Data shows dramatic results when students connect their OverDrive Education classroom reading app to their public library

 

 

PHILADELPHIA – International Society for Technology in Education Conference & Expo – June 24, 2019 – OverDrive Education, the leading ebook and audiobook service for schools, released data detailing a dramatic increase in reading by K-12 students. Ebook and audiobook reading increased over 240% when students connected their Sora classroom reading app to their local public library versus students solely accessing their school collection. More information can be found here.

In addition to the 240% increase in ebook and audiobook checkouts, the data shows that student time spent reading nearly doubled since Sora was introduced to K-12 schools in September 2018. Schools and libraries experiencing this surge include Berkeley Public Schools (CA) with students accessing Berkeley Public Library, Liberty School District 53 (MO) with students accessing Mid-Continent Public Library, and Spring Branch ISD (TX) with students accessing Harris County Public Library.

“Partnerships between school libraries and public libraries are vital to the shared goal of both organizations to build and support a community of strong readers,” said Andrew Maxey, Director of Special Programs at Tuscaloosa City Schools. “We are delighted that OverDrive Education is serving as the catalyst for strengthening the partnership between Tuscaloosa City Schools and the Tuscaloosa Public Library.”

Sora, the new student reading app released by OverDrive Education in September 2018, provides students access to ebooks and audiobooks from their school’s digital collection for classroom assignments and summer reading programs. A major innovation of the app is a prompt for students to add access to their local library which usually offers a larger selection of age- and grade-appropriate popular ebooks and audiobooks.

“Numerous studies have shown that when students read more, they achieve higher test scores and improve academically,” said Shannon Lichty, OverDrive Vice President of Partner Services. “Sora makes it easy for students to read classroom-assigned ebooks and encourages them to discover more books from their public library.”

On June 22, OverDrive Education proudly received the 2019 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Crystal Apple, awarded to an individual or group who has made a significant impact on school libraries and learners. AASL President Kathryn Roots Lewis acknowledged this achievement by stating, “OverDrive Education’s deep and sustained commitment to the paramount importance of school librarians and school administrators to the learning communities they serve is commendable.”

How Sora inspires students to read more and the ease of connecting to public libraries will be on display at the OverDrive Education Booth #2116 at the ISTE19 conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, June 24-26, 2019.

For more information about Sora, visit http://meet.soraapp.com.

 

 

About OverDrive Education – a division of Rakuten OverDrive

OverDrive Education is the leading global digital reading platform for K-12, offering the industry’s largest catalog of ebooks, audiobooks and streaming video. As a 100% digital company serving 43,000 libraries and schools worldwide, OverDrive combines technology with content to support learning and reading in the classroom, library and home on all major devices, including iOS®, Android™, Chromebook™, and Kindle® (US only). OverDrive Education released Sora, the student reading app, in September 2018. Founded in 1986, OverDrive and OverDrive Education are based in Cleveland, Ohio USA, and owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten. company.overdrive.com/education/

 
Contact:
David Burleigh
Director of Brand Marketing & Communications
dburleigh@overdrive.com

 

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