You can probably think back to the time when you read what would eventually become your favorite book. Countless students in America never experience that feeling because books aren’t always affordable or easy to access, especially when school budgets are slim.
The good news is the government hopes to help schools save money and time by offering thousands of best-loved and award-winning books to Title I, military base and special education teachers and librarians, and subsequently, students.
Michelle Obama and the White House launched the Open eBooks app that allows $250 million worth of books to be accessed by simply launching the application.
The app opens the door to thousands of free books on tablets or smart phones. Any educator, administrator or student at any of the more than 66,000 Title I schools and any of the 194 Department of Defense Education Activity schools in the United States can take advantage of the free books.
White House representatives report that the hundreds of thousands of special education teachers in the nation also have access to the Open eBooks app.
Educators can access the app through signing up on the OpeneBooks.net site where they will receive codes for their students. The students can then download the free app to mobile devices and be given access to a virtual library of eBooks.
Regarding the app, the First Lady has mentioned that for kids to be able to learn and dream, they need books to escape reality.
The Open eBooks App is exactly what so many schools and students need — the opportunity to read the thousands of books that are right at their fingertips. I hope this electronic initiative creates many avid readers who are able to truly tap their innovative potential, with the power of books at their fingertips.
