Hello
Some do see a semantic distinction in omitting and adding “to” following help. One source that comes to mind is A Semantic Approach to English Grammar, by R.M.D. Nixon.
The idea is that the omission of “to” suggests a direct link between the main clause and the complement clause, so that in the activity is aimed at helping students put into practice, the activity directly helps students, as if it were a cooperative effort. By contrast, in …helping students to put into practice, “to” suggests an indirect link: the activity enabled or made it easy for the students to act. (Nixon uses as one example: John helped me write the letter vs. John helped me to write the letter.) However, it’s fair to say that in many cases there is no clear-cut distinction between a direct and an indirect link and the choice of adding or omitting “to” after help is purely stylistic.
Cheers