Gale rolls out new version of online learning tool for kids ages 3-6

FARMINGTON HILLS—The online information services provider Gale announced the rollout of enhancements to its interactive online learning system for children ages 3 to 6, called “Miss Humblebee’s Academy.”

New features include the following interface enhancements:

• Guided Learning Path: An updated classroom setting gives children a visual queue of a starting point, interval achievements, and a finish line as they advance from beginning skill level to school readiness.
• My Learning: A customized learning path, along with the Guided Learning and Choose a Lesson, empowers parents to select specific skills they want their child to focus on.
• Improved Primary Navigation: Optimized classroom navigation supports new learning paths, content, and subject-specific navigation.
• Interface Expansion: Full-screen expansion of the classroom experience to support the user experience on desktop and mobile devices.

There is also new content on the site, including:

• Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Content: A collection of nearly 100 online classroom lessons and offline extension activities that help children learn how to regulate their emotions, develop self-confidence, and more. The content includes digital animations, real-life video modeling, songs, and e-books for both online and offline opportunities.
• Offline STEAM curriculum: Hundreds of hands-on activities reinforce current lessons focused on development milestones and kindergarten readiness, while supporting the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommended limits on screen time.
• Teacher-led Video Tutorials: Short video lessons delivered by teachers address key kindergarten readiness skills and concepts in all subject areas, including SEL.
• Interactive E-books: Offering a read-aloud option, titles are located within the lesson stream and in the searchable library. All e-books include prediction and comprehension questions. The end of each e-book has an offline printable template to retell the story with words or pictures.
• World Changers: A new nonfiction series of e-books features inspiring individuals of all ages from around the globe. Profiled for their positive impact on the world, names include civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges, inventor and author William Kamkwamba, and human rights activist Malala Yousafzai, among others.
• Bee Fit: Short, on-demand videos and printables to encourage kids to get moving as part of a healthy lifestyle.
• Practice with Printables: A printables section offers hundreds of practice worksheets and flash cards that parents can print to supplement and reinforce online learning.

There are also newly updated parent resources, including:

• Interactive Kindergarten Readiness Checklist and Age-Related Development Milestones: These resources allow parents to review and record cognitive, social, emotional, and physical growth as a condition of kindergarten readiness. Parents can enter information into an online spreadsheet and store and track progress in their student dashboard.
• Quality Printable Resources for Parents: Flexible tools to help parents plan and track learning such as schedules, reading lists, chore charts, a reward system, a grade tracker, a password log, and more.

Additionally, to ensure school readiness, Miss Humblebee’s Academy sends parents a weekly email notification to view progress and performance reports, which are available online at all times. Also, libraries get the tools and reports they need to measure the impact on early literacy development in their communities.

Miss Humblebee’s Academy is an online, easy-to-use preschool learning program that offers a comprehensive, standards-based academic and social and emotional learning curriculum. It also includes plenty of offline lessons and activities to reinforce and expand on learning concepts while limiting screen time.

With Miss Humblebee’s Academy, libraries can support parents as they adjust to new learning environments and look to replicate in-library programming and preschool or daycare experiences. It provides users access to a safe and secure learning environment for children—free of pop-ups, ads or links. Young learners can explore hundreds of guided lessons and activities accessible via laptops, smartphones, iPads and tablets. Libraries also get the tools they need to measure impact on early literacy development in their communities.

For more on these enhancements, visit the Gale blog. For more information or to request a trial, visit https://www.gale.com/elearning/miss-humblebees-academy.