Skybrary for school FAQs

The digital library of interactive children's books includes:
- Individual accounts for up to 35 students

- Hundreds of digital children's picture books
- Hundreds of Video Field Trips
- 40 supplemental standards-based curriculum units
- 24/7 access
- Robust teacher management tools

Skybrary is most appropriate for preK-3rd grade classrooms. However, you might find that Skybrary is appropriate for your classroom, no matter what grade(s) you teach.

The free trial of Skybrary for the classroom provides 30 days of unrestricted access to hundreds of books and video field trips. You’ll also have access to one K-1 and one 2-3 comprehensive, standards-aligned, themed unit. Once you have registered for a free trial, you and your students can start to enjoy books and videos instantly! If you enjoy your free trial, you will have an option to subscribe to Skybrary to unlock the full experience, including all 40 themed units. For more information about subscriptions, click HERE.

Our Classroom Plan has a maximum of 35 students; our School Plan has 10 Classrooms, each with a maximum of 35 students. There are multiple subscription options for school districts, schools, and individual classrooms. Please explore the purchasing option that best fits your needs at https://www.skybrary.org/school/purchase.

Please contact Skybrary@RIF.org if you have more than 35 students in your classroom.

When you sign-up for Skybrary for your classroom, you will automatically receive a 30-day FREE trial. All paid subscriptions are yearly. Classroom Plans cost $179 per classroom. School plans cost $1450 for up to 350 students. For volume discounts/quotes, please contact Skybrary@RIF.org.

Your email spam filter may have blocked the confirmation email we sent you. Check your spam/junk mail folder for the confirmation. If it’s not there, send us an email. And be sure to add Skybrary@RIF.org to your address book so you receive all future communications from Skybrary by Reading Is Fundamental.

No! We don't collect your credit card information for free trials. After your free trial ends, you (or your designated administrator) will have the option to purchase a Skybrary subscription via credit card, purchase order, or check.

Nope! This is a completely new digital library service, with hundreds of interactive books and exclusive Video Field Trips hosted by LeVar Burton.

Skybrary for the classroom is currently available for the Web on desktop/laptop computers and Chromebooks. It is also available to be used in the Safari Browser on an appropriately-powered iPad (Gen 2 or higher). There is no Skybrary app for classroom use at the moment.

Skybrary for the classroom is a web-based digital library that is compatible with most laptops, desktops, or Chromebook computers that have access to the Internet. For the best experience, you should have a broadband connection to the Internet, such as DSL, cable, or satellite.

To view the Teacher's Guides and Themed Units, you will also need free, third-party software installed, such as a PDF reader program, like Adobe Reader.

Please see below to determine whether your computer has all the necessary hardware and software to use Skybrary for the classroom.

Windows Desktops and Laptops:
- Windows 7 - Chrome 33+ or Firefox 33+
- Windows 8.1 - Chrome 33+, Firefox 33+, or Internet Explorer 11
- Windows 10 - Chrome 33+ or Edge 12+
-1.6 gigahertz (GHz) or higher processor
-512 MB of RAM or higher

Mac Desktops and Laptops:
- OS X 10.9+
- Chrome 33+, Safari 8+ or FireFox 33+
- 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) or higher processor
- 512 MB of RAM or higher

Chromebooks:
- Chrome OS 33+
- Chrome 33+
- 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) or higher processor
- 2 GB of RAM or higher

iPad (mobile browser only):
- iOS9+
- Safari 9+
- A5 chip minimum, ideally A7+
- 2nd Gen or higher as long as you are able to load and run the latest iOS

All Platforms:
- 800 x 600 minimum resolution
- Audio driver and speakers or headphones required for audio
- Broadband connection capable of delivering an average of 100 kbps per active device
- JavaScript and third-party cookies must be enabled
- At this time, product is not supported for use on Android Tablets.

Download speeds slower than 0.5 megabits per second (Mbps) can have variable results. Visit Speedtest.net to test your download speed.

PC USERS:
We recommend using the most updated version of Google Chrome, but Skybrary for the classroom works great in Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer 11 and above, which comes standard with Windows. Access "Windows Update" from the Tools menu to ensure you're using the most recent version of Internet Explorer. Visit http://www.google.com/chrome for Chrome and https://www.mozilla.org for Mozilla Firefox.

MAC USERS:
We recommend using the most updated version of Google Chrome, but Skybrary for the classroom works great in Safari, which comes standard with Mac OS X. Access "Software Update" from your Apple menu to ensure you're using the most recent version. It also works well in Mozilla Firefox.

If you have an active Skybrary subscription for your classroom, you can sign in to your account from anywhere, as long as our domain is not blocked by the institution and the device you are using supports Skybrary.

A curated library of hundreds of quality books… REAL BOOKS. These are books you can find in print at book stores and online. They are meant to be read by kids; we feature great celebrity narrators and light interactive animations as a way to enhance the storytelling, not to replace it. Your students will recognize many of our books from their own classrooms and libraries (and from the many awards they have received).

No. Books cannot be read offline. They must be read within the browser via an active internet connection.

Reading Is Fundamental has been a trusted advocate for children's literacy for over 50 years and is proud to bring quality literature into a digital space that is safe for kids. We take their safety and privacy very seriously; information is stored with the highest level encryption software and we never exchange or sell information to third parties. We are fully compliant with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). To learn more, please see our Privacy Policy.

Yes, there are subscription discounts for volume purchases. Please email Skybrary@RIF.org for more info.

Yes, Skybrary works with interactive whiteboards (aka smartboards).

