The New Big Universe

Mrs. McKibben's fourth grade on Big Universe

Three years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Anil Hemrajani, CEO of Big Universe. After being one year into East Noble School Corporation's digital conversion, Anil came to visit due to the high volume of activity coming from our schools (Rome City Elementary, in particular.) It was quite an experience for our students to meet him and share their love for reading.

Every teacher knows that the greatest impact on a student improving as a reader is to give the students a lot of practice reading. Big Universe even provides research that their product alone will help to make students do just that. As a former fourth-grade teacher, it was always my goal to turn students into lifelong readers. Providing the material in a format that suits the interest and need of a student is an essential part of creating lifelong readers. If a student prefers reading in a digital format, Big Universe is a great place to look.

Recently I had requested an overview of the newly designed Big Universe. Much to my surprise, Anil joined in the tour. Some of the new features allow for more access on iOS devices as they have transitioned to HTML5. Now students can take the quizzes and the writing portion will be revamped as well. The new design is also easier to navigate for both students and teachers. Please, view the video overview to get a better picture of the new changes in Big Universe.

As teachers dig into Big Universe, they will notice that many of the management tools have changed location. To assist with this transition, I've provided a quick tutorial guide if teachers need to know how assign books, add students or find reports. 

Thanks to Anil for the virtual tour. It was great to meet with you again.