New website aims to help teachers and families find online learning resources

A new website aims to help take some of the stressors away from at-home learning.

Rural Aspirations Project held a launch party Thursday afternoon for their new site 'Community Learning For ME.'

It's designed to help teachers, parents, and organizations find resources for online learning.

It can suit the needs of Pre-K through grade 12.

We asked the Founding Director of the Rural Aspirations how it all works.

Korah Soll said, "Could a parent go on and say I need something for my Pre-K through 4 age group child. I need a live event, something that they can be watching and interacting with. I need it to happen on Monday. I need it to be in the afternoon. That way they can look through and the resources come up for them just specific for that day. If they have more time and have more space then they can really explore the site and look at all the different offerings."

Those resources can include anywhere from an interactive class about how to create comic books to printing out activities that are all about nature.

If you'd like to get involved, there are several ways to reach out.

https://www.communitylearningforme.org/

You can also lookup Community Learning for ME on Facebook.

You can visit the Rural Aspirations Project Facebook Page.

There's also a website - https://www.ruralaspirations.org/

Here's the press release from the University of Maine:

"The nonprofit Rural Aspirations Project will host a virtual launch for its new website, Community Learning for Maine (CL4ME) on Thursday.

The University of Maine College of Education and Human Development helped develop the site, with associate professor of educational leadership Catharine Biddle serving in an advisory role and other faculty members providing content.

CL4ME is a Maine-based resource that aims to support schools, organizations, and communities during remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. Working together to build long-term school-community collaborations and vitality, the site unifies Maine’s unique organizational assets to support a wide variety of instructional methods and programs that connect what is being taught in schools to surrounding communities.

“Through CL4ME, Maine educators, community leaders, and families are invited to join together to build strong, mutually beneficial connections between schools and communities,” says Korah Soll, founding director of the Rural Aspirations Project. “These connections demonstrate our collective investment in supporting youth as future leaders, problem solvers, and innovators able to navigate transitions, contribute to, and thrive in a changing local and global world.”

Biddle has coordinated the College of Education and Human Development’s contributions to the site. Several faculty members have provided content, including webinars hosted by members of the special education faculty, and the site’s Parent/Guardian Resources page, which was compiled by UMaine’s Parenting Relationships Research Lab, founded by assistant professor of family studies Daniel Puhlman.

“Healthy communities and healthy schools are intertwined in so many ways,” says Biddle. “Although this website launched during the COVID-19 crisis, the hope is that it will continue to be a resource for families and teachers in Maine for many years to come.”

In addition to the college, other partners in the site include the Maine Department of Education, the Island Institute, Island Readers & Writers, the Maine Environmental Education Association, and the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park."