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Resources for Students During COVID-19

April 10, 2020
Weekly Columns

With Governor Hutchinson's announcement that all schools will remain closed for the remainder of the academic year, I know many of you are looking for ways to occupy your children. There's a variety of resources available both online and on public broadcast, and I encourage you to take advantage of the extra time at home to explore some new activities.

Arkansas PBS is hosting Alternative Methods to Instruction (AMI) Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. for grades K-8. The programming schedule is below, and the courses are also archived on their website. You can download lesson plans and digital packets for free at www.myarkansaspbs.org/arkansasami. Programs for grades K-2 air from 8:00-9:30 a.m., grades 3-5 from 9:30-11:00 a.m., and grades 6-8 from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Below is the breakdown of PBS stations across the state:

  • KAFT-Channel 13 (Northwest AR)
  • KEMV-Channel 6 (North Central AR)
  • KTEJ-Channel 19 (Northeast AR)
  • KETS-Channel 2 (Central AR)
  • KETG-Channel 9 (Southwest AR)
  • KETZ-Channel 12 (Southeast AR)

The Smithsonian Institution has a vast array of resources and trainings for parents and caregivers. One of the most helpful for students writing papers or presentations is the Smithsonian Open Access page, which allows anyone to download and share millions of images and data from the archives that are in the public domain. Visit www.si.edu/openaccess for more.

More than 2,500 museums across the world have partnered with Google Arts and Culture to create virtual tours of their exhibits. From the Art Institute of Chicago to the British Museum, you can admire thousands of artifacts and famous paintings without ever leaving your couch.

Finally, I'd like to thank all the teachers who are shifting their entire classroom online. That's not an easy transition, but you've tackled this new challenge head-on. We are blessed to have so many educators who care deeply about their students' development, whether that's in person or online.