We're pleased to say there are no limits. With a paid subscription, you and your students may access your Skybrary account 24-hours a day, seven days a week! Please note, for free trial users there is no home access available.

Skybrary is currently available only in English. To find children's stories in other languages, we recommend contacting your local library.

Sign In to Teacher Dashboard.
Click the CLASS ROSTER Tab.
Click EDIT to name your class. Click SAVE when done.
Click ADD STUDENTS to input students into the class list.
Upload a .CSV file with all student names OR add students manually.
If you are adding more students, click VIEW/EDIT STUDENTS.
Click ADD STUDENT
Enter First Name (required), Last Name, and let us auto-populate the User Name.
If you are a paid subscriber, you can enter a Parent Email address so students can use Skybrary for the classroom at home.
Enter a two icon or text password or click AUTOCREATE if you want us to make one for you.
Click SAVE

Skybrary for the classroom offers a set of powerful teacher management progress tracking tools that allow the teacher to see exactly which books (and how many) each student (or the whole class) has read, along with which videos (and how many) each student (or the whole class) has watched.

You can access the password recovery link HERE. If you have any trouble, please feel free to contact our friendly customer service team directly at Skybrary@RIF.org.

If you have a classroom or school plan and will be using a Purchase Order to renew your subscription, submit an order form by fax to 202-536-3517 or email Skybrary@RIF.org. Upon receipt of all your documentation, your renewal will be processed in 2-5 business days. You will receive an email confirmation once your renewal process is completed.

Unfortunately, we are unable to freeze accounts for any periods of time, include over breaks. Skybrary for the classroom is designed to be used year-round, since we service many different types of schools and educational programs.

Once you've purchased a classroom or school plan, we are unable to cancel or refund subscriptions. We provide the 30-day Free Trial so educators can test drive our product and confirm that it fits their educational needs and works properly with your devices. If you have any questions about this, please contact Customer Service.

If you experience technical difficulties while using Skybrary, we encourage you to review our system requirements to ensure that your system still meets the necessary requirements. You might also try clearing your browser’s cache OR, if you are using Internet Explorer, try switching to another browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

1. The email address you entered was incomplete or formatted improperly. For example, you forgot the @ sign or are missing a period before the domain (.com, .edu, etc.)

2. One or more of your teacher email addresses may already be registered with a personal Skybrary subscription.

3. One or more of your teacher email addresses may already be registered with Skybrary for the classroom, but are currently associated with another account, administrator, or classroom.

4. One or more of your teacher email addresses are being used as parent email in Skybrary for the classroom.

Ways to avoid this:

1. Review and double-check your data to make sure there are no errors. Ask teachers prior to upload if they have an existing Skybrary account.

2. If possible, use an alternate email address for your teacher or ask your teachers to use their personal email address for their existing account so you can use their work account for Skybrary for the classroom.

How to fix this:

Contact Skybrary customer service at Skybrary@RIF.org and we will help sort out any issues you are having.

Setting up Skybrary for the classroom takes just a few steps.

1. Sign in to your Teacher Dashboard on all of the computers that you and your students will be accessing.
2. Scroll to bottom of the Dashboard then Select your Classroom Name from the Classroom Bookmark Creator. Click the Go To Student Sign In button.
3. Once in the Student Sign In Screen, Bookmark the page within the browser for your students’ easy access in the future.
4. Go Back to Teacher Dashboard and Logout. Repeat the process on each computer.
5. Each student can then sign in via this link and enjoy reading and watching videos in Skybrary.

Within Skybrary, the student needs to be on the island screen, then select the x button on the bottom left of the screen, then click Log Out.

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, please follow the suggestions below.
- Symptom: A book appears to download to the backpack, but you cannot tap and open the book.
- Symptom: A book starts downloading in the backpack, but the green progress bar resets and it starts downloading again.
- Symptom: A book starts to download but then you get a message that says "there was an error downloading, please close the backpack and try again.”

The most likely culprit is that the book is taking too long to download and a timeout error occurs. This can happen for any number of reasons. The following seems to work for most people:
1a. If you are using Skybrary for the classroom on the web, simply log out and log back in. This should take care of any book download issues.
1b. If you are using Skybrary on a tablet device, reset the app by force closing it: double tap the home button and then swipe up on the screenshot of the app. Then, re-launch the app and try again.

2. When you try to download a book, download one book at a time and watch the download progress in the backpack (as opposed to leaving the backpack and browsing around which could bog down your internet connection). Some books are large files (> 10 MB) so let them download one at a time and wait for each one to complete. Observe the progress indicator and watch for any errors.

3. Make sure your tablet stays on and the app is in the foreground during the download. You can control this by changing the Auto-Lock setting. Go to Settings > General > Auto-Lock. Set it to the longest time or to Never to make sure the iPad doesn't go to sleep.

4. Your tablet may be getting full. Check your storage by going to Settings > General > Usage. We recommend having at least 500 MB of available space.

We're sorry you're having trouble accessing Skybrary from your school. We have found that sometimes the source of this difficulty is the firewall settings many schools/districts have set up that prohibit video streaming from our server or other video content providers (YouTube, Vimeo, etc).

1. Is the volume turned up on your computer? Check your control panels.
2. If there are speakers connected to your computer, are they powered on? Is their volume turned up?
3. Has someone left a pair of headphones plugged into the computer? If so, unplug them.
4. Can you hear when running other applications? If you can’t, and you’ve tried the above steps, then the problem may have something to do with your computer’s sound card or operating system.

The speed at which our movies play depends largely on the speed of the computer on which they’re being viewed. For most people, the difference in speed is barely noticeable, but older computers do run more slowly.

No. We do not currently support Closed Captioning.