Capstone’s K–2 online resource PebbleGo has added new Spanish materials. The latest offering, contextually translated to maintain proper academic vocabulary and supported by natural voice audio, will begin to roll out later this fall. PebbleGo’s database is used by students in nearly 20% of the country’s elementary schools. With more than 1,000 articles connected to K–2 curriculum topics, PebbleGo exposes students to the concept of research and credible sources to begin developing good digital citizenship skills at an early age. Each article is supported by natural voice audio, recorded by professional voice-over artists, which engages students and improves comprehension.
Students at schools that subscribe to both the English- and Spanish-language versions can toggle between the two. “Capstone is thrilled to introduce more Spanish options to our popular PebbleGo resource,” said Darin Rasmussen, vice president of digital product development. “‘More Spanish’ is one of our most common requests.” The expansion of Spanish content is enhanced by audio that guides students with follow-along text in the student’s first language to foster understanding. The professional voice-over models correct pronunciation and fluency with no robotic text-to-speech, which helps learners develop necessary speaking skills in their second language.
“We’re happy to help educators make sure that every student has access to curriculum-connected content that can teach them foundational research skills, such as finding facts from credible sources, and expand their content-area knowledge,” said Rasmussen. Spanish content is increasingly seen as a matter of equity. The read-aloud audio helps promote listening skills, which are often ahead of reading comprehension when it comes to developing content knowledge and academic vocabulary. PebbleGo.com
