An Innovative Resource for all Students
Kids Discover Online is an innovative digital resource that provides a unique learning experience for students across various subjects. One of the greatest benefits of this platform is its ability to create an inclusive learning environment and help accommodate diverse learning needs and styles. This ensures that all students, with various accessibility needs, have access to high-quality resources.
Beginning in 2020, Ms. Tregoning from Skokie School District 69 (IL) expanded her use of Kids Discover by transitioning from Print Titles to Online. This allowed her to take advantage of the many digital tools to support her students with accommodations in her 6th-grade social studies class. Ms. Tregoning’s use of Kids Discover Online has enabled her students to engage with the material more effectively, allowing them to excel in their learning and achieve their full potential.
NAME
Janelle Tregoning
SCHOOL
Lincoln Junior High School
LOCATION
Skokie, IL
GRADES
6th
SUBJECT
Social Studies
TECHNOLOGY
1:1 Chromebooks
FAVORITE UNIT
Ancient China,
Ancient Egypt
More digital learning has taken place in recent years, so Kids Discover has fit in with the digital accessibility we need and has remained a staple ever since.Janelle Tregoning, 6th Grade Teacher, IL
Evolving with the Inclusive Classroom
Ms. Tregoning has long used Kids Discover with her students, beginning with using Kids Discover Print Titles for supplemental reading. As the teaching landscape and best practices evolved, so did her use of Kids Discover. Especially during a time of digital learning, she was able to use Kids Discover Online to meet the many needs of her students and address their specific accommodations, making for an inclusive learning environment. From using the 15 language translations to taking advantage of the high-quality text-to-speech read-aloud, which was recently updated to sound even more natural, her students were able to create ways of connecting with the text. One specific student who joined her classroom this year is a native Russian speaker. She was able to use the Kids Discover Online translation feature to read and listen to the Topic in Russian, while simultaneously seeing it in English. This allowed the student to be a part of the same lesson as her peers.
▲ Kids Discover Online's library is availble in 15 language translations. Students can simply select the text they want translated and the language they need. Most languages also come with a text-to-speech read aloud feature for more accessibility.
I'm loving these new videos that have been rolling out to pair with the text passages.
Intuitive and Inclusive for Every Student
From an educator's perspective, it can be incredibly frustrating to integrate resources into lesson plans that clearly didn’t have the student experience in mind. Ms. Tregoning tackled multifaceted social studies content with her students while knowing that they could navigate Kids Discover Online effortlessly. Even the more novice tech users intuitively knew the expectations of the reading and the different Kids Discover features they had at their fingertips. A favorite in her classroom was the library of videos, which she used by pairing with the Topics. She found that they were an inclusive visual learning aid for all of her students, especially her English Learners and those with Individualized Educational Plans.
Making Every Lesson Plan Feel New
Keeping students engaged daily is one of the most pressing challenges teachers face. That can be especially true for middle school educators. With Ms. Tregoning’s group of 6th-grade students, she uses Kids Discover to make each classroom day feel like an exciting new experience. Topics in both the Science and Social Studies libraries are specifically designed to present the information in a dynamic way. From embedded videos to panorama views or expertly created cartoons, every student, regardless of age or interest, is drawn in. Ms. Tegoning also uses Kids Discover Online to help create exciting and inclusive classroom activities, allowing her students to have even deeper comprehension, as well as differentiation, to meet their needs.
My hope for the future of education is that learning from reliable sources continues to be accessible for all.
Kids Discover Online has proven to be a valuable tool for educators seeking to provide an inclusive learning environment, especially for English Language Learners. Ms. Tregoning’s experience is a testament to the platform's ability to meet the diverse accessibility needs of students and help them achieve their academic goals. By using Kids Discover Online, Ms. Togoning was able to personalize the learning experience for each of her students, including those with accommodations, and ensure that they were able to access and understand the material effectively. As teachers continue to strive towards more inclusive and equitable education, tools like Kids Discover Online will continue to play an essential role in creating a more accessible and inclusive learning environment for all students.
