Epic!

            Epic! (https://www.getepic.com/) is a digital children’s library that if filled with thousands of books for children below the age of 12. When signed up for a monthly subscription, users can gain unlimited access to a variety of high-quality books, videos, quizzes, and more. All these great features can be accessed with the use of a computer or mobile device.

            There is a variety of suggested books that are categorized by age, audio books, award winners, nonfiction, Spanish, and videos. By selecting your preference of age, book format, and interest, Epic! will provide books users may enjoy. A search bar is also provided for exploring books about favorite authors, storybook titles, or specific topics. Due to the vast selection of books, children can explore this digital library, select books that are interesting to them, and create a collection that can be accessed at a later time. Parents can also view what their child is reading and learning on Epic!

            Educators also benefit from Epic! because it is completely free for elementary teachers and librarians. This is their way of giving back to educators for fostering a love of reading and learning with their students. Epic! also provides resources for educators to include a quick start guide, tutorials, presentations, family letters, classroom reading challenges, lesson plans, and so much more.

To extend learning, educators can create student profiles that will allow students to have access to the educator’s account. In a whole class setting, students will be able to simultaneously explore Epic! Educators will also be able to create collections of books and learning videos that can be assigned to individual students, groups, or an entire class. It also shares other teacher collections that can be viewed and saved to use as a quick resource. Teachers can also create quizzes to assess their students’ understanding of books and videos. They will also be notified of student scores and completed assessments. This allows them to understand what their students were able to comprehend and learn.

            Epic! is an effective literacy website because it creates continuous reading and learning opportunities with the use of mobile devices. Rather than only playing games, Epic! encourages children to read and learn with their high-quality books and videos. Children will also be able to search through a large library and create collections of interesting books that can be viewed at any time or place. It is also a great tool for educators because it offers many resources that can be used with students to ignite a joy for reading and learning. As educators, it is important to discover ways to get students reading, and Epic! is one tool that does it.