As the coronavirus pandemic prompted widespread school closures across the United States, educators faced the unprecedented challenge of transitioning to virtual instruction. In response, a variety of companies, organizations, and service providers stepped forward to offer free tools, resources, and promotional deals to support teachers in their remote teaching efforts. These offerings ranged from educational platforms and digital curricula to food discounts and wellness apps, aiming to alleviate the burden on educators during a period of significant disruption.
The available documentation highlights a surge in support for teachers during the early months of the pandemic, particularly around May 2020. This support was categorized into educational resources, professional development tools, and personal well-being offers. While many of these programs were initiated as temporary relief measures during the height of the pandemic, they represented a concerted effort to keep students engaged and educators equipped for distance learning.
Educational Tools and Digital Curricula
One of the primary areas of support involved the provision of free digital tools and lesson plans designed to facilitate remote instruction. The Collabrify Roadmap Platform emerged as a significant resource, offering a free, open, and device-independent platform for teachers. This tool allowed educators to create curricula and collaborative lessons that enabled students to work with teachers and classmates in real-time. The curricula stored in the platform's searchable repository were developed by the University of Michigan Center for Digital Curricula, ensuring they were standards-aligned and vetted for quality.
Share My Lesson, a platform designed by teachers for teachers, also expanded its offerings during the pandemic. It provided free access to collections of lesson plans and activities across various subject areas, including specific resources for teaching about the coronavirus outbreak. The platform extended its support to include professional development resources and an online community where educators could discuss remote learning strategies, organized by grade level and subject matter.
Microsoft compiled a comprehensive collection of tools to assist with the shift to remote instruction. This included a five-day guide for school leaders, as well as guidance for teachers, students, and families regarding the use of Office 365 Education. The tech giant also hosted webinars on best practices for using Microsoft Teams for education and curated content through Wakelet, showcasing examples of Teams in use across K-12 and higher education.
Directories and News Resources
To help educators navigate the influx of available resources, several organizations created directories and news hubs. ISTE and EdSurge collaborated to collect a directory of more than 700 free resources. This directory was organized by grade levels, subject areas, standards, and the length of free trials, and it included a search feature for ease of use. Additionally, EdSurge produced guides for K-12 and higher education, offering full coverage on the pandemic, tips, webinars, podcasts, and updates on school closures.
Education Week launched a section titled "Coronavirus and Schools," which featured an interactive map tracking school closures nationwide. This resource provided breaking news and stories focusing on school practices, leadership challenges, policy decisions, budget impacts, and the future of education. Similarly, the Hechinger Report offered a special report on the coronavirus and education, sharing stories of how students and educators in K-12 and higher education were managing the crisis. Tech & Learning provided a list of edtech tools and a Remote Learning Playbook, authored by educator and technology veteran Kecia Ray, though registration was required for the playbook.
Wellness and Support Applications
Recognizing the need for mental and emotional support, organizations also offered applications designed to aid educators and students. MetEOR Education, the nonprofit Center for College & Career Readiness, and Rhithm partnered to offer the Rhithm app to educators free of charge. This app likely focused on emotional regulation and well-being, though specific details on its functionality were not provided in the source material.
Additionally, Krisp, an app that removes background noise from video calls, introduced a free tier for its noise cancellation app. This included up to 120 minutes of usage per week for the next six months. The offer was extended specifically to students, teachers, government workers, and hospital workers, who were eligible for free unlimited usage of Krisp.
Teacher Appreciation and Food Deals
During Teacher Appreciation Week in May 2020, various food and beverage brands offered deals and freebies to show gratitude to educators. Pinkberry offered a 50% discount on any size swirl to teachers who presented a valid school ID at any location. This deal was valid through the end of that week. Royal Hawaiian Orchards promoted a deal on its organic macadamia nut snacks, highlighting their nutritional benefits, though the specific details of the discount were not fully elaborated in the provided text.
Resources for Special Needs and Personalized Learning
Addressing the needs of children with disabilities, a free social narrative story titled "Coronavirus and Me" was created. This downloadable PDF was designed to help children understand the major life changes caused by the pandemic, such as school closures and social distancing. The story was divided into four smaller sections that could be read together or separately depending on the child's attention span. An editable PowerPoint version allowed parents and educators to personalize the story with the child's name, school name, teacher's name, and favorite places or activities. A Spanish version of all four parts was also made available.
Business Tools and Remote Work Support
While primarily focused on educators, some resources extended to general remote work support. Clarity Wave offered 3 months of free access to its services for new customers. Additionally, a list of business tools included free EIN tax filing through MyCorporation, free small business CRM software from Really Simple Systems, free supply chain visibility platforms from Project44, and free event correlation platforms from BigPanda. These tools were generally targeted at businesses adapting to remote operations but were part of the broader ecosystem of free offers during the pandemic.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid adaptation to remote learning, prompting a wide array of free resources and offers for educators. From digital curricula and collaborative platforms to wellness apps and food discounts, the support aimed to address both professional and personal needs. While the availability of these specific offers was noted as current in mid-2020, the collective effort demonstrated the value placed on educators during a global crisis. Educators seeking similar resources should verify the current status of these programs directly with the respective organizations, as many were launched as temporary measures.