Below is a list of educational applications and platforms to help parents, teachers, schools and school systems facilitate student learning and provide social caring and interaction during periods of school closure. While these solutions do not carry UNESCO’s explicit endorsement, they tend to have wide reach, a strong user-base and evidence of impact. Most of the solutions are free and several support multiple languages.
If you a digital learning provider and have a robust product that you think warrants inclusion in the list of resources below, please send an email to COVID19taskforce@unesco.org.
Digital learning management systems
Blackboard – Resources and tools to transition and deliver quality teaching and learning online.
CenturyTech – Personal learning pathways with micro-lessons to address gaps in knowledge, challenge students and promote long-term memory retention.
ClassDojo – Connects teachers with students and parents to build classroom communities.
Edmodo – Tools and resources to manage classrooms and engage students remotely.
Edraak – Arabic language online education with resources for school learners and teachers.
EkStep – Open learning platform with a collection of learning resources to support literacy and numeracy.
Google Classroom – Helps classes connect remotely, communicate and stay-organized.
Moodle – Community-driven and globally-supported open learning platform.
Nafham – Arabic language online learning platform hosting educational video lessons that correspond with Egyptian and Syrian curricula.
Schoology – Tools to support instruction, learning, grading, collaboration and assessment.
Seesaw – Enables the creation of collaborative and sharable digital learning portfolios and learning resources.
Skooler – Tools to turn Microsoft Office software into an education platform.
Study Sapuri – Japanese language online learning platform for middle school students.
Systems purpose-built for mobile phones
Cell-Ed – Learner-centered, skills-based learning platform with offline options.
Eneza Education - Revision and learning materials for basic feature phones.
Funzi – Mobile learning service that supports teaching and training for large groups.
KaiOS – Software that gives smartphone capabilities to inexpensive mobile phones and helps open portals to learning opportunities.
Ubongo – Uses entertainment, mass media, and the connectivity of mobile devices to deliver localized learning to African families at low cost and scale.
Ustad Mobile – Access and share educational content offline.
Systems with strong offline functionality
Can’t wait to Learn – Gaming technology to deliver quality education to children, including those in conflict contexts.
Kolibri – Learning application to support universal education.
Rumie – Education tools and content to enable lifelong learning for underserved communities.
Ustad Mobile – Access and share educational content offline.
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Platforms
Alison – Online courses from experts.
Coursera – Online courses taught by instructors from well-recognized universities and companies.
EdX – Online courses from leading educational institutions.
University of the People - Online university with open access to higher education.
Icourses – Chinese language courses for university students.
Future Learn – Online courses to help learners study, build professional skills and connect with experts.
Canvas – Lifelong learning and professional development for educators.
Self-directed learning content
Byju’s – Learning application with large repositories of educational content tailored for different grades and learning levels.
Discovery Education – Free educational resources and lessons about viruses and outbreaks for different grade levels.
Geekie – Portuguese language web-based platform that provides personalized educational content using adaptive learning technology.
Khan Academy – Free online courses, lessons and practice.
KitKit School - Tablet-based learning suite with a comprehensive curriculum spanning early childhood through early primary levels.
LabXchange – Curated and user-created digital learning content delivered on an online platform that enables educational and research experiences.
Mindspark – Adaptive online tutoring system that helps students practice and learn mathematics.
Mosoteach – Chinese language application hosting cloud classes.
OneCourse – Child-focused application to deliver reading, writing and numeracy education.
Quizlet – Learning flashcards and games to support learning in multiple subjects.
Siyavula – Mathematics and physical sciences education aligned with South African curriculum.
YouTube – Huge repository of educational videos and learning channels.
Mobile reading applications
African Storybook - Open access to picture storybooks in African languages.
Global Digital Library – Digital storybooks and other reading materials easily accessible from mobile phones or computers.
Lezioni sul sofà – A collection of Italian language books for children, complemented with read-aloud features as well as videos discussing books and art.
StoryWeaver – Digital repository of multilingual stories for children.
Worldreader – Digital books and stories accessible from mobile devices and functionality to support reading instruction.
Collaboration platforms that support live-video communication
Dingtalk – Communication platform that supports video conferencing, task and calendar management, attendance tracking and instant messaging.
Lark – Collaboration suite of interconnected tools, including chat, calendar, creation and cloud storage.
Hangouts Meet – Video calls integrated with other Google’s G-Suite tools.
Teams – Chat, meet, call and collaboration features integrated with Microsoft Office software.
Skype – Video and audio calls with talk, chat and collaboration features.
Zoom – Cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat and webinars.
Tools to create of digital learning content
Thinglink – Tools to create interactive images, videos and other multimedia resources.
Buncee – Supports the creation and sharing visual representations of learning content, including media-rich lessons, reports, newsletters and presentations.
EdPuzzle – Video lesson creation software.
Kaltura – Video management and creation tools with integration options for various learning management systems.
Nearpod – Software to create lessons with informative and interactive assessment activities.
Pear Deck – Facilitates the design of engaging instructional content with various integration features.
Squigl – Content creation platform that transforms speech or text into animated videos.
