Last month I posted a blog discussing the importance of holding your students’ attention when it comes to your digital titles.  Well, welcome to part two!  Here we have gathered additional stories, tips and ideas about making your digital collection a part of your students’ everyday life:

• In-Class Usage: Since the creation of our Education Evolution training (found at the Online Learning Center), we’ve seen a number of schools begin to implement OverDrive eBooks into their daily reading.  Teachers no longer have to worry about students disturbing the class by getting up and going to find a title at the physical library as the digital titles are right at their fingertips.
• QR Codes: You can find QR codes on our custom created promotional materials.  Schools across the globe have copied these and added them to in-house created materials, as well, giving their students instant access to their OverDrive-powered virtual titles with a simple scan of their smart phone.  Great places to put QR codes include the students’ library cards or IDs.
• Social Networks: One district’s Media Specialist created a YouTube page for her school where she has created and posted short help videos for her students to access.  These videos have created a greater sense of usability amongst her students.  You can also have your students create fun videos about how to use your OverDrive service for daily morning announcements.  Numerous school libraries have also created Facebook pages to better connect with their students and provide updates about new available titles.
• Digital Book Reports: Many schools are now offering students extra credit if they do book reports on titles they’ve read from their ‘Virtual Branch.’  While providing extra credit for additional reading is a long standing tradition, by having the students report on digital titles, they become that much more comfortable with incorporating them into their daily studies.
• Special Needs Classes: Perhaps the most inspiring (and my personal favorite) stories involve the use of OverDrive among schools with Special-Needs students.  I have received numerous notes about how these students have been able to better comprehend materials because they can follow along with a novel while listening to an audiobook.  These same schools have also expressed their excitement in seeing their younger students’ enjoy using OverDrive’s interactive Disney Digital Books to gain an early passion for reading.

If you’d like additional ideas on implementing your OverDrive service into the daily curriculum, or if you have a story about your own creative applications, you can email me directly at asockel@overdrive.com.

Adam Sockel is a marketing and outreach specialist at OverDrive.