What the Future of Reading Looks Like
Educational landscapes are shifting in front of our eyes: the past few years have changed our understanding and relationship to long-distance learning, while also confirming that children need specialized support and structure to develop neural pathways for later learning. Similar evolutions are happening in reading — but not all reading platforms are rooted in educational practices. Pubbly is a parent's best friend in this quickly-evolving world, redefining the future for young learners and igniting a love of reading by marrying skill-building with the joy of engaging animated stories and games designed to spark the imagination.
Pubbly is reinventing the reading experience for all audiences, creatively bringing reading back to life. This article explores the world of Pubbly — the most accessible and forward-thinking interactive reading platform available today — and their mission to bring content that builds connection and connectivity to young learners.
Technology & Children’s Neurology
Technological advancements are being made at a much faster pace than in previous generations, and while brain development occurs at a more steady tempo, children’s brains are always seeking exploration and curiosity in their learning. While this can make it tempting to place any technology in the hands of a child, there are costs for the short-term gain, and educators are beginning to take note.
Children’s neurological connections function on a “use it or lose it” framework in early development. This is one reason the advent of increased screen time is having a problematic effect on children's development and behavior.
Many parents rightfully need a space to occupy a child for a few hours. When the TV goes on, all is well. When the TV goes off, many children break down or have difficulty and throw a tantrum. The reason? Lack of connectivity. But unlike adults, children cannot articulate this need, so they demand more overstimulation. Passive screen time, like watching TV, offers no connectivity for a child’s imagination or a young person’s cognition of making meaning.
From age two to seven, parents have a unique and “prime opportunity to lay the foundation for a holistic education for children.”1 This includes celebrating their experience, praising process over progress, and not waiting for “real learning” as Rishi Sriram writes. What we expose our children to matters, and how we support their ability to process helps build a foundation that will serve them later in life.
This is where the insight and guidance of adults and educators are desperately needed to build boundaries for children. Pubbly offers a new, brighter future with a reading platform that grants parents a bit of respite and children a bit of quiet time to enjoy educational games or animated books for kids.
The Joy of Reading Builds Connection and Creativity
Pubbly’s platform offers a diverse collection of stories and online educational resources to create connections through learning. Built on the conviction that the joy of reading is for everyone, Pubbly got its start by developing a reading platform to reach any young reader easily and contextually in their home geography. This initiative earned Pubbly global recognition and $1M in funding to create educational resources for kids across the world — and they’ve only skyrocketed from there.
Pubbly knows that the way to global change starts at home. This is why the platform is modeled after a child’s natural experience of reading with an adult, giving contextualized clues and developing circuits of repetition, while the 2D animation sparks engagement and imagination.
The love of reading and its many benefits can travel with a child their whole life. As Spencer Sulkin writes, “early reading is a powerful tool for cognitive development. When you read a book, your brain changes. You go to bed and wake up the next day, after consolidation, with a brain dissimilar from the one you had before.”2
Small acts like reading to your child for 20 minutes a day can catapult their neural network and cognitive capabilities for years to come, and Pubbly is there to help you create those memories together.
Just as importantly, Pubbly fans the flame of loving to read with a wide variety of stories and online games that scaffold to build a young learner’s confidence. A joyful reader grows into a self-directed learner who later becomes an adult with the skill-set to be their own advocate; they know how to self-educate and articulate.
This critical thinking is increasingly vital to navigate a world that is awash in information but less focused on developing discernment – which is another skill that reading has been proven to cultivate. In a 2010 study with preschool children, Dr. Mar found “the more stories they had read to them, the keener their theory of mind — an effect that was also produced by watching movies but, curiously, not by watching television.”3 Reading helps young learners build people skills to navigate life personally and professionally. The rewards of reading are boundless.
Pubbly is Changing the World of Reading
Amongst its peers, Pubbly is transforming the reading industry. Pubbly is intentionally inclusive of all languages and people across the globe. In fact, the Pubbly platform can be used as easily by people who are novices with technology or without physical access to books, as a child reading on their parent’s iPad. Pubbly is changing the landscape of reading through connecting stories, programs, and activities to engage and educate young learners who, in turn, make their own world of discovery.
Get to Know Pubbly
Pubbly is dedicated to having a portion of our animated books, educational programs, and games FREE and open to early learners everywhere. Sign up now to view on desktop or download our Pubbly Player on iOS, Kindle, or Android. See Pubbly’s interactive learning for kids and online education resources for parents for yourself.
1: Rishi Sriram, June 24, 2020
https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-ages-2-7-matter-so-much-brain-development/
2: Spencer Sulkin, Medium, January 29, 2021
https://medium.com/mind-cafe/gift-your-children-the-joy-of-reading-116c75c3993
3: Annie Murphy Paul March 12, 2012
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html
