Educational Technology at IU13

OverDrive recently redesigned and added new settings to Sora’s main menu, allowing students to further customize their reading experience. These settings include:

• Adjustable default lending periods: Students can select their preferred lending period for titles they check out in Sora. Once changed, this setting will apply to all future checkouts until changed again. Note: The options displayed are determined by the lending periods enabled in Marketplace settings.
  
  
• Continue Reading Orb: A new toggle allows students to show or hide the shortcut orb that takes them to their most recently read book.
  
  
• Tab Bar Labels: Students can now enable text icon labels for Sora’s four main tabs.
  
  
• Search All Libraries: We moved this setting to the main menu. When enabled, this setting shows search results from all libraries a student adds in Sora. To help students discover more books, we automatically enabled it for any student who hadn’t disabled it previously.
  
  

Additionally, students can now see their checkout and hold limits for their main Sora collection.

• Showcase your digital collection in high-traffic areas of your school
• Feature kid-friendly titles for elementary students
• Highlight nonfiction titles in the research section of your library
• And more!

Your school has unlimited access to the Sora Showcase software. Set up as many locations and devices as you like! Note: Your school is responsible for providing the hardware and internet access for Sora Showcase. You can review the Sora Showcase overview, setup guide, and video tutorial for staff to learn more.

Here are some exciting new resources and strategies to help teachers engage students every day, no matter the learning environment. Be sure to log into your instance of Discovery Education before clicking on the links below.

Share Timely & Relevant Resources  

DE has curated a full calendar of daily ready-to-use activities! The ready-to-use activities combine the best of the SOS Strategies with high-quality content, giving you that magic formula for constructive, engaging activities that save teachers time. 

• K-2 Activity Calendar: October 2021 
• 3-5 Activity Calendar: October 2021 
• 6-8 Activity Calendar: October 2021 

Extend Your Learning 

Get the most out of Discovery Education with our self-paced interactive eLearning courses. Educators can complete these courses on their own time and earn a completion certificate to submit for continuing education credits.  

This Month at DE

Explore the pages in this Studio Slideshow to learn about all the great resources and product enhancements happening in October!

We are very excited to focus the October content package on Digital Citizenship Week, October 18-22nd. This year’s daily activities build on new lessons from Common Sense’s SEL in Digital Life Resource Center and will help students reflect on how their technology use impacts them and the world around them. We have daily schedules for Elementary, Middle, and High, student creation suggestions, family engagement resources, and an awareness kit to help you spread the word!

Keep up-to-date on all updates with Common Sense Education via their Google Sheet Updates.

Back to School with Apple Education 

image from events.apple.com/ 

📣 Apple Professional Learning Opportunities 

Join Apple Professional Learning for remote learning opportunities throughout the Fall semester covering a range of topics, and offered at no cost to you or your school. Virtual Conferences are offered twice daily, Tuesday through Thursday and run for approximately 60 minutes. In these hands-on sessions, educators will explore helpful resources, practice new skills, and reflect on ways Apple technology can support great learning and teaching. 

Visit apple.co/apl to learn more and register. 

Educators are also invited to join us for a personal or small group (5-person max.) coaching session with an Apple Professional Learning Specialist to learn new skills and ask questions about any Apple technology related to learning and teaching. To schedule a 30 minute personal coaching session, send an email to AppleProfessionalLearning@apple.com. Be sure to include the topic you are interested in and your contact information. An APL Specialist will be in contact to arrange a time to meet.