Feautured Photo by Ugur Akdemir on Unsplash
The purpose of this screencast is to show kids how to create an OverDrive account using their own address for free! Overdrive allows students to access hundreds of thousands of audiobooks and ebooks for free. It is an awesome tool in covid times when you can’t go to the library, but it’s also helpful anytime. I’ve been using it for about 6 years and have used it to read over 500 books.
It is great for getting students exposed to all kinds of books for free. They can try out different books and if they don’t like them, just return them and find a new one within minutes. Also, as a student with dyslexia and ocular motor disorder (a birth defect that prevents eyes from tracking together), I relied on audiobooks when I was younger. At the time, I could only go to the library to loan books out, but OverDrive would’ve been a great resource for me, so I know it can be an amazing resource for all kids!
I am shocked at how many people do not know about OverDrive, and I am constantly showing my friends how to sign up. So, hopefully, this is helpful for not just students, but everyone!
Overdrive is available for iPads, iPhones, and most other smart phones. Unfortunately, it is not available on computers yet. However, in order to read the books that are not audio books, you do have to also have the kindle app, which is available on computers. Hopefully, if a student doesn’t have direct access to their own device, a parent will be happy to give their child access to reading on a family device or even their own devices. And for some schools, iPads are given to all students.
Directions:
- Grab a parent or guardian
- Open up your app store
- In the search Tab type in Overdrive
- It should be one of the top search options, a blue icon with an O in the middle
- Click on it and download the app with the help of an adult
- Once it is downloaded, open the app
- You should see an option to sign in or sign up, click the signup
- Next, you’ll see an option to put in your library card or sign up without one
- Using your name, email, and a password, sign up for your overdrive account
- The next page should show a spot to add a library, click that and add your zip code
- When it shows you all the library options scroll down to M and search for the first Multnomah county option and click
- This should take you to their overdrive homepage, at the top there should be an option to click create library card
- This will take you to a new page and you should click apply now
- Enter all the information with the help of an adult
- Head back over to your overdrive account and use the credentials you just created to sign in to your account
- Read and listen away!!
A few book recommendations from Ms. Rockett:
- Smile by Raina Telgemeier
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
- Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
- Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper
- Al Capone Does my Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
- I am Malala (Young Reader’s Edition) by Malala Yousafzai
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett *My personal favorite from when I was your age!)
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau