Kathy Grupe

May 3, 2019
Library Media Specialist, West Birdville Elementary School (Haltom City, TX)

We use PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next for all our classes K-5. The students love how easy it is to log in. They love that the information can be read to them. They also love the videos and great pictures. We have open library every morning from 7:30 to 8 a.m. Every laptop is being used by students (in addition to other coloring, doing puzzles, reading, etc.) The majority of the students are on PebbleGo just having fun learning about different things. 

Our teacher really like that the log in is the same for both our Capstone eBooks and also for PebbleGo. They love to use it for full-class instruction but also for individual student research. Our bilingual teachers also are so happy that many of the modules are in Spanish. The interface is so user friendly. 

When I am asked by teachers for resources for a particular concept they are teaching, particularly in social studies or science, they always tell me they are using PebbleGo in addition to the other materials from the library.

The teachers love how up to date the information is and that you are continually adding new content. 

My favorite thing about PebbleGo is how easy it is for the students to use. I can give about a 5-minute presentation on how to log in and navigate the program and then just let them go. After using it in library lessons, I have to "pull" them off of it when our class time ends. 

I have used it this year with 1st grade researching nocturnal animals. We started with a flashlight hunt looking for "hidden" nocturnal animals in the library (pictures), then having them research their chosen animal on PebbleGo, and finally doing a Flipgrid presentation about their animal. I have used it for biography/research lessons with 2nd and 3rd grade culminating with a Biocube project.  In 4th grade, we used it to research Texas and present a Flipgrid project. 5th grade does a yearly research report on a state. We were formerly using outdated books we had in the library. The kids were so excited to use PebbleGo Next to research their states. We use it across all curriculum areas in all grade levels. It is used so consistently at my school that without question my Principal pays the subscription each year.