Appy Friday! Story Kit

Description: Story Kit is a very straightforward, user-friendly iPad tool (a.k.a. app). It is free to download, making it accessible to a variety of users. Story Kit allows the user to make an online book that is creative and uses images as well as sounds to enhance the book. When you first open the app a bookshelf pops up and you are able to create a new story with the quick click of the screen. You can use a photo from your photo library on your phone or iPad and design the background as well as add sound to the page. When a Story Kit is complete it may be opened on an Apple product (i.e., iPhone, iPad) or on any computer (Mac or PC) through an easy URL that is shared through email. Using the Story Kit app is as easy as:

1. Open a new page

2. Choose a picture

3. Upload the picture to the app

4. Record audio

4. Type in text

5. Color/design the background

6. Save your wok

7. Share (through email)

8. Watch!

**Here is a link to a step-by-step tutorial on how to use Story Kit.

Classroom Usage: Another fabulous component to Story Kit is that it may be used both individually and in a small group. Students may need teacher guidance initially then begin to run their own project when they become more comfortable.

There are many uses for Story Kit in the classroom. Students can use Story Kit...

in writing to record their voice while reading aloud one of their own pieces.
in reading to record their voice (or a partners) to practice reading for fluency.
to read a popular tale in their own, unique style.
show the steps of solving a math problem (i.e., word problem).
explain the rules and procedures of the classroom for students coming in next year.
introduce a new unit (teacher directed).
demonstrate their learning on a topic on the classroom.

More examples

http://msclarksteachingworld.weebly.com/story-kit.html

Comments

Google Classroom: Work Smarter Not Harder

Have you been thinking about saving trees by cutting back on paper usage in your classroom? If your answer is yes, you may want to consider utilizing Google Classroom. Many of our 2nd-12th grade teachers have taken the plunge and are now beginning to see the benefits. Gone are the days of lugging around back breaking crates loaded with spiral notebooks. Now, you can easily grade assignments with your mobile device, while enjoying some smooth jazz at your local coffee house. Google for Education has a site that is extremely helpful in our cause to work smarter not harder. Here's the link. Follow it if you know what's good for you. I really love the 9 short videos from the Teachers Lounge at the bottom of the page. They are extremely lovely in their succinctness. Video 1 of 9 Ok, so maybe watching videos isn't your cup of tea. Perhaps you prefer reading through material to gain deeper understanding of a new topic or skill. You're in luck! Go ahead a

Stop Motion Studio!

Stop Motion Studio is a powerful, easy to use app for creating stop motion movies. Stop motion is a powerful animation technique that makes static objects appear to be moving. There are many types of stop motion techniques such as: hand drawing, cut-paper, sand and claymation. Brainstorm When starting a project like this one it is important to make your ideas clear before you start filming. You should consider what is the “story” you are going to tell. Remember that you only have up to a minute in which to tell this story. Because of this, I recommend that you use simple experiences to create a short story such as the cut-paper example shown in the storyboard below. While this looks simple, it will require many shots. It’s also a good idea to limit yourself to one or two characters. Storyboarding The purpose of the storyboard is to visually plan out the entire animation. Here is where you begin to think about the “camera work” by showing every shot or important tra

Appy Friday! Under Control with Custom Search Engines

Create a Custom Search Engine I don’t always want my younger students to have full access to the internet for their research, but I want them to have an easy way to access websites that I as the teacher have reviewed and approved. I discovered a way to accomplish this by setting up a Custom Search Engine and sharing the link to the engine with my students. All my Custom Search Engines are saved using my Google account. To create a Custom Search Engine from scratch, you'll need to name your search and add some sites to search. Here’s what to do. Create a new search engine : 1. On the Google Custom Search home page, click New search engine . 2. In the Sites to search section, add the pages you want to include in your search engine. You can include any sites you want, not just sites you own. You can include site URLs or page URLs, and you can also get fancy and use URL patterns . 3. The name of your search engine will be automatically generated based on the URLs you select

JMarshall Tech

Search This Blog