At ISTELive 24, LeiLani Cauthen, CEO of the Learning Counsel, had an enlightening conversation with Matt Insley, Senior Marketing Director at OverDrive, about their innovative digital reading platform, Sora. This platform is designed to transform how students engage with reading, offering a tailored and immersive experience that supports diverse learning needs.

Matt Insley kicked off the discussion by introducing Sora, OverDrive's app dedicated to digital reading for students. "Here at ISTE, we're talking about all things digital reading with Sora, our app where students read," he said. Sora stands out for its ability to assign books based on the individual reading levels of students, a feature that LeiLani highlighted as crucial for teachers aiming to personalize learning.

"It actually is an app where you can assign books based on the reading level of the individual student, which is huge for teachers, right?" LeiLani noted. "Correct," Matt affirmed. "Librarians and teachers are able to curate their own content and assign different reading levels to different students based on their ability, their reading level as well."

One of the standout features of Sora is its flexibility in assigning reading materials. Teachers can challenge advanced students with more complex texts or support struggling readers with simpler content. "If they want to challenge some of their upper-level students, they can assign them certain titles where they can maybe give a little bit more and enlighten their experience," Matt explained. Conversely, for students who might struggle, Sora provides tools to accelerate their learning. "We offer tools for those students that might have a little bit of a struggle to help accelerate their knowledge as well."

Sora includes several features designed to support students who may need extra help. "If they get stuck on a word, we have a feature called Read to Me," Matt said. This feature allows students to highlight a word or sentence, and Sora reads it back to them, enhancing their understanding and ensuring they get the most out of their reading experience.

Understanding that students have different learning preferences, Sora also offers audiobooks. "Every child learns in a different manner," Matt noted. "We have audiobooks where they can listen to their own story or listen to that story, but then we also have the actual words on screen so they can follow along."

Additionally, Sora features read-along books, which combine audio with visual text. "Think of like the bouncing ball," Matt said, describing how the text is highlighted as it's read aloud. "It is read to them but then highlights the words as it's being read so they can really match." This

Sora is designed to meet students at their individual points in their reading journey, making it a versatile tool in the classroom. "I feel like Sora can match various different reading styles of really any student and really kind of meet them where they are in their reading journey," Matt concluded.

The interview at ISTE '24 showcased how Sora by OverDrive is revolutionizing digital reading for students. By offering personalized reading experiences, flexible content assignments, and supportive features, Sora helps educators meet the diverse needs of their students. With tools like Read to Me, audiobooks, and read-along books, Sora is setting a new standard for digital literacy, making reading accessible and enjoyable for all students.

Tune in for the full interview below.