Thing 14: eBook Creation

Publishing work in first grade is a goal many teachers have, but struggle to accomplish. I have many teachers tell me that finding a way for their entire class to publish in a timely manner is a struggle. They can't sit with each student and help them individually get their work into a computer or device for every time they would like to publish something. To help meet this need I explored and then started to use Book Creator to help students showcase their work. I find that working with a small groups of students to create a book teaches the process and then gives them the tools to start making their own books. One first grade class made habitat books. Each student created a page of the book, adding the text and images. Then we published them in the iPad so they could read each other's work. This served as a springboard for students to begin making books on their own. Like any task, some struggled, so the students who had expertise supported their classmates to help them develop independence. I mentioned in an earlier blogpost that I started using ChatterPix with third graders. I am thinking about trying it out with kindergartners as they study letter names and sounds. I was thinking in could be fun to make alphabet books with images that say their names - like an image of an apple that says the short a sound.

I am about to try a project with a second grade class where we make comic books using Book Creator.

Another app I am interested in trying is Flipsnack. This lesson took me on an adventure around the different ebook creation apps. I ended up at this site and now I want to explore storymash with some of the older students.
One more thing - Seesaw does a nice job with creating a place to publish student projects for parents to see. I have been suggesting that teachers use it for publishing if they are already using Seesaw as part of their classroom communities.