The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
New shared digital library introduced
The Lake Geauga Computer Association is expanding learning opportunities for students through its new shared digital library.
This initiative will allow schools to build a consortium to purchase electronic and audiobooks and share them as a group, said Jim Martin, who is the media and classroom technology support liaison for the association.
The districts share the cost and the use of the collection, he said.
“The online assessments that the schools do with the kids require them to read more and understand more on a digital device,” Martin said. “So, if we can make reading on a device fun and get them into it at an early age and get comfortable with it, we hope it will increase their comprehension.”
The association partnered with OverDrive to put together the LGCA Virtual Library, a collection of eBooks and audiobooks for students in grades K-12, according to the website.
These resources are included for any district/ building using the LGCA Media Support Services and will include several hundred titles purchased each year that can be accessed by all participating schools, it also said.
The collection is launched using OverDrive’s new Sora website and app, designed by OverDrive specifically for students and teachers.
Students can use any device to access the site. It even syncs between devices and books can be sent to Kindle devices, said OverDrive Education Account Executive Stephen Reyes.
“This project is really the first of its kind,” Reyes said. “It’s exciting having it in Ohio and having everyone being able to participate. It’s about getting students to be able to read anytime, anywhere. Most student reading is done not at school but at home, so why not allow them to connect.”
The virtual library offers numerous preferences; a search bar; highlighting options and the ability to take and share notes. Students can also track how long they are actually reading and receives positive feedback. Reading data is also available to districts, he said.
Additionally, the program can be linked to the public library, which expands the collection.
OverDrive Education Account Executive Regis Coustillac recently graduated from Kent State University.
“So, I went to high school and entered college right before this became a big focus in K-12 schools, and I found myself struggling to keep up with this as a lover of print books,” Coustillac said. “I found myself struggling to read online, I found myself struggling to access digital resources, so I can tell you right now that there is a big push for this in schools, especially in universities.”
LGCA Executive Director James Turk said the skills students will gain using the virtual library will prepare them for 21st century learning.
“We’re moving into a new era,” he said.
Several school districts in Lake, Geauga and Cuyahoga counties have already signed up for this new online library service.
The LGCA Virtual Library is open to all schools.