LISD has highest student e-book, audiobook usage

Lewisville ISD has the highest e-book and audiobook circulation of any school district in the country, according to a news release.

Digital reading is increasing in popularity, especially among younger people, and LISD students are trend-setters in this regard. Their student reading app Sora – which can be used on phones, tablets and computers – combines convenience, ease of reading on-the-go and personalization of the reading experience, according to the news release from OverDrive Education. Lewisville ISD incorporates both teacher-assigned and student-selected digital books, which inspires their students to learn anytime, anywhere.

“We were thrilled when we learned Lewisville ISD has the highest circulation in the nation,” said Robin Stout, media services and emerging technologies administrator at Lewisville ISD. “Our students, teachers, and librarians have been very pleased with the ease-of-use and student-friendly features in the Sora app. Some of the younger students race each other to earn badges within the app and I have had numerous requests for more Read-Along titles.

“The district also benefits from a cost-savings standpoint when all students are able to share access to digital titles within Sora.”

Reaching the highest digital book usage for U.S. schools for the first three months of 2019 is a testament to the district’s Library Media Services and Library Media Specialist teams’ efforts as supported by administrators and teachers. Lewisville ISD is comprised of 77 elementary, middle, high school and additional learning centers with 52,000 students. The district has used the OverDrive Education platform for five school years and Sora, Lewisville ISD’s new student reading app, since its launch last year.

Through Sora, students have convenient and safe access to thousands of age-appropriate ebooks and e-audiobooks from the district’s digital library for use inside the classroom, at home and anywhere 24/7. This ease-of-use helps students of all ages read more, improve comprehension and learn critical listening through audiobooks. Inspired by educator and student feedback, Sora offers both assigned and pleasure reading incentivized with fun avatars and achievements within the app to encourage a focus on learning. Sora also supports teachers by offering classroom-specific tools like personal assignments, reading analytics and exportable notes that individualize learning.