PebbleGo, a K-3 research product used in 20% of U.S. elementary schools, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2019. In 10 years the database developed nine curriculum-focused modules, including Animals, Biographies, Science, Social Studies, Dinosaurs, and four Spanish version modules, and cultivated a passionate user community.

Today, I want to share 5 exciting and engaging ways PebbleGo can be used as a pathway for learning and reading this summer with students, families and throughout your community too.

With a seemingly limitless number of topics to include in PebbleGo, how do we decide? There are several factors we take into account when creating our topic list, including curriculum standards, trends, and, of course, feedback from you!

As librarians and teachers, we are always on the lookout for learning activities that engage and excite our students. We want them to connect to the content we are sharing and have them create their own meaning from these learning experiences in the most authentic ways. Well, there is something new in the world of education that does just that.

Access goes beyond being a core value for libraries. It’s the reason they exist. The idea that any student can check out a book at no cost and be trusted to return it for the next reader says something wonderful and important about our values. But libraries aren’t just about checking out books anymore and access isn’t either. As you reflect on what access means in your school library, here are some things to consider:

As you walk into many school libraries, you will see multiple spaces set up engaging students in different types of independent and self-directed learning. These are called learning centers and are used within libraries and classrooms in a variety of ways. They can be used to teach skills, as enrichment, to explore, and as a place to cultivate individual interests.

The Common Core Standards were developed not only to provide consistent learning goals across states, but also to provide a clear and consistent framework for educators. Blended learning, a method of instruction that combines the use of online instruction through educational technology combined with face-to-face learning, provides unique opportunities to support the Common Core and other state learning standards.