Free Educational Resources at Verizon Thinkfinity to Help Stave Off Summer Learning Loss

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Finding free educational resources and entertaining online activities to keep students excited about learning throughout the summer – and to help them retain what they learned during the school year -- just got easier, thanks to a host of free materials available at Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org).

According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning, all young people experience learning loss when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer.

To address this issue, Verizon Thinkfinity has created a special Summer Learning feature that includes engaging activities and educational resources created by some of the nation's leading educational organizations.

Verizon Thinkfinity is a comprehensive educational website that contains tens of thousands of free educational resources to make learning fun and improve educational achievement. Parent-friendly resources, in-class activities and homework help can be found quickly and searched by grade level, keyword or subject. In addition, Verizon Thinkfinity also offers literacy resources to assist adult learners.

Among the K-12 resources in the Summer Learning feature are:

• Calculation Nation -- An online game from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics that enables students to challenge opponents from around the world while practicing fundamental math skills. http://calculationnation.nctm.org/
• OurStory -- A resource from the National Museum of American History that enables parents and children to explore American history through museum objects, hands-on activities and neighborhood field trips. Each themed activity is centered on a recommended work of children's historical fiction. http://americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/
• ReadWriteThink Parent & After-School Resources -- Contains a host of materials to help students improve their reading and writing skills. All resources are broken down by grade level. http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/
• Summer Science Fun -- Offers hands-on experiments, interactive computer activities and book lists, from Science NetLinks, to educate and entertain. http://sciencenetlinks.com/summer/
• We the People Bookshelf: A More Perfect Union -- The National Endowment for the Humanities' EDSITEment features a set of classic books for young readers.  http://edsitement.neh.gov/wtpbookshelf/perfect-union.asp

"When competing with warm weather and the number of outdoor activities children are involved in during the summer months, parents need easy access to fun, engaging educational resources to keep their children excited about learning," said Al Browne, Verizon Foundation vice president of education and technology.  "Verizon Thinkfinity provides parents with a one-stop shop where they can find world-class resources that will educate and inspire their sons and daughters."

The Summer Learning feature is part of the newly expanded Verizon Thinkfinity. Other new features on Verizon Thinkfinity include:

• An online Thinkfinity Community where parents, administrators and teachers can share ideas, ask for assistance, discuss the topics of the day, and connect with colleagues and experts across the country.
• Social networking tools.
• Newsfeeds on the latest educational news.
• Free webinars for parents to help them make the most of all the free resources available on Verizon Thinkfinity.

In addition, Verizon Thinkfinity continues to offer a comprehensive professional-development program that allows teachers to sign up for free online or face-to-face training.

Content for Verizon Thinkfinity is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation's leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Council for Economic Education, International Reading Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Geographic Society, ProLiteracy and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded $67.9 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.  Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 93 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 217,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon