Microsoft Collaborates with Booktrack to Make E-Books and Reading Platform More Accessible

Booktrack, a reading technology platform that synchronizes movie-style soundtracks of music and ambient audio — with no spoken words — to e-books and audiobooks, is partnering with Microsoft to get its products in front of more students and teachers than ever before.

Booktrack has implemented Microsoft’s single sign-on technology and will provide integration with Microsoft Office 365 for its Booktrack Classroom platform. Currently, 110 million students and teachers are using Office 365 at school and in the home, according to a news release.

“We’re so thrilled to be collaborating with Microsoft, in particular because of their commitment to empowering educators with effective technology,” said Paul Cameron, CEO of Booktrack, in a prepared statement. “We’ve been in talks with them for close to a year and through this time we’ve come to recognize the great synergies between our two companies in terms of our common focus on education.”

The integration will also make Booktrack Classroom accessible to the nearly 1.5 million educators from 235 countries who are members of the Microsoft Educator Network. This reach should build awareness of the platform to young families through students and teachers.

In Booktrack Classroom, students can choose from a large selection of books or write their own, easily add a soundtrack, then publish their “booktracked” story for their classmates to read. In addition, with Booktrack, students can rediscover reading — from the classics, young adult and other favorite genres. Today, Booktrack is used in more than 15,000 classrooms, the company said in a news release, and was voted a top three education website by the American Association of School Librarians.

For more information or to try Booktrack and Booktrack Classroom, visit booktrack.com or booktrackclassroom.com.

About the Author

Richard Chang is associate editor of THE Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • AI-powered individual working calmly on one side and a burnt-out person slumped over a laptop on the other

    AI's Productivity Gains Come at a Cost

    A recent academic study found that as companies adopt AI tools, they're not just streamlining workflows — they're piling on new demands. Researchers determined that "AI technostress" is driving burnout and disrupting personal lives, even as organizations hail productivity gains.

  • robot waving

    Copilot Updates Aim to Personalize AI

    Microsoft has introduced a range of updates to its Copilot platform, marking a new phase in its effort to deliver what it calls a "true AI companion" that adapts to individual users' needs, preferences and routines.

  • teenager interacts with a chatbot on a computer screen

    Character.AI Rolls Out New Parental Insights Feature Amid Safety Concerns

    Chatbot platform Character.AI has introduced a new Parental Insights feature aimed at giving parents a window into their children's activity on the platform. The feature allows users under 18 to share a weekly report of their chatbot interactions directly with a parent's e-mail address.

  • Two hands shaking in the center with subtle technology icons, graphs, binary code, and a padlock in the dark blue background

    Two Areas for K-12 Schools to Assess for When to Work with a Managed Services Provider

    The complexity of today’s IT network infrastructure and increased cybersecurity risk are quickly moving beyond many school districts’ ability to manage on their own. But a new technology model, a partnership with a managed services provider, offers a way forward for schools to overcome these challenges.