New Resource Aims to Educate Students, School Communities on Coronavirus

Discovery Education has released new resources aimed to help teachers educate students on the Coronavirus. The company also launched new content on a wide rage of other topics for its Discovery Education Experience and its Science and Social Studies Techbooks.

For the Discovery Education Experience, the company added a new Viruses and Outbreaks channel. The new channel offers “timely updates regarding the Coronavirus, content describing what a virus is, information on how infectious diseases spread as well as essential guidelines for staying healthy, this channel directly links classrooms to the news shaping our world today.” Discovery Education Experience is a learning platform that offers curriculum, content and personalized teaching strategies for educators. The content is available to all users of Discovery Education's resources, as well as schools that are not customers but that are being impacted by closures related to Coronavirus.

According to a statement released by Discovery March 5:"For U.S. schools or school systems that are not currently using Discovery Education resources, but are experiencing closures due to the Coronavirus, we are offering free access to Discovery Education Experience through the remainder of the school year.  To request access to Discovery Education Experience, principals and superintendents of affected school or school districts are encouraged to email Discovery Education at [email protected]."

The resources are also available to the communities those schools serve: "We have worked with our content partners to make the Viruses and Outbreak Channel available to the communities our U.S. school systems serve so that parents, caregivers and other adults have the same access to the materials children are being taught in schools.  If you are a Discovery Education partner and are interested in obtaining a login for the Viruses and Outbreak Channel that you can send to members of your community, email [email protected]."

The company also released updated content for its Techbooks and Discovery Education Experience, including:

  • Election 2020, which offers updates on the 2020 election, profiles of candidates and historical content related to elections in the United States.

  • Earth to Luna!, an animated resource for the Science Techbook and Experience focused on K–2 education.

  • A new interactive Periodic Table of Elements.

  • Professional Development tools for Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

  • A spotlight on George Washington.

  • The Tech Interactive: Tech for Tomorrow Virtual Field Trip, in which “students travel virtually to The Tech Interactive, a world-famous science and technology center in San Jose, California, and explore the center’s science labs, hands-on activities, and design-challenge experiences, and takes students on a road trip through Silicon Valley to meet STEM professionals working in tech,” according to Discovery.

  • Resources for Women’s History Month, including “profiles of remarkable women in history and contemporary society illustrate the impact of women in politics, STEM, the arts, sports, and beyond.”

Details about all the new resources can be found at discoveryeducation.com.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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