December 19, 2021 – Sacramento, Calif. – When California’s students and educators return to the classroom in the new year, they’ll be able to use new science and technology focused online tools through a new state partnership with education technology company, Gale, part of the Cengage Group.
The new online tools are part of California’s K-12 Online Resources Program, which already makes a wide variety of free research and homework tools available to every school-age student in California.
Starting in January, students, parents, and teachers anywhere in the state, with or without a library card or password, will have unlimited and ongoing access – by phone, laptop, or tablet — to Gale Presents: National Geographic Kids, interactive tools to explain science concepts, and a wide variety of reading source materials and multi-media for environmental studies and science.
“This investment in California’s future is part of Governor Newsom’s ongoing work to close the opportunity gap, ensuring that all Californians regardless of circumstance are connected with the tools they need to succeed,” said California State Librarian Greg Lucas.
The Gale resources include:
• Gale Presents: National Geographic Kids: Allows students to adventure in science, nature, culture, archaeology, and space.
• Gale In Context: Environmental Studies: Broadens student understanding of environmental issues that affect people globally through topic overviews, journals, news, and multimedia content.
• Gale Interactive: Science: Allows students to manipulate 3D interactive models to visualize and understand biology, chemistry, earth, and space science concepts.
Californians can investigate the Gale resources now by choosing their district, library, charter or other intuition at https://support.gale.com/cak12.
More about the K-12 Online Educational Resources Program
Since 2018, California 6.2 million public school students have conducted hundreds of millions of searches using the online resources provided through this program.
By laptop, tablet, or phone – at school, at the library or at home – students can research, analyze, and use information and media for research and homework help. Teachers can also go online to more easily build lesson plans geared to the interests and needs of their students. Family members can participate and support the learning process, too.
The K-12 Online Resources Program is a joint project of the State Library and the Riverside County Office of Education. Members of the media may contact Alex Vassar at 916-603-7177 or alex.vassar@library.ca.gov. Questions about the California’s K-12 Online Resources program can be directed to Mary Beth Barber, Special Projects, at Marybeth.barber@library.ca.gov.
About the State Library: Established in 1850, the California State Library is the central reference and research library for state government and the Legislature. The library collection includes more than 4 million titles, 6,000 maps, and 250,000 photographs, and includes an extensive collection of documents from and about the state’s rich history. Around the state, the State Library also serves California’s local libraries, providing more than $500 million state and federal funds to support public libraries and delivering statewide library programs and services.
State Library website
Source: CA. State Library
