Schools can learn about Sora Extras resources and more at FETC

 

CLEVELAND – January 25, 2022 – OverDrive Education announced today that DOGOnews and Method Learning are now available to students in the Sora student reading app. Educators can learn about these “Sora Extras” and more at Booth #2135 at the Future of Education Technology (FETC) conference in Orlando from January 26-28. The Sora app serves more than 53,000 schools worldwide with the industry’s best catalog and award-winning user experience.

A new category of content that complements the ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines available in the Sora app, Sora Extras are new ways to engage students in a variety of subjects. DOGOnews offers thousands of concise, kid-friendly news stories on current events, science, sports and more. Method Learning provides comprehensive, self-paced lessons and resources that help students prepare for, and score higher on, the SAT and ACT. More Sora Extras will be added in the coming months.

“The addition of these Sora Extras opens new doors for students who already trust Sora to find their next great read,” said Angela Arnold, General Manager of OverDrive Education. “These two Extras, which are the first of many to come, show how the Sora Single Sign On (SSO) experience can function as a gateway to new kinds of reading-adjacent activities. Sora Extras streamline access so students can discover new ideas and resources in just a click.”

The Sora student reading app continues its rapid adoption by K-12 schools around the world. It is now available in more than 53,000 schools worldwide which represents 20 percent growth year-over-year. Sora provides access to an industry-leading catalog of millions of ebooks, audiobooks, Read-Alongs and magazines, and schools can customize and curate their own collection for curriculum and self-selected pleasure reading.

The number of digital books or magazines borrowed in the classroom or from a school’s library increased 65 percent over 2020, which itself was an increase of 190 percent over 2019. Students logged over 28 million hours of reading time in Sora in 2021, 61% more than the year prior. In addition, public library-school partnerships enabled 4.7 million more digital books to be borrowed by students for self-selected reading on the Sora app, an increase of 117%. Also in 2021, OverDrive Education conducted diversity audits for more than 7,000 U.S. schools’ digital collections.

Sora is ideally suited for use with TeachingBooks.net, the leading K-12 reading resources site. TeachingBooks, which features lessons, book guides and activities, was acquired by OverDrive in 2021.

Visit FETC Booth #2135 from Jan. 26-28 to try a demo of Sora Extras. Attend presentations in the booth to hear educators from around the country share how they are implementing digital content and Sora to engage their students and staff:

  • How edtech integrations leveled up one district’s digital library – at 12:45pm EST
  • Support personalized reading and learning with digital books – at 2:45pm
  • Curation + public library connection = More student reading! – Wed. at 3:45pm
  • Simple strategies to promote your school library & reach more readers – at 4:45pm
  • Keys to keep your students reading: Promos, public library access & beyond – Thurs. at 10:45am
  • Using curation and promotion to grow a love of reading – Thurs. at 12:45pm
  • Click less, read more: Simplify access to your ebook & audiobook collection – Thurs. at 3:45pm
  • 4 easy ideas to promote & incentivize student reading – Fri. at 9:45am

For more information about the Sora app for schools, visit https://discoversora.com and FETC Booth #2135.

 

About OverDrive Education and the Sora student reading app

OverDrive Education, a division of OverDrive, offers the industry’s largest catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, digital magazines and other content for over 53,000 K-12 schools and millions of students worldwide. The company’s student reading app, Sora, provides every student with access to the right books. Supporting the need to read required curriculum titles, class sets and pleasure reading digital books, Sora’s powerful learning tools and insights help meet the needs of students and educators. Sora was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2019. Acquired in 2021, TeachingBooks.net complements Sora with one of the largest catalogs of original and curated literary resources. Founded in 1986, OverDrive – the leading digital reading platform for libraries – and OverDrive Education are based in Cleveland, Ohio USA. www.overdrive.com/schools

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

 

 

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