Technology has, on the one hand, provided us with enough to distract us from our studies and, on the other hand, it offers many ways to enrich our learning experience. We’ll explore some online learning resources that provide educational insights through fun-filled activities which can be performed at little or no additional cost.

The first such useful website is LearningGamesForKids.com that offers some game-centric activities based on logic, art, music and vocabulary, etc. For example, geographic games offer region and continent wise matching games. Similarly, literature games have an array of renowned poets and writers, and through the skilfully designed puzzles, one can check the understanding and knowledge of their works.

Then there are keyboard games which allow improving typing skills using both the hands. You can also find various brain games, social studies related stuff, spelling, word-power, health, songs, animals and core science and maths based games. In all these categories of online resources, simple concepts are explained by way of challenging games where hours and hours can be spent.

A similar site is DiscoveryEducation.com offering resources for students, teachers and parents. Students can use this site for homework, maths and virtual field trips. For teachers, there are resources such as puzzle and maze makers, etc., which can be drafted online and downloaded for offline use. The parents section offer topics such as motivation and how to help children with homework.

Learning is not confined to boring classroom lectures only, learn to use internet to your advantage and explore some great learning website and tools

Sci-Toys.Com has a wide variety of how-to guides to create science ‘toys’ using materials which are easily available at home or low-priced electronic items available at local shops. What’s interesting about these ‘toys’ is that all these represent scientific principles and let children demonstrate concepts learnt at school through building some actual, functioning tools such as radio transmission, FM radio receiver, Morse code implementation, lasers, magnetism, aerodynamics, optics, biology and lot more.

The projects are laid out under categories and contain detailed diagrams explaining the methods to complete the project, along with conceptual diagrams and photographs of actual items coming together as a final product. The project figures are labelled for ease of reference and printing if required. Names of the materials are displayed alongside the project and a separate catalogue is also available to order the items online which should not be the case as mostly the items such as clips, wires etc., are available in local hardware stores.

One of the good things about this site is the way it builds up the knowledge of the reader, starting out with simple demonstrations and moving up by adding details and additional functionalities. For example, the radio section starts with a simple method, using least number of components and then modifies the radio project by adding capacitors, antenna, etc. This way, the reader not only gets acquainted with the project incrementally, but also learns the science behind how things work, and which component is required to perform or enhance which function.

A similar site with some more level of detail and greater number of projects is Instructables.com.

In addition to the resources available for children and students, there are some extensive sites available which replicate physical laboratories in cyberspace, such as GoLabz.eu which allows anyone to create simulated lab space.

These virtual labs can be used to test scientific concepts as if done in the real world. This requires registration which can be done anew or using an existing Google account.

The labs have a range of well-known topics in scientific inquiry, such as gears, circuit labs, clouds and bubbles simulation, chemical lab, flight simulator, climate trends, and lot more. These labs, spaces and apps provide a unique opportunity to operate and conduct virtual experiments right out of the convenience of home or school. Not just individuals, but teams too can participate where groups of people can work together on their experiments. These labs are well-defined in terms of difficulty levels, age groups and sub-areas within fields of science and their associated subjects and laws.

The above sites can be used to ignite the interest and capture the curiosity of students by letting them work on their own, using their creative instincts. Using a combination of real world objects and virtual learning tools, you can easily hone science and general skills online. Keep learning!

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 30th, 2015