Nonprofit Adds New Free Digital Materials To Bolster K-3 Learning
- By Sharleen Nelson
- 03/11/13
By the end of this year, nonprofit education organization CFY plans to boost its K-3 resources by adding 1,000-plus new activities and more than 80 playlists to its K-12 online learning portal.
CFY's PowerMyLearning, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is a free Web-based learning platform that allows students, educators, and parents access to a library of Common Core-aligned activities. Organized by subject and grade level, the site includes a wide assortment of academic games and puzzles, video tutorials, and interactive simulations with names like Grammar Ninja, What is the Weather?, and Fuzzy Functions.
In addition, more than 80 new custom playlists--also tied to the Common Core standards--have been added to the K-3 section, which currently features more than 600 activities. Playlists are a sequence of related activities that teachers can assign to students based on school curriculum or specific student needs.
Key features include:
- Vetted digital learning materials organized by subject, grade, and type of activity, including math and English programs selected to align with Common Core learning standards;
- A user-friendly interface;
- A playlist feature that allows selection and sequencing of a group of individual digital learning activities;
- Sharing and rating tools that capture and disseminate user feedback on different activities and playlists; and
- "Play points" and "badges" features that, based on student usage, provide feedback to students, parents, and teachers.
"PowerMyLearning is meeting the needs of students, parents, and teachers to personalize learning experiences and extend learning beyond the classroom," said Elisabeth Stock , CEO and co-founder of CFY, in a prepared statement. "By using digital learning activities tied to the Common Core, both parents and teachers can better support students in meeting these new standards."
The free PowerMyLearning platform can be accessed by anyone via the Internet with registration. Families participating in CFY's Digital Learning Program receive additional free access to subscription-based programs. For more information, visit PowerMyLearning.com.
CFY, a national nonprofit organization, helps students, educators, and parents use digital learning to improve educational outcomes through its Digital Learning Program, a whole school and community initiative, and its free K-12 online learning platform PowerMyLearning. For more information, visit cfy.org.
About the Author
Sharleen Nelson is a freelance journalist based in Springfield, Oregon. She can be reached at [email protected].