BBC Bitesize

How Often do Children Use Bitesize?

Due to the lockdown situation and schools being closed, children are doing most of their learning online lately. There are many online educational resources available. BBC Bitesize is probably the most popular. Not only is it in depth and covers most subjects from KS1 to GCSE, but it also offers students support and advice.

For this week’s survey we wanted to find out how many children are making use of this valuable resource. To find out we asked 2,339 children the following question: “BBC Bitesize are providing excellent lessons each day during the lockdown. How often are you using them?”. We offered a choice of four possible answers: Most days, 3 or more times a week, Once or twice a week, and Never.

The results of our survey are a little surprising. You might expect that most children are making use of BBC Bitesize at the current time. Not only because it is free but because it is provided by a trusted and respected national institution. What we found was very different. So, how often do children use Bitesize? Here are the results ranked in order of popularity…

1. Never
2. Once or twice a week
3. Most days
4. 3 or more times a week

What Online Learning Resources are Available?

If children are not making use of Bitesize then maybe they are using an alternative. There are many educational resources available – some free, some with a charge. Let’s have a look at some of the most prominent ones that won’t cost you a penny…

Wikipedia

Okay, so it is not specifically an education website, but Wikipedia is a fantastic resource for home educators. Possibly the largest mine of information out there – much bigger than any printed encyclopaedia – and it is all free.

Wikipedia’s content is written by a myriad of people from different walks of life so serves as a receptacle for a vast pool of knowledge. The fact that anybody can edit or add information may be a slight concern. Many people do not trust Wikipedia’s accuracy. But all content is regularly reviewed and mistakes are quickly corrected.

Wikipedia will not show you what to teach but, if you already know what you want to find out about, then it is a fantastic place to learn.

Khan Academy

Unlike Wikipedia, Khan Academy is specifically an education website. It has a huge amount of content although, sadly, it is based on the American education system rather than the British one.

Whatever your child is learning the chances are you will find material about this on the site. It may be a little tricky to find though. Content is arranged under general headings, rather than sections within a topic. For example, if you wish to study Pythagoras’ Theory then you will have to search in the “Geometry” section.

Totally free to use, the site is funded by donations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and from Google. Another feature is that the learning is done via the medium of videos rather than written text. This may help some people, although many of us prefer to read.

Jim Baker’s Online Learning

Not a massive site – certainly not when compared to Wikipedia or Khan’s Academy. But this website is well worth a visit. Hosted by Jim Baker, a science teacher who loves to teach, the site is packed full of ideas to make your children’s learning fun, engaging and effective.

Because it is free to use and does not have the benefit of big funding the site may look slightly “amateur” in comparison to others. But the content is first class.

Education Quizzes

Not wanting to blow our own trumpet, but Education Quizzes has a huge collection of material. There are over three-thousand quizzes based on lessons taught in National Curriculum subjects from KS1 up to GCSE. Each of these has been written by a professional teacher of that subject, so you can be sure it is what a child would be learning at school.

In addition, there are many non-curriculum quizzes on more specialist subjects and other features such as a games section which aims to teach children spelling, maths and numeracy. The only downside is that it is not completely free. To gain access to all the material costs £9.99 per month or £49.99 per year. However, non-subscribers CAN use the site free of charge but they are limited to one quiz per day.