Archive for the ‘Audiobooks’ Category

Summer Reading and Listening

Wednesday, May 29th, 2013

I do not know if you do promoting summer reading, but an easy way of doing it is with eBooks and Catalist Digital Audiobooks since your students already have log-ins through Destiny and can use their own personal devices as well. Non-Destiny users can also have a guest login for students or easily upload student log-ins through a spreadsheet (no personal information such as email addresses required).

I have three lists on Titlewave that are Unlimited Access, One to One and Catalist Digital. If you want me to send them to you, tell me and they will appear in the Inbox in Your Lists in the upper right of Titlewave after logging in. Of course there is no obligation and you can ignore them, delete them, add to them, move select titles in them to other lists or remove any. There are various age ranges so you might want to search within list or sort them under different criteria.

If you just get a few Unlimited Access eBooks then all the students will get access so they would be enough to use in the summer. For example, you could purchase these 8 titles for under US$300.

Nola’s Worlds. #1,Changing moon
By Mariolle, Mathieu Dewey: 741.5
Nola finds life in Alta Donna boring and prefers to daydream about a more interesting life until two new kids move into town and Nola decides to investigate to discover their true identities.
Lexile: 370

A game for swallows to die, to leave, to return
By Abirached, Zeina, 1981- Dewey: 741.5
Zeina Abirached, a woman born into a Lebanese Christian family in 1981 during the civil war in Lebanon, reflects on her childhood, the disappearance of her parents, and the help and protection she received from neighbors.
Lexile: 680

Wolf’s coming!
By Kulka, Joe Dewey: 811
All of the animals in the forest go into hiding because the wolf is coming, but why they are hiding is the big surprise.
Lexile: 150

Russell and Elisa
By Hurwitz, Johanna Dewey: -E-
Seven-year-old Russell and his three-year-old sister Elisa have adventures with friends and family in their apartment building.
Lexile: 650

Swing around the sun poems
By Esbensen, Barbara Juster Dewey: 811
A collection of poems that celebrates the seasons, with illustrations for each season by a different Minnesota artist.

Taj Mahal
By Arnold, Caroline Dewey: 954.02
Recounts the love story behind the building of the Taj Mahal in India, discussing how it was constructed and providing information on Indian culture.

Weird-but-true facts about gross things
By Coss, Lauren Dewey: 031
Text and illustrations look at different things that are gross for children.
Lexile: 900

Clues in the attic
By Meister, Cari Dewey: 741.5
Ben must face his fear of the attic in order to find his sister’s pet snake.
Lexile: 200

Here is the titles in the lists under three worksheets if you want to see what I made: http://goo.gl/zOJ0i

You can also give the student the link to any list that you have created. Here is a sample of where it would go:
Sample List in Destiny http://goo.gl/2rbQr

Lastly, don’t forget to promote no matter if you do something for the summer or not.

Here is some promotional stuff we have for eBooks as well as instruction sheets for various devices:
http://www.aboutfollettebooks.com/download.cfm#javascript:

Here is the promotional items for the Destiny Quest App:
http://www.follettsoftware.com/ezform.cfm?ezid=282

Posted in Audiobooks, eBooks, FollettShelf, Titlewave | No Comments »

Why Choose Follett eBooks

Friday, January 25th, 2013

If you compare our offerings with other options, we most likely represent all of the publishers that they carry as well as a whole lot more.  We have over 100,000 eBooks and most of them are non-fiction.  In addition, you can use the tools in Titlewave to get exactly what you want and we have lists that have been compiled by experts.  These lists would not favor any one or several publishers.  Our eBooks are a one-time purchase and the school owns the book.  That means there are no subscriptions and if the publisher changes the terms of use, then it would not affect any previous purchases. 

We have apps for iPads and Android tablets and the eBooks can be access through browser so many different devices can access them.  We also have tools:  Text to Speech, Highlighting, Note Taking, Dictionary, Copying and Printing. 

Looking at other competitors, here are some general advantages of FollettShelf: 

1.     All of our eBooks can be download to tablets and iPads.  In addition, most can be downloaded to a computer.  In addition, all can be read on-line so no additional software is needed just to read the books.  Most competitors have it so you can either download it or read it on-line, but not both.

2.    Follett eBooks have one standard interface no matter where or how you are accessing them.  Some competitors have a different interface depending on the publisher.

3.    Follett eBooks can be simply read online without logging in or checking it out so that once it is closed on the device, it is immediately available to others to access.

4.    Follett eBooks can also be checked out with a circulation time completely controlled by the librarian and the can be checked back in by the user before the circulation time is over.  Most others do not allow the early check in which would make the eBook inaccessible for a longer period of time.  Also, the competition’s circulation time may be fixed or need to be changed through the company.

5.    Follett sells two types of eBooks 1-1 where only one person can access it at a time and Unlimited Simultaneous Access eBooks (USA) where there is no restriction.

In order to access the eBooks, we give the school a free browser eBook manager called FollettShelf.  Also, you would get the MARC records for the books to put into your library system.  Students here can create reviews and you can generate reports on usage as well as determine the circulation period and any restrictions that you would like.  For example, if you only want 5th graders access to certain eBooks that is possible.  

In addition, on the FollettShelf, we can add access to other digital content that we sell.  First are some interactive eBooks such as Lerner, ABDO Interactive Books and ABDO eBoost all of which are unlimited simultaneous accessed.  These are a one time purchase.  We also have Catalist Digital which are audiobooks that can be streamed on the computer or downloaded to a smart device.  These are a one time purchase.

The FollettShelf can house any subscription services that we offer so all your online resourse are access in one place.  Here is a link to the ones that we currently have:  http://www.titlewave.com/intro/digital/index.html.  You can get a free trial of any of the items that I mentioned.

 

Posted in Audiobooks, eBooks, Enriched Content, FollettShelf, Titlewave, Uncategorized | No Comments »