Home Learning Resources
Hi everyone! Just a little post to let everyone know about the new Sora app that PEI students can access. Through student cloud.edu.pe.ca accounts, the Sora app will give students access to tons of e-books and audiobooks— perfect for some at home reading!
To access the Sora app, students will need to login to their school cloud account. Once they are logged in, they can click on the Google Apps grid (or “waffle,” as some call it!) and scroll down until they see the little robot pictured above! (Please note: when testing this with two grade 8 classes, some students had to go to their Gmail inbox first, and THEN click the grid before they were able to see the Sora icon).
This will (usually) redirect users to a screen with a green button that says “Sign in using PEI Department of Education and Lifelong Learning.” Click that button, and then the student account name again. This should take users to the landing page, with the options “Home” “Explore” “Shelf” and “Me” across the bottom.
From there, it’s time to search for a great book! Most of the titles from the grade 7-9 classroom libraries are there, as well as a selection of other great fiction, graphic novels, and more!
A few tips:
book covers with headphones at the bottom are audiobooks; no headphones means an e-book.
clicking “Listen to sample” or “Read sample” allows users to hear about five minutes or read about one chapter.
the “Place Hold” option means that all copies are currently borrowed, but clicking that option puts the user on a wait list. There should be an indication underneath the book cover of how long the wait time will actually be.
students can create their own lists of books they are interested in reading.
titles will automatically be returned after the designated borrowing period.
Please feel free to email Mrs. Gairns at smgairns@edu.pe.ca with any questions!
Happy reading!
Our school library may be closed for the time being, but there are still lots of ways to access reading material!
There are some great online options for accessing e-books and audio books.
See my previous post for instructions on how to use the new Sora app, located in the apps grid of the .edu accounts for all students and teachers.
There are some e-books available through EBSCOhost, our research database. The username is peiebsco and the password is database!19 Scroll all the way down and click on ‘Canadian EBOOK Collection’ to see the options; use the choices along the side to focus your search.
The PEI Provincial Library has made it possible to apply for a library card online, which will grant access to their entire digital collection. The library also has a link to Tumblebooks, which are free e-books and audiobooks. Many are for younger audiences, but there are some that would interest our Birchwood students as well! Here is a link to the available Online Library Resources.
Audible (through Amazon) has made many of their audiobooks available for free for the duration of the pandemic.
If you need a physical copy of a book, you do still have some options.
Our favourite local Independent bookstore Bookmark allows you to browse their webstore, and items can be delivered.
Major retailers like Amazon and Indigo will still ship directly to your home.
A reminder that no library books (from our school or from the Public Library) should be returned until otherwise indicated, and no late fees will be charged.
Please contact Mrs. Gairns at smgairns@edu.pe.ca with any questions about these resources. More will be added if they become available!