Explore with Discovery Education

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 By Samantha Wilkinson, Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist


We already know that DE has great video material but there really are amazing teacher resources in there as well. Have you seen the new Explore button on the teacher dashboard? Have you clicked it?


According to Discovery, this button lets teachers “dive into DE digital learning resources with enhanced search filters and curated content collections that are timely, relevant, and personalized.”


At the top, 3 buttons will appear: Ready to Use Activities, Quiz, and Best of Interactives.



Ready-to-use activities are just that. Ready made boards, slideshows, lessons, and activities for every academic subject. It is searchable by grade level K-12, and features seasonal activities. Some of my favorite activities include the “Fix- It” boards that allow students to practice writing conventions throughout a month with a short video or image each day to engage learners. I also love the social-emotional studio boards which present digital materials to probe students' thinking on a subject and includes great discussion questions and follow-up activities built in. This can be done virtually or on paper/ pencil.


Quiz will bring teachers to the quiz library, which again is searchable by grade level K-12. It is separated by video quiz and standard quiz. Teachers can preview the quiz material, make a copy to customize, and assign right in DE.


Best of Interactives is DE’s collection of virtual labs, games, investigations, interactive maps, and more. They are separated by academic subjects. This is one of my favorite spots. The exploration activity called, “Design an Animal Adapted to its Environment” allows students to choose an environment, create an animal with various parts to survive, and write a description of how it is adapted to its habitat. “Integer Warp” is a skill builder interactive that boosts speed for integer multiplication problems as you race friends around a planet in outer space.

On the Explore page, below the main 3 buttons, is another world of curiosity curated by DE staff. Virtual field trips selects some content related field trips that might interest you. Audiobooks and podcasts give suggestions for you to use with students in small groups, or for independent work. There is also a section called “timely content” that collects popular material related to current events and holidays.

While DE is awesome, sometimes a basic search doesn’t allow you to get relevant materials or the best of the best that Discovery Ed offers. By heading to the Explore button, you have organized, and pertinent information in one spot. I hope you take some time to EXPLORE the EXPLORE button. I think you’ll be happy that you did!

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