Mar 12, 2019   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

Capstone's PebbleGo Relaunches This Fall With Accessibility for Children With Disabilities

MINNEAPOLIS, March 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Capstone, innovative publisher of children's educational content for schools and home, announces significant upgrades to its award-winning PebbleGo(TM) database coming in Fall 2019. The enhancements are a crucial step in delivering on the publisher's commitment to inclusivity, equity and accessibility to benefit all students. Among the improvements will include compliance with Section 508 standards (U.S. Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973) and WCAG 2.0 AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), ensuring PebbleGo will be accessible to children with vision, cognitive, physical, and hearing disabilities.

Accessibility features will include:

    --  Simple, intuitive, and predictable navigation
    --  Text-to-Speech on all articles
    --  Transcripts for all videos
    --  Alternative text and descriptive titles for meaningful images
    --  Screen reader support
    --  Access keys for keyboard-only navigation
    --  Color contrast design to support color-blindness and low vision

PebbleGo will also be mobile-responsive, providing students with at-home or on-the-go access on their smartphones, tablets, and computers, and improving their experience through intuitive touchscreen navigation. In late Fall 2019, PebbleGo will launch a "Read More" feature in its Animals and Science modules which will allow students to delve deeper into research projects or their own interests with optional, read-aloud e-Books.

"With its thriving community of users, PebbleGo's evolution will not only reinvigorate and enrich what everyone already loves about it, but will open up a new world of possibilities for students with disabilities. Equitable access for all means that every child can have a fun experience learning at school and at home with PebbleGo," said Darin Rasmussen, VP of Digital Product Development.

PebbleGo database modules include expertly-levelled text, fully narrated by professional voice-over artists to provide essential scaffolds for emerging readers and English language learners. PebbleGo uses a streamlined interface, animated highlighting, educational videos, games, and encompassing activities which teach students how to cite articles, create reports, and share what they've learned. PebbleGo has over 1.6 billion page views which equates to every K-2 student reading 7 articles. Over 3 million students use PebbleGo.

About Capstone
Capstone is a leading content creator for digital solutions, children's books, and literacy programs for school libraries, classrooms, and at home reading including the award-winning PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next research databases. www.CapstonePub.com

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SOURCE Capstone