TORONTO – Ontario’s public educational broadcaster TVO today launched a new learning initiative it says is designed to provide enhanced access to its various digital learning products during the current school closures.
As of this writing, all of Ontario’s schools are closed until April 5th due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic and these initiatives are aimed at helping familes help their kids keep learning.
Launched as part of the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Learn at Home program, the initiative provides online, easy access to learning tools for students from K-12, says the press release. Through direct online links, students will be able to engage a host of learning tools on demand, free of charge and barrier free.
It’s worth noting most provinces don’t have a public service educational organization like TVO – and that some of what you’ll read below is available to any student in Canada.
TVO Mathify offers one-on-one online math tutoring with Ontario Certified Teachers for students in grades six to 10. During the school closures, tutors are available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and Sunday 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. for students wishing to build their math understanding and confidence with a personalized math coach.
TVO mPower offers more than 65 free online games that help students master tough-to-learn Kindergarten to grade six math, STEM and social science concepts. All games are Ontario curriculum-based and designed to bolster foundational skills and inspire a love of math.
TVOkids is well known for the 13 hours of award-winning educational content it broadcasts every day, as well as its educational videos, games and online content supporting the Ontario curriculum. As part of the Learn at Home initiative, TVOkids has added The Power Hour of Learning to its broadcast schedule every day from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., providing school aged kids with stimulating curated educational content each morning, says the press release.
In addition to the regular TVOkids YouTube channel, three new subject-specific channels have been launched:
Math: A YouTube channel with content to support Junior Kindergarten to grade 3 core math curriculum..
Science and Technology: A YouTube channel supporting JK to grade 3 core science curriculum where kids can learn from fun science experiments – and even try some of them at home.
Language: A YouTube Channel where kids join an imaginative world where learning language is paramount. These videos are designed to promote the growth of language skills and a love of reading.
Beginning Monday, March 23, TVO ILC also invites students to join its free online TVO ILC Open House, where they can keep up with their studies or deepen their understanding through an open preview of 144 grade 9 to 12 courses. TVO ILC is the Ontario Ministry of Education’s designated partner in distance education. It offers a full range of accredited online courses from grades 9-12.
“Making digital learning products more widely available will hopefully be welcome news to learners and their families, and our current affairs programming will continue to keep Ontarians informed,” said Chris Day, TVO’s board chair, in the press release.
