We’re debuting a new feature on our website – a distraction free reading pane!
In addition to viewing any of our articles with a pdf preview, we now have a distraction free reading option. This option will allow you to read an article without having to view the rest of the menu bars or tabs. We’ve designed this version of the articles to be similar to those published in our print products, but with a few interactive perks!
I’ll walk you through the new feature!
The distraction free reading pane is currently only available on the article page for “A Flame Changer.” We’re adding more every day, though, so keep checking back if your favorite article doesn’t have this feature yet!
As we work on rolling out the new feature across the website, you will be able to access the distraction free viewing pane from any article page.
Every product (like the monograph “A Flame Changer”) includes separate pages for its components – a page for the article, a page for the activity, and so on. Click on the article title “A Flame Changer: How Fire Diversity Affects Bee and Butterfly Populations” or click the “Explore Article” button to open the article page.
(Another way to access only articles is to click on “Resources” from the top menu bar, then click “Articles” under the “By Type” menu.)
Articles are indicated by the yellow box under the title. You can even click on the yellow box to open a list of all articles on the website.
Once you’ve clicked on an article, you can scroll down to the pdf previewer. The previewer allows you to see the article as it appears in the print publication. On the top right, you’ll see the link to “Read Distraction Free.” Click the link to open the article in the distraction free viewing pane.
You have the option of viewing the article through the pdf previewer, downloading the pdf, or reading the article in the distraction free pane.
Now the distraction free reading pane opens. This view of the article has all the same components as the print publication – Meet the Scientists, Thinking About Science and the Environment, Introduction, Methods, Findings, and Discussion. Navigate to a specific section using the sidebar menu on the left.
You can also close the distraction free reading pane by clicking the “x” in the top right corner.
You may notice some small layout differences from the print version of the articles, too. The content is all the same; we’ve just tried to improve understanding by making some small changes to the layout and design.
Use the sidebar menu on the left to navigate to a section. Close the viewing pane by clicking the “x” in the top right corner.
One significant change from the pdf version is the addition of the interactive reflection sections. Users can now type in their answers to these questions right on the website. When you click submit, the correct answers will appear. You can see your answers below the box so you can see how you did. (In the example below, I didn’t submit an answer, so those answers read “Empty.”)
This feature also works for our Number Crunches – just enter your answer to the math problem, click submit, and check your answer.
We don’t store any of the data from these questions; they’re just for readers to check their own understanding. However, we’re working on ways that educators could export these sections to their Google Classrooms or other platforms. Stay tuned!
Reflection sections appear at the end of the introduction, methods, findings, and discussion sections.
The answer key appears after you click submit. Your answers will appear below the light green box so you can see how you did.
Last but not least, the research study the article is based on is linked at the bottom of the distraction free reading pane. It may seem like a minor feature, but basing our articles on real, published, peer-reviewed scientific studies is the foundation of our publication.
We work with the study authors to make sure we’ve presented their work in an accurate and clear way, but there’s always a lot more to learn from the study than what we can include in an article. If an article stirs your interest, check out the study it came from and learn more! Or pair the article and the research paper to scaffold more challenging texts for students.
Curious about the original research study? Follow the link to read it yourself!
We have some additional features in the works for the distraction free reading pane, too! Glossary terms, export options, more navigation tools – we have lots of ideas for making this new feature a great addition to your educational resources.
Have any ideas? Requests? Features you’d like to see? Please reach out to us at naturalinquirer@gofindoutdoors.org and let us know. We love hearing from you!
