Kobo Reading App

Freemium!

Kobo Reading App is a supplement to the Kobo website (https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/). To access the app, users must first register a free account on the Kobo website or in the app. Next, they can browse the list of new releases, top 50 books, or tap the “Magnifying Glass” to search for books. When they find a book of interest, users can download it. Once downloaded, users can tap on its icon to load the book and then swipe sideways to turn the pages. They can also tap the “Circle” button on the bottom right of the screen to access additional options, which includes making public notes, adjusting the font size, appearance of the text, and more. Users can also tap the “Lined” button on the top left of the screen, which allows them to access the Stats, Friends, and Awards options. The “Stats” option keeps track of what users are reading, how often they are reading, and what time of day they most often read. The “Friends” option lets users connect with other users over social media. The “Awards” options recognizes when users complete specific reading assignments.

Instructional Ideas

1. Instead of purchasing a class set of books, teachers can use that money to download a class set of books using this app and website.
2. Teachers can have students browse this app’s library for a book preview that interest them. Next, teachers can have students visit their school or local library to see if they have the book that was previewed. If so, students can check it out and read it.
3. As a class project, students can do a fundraiser to earn money that will be used to download books from this app. Then, over the course of the semester, each student who participated in the fundraiser can use some of the money to purchase books and read them. After a student has read a book, he/she can report on the book by summarizing it, explaining what he/she liked/disliked about the book, and state if he/she would or would not recommend it. These reports can be given orally to the class or written using a word processing program or app. If written, students can email their report to their teacher who can post it to a “Book Review” section of a class website.
4. Students can download a book from this app and read it during silent sustained reading. Afterwards, students can use a “Movie Maker” app to create a short trailer for the book, which can be posted to a class website or played for classmates.

Screenshots