myON, the leading provider of personalized literacy solutions in the K–12 marketplace, today introduced myON News Powered by News-O-Matic. The digital multimedia platform will serve as an interactive and fun introduction to daily news and current events for kids. myON News will engage K–8 students to help them become informed global citizens and connected to digital fiction and nonfiction books—a first-of-its-kind feature for classrooms.
myON News publishes five original news articles designed for students every weekday, 52 weeks a year. All articles are available at three personalized reading levels, in English and Spanish, and are approved by education experts and child psychologists. In addition, myON News allows educators to assign articles, monitor student activity, and leverage real-time reporting and usage reports to guide and evaluate their students’ progress every step of the way. A daily Teacher’s Guide provides additional tools to help educators seamlessly integrate the texts into their classrooms.
While other providers aggregate news for adults and use a computer algorithm to simplify, myON News creates news specifically for kids. Its team of experts manually levels the texts using the Lexile® Framework for Reading. Additional supports include audio narration (by real people!), high-quality photos and videos, facts and calls to action, and interactive maps showing where the stories take place. The addition of myON News to the Literacy Ecosystem™ creates the first literacy solution to combine the power of published books with up-to-the-minute daily news articles—a breakthrough model for all students.
“Establishing an interest in world news is crucial to our children’s future,” said Todd Brekhus, the President of myON. “Today, everyone is trying to decipher the differences between ‘real’ and ‘fake’ news, and educating our students on what is ‘real’ is critical to knowing how global headlines will impact them. With myON News, we create a safe, relevant, and personalized learning environment that allows students to become empowered global citizens and fosters their natural curiosity for learning.”
“With more than 3 million students already reading News-O-Matic, it is clear that our passion for creating news for students is resonating,” said Chief Content Officer Russell Kahn. “We will continue to create rich multimedia stories on a daily basis to inspire young readers to become lifelong readers who can think critically about their world.”
Kahn explained what makes this product so revolutionary. “myON News is not simplified grown-up news; it is a flipped news experience for young readers. Rather than generating fear and anxiety, it inspires empowerment, engagement, and citizenship in an age-appropriate, relatable, and informative manner.”
Marc-Henri Magdelenat, the Founder and CEO of Press4Kids, the parent company of News-O-Matic, commented, “News-O-Matic has already created a groundswell of interest to enhance students’ interests in the news. Rebranding News-O-Matic to myON News will significantly help us reach a larger audience of young readers than ever before. Thanks to myON’s vast and growing network of K–12 schools, more students will get the opportunity to read current events and learn about their world on a daily basis. These are the children who will someday grow up to become active, empathetic, and conscientious adults.”
By adding myON News, myON continues to fulfill its mission of instilling a love of reading and learning, creating unique literacy experiences by putting digital books—and now digital articles—in the hands of children worldwide, regardless of their geographic, demographic, or socio-economic status. For more information about myON News or to request a free trial for your school, please visit myONnews.com.
