K-5 students in Falmouth, Maine were given a common reading assignment one recent morning: pick a book and start listening on their iPads via Tales2Go.
Cathy Potter, Falmouth Elementary School K-5 School Librarian, acquired a school-wide license to Tales2Go soon after her school purchased hundreds of iPads for its K-5 classrooms. The school was looking to phase out audiocassettes and they didn't want to spend a lot of money on CDs because they were not part of the 21st century digital learning plan.
Tales2Go streams thousands of audio books and stories from leading publishers and storytellers to mobile devices in classrooms and beyond, giving educators and students instant and on-demand access to a large library of name-brand titles, all for one low annual price.
For readers at all levels, and particularly those who struggle with reading skills or visual learning, Tales2Go can help augment their education, making reading an enjoyable, life-long skill. Many current subscribers use Tales2Go in concert with printed text, bringing oral and decoding skills together.
“Tales2Go was just what our school was looking for this year. We recently deployed iPads in our K-5 classrooms, and teachers have used Tales2Go to set up reading centers in their classrooms,” stated Potter. “Some teachers also use their iPads to play audio books for class read-aloud time. The selection of books is excellent; our students find Tales2Go highly engaging.”
Potter has found Tales2Go such a timely tool in helping her school better leverage their investment in iPads and iPods that she shared details of her implementation with colleagues at a recent state library conference. She has also been creative with funding due to budget cuts within the district. She used dollars from a library fund that is earmarked for technology products that enhance the library. Her school collected Box Tops to build this important source of funding.
“Since oral language precedes written language, kids learn by listening first; it’s how they start building their vocabulary, a large vocabulary being key to word comprehension while reading,” says Weil. “In fact, as reading becomes more complex and abstract in later grades, its just common sense to continue using students’ auditory strengths to apply meaning and context to the written word. Tales2Go offers a bridge to learning at all reading levels, not to mention sparking a student’s imagination and encouraging active listening skills.”
