Community reviews for PebbleGo

I liked the visual of the website and how easy it is to join.

Pebble Go is a kid-friendly app in English and Spanish. The app focuses on five main modules such as animals, science, biographies, social studies, and dinosaurs. The subjects are presented with, photos, media, links to similar topics, printable assessment sheets, and a correct citation. Simple games, article of the day, a search field, and a question of the day are all included in the app. Students can read on their own or choose to have text highlighted and read to them. The modulated speech can help students improve reading fluency. Some cons may be that students can’t change the speed, so they might find it too slow or too fast. This is a fun way for students to practice researching and reporting. Furthermore, students are able to do research on their own or with their peers. Students can look up whatever they find interesting. They can also share their reflections on their research process. Helping students develop effective research skills manifests their order thinking skills. In fact, students can use order thinking skills while using this app. One way is by evaluating information by citing research to back up their points and ideas. Then students can analyze the information in their own words and reflect on what they just learned. In addition, they can either agree or disagree with research. By doing so, they can use their order thinking skills to create new ideas for future research. For example, if students find information about why the sky is blue. They can back up information using citations and analyzing. They can create new ideas or questions about the information on why the sky is blue

I like that this resource can be used in a whole group setting, in addition to independently. My students are able to pair up and complete research projects using this resource and feel confident in their skills with finding the information. This is a great resource that provides access to informational texts that students are interested in and appropriate for young learners.

PebbleGo is great! I receive great feedback from homeroom teachers and the students. By nature it allows for differentiation for students of all learning abilities and backgrounds. Students easily are independent users once show how to navigate the site. One critique - some of the social studies and biographical content is American-centric. It would be great to see a widening of topics that international students can relate to.

Because our district has a license for all schools, we have had the opportunity to use all facets of PebbleGo for the last few years. Many teachers use this to supplement social studies learning as well as teach about specific holidays. We also focus a lot on animals in the primary grades and this fills in many gaps where a library collection may fall short. One additional benefit is that after my students are done with their research, many of them want to continue on with other subjects or the games within PebbleGo.

I wish there was a little more opportunity for the kids who are deeply interested in one animal in particular to dig deeper into knowledge about said animal. There is good information and often includes a super short video, but my little learners who were already obsessed didn't learn anything they didn't already know. For kids just starting out and learning about a new to them creature, this is a fabulous resource

The colorful nature of the app, immediately draws the kids in. It is super user friendly and easy to move in and out and search for information for children of all ability levels. It allows children to begin the concept of non-fiction on their own without the assistance of an adult, the material is truly written at a level that all kids can reach. Again, the drawback seemed that some of the scientific facts were not updated. Considering that it has access to the internet, I would hope that the would update basic scientific facts in order to keep the app viable.

This database is a wonderful tool to use with primary, HiLo, ESL, and special needs students. The topics within PebbleGo are broken up by subject and the navigation is easy to understand and picture heavy for students who might need help. Another added benefit is the the option to have information read to the students along with the option for a video clip of the topic and a sound bite (where appropriate). My classes loved clicking around, looking at different topics and they were sharing what they looked at as they were packing up to leave class.

PebbleGo is a great research tool that engages all primary readers, independent of reading level. The teacher resources help me in the lesson planning process. However, not all of the resources are self-explanatory. Students love exploring different topics and having the content read to them is a life-saver, helping with both fluency and comprehension. PebbleGo has lots of other tools including a glossary and tabs at the top that act like a table of contents. Knowledge of print can be difficult for some primary readers, so this is great exposure to tools that they will use for the rest of their life.

My overall opinion on PebbleGo is that it is a great website to use in the classroom and would be great to offer at home as well. I found that the students were always more engaged when they were able to use this website for their research instead of when they had to listen to me read them a book. My students who are not able to read were still able to complete their research with very little help since PebbleGo is able to read the sections to the students. I have also found that PebbleGo is very easy for the students to navigate and return to the home screen. Also, with their many areas of study covered on their website, the research topics were endless for my students. PebbleGo is very engaging and a great tool that I try to use in my classroom on a weekly basis. The students are always asking for PebbleGo!