While looking through Croteau’s list of 350+ resources, I specifically looked into elementary resources because that’s my intended age group. I specifically searched for tools that are designed for the elementary students to use independently. Many of the education resources for elementary students are designed for parents and teachers to print out PDFs with activities. I was really looking for ways for elementary students to be able to practice their computer skills online with some independence.
I also chose tools that were computer science specific. There are many programs that support Math, ELA, ELL, Social Studies, etc. Because my dream job is to work in an elementary school on a fixed schedule and have a technology heavy program, I chose websites that would support AASL and MSLA standards as well as DESE Computer Science standards.
These are the resources I found and liked the best.
Online research
This is a search engine designed for children. Content is curated to be age appropriate and blocks ads and trackers. It is fairly cheap for an individual subscription ($2.99 a month). Site licenses are available for schools. It models Google better than PebbleGo, which I interpret to be more of an online encyclopedia.
Practice Typing Skills
Typesy is a website to learn how to type. There is Typesy Little Ones (ages 4-6) and Typesy Kids (ages 7 and up). The resource is designed as an online course and offers very detailed instruction videos explaining each key and proper finger alignment, followed by practice exercises to get kids typing on their own. It reminds me more of Mavis Beacon versus typing.org because of its instructional nature. It is not free, and educators must contact the company for a quote.
Create a digital artifact
This is Canva for children. It is super easy to use and designed perfectly for elementary students to create a project. There is only one template option and that is for a poster (horizontal or vertical). Graphics are organized by class subject and uploading your own image is also very intuitive. There are also features to make audio or video recordings to embed into the poster. I can definitely see myself using this site to have students create a digital artifact to print out and take home. It is currently free.
Speaking of Canva... I created the image for this blog using their Dream Lab feature that creates an image from a text description using AI. I use Canva a lot, but have never explored their Dream Lab.
My prompt: Student with a poster board doing a presentation in front of her classroom. Other students sit at desks and watch. There is a teacher at her desk also watching.
Computational skills
So I have already explored CodeMoney before, but I’m including it in this list because I wanted to find a resource that allows students to really practice their computer skills, specifically coding. I looked into a few others (especially free sites), but none of them offer the services CodeMonkey does. It is set up that a teacher creates a classroom and shares the link with students. From there, you can track student progress. I can definitely see myself using this in the future (assuming I get a school district with the money for it).
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