epic! the most innovative digital independent reading platform for kids
Reading in this digital age was totally different compared to traditional reading where lots of printed textbooks were used in getting kids to read. As nowadays known as the digital age, educators should utilize their digital literacy skills in dealing with teaching reading skills integrated with the development of technology to support guided reading as well as develop kids’ digital literacy skills.
"Educators should be responsible for integrating technology within new literacy, the skill and strategy necessary to utilize new digital technology into the language arts curriculum aiming to ensure children are prepared for their literacy futures"
-Anderson, 2018-
Based on the statement above, it has been proven that one of the important roles that should be taken by educators is to be able to integrate digital technology into the teaching and learning process to survive in the digital era as well as to support children's digital literacy skills. For instance, educators should adjust and adapt their teaching styles to fit children's needs specifically in terms of their reading skills development. Furthermore, the development of rapid technology has shifted the new digital literacy from kids reading on paper to reading on screen. Reading on-screen made children become e-readers as they read e-books provided on digital platforms. In addition, reading through digital platforms is more flexible, efficient, and affordable as it can be done in the real classroom and virtual classroom. Thus, it is suggested that educators and teachers could create an innovative instructional learning design by utilizing technology-based in the teaching and learning process which can be implemented both in face-to-face and virtual learning.
epic! as an innovative digital independent reading platform for kids
Epic! was the answer to the reading problems and challenges faced by kids in this digital age. Epic! is a digital independent reading platform made for kids. It was resulted by a single question on how to make books more accessible for kids? So finally in 2013 epic was built by Suren Markosiana as CEO and Co-Founder and also Kevin Donahue as Co-Founder to give a reading experience for kids to easily access digital books anywhere and anytime. Epic! has been approved by Digital Library and Reading Apps and Websites - Common Sense Education as one of the best websites for kids' independent reading which gained five stars for overall ratings such as engagement, pedagogy, and support based on Common Sense Selections for Learning (https://www.commonsense.org/education/). Epic! was designed for kids' use (ages 12 and under) where they can personalize their interest in learning, reading, and growing with the digital reading platform flexibly. Teachers can integrate epic! within the reading activities where they can assign books, videos, or quizzes for kids to read and learn.
Through Epic! children can independently read the assigned books or videos and show their comprehension by answering the quizzes after completing the reading requirement. Epic! consists of three options namely Epic Basic (for parents & students), Epic School (for educators & students), and Epic Unlimited (for the public). Epic basic can be accessed by parents and kids who wanted to read 1 free book per day after school hours (Monday – Friday after 3p.m.) by logging in with the email account to www.getepic.com without any subscriptions. While epic school can be used by educators specifically elementary school teachers and librarians to get free access to this platform. Then, epic unlimited is accessible to everyone who wants to access 40 million books, audiobooks & videos by purchasing specific amounts of subscriptions monthly or annually to get fully accessed through it.
Furthermore, there are many benefits that can be obtained by integrating epic! within the reading activities. For instance, teachers can give kids opportunities to read independently as a means to develop their confidence, and self-directed learning, and improve their reading skills including comprehension, vocabulary mastery, pronunciation, and fluency through the digital reading platform: Epic! The next advantage that can be obtained is that there are thousands of books collection and educational videos as well as fun quizzes of grade-specific, high-interest topics across languages & genres. Epic! also offers the user with extra support tools such as Read-to-Me books, Audiobooks, and Dictionary Lookup. In addition, epic! was built to be user-friendly where educators can easily use the tools to set them up, assign books or videos, as well as track kids’ reading progress. Epic! can be accessed by using any devices and website platforms such as iPads, iPhones, Android devices, and on any computer, including Chromebooks. Then the most important one is that children will never come across inappropriate content, in-app purchases, or ads on Epic. Therefore, since it has easy access and user friendly, it will always be, a safe and secure environment for children to explore.
Therefore, in order to successfully integrate epic within the teaching and learning process focusing on the reading activities, there must be a well-planned instructional design made by considerations from all of the elements including policymakers, educators, teachers, schools, and parents to achieve the expected goals. Besides, there must be a long training to adjust and introduce the implementation of this platform to the educators, parents, and also children in order to get them accustomed to and familiar technically and practically. Thus, here are some suggestions and recommendations for educators, parents, and kids in integrating Epic! for academic purposes obtained from:
- For activity design, the teacher needs to consider book types based on the topic being learned.
- For the effective implementation of the activity, the teacher needs to consider students' and parents' training, ways of integrating it into classroom activities, mobile learning, and tracking learner progress.
- For the best experience, using websites is preferable than the apps since there is no selection for the age of the books.
- Students need to sign up for Epic Basic to have the option to access 1 free book each day after school by providing their email address on www.getepic.com/student. Thus, students can personalize and customize the reading dashboard to find the most loved one.
- This reading platform can be used on any kind of device, using a mobile phone is not highly recommended.
- This digital reading tool can be used in selecting various books or videos based on subjects and topics instead of English Language Arts. There are also Maths, Science & Arts, Social Studies, Geography, Languages, and Social-Emotional Learning.
- It would be better to introduce students with lower reading abilities to Audiobooks and Read to Me at the beginning of the activity to engage students and prepare their readiness for the next reading activity.
- It would be better to introduce students to “Dictionary Look Up” to get students familiar with new vocabulary by selecting the words in the book.
- It is recommended for students to get unlimited books and videos by enrolling in Epic unlimited with certain amounts of subscriptions monthly or annually.
So, guys, that's my information about epic! as the digital reading platform that can be used for kids to read independently both in face-to-face and online classes. Hopefully, this would be beneficial for you and you can share this information with your surroundings. Thank you for spending your quality time reading my blog, I'll see you in the next post :)
Be wiser and be digitally literate guys! -lr
References:
Anderson, T. L. (2018). E-Readers Make a Difference for Diverse Readers. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 2(1), 40–56. www.ijtes.net
Markosian, & Donahue. (2013). About Epic Inspiring the next generation to develop a love of reading and learning. ©Copyright Epic! Creations, Inc. https://www.getepic.com/about
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