree.org. If you’d like advice on where to start, send us an email and we’d be happy help.

If you’re interested in a wider range of topics, this list from Lifehack, 29 Best Online Learning Platforms You Need To Try, has some great links. 

For more specifics, let us know by phone or email what you want. We’ll do our best to help you find an online resource!

Work Resources

For some of us, working from home may be a new experience. A successful work at home day may look quite different to your normal experience. There are tools and resources that you can use to make it easier!

One of the questions that we’ve been asked most often during work-from-home is for help with video conferencing options. If your company doesn’t already use specific online meeting tools, you may want to consider setting up a Zoom account. This will help you to keep in touch with colleagues and/or customers/clients. We have just published a video and blog post to help you get started: How to Set Up Zoom and Join a Meeting. Take a look at this, and let us know if you have any questions. 

Working from home is far more prevalent now. Many of our favorite websites, and online newspapers and magazines, are sharing their tips. Below is a selection of useful articles and tips.

Articles:

PC Mag: I’ve Worked From Home for 10 Years. Here Are 8 Secrets No One Tells You
NPR: 8 Tips To Make Working From Home Work For You
HubSpot: How to work from home: Simple strategies for staying productive
Fortune: Your tips for working from home…with kids
How-to Geek: The Best Work From Home Apps for iPhone and Android

The Lifewire website has a whole section dedicated to Work from Home resources: Home Office Central, including tips and technical how-tos. Head over to check out their articles. 

Student Resources

Here we’ve gathered together some round-up posts that might also be useful. Here are some technology related opportunities that could be included in your students day to supplement their experience!

This is a great round-up of the companies that are (at time of writing) offering free subscriptions from The Kid Activities Blog: 91 Free Educational Websites for Kids + Companies Offering Free Lesson Plans for Kids.

An online learning resource that we often recommend is Common Sense Media and we’d like to highlight the Common Sense Wide Open School. Common Sense Media provides expert reviews, objective advice and helpful tools for parents and educators and is a great place to start when looking for age appropriate online programs, games and tools for kids.

If you’re looking for specific technical learning resources, we highly recommend Scratch as an introduction to coding. If you’d like help getting started with this, give us a call and we can talk you through the basics.

We also love Khan Academy for free resources in math, science, coding and much more, and Codecademy which offers it’s basic learn to code resources for free. Check out this article, Coding for Kids: Free and Cheap Websites That Teach Kids Programming, from Mommy Poppins for more free, and paid for, options. 

Additional Lists

Lifehack has this article, 19 Really Cool and Useful Websites for Kids, many of which are great for the youngest users. PBS Kids also has many educational games for younger students. For the slightly older set, any list must include well known choices like Minecraft, which is clearly a popular, entertaining and educational site! Another good option are the games at National Geographic. 

Other online resources:

You could also search online for virtual field trips. Many museums and national parks offer virtual tours. YouTube is a fantastic resource for tutorials, for example online art classes and is a great place to find exercise classes too. 

There are so many resources out there that we can access from home, what will you do today?