Last year, elementary students in District 194 were given an wonderful opportunity! Students were offered the opportunity to read ebooks from Captsone's MyOn Digital Literacy Program! To learn more, check out their website at http://thefutureinreading.myon.com/overview/complete-literacy-program! District 194 parents interested in their child reading at home can find their child's login information in the parent portal!!
This week I have been reintroducing MyOn to students with surprising results! When we first began the program in the Spring of 2012, there were around 4000 eBooks for students to choose from. Now that number has almost doubled, with 7,673 ebooks. The additional options are really noticeable! Also, MyOn has been very responsive to the needs of students and teachers! They have made a few subtle changes that have made the program even more personalized for students. Students really love reading the huge variety of books, especially the fantastic nonfiction! They can read books using the browser on their computer, the browser on the iPad and/or the MyOn app!
If I am being honest, I have never been a huge fan of reading incentive programs. Many of them attempt to level books to help students find reading materials that are educationally valuable for their growth. While this is certainly an admirable goal, it can result in limiting reading options for students. I am a librarian at heart. I want students to find and select the books they are interested in! I want them to discover a passion for reading, which is often sacrificed with reading incentive programs. After all, a well stocked library is the ultimate in personalized learning for students!
So with that said, I am surprised at how excited I am by the MyOn program! I am excited to expand the choices we can give to students! I am excited to be able to offer them digital books as well as a well stocked library! Yes, there are the short comprehension tests and lexile levelings that are a part of every reading program, but these do not impose themselves on the experience. Students spend the bulk of their time sifting through all of their great options (which is so good for them to discover what they like!) and reading, reading, reading! Great job MyOn!!
