37 TOOLS

Resources for After-School Enrichment Programs and Clubs

Great after-school programs offer students the time and space to learn and experiment on their own terms. Free from curricular pressures, and classroom periods, educators can offer students sustained, deep learning in nontraditional topics like game development, robotics, storytelling, and beyond. These enrichment programs can also provide students with the academic support, test prep, and homework help they need to build skills and confidence. Whether you're running a chess club, a game development program, or a makerspace, or helping students develop their reading and math skills, we've curated some of our favorite digital tools, lesson plans, and curricula. These resources will fit well in after-school contexts, and in many cases they offer students exciting, unique, and interest-driven opportunities that rarely make their way into classrooms.

STEM and Coding Resources

Unruly Splats

Game-making platform fuses coding and physical play

Bottom Line: This platform could appear gimmicky at first, but in practice it blends SEL, movement, collaboration, and STEM learning in clever, compelling ways.

Grades: 1–8
Price:
Paid

Hello Ruby

Crafty, mostly screen-free approach to computer science

Bottom Line: These creative, beautifully made craft- and interest-based projects have the potential to bring students -- particularly girls -- into the world of coding and computers.

Grades: 2–5
Price:
Free

Gizmos & Gadgets

Top-notch tool empowers kids to invent, build, and control wirelessly

Bottom Line: Easy-to-use, versatile electronic invention set that works wirelessly with your hand-held device.

Grades: 2–8
Price:
Free, Paid

SAM Labs

Kids use block code and wireless blocks to program, design, and create

Bottom Line: With some perseverance, it's a great fit for PBL and STEAM, helping students learn programming skills and engineering concepts through invention.

Grades: K–8
Price:
Free, Paid

Scratch

Creative sandbox opens the door to coding in any subject area

Bottom Line: Scratch draws students of all types into coding and lays a foundation for future learning.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free

KOOV

Robotics kit makes design possibilities virtually limitless

Bottom Line: For schools with healthy budgets, KOOV helps kids design and code interactive robots with blocks, sensors, and imagination.

Grades: 3–8
Price:
Paid

Kai's Clan

Innovative STEAM package takes robot coding to the next level

Bottom Line: A nearly perfect spin on STEAM coding that combines a bunch of technologies into one, and effectively fuses the real and virtual worlds.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Paid

MAD-learn

Create mobile apps with extensive help from start to finish

Bottom Line: Intuitive platform encourages students to engage in design thinking and coding with loads of support.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Paid

Google CS First

Middle school CS curriculum has stellar resources, room for creativity

Bottom Line: A high-quality introductory CS curriculum where students can be creative, collaborate with others, and express themselves, in the classroom or at home.

Grades: 4–8
Price:
Free

Technovation Families

Family-focused site for learning AI well-suited to classrooms, too

Bottom Line: Makes artificial intelligence and machine learning accessible to students of many ages and abilities.

Grades: 4–12
Price:
Free

Unity Learn

Complete game creation curriculum gives students real-world experience

Bottom Line: It's a slick, fun, and effective way to get students building games right away, with plenty of room for depth.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Construct 3

Ideal 2D game builder supports students to create, innovate

Bottom Line: Limitless game options, reasonable cost, and extensive support make this programming environment perfect for an educational setting.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free to try

Arts and Storytelling Resources

Book Creator

Magically easy way to create and publish digital books and multimedia

Bottom Line: This is a top-quality creation tool that lets students of many ages and abilities publish their own digital books.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free to try

NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program

Wildly engaging contest turns students into novelists in 30 days

Bottom Line: A thoughtful adaptation of the famous and fun grown-up novel writing contest, NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program is brimming with advice and encouragement as well as classroom support.

Grades: 4–12
Price:
Free

iMovie

Basic movie editor makes for skill-focused, student-centered learning

Bottom Line: Despite some limitations with editing, it's the perfect tool to get teachers and students started with digital video production.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free

Photoshop Express Photo Editor

Top-notch photo editor helps perfect pics for creative projects

Bottom Line: This is a powerful, free creation tool from the industry leader in photo editing.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Adobe Express

Enjoyable and practical design tool supports creators of all ages

Bottom Line: Beautiful templates and user-friendly tools empower students to turn their creative ideas into professional-looking media.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free

Nature and Fitness Resources

QuaverSEL

Shake up SEL lessons with music and movement

Bottom Line: Fun for students, easy for teachers, QuaverSEL uses the power of music to boost social and emotional learning.

Grades: Pre-K–5
Price:
Free to try, Paid

GoNoodle

Brief bursts of physical exercise add classroom fun, build brainpower

Bottom Line: In a genre of its own, GoNoodle is a ready-to-go, classroom-friendly exercise program that challenges students to get moving.

Grades: Pre-K–6
Price:
Free

Zooniverse

Real research powered by volunteers makes classroom content relevant

Bottom Line: Engage in meaningful, relevant research with citizen scientists from around the world.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free

GooseChase EDU

Digital scavenger hunts provide dynamic, fresh learning experiences

Bottom Line: Students and teachers will enjoy the powerful learning of a modern scavenger hunt.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free, Paid

PlantSnap Plant Identification

Snap pics to (maybe) identify flowers and plants

Bottom Line: If teachers help students learn how to evaluate the plant matches provided, this could be an excellent nature reference source.

Grades: 4–12
Price:
Paid

Project Noah

Engaging online community for relevant, hands-on science fieldwork

Bottom Line: Project Noah is a free and easy way to take part in biodiversity research with the support of a knowledgeable and global community.

Grades: 4–12
Price:
Free

Geocaching

Leave and locate hidden packages in a real-world treasure hunt

Bottom Line: Kids learn problem-solving, teamwork, and mapping skills, but the site doesn’t provide instruction or explanations for most of those topics; educators will have to fill in the gaps.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Games and Play Resources

ChessKid

The right combo of learning and play for chess fans at any level

Bottom Line: Whether learning, playing, or coaching, ChessKid has it all covered.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free, Free to try, Paid

Kahoot! DragonBox Learn Chess

Gentle chess puzzle game ideal for young newbies

Bottom Line: For kids who are new to chess but want to learn how to play, this fun intro to the game provides a well-done tutorial combined with a light overarching storyline.

Grades: 1–8
Price:
Free to try

Discovery Tour by Assassin's Creed: Ancient Egypt

Popular game's education mode offers stunning view of ancient world

Bottom Line: This game is an absorbing experience that offers students a unique, living and breathing view of ancient Egyptian art, life, and culture.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Paid

Minecraft

Spiraling sandbox of adventure and creation gets kids to dig deep

Bottom Line: An irresistible and seemingly limitless incubator for 21st century skills that, with a little guidance, can chart new courses for learning.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Paid

LearnToMod

Modify Minecraft with this fun, applied use of coding

Bottom Line: For students who already know and love Minecraft, this is a valuable way to hook students into coding.

Grades: 5–12
Price:
Paid

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Best entry in classic strategy series might not be best for classrooms

Bottom Line: As with all games in this series, Civilization VI is a great learning experience with the right support, but older, cheaper versions may be more practical for classrooms.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Paid

Roblox

Popular game development platform has classroom potential, pitfalls

Bottom Line: Creating games for an authentic audience encourages coding and design skills, but real risks require extra caution.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Kerbal Space Program

Design and launch a rocket into space in realistic astrophysics sim

Bottom Line: This accurate rocket sim encourages trial-and-error learning and makes for great (and often explosive) physics and engineering experiments.

Grades: 9–12
Price:
Paid

Homework and Test Prep Resources

CK-12

STEM and social studies resource with highly customizable content

Bottom Line: Making content accessible to kids with different learning styles, CK-12 could be the key to students understanding STEM topics.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free

Khan Academy

Flexible learning environment offers goal-oriented personalized pathways

Bottom Line: A robust resource for targeted, individualized instruction in most standardized subject areas.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Gizmos

Vast array of impressive, interactive science and math simulations

Bottom Line: This powerful and extensive set of math and science tools puts the learning in students' hands.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free to try

NoRedInk

ELA site mixes grammar and writing practice, layers in useful feedback

Bottom Line: This tool has meaningfully evolved over time, expanding the range of skills students build and offering students helpful suggestions for improvement.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Albert

Flexible, interactive test-prep practice for high school and beyond

Bottom Line: A variety of question types and on-the-spot analytics help teachers individualize test-prep practice.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free to try, Paid

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