Reading Apps for Educators
We both love to read and reading is something we often share about here on our blog and on social media. It’s such an integral part of our daily lives–whether we are reading to students at school, reading for enjoyment or reading for professional learning. We’ve always loved to read and we love to talk about books! Of course, we do love a paper copy of a book, but we also have some tech tools that we use for reading and keeping track of our favourite titles to share with our friends.
Goodreads
We both use Goodreads, which has app and web-based versions. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Here are 4 ways you might use it:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✔ Track what you’re reading and have already read using shelves. You can even organize and name your categories, so you can keep lists for school, personal, your book club and more.
✔ Keep a “want to read” list of books. I’m always adding suggestions to my list from friends, book club members and colleagues. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✔ Discover new books through their suggestions, reviews and ratings.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✔ Connect with friends, teachers or even authors. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
ALSO: Students over 13 years of age could rate, review and track their books using this tool. The Terms of Service for this app say that users should be 13 years and older. It’s also advisable to check your school’s technology use policies and permission forms before having students use a new tech tool!
Audible
Listen to your books on the go with Audible.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🚙 Since we both commute to school, we often take that time to listen to a book. I wasn’t into it at first but I’ve come to enjoy my audiobooks as a way to pass the car time. Listening to a book also makes time fly when you’re doing household jobs!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🎧 📖 Recent Listening:
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dark and heart-wrenching fiction. I couldn’t stop listening to this one and it really made me think.
The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Who knew chess could be so fascinating? I didn’t realize it was a book until I’d already watched the Netflix series and I strangely liked the TV series better.
Some Girls: My Life in a Harem by Jillian Lauren
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fascinating memoir that shares her experiences as sex worker. A story of personal growth and a shocking look at life in a harem.
Reading Apps for Students
Epic
With tons of digital books, audiobooks and “read to me” selections, Epic is a great resource for K-6 students and teachers. With free access for educators, this app is a great way to expand your classroom library! Students can use it for research, choice reading or you can pick a read aloud selection to enjoy as a class! Bonus: it works great both as a web-based tool and an app for your classroom tablets.
Sora
My school division also has access to Sora, which includes a digital library of audiobooks and digital books. Check with your division to see if you also have access to this tool — it’s another great option for expanding your book collection and it has books for all ages! This one also works great whether you’re accessing it from a web browser or app.
Stay in Touch
If you’d like to stay in touch with us, subscribe to our newsletter for ideas and inspiration on teaching, technology-integration and teacher wellness.
Find us on Facebook or Instagram.
Learn with Us
Plan to join us for our next Teacher Book Club — you can get on the waitlist here to be notified when we open registration for our next book.
Contact us to book a learning retreat or workshop.