Issue 135

BBC Learning Hub

Year levels: Preschool–Year 12
Link: https://bbclearninghub.com
SCIS ID: 5546811

The brand new BBC Learning Hub launched in August 2025 and is offered free to teachers worldwide. The platform includes short videos (some narrated by Sir David Attenborough), lesson plans, levelled reading material, printable worksheets, and news clips that link curriculum content with current events. Science and nature subjects feature prominently, but resources also span literacy, numeracy and humanities.

The Hub integrates with Google Classroom and allows teachers to create playlists of resources, making it flexible across different teaching contexts.

Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA)

Year levels: Preschool–Year 2
Link: https://ella.edu.au
SCIS ID: 1966403

ELLA is a free, nationally supported program that introduces children to languages through play-based digital apps via characters known as the Polyglots. Originally developed for preschool, the program is expanding in late 2025 to include Foundation to Year 2 resources.

The apps use interactive games, songs and activities to develop cultural awareness, language skills and early digital literacy. From late 2025, F–2 teachers will be able to integrate the expanded suite into their classrooms by signing up for a free account on the ELLA platform.

Wayground

Year levels: Year 5–12
Link: https://wayground.com
SCIS ID: 1780218

The interactive quiz tool formerly known as Quizizz has rebranded and relaunched as Wayground. While it retains the familiar quiz interface that teachers know, the platform now incorporates gamified lessons, multimedia integration and AI-powered personalisation that adapts to student progress.

Among the new additions is VoyageMath, a program for middle years learners, along with subject-specific lesson bundles that expand classroom options. Teachers can run activities without requiring student logins, ensuring privacy and ease of use. For those wanting more, advanced gamification tools and a premium subscription plan are also available.

While the below tools support library and classroom use, they fall outside the scope of resources catalogued by SCIS.

ChatGPT Study Mode

Year levels: Year 7–12
Link: https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-studymode

OpenAI has introduced a new “study mode” within ChatGPT, designed to encourage active learning rather than shortcut answers. The mode prompts students with Socratic questioning, provides feedback and encourages reflection after tasks. The goal is to make ChatGPT function as a learning companion that helps students practise retrieval and critical thinking, rather than simply providing results.

Google Gemini for Education

Year levels: For teachers
Link: https://edu.google.com/intl/en/workspace-for-education/products/classroom

At the 2025 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference, Google unveiled its Gemini for Education suite. It provides more than 30 free tools that enable teachers to generate interactive diagrams, personalised quizzes, and audio or video summaries, all integrated with Google Classroom, Forms and NotebookLM.

New Gemini features in Google Classroom allow teachers to create lesson materials, quizzes and short AI-produced videos through Google Vids, while new analytics dashboards help track student progress.

NotebookLM in Classroom

Year levels: Year 5–12
Link: https://notebooklm.google

Google has also expanded NotebookLM, its research and study assistant, to now cater to students under 18, a shift from its earlier limitation to adult users. Teachers and students can now create “Gems,” custom AI agents trained on specific materials, that help guide research and project work.