E-Books – Whole Class Reading

I was very impressed to discover a Kindle download today, that allows you to read Kindle E-Books on your computer, via a free program to download from Amazon for Mac or PC. If you have a PC in the classroom that is connected to a projector / IWB, then this allows for whole class reading sessions which can be together from the growing collection of e-books available on the site.

I downloaded a free e-book from Roger Hurn, with the program allowing you to add bookmarks, notes, and change the look and size of the text, according to your set-up. It also syncs to any linked devices which you have on your Amazon account.

A great free tool to encourage whole class reading, and is a tool I look forward to use in the classroom.

The Eye of the Pharaoh is available via Amazon.

 

Check out Collins Big Cat: It Was a Cold, Dark Night Story Creator

Check out this application on the App Store:

Collins Big Cat: It Was a Cold, Dark Night Story Creator HarperCollins Publishers Ltd Category: Education Updated: 14 Dec 2011

iTunes for Mac and Windows

Please note that you have not been added to any email lists. Copyright © 2012 iTunes S.à r.l. All rights reserved

 

Animoog

Animoog_test.mp3 Listen on Posterous

Released a couple of days ago, Animoog is already at the number 1 spot of the iTunes top paid iPad charts, and I can see why. This amazing synth application really is innovative and easy to use. I can see great potential for use in schools, especially for anyone who wants to create some sounds / music to support their Space Topic / Alien learning sequences. You can listen to many samples of the sounds available within the app here, or you can just sit back and listen to my wonderful first recording. I know I’ll be playing with this app for a long time to come. Certainly worth the 69p cost!!

 

Emailing to Evernote: Tips to Help You Organize

Following a conversation over the weekend, today I received instructions how you can organise tags and destinations to your Evernote account when e-mailing content…

> Did you know that you can send it to
> to a specific notebook and assign tags to it? Here’s how:
> > 1. Select a destination notebook for your email by adding @[notebook name] to the end of the subject line.
> 2. Add tags to your note by typing #[tag name] at the end of the subject line. This feature works with existing tags in your account.
> 3. To designate a destination notebook and add tags, be sure to list the notebook name before the tags.
> > An example subject:
> Fwd: Recipe for Bouillabaisse @Recipes #soup #fish #french
> > Happy emailing and organizing in Evernote!
> > via The Evernote Team

 

Isle Of Tune

I do love it when you come across an app which makes you think, “Wow, I can see how this could work in a school!”, and although this app could easily activate a head-ache for the poor teacher, it is one of the most creative music composition apps I have come across…not only for the iPad, but online as well.

‘Isle of Tune’ is not free (£1.99), but does make the most un-musical person able to create simple compositions quickly and easily. Using the idea of a virtual town, the user creates a road for vehicles to drive around (or backwards and forwards), then place different features you would see in a town which are where the music is created. For example, the bridges are actually a piano keyboard, with the user changing the note as they wish. The houses, plant-pots, street-lamps & signs all have different musical attributes, which again allows the user to change the musical note or sound. I played with the app for 20 minutes before generating a musical master-piece (although the folks around me told me to turn it off!!!)

I am still exploring the app, and have found it is possible to save your file as well as explore other work shared to the community, but I have yet to discover how you can export your creation into a manageable format. This may be there, or it may be a future development for the site. More information is at www.isleoftune.com/support/

 

Book Creator for iPad

It is very rare that I come across an App for the iPad that generates such enthusiasm for the potential it offers for educators and students. As my regular followers will be aware, I am a huge advocate for the marvellous opportunities myebook.com offers educators and students, but no application has matched this site for the iPad, until very recently.

Book Creator for the iPad is now catching up, providing a platform for pupils and educators to be able to create their own publication, which can be published via the Apple Store. With a very user-friendly interface, the app allows the author to easily manipulate images and text within the book. I used images from my own photo gallary on the iPad for this example, but would encourage pupils to use an art application to create their own images, which could then be imported into the book.

Once you have completed your master-piece, then you simply ‘Open in iBooks’ (or any other e-book app you may have) and there you have it!

Once opened, your publication is readable within the iBook app you selected.

Redjumper’s site explains how you can sell your publication in Apples iBookStore, details here. But this shows how pupils can be inspired to write for a real purpose, proving a great motivation to write. In class, I propose to use a story-book planner so pupils can plan their publication from stories they create. This could be done in small groups, or for individuals, depending on the resources you have available to you. Teachers themselves could create short stories which could be shared during Guided Reading or whole-class reading sessions.

The UK-based developer, Dan Amos, promises that he is developing the ability for authors to create video and audio within the app, so this is certainly an app worthy of downloading and keeping updated.

I think I had better get on with my story-board.

 

For those we care for…

These words, via Richard Gillard, struck a chord with me today.

I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
’till we’ve seen this journey through.

 

Twitcard

The instructions on twitcard.net are in Japanese, but this site is really good if you want to create a Business Card from your twitter status. For the purpose of creating one, I had to temporarily unprotect my account, and tweak a bit with my profile, as the site does not auto-fit the text in the final card. Once you are happy with the results, you can print off via the PDF option. The site also inserts a QR code, which goes to the website specified on your profile. This is a nice little facility for those who want to broaden their network by giving out business cards promoting themselves via their twitter profile.

 

Sunset

 

Giving Pupils a Purpose to Write

Giving pupils a sense of audience in their work is something which I am exploring in my Educational Doctorate, with regular followers not being surprised that my research focus will look at the impact e-books can have. Today I received an e-mail showing that one e-book produced by my pupils a couple of years ago has received 25,000 genuine reads. I continue to fly the flag for www.myebook.com and think, although it is not the easiest tool for teachers to use, it is a great way of showcasing pupils work to a wider world. Clearly, safety protocols need to be observed, but with other e-books produced, former pupils of mine have been enthralled to watch the number of genuine reads climb to very high levels. A previous poetry e-book has received nearly 100,000 genuine views, and a Wallace & Gromit e-book (all showcasing the work of the children) is not too far behind!

In the months ahead, I am wanting to explore ethical issues relating to the production of e-books; giving pupils a sense of audience; giving pupils the choice of quality of work to enter into e-books (becoming their own editors), to see if this motivates pupils to produce work of a higher standard. Knowing that your work is going to be viewed to a larger audience does give individuals a purpose for writing, and I like the way that work can be scanned into e-books, therefore not taking away the skill of handwriting and presentation – this can be done alongside any ICT creative work, including audio, video and typed work. At a primary level, e-books can be produced to celebrate and showcase cross-curricular work across a whole class, or year group. The opportunities at secondary school level can also be explored further, in that pupils (aged 13+) can have their own e-books to build a portfolio of work, using different media, for specific subjects. Questions of security can be addressed within different platforms, and I will be showcasing this particular site (again) over the next few weeks.