Oklahoma Oil & Gas Providing Virtual Classrooms

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The people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas are providing virtual classroom lessons that are taught by certified Oklahoma teachers and aim to provide students with supplemental lessons during distance learning.

Developed by the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB), the OERB Virtual Classroom is an innovative, free program that provides fun, hands-on solutions to keep st udents engaged. The lessons will cover all topics, including social studies and history, but will focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). With five lessons released so far, each is written and taught by Oklahom a teachers, for Oklahoma students.

"We wanted to provide teachers and parents with a program that engages their students, while also meeti ng the Oklahoma Academic Standards," said OERB Education Director Terra Argo. "Our resources can help students have a more hands-on experience with STEM-related lessons that can be used while they are learning from home."

The lessons are released each Tuesday and Thursday on the OERB's YouTube Channel and through social media, @oerbok. So far, the virtual classroom has included a finger printing lesson geared for younger students and a lesson about calculating volume for middle and high school kids.

"The OERB Virtual Classroom program is another useful resource for parents, teachers and students during this difficult time away from school," said OERB Executive Director Mindy Stitt. "Despite the current downturn, the people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas are committed to continuing to provide quality educational resources for all of the schools across our great state."

Through voluntary funding from the people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas, the OERB provides teachers with nine different curricula for K-12th grades as well as classroom equipment. The materials include Oklahoma based, real-world applications to supplement teachers' existing lesson plans. All of the OERB's spring and summer workshops were canceled to protect the health and safety ofteachers. The OERB Virtual Classroom is an effort to continue to provide support for teachers and schools while they are staying home.