Educational Resources
Many online educational resources are available to support student learning.
Below is a list of some resources:
Beanstalk: Educational materials focused on pre-school aged youth.
Britannica Digital Learning: Get free access to Britannica LaunchPacks, for social studies and science, being leveraged by schools across the world who are grappling with shutdowns, conducting virtual lessons, and working to minimize the impact on students, families, and staff.
Gale Resources to Support Libraries and Educators Impacted by COVID-19: A hub that includes free access to interdisciplinary, curriculum-aligned resources to support online learning from pre-K through undergraduate, as well as ways to optimize your existing resources.
Mathspace: An adaptive math program for grades 3-12 that gives students feedback at every step of their work. Also includes full etextbook aligned to state and common core standards and instructional videos and reporting tools.
NASA STEM Engagement: A variety of STEM-related videos, homework help, and games from NASA.
PBS Learning Media: Curated collection of free, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans and more for Illinois teachers.
ScienceBuddies: Science Buddies offers thousands of free resources for learning STEM, including a collection of 160+ fun, hands-on STEM activities and videos. Each of our K-12 activities covers a specific STEM concept, can be done in an hour or less, and can usually be done with materials easily found at home.
SpellingCity: Efficient game-based study of literacy skills using any word list. Currently free with code “VSCFree90”.
Tumblebooks: A collection of animated talking picture books, read-alongs, ebooks, quizzes, lesson plans, and educational games.
www.TumbleBookLibrary.com – K-6 children’s ebook database
www.TumbleMath.com – K-6 math ebook database
www.TeenBookCloud.com – gr 7-12 ebook database
www.AudioBookCloud.com – all ages audio book database
Business Resources
Small Businesses
- Emergency Small Business Grants and Loans Assistance
- Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources
- SBA Disaster Assistance in Response to the Coronavirus
- SBA Disaster Loan Assistance Application
- US Chamber of Commerce: Resources to Help Your Small Business Survive the Coronavirus
- US Department of Treasury – CARES ACT and Paycheck Protection Program
General Business Information
- Oregon Chamber of Commerce COVID-19 Response
- U.S Chamber of Commerce COVID-19 Response
- Illinois Department of Health Business and Organization Guidance
- CDC Guidance for Businesses & Employers
Employee Information
Community Information
- Emergency Child Care for Communities & Providers
- Ogle County Health Department
- United Way COVID-19 Emerging Needs Fund
- United Way 211
Avoiding Scams during COVID-19
In these uncertain times, most of us have come together to support each other and our communities. But unfortunately, crises can bring out those who would try to exploit the situation for their own gain. Because of this, the Illinois Attorney General is warning Illinoisans to be careful to avoid becoming a victim of coronavirus-related fraud. Scams to be aware of include financial fraud, healthcare scams, and charity scams. These frauds may be conducted via phone, text messages or cyber scams.
Tips to avoid becoming a victim of a coronavirus-related fraud:
- Fact-check information! Scammers, and sometimes even well-meaning people, share information that hasn’t been verified. Before you pass on any messages, contact trusted sources.
- The IRS will NOT call, text or email and ask you to verify your payment details for your bank account, debit account, or PayPal account information
- You do NOT need to sign up for the stimulus payment.
- You will NOT receive your stimulus check faster if you pay a “processing fee.”
- Hang up on robocalls and do NOT press any numbers.
- Ignore offers promising vaccinations and home test kits.
- Do NOT respond to texts and emails about checks from the government.
- Do NOT give out your personal information online or over the phone.
- When you are online do NOT click on links from sources you don’t know. This could download a virus.
- If someone wants donations in cash, by gift card, or by wiring money, do NOT do it.
Read the full press release from the Attorney General at: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2020_03/20200330.html
Another resource about coronavirus related scams is the US. Department of Justice: https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus