Featured Sites Week of: Oct 27, 2019 -
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Elementari - Nicole Kang and David Li
Grades
3 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Create interactive digital stories with Elementari. Features include drag-and-drop text, illustrations, shapes, and integrating coding. Start by setting up your classroom to integrate...more
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Create interactive digital stories with Elementari. Features include drag-and-drop text, illustrations, shapes, and integrating coding. Start by setting up your classroom to integrate storytelling with coding. Click Explore from the top right menu to find interactive literacy lessons that combine coding with your curriculum. On the left is a column for choosing your grade level and topic. Each lesson includes an Introduction, Objectives, Coding Concepts Covered, Student Directions, and a Project Example. There are plenty of lessons to choose from to help your students become familiar with Elementari's features. Once students know how to use Elementari, let them create their own stories. After creating your account, select the option to write your story. Follow the prompts to add Elementari's free images, backgrounds, audio, and more. When finished, preview your story, then publish. After publishing, share using social media links or the provided embed code. You can also create 1 class with 35 students. Students do not need email to use Elementari. Students with existing accounts can also connect to your classroom. Students can choose an avatar from the ones provided and cannot upload any pictures. Teachers must approve stories before they can be published. In the Help Center, be sure to search for Curriculum Guide!
tag(s): coding (110), creative writing (122), digital storytelling (177), writing (303)
In the Classroom
You may want to start by clicking Help on the upper right menu. There you will find directions for Creating and Coding, Interactive Lessons, Classroom Dashboard, and others. Create stories together as a class as you move through a unit or topic. Enhance student learning by adding ideas your students suggest. Use in a flipped or blended classroom to deliver course information. Assign several student groups a different topic and extend their learning by having each group create their own version as they learn more about the topic. Challenge gifted students to modify the "standard" class text with the additional material they discover by going deeper and learning about related topics. In lower grades, create teacher-made digital stories for students to use as a learning tool.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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Adobe Express for Education - Adobe
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Adobe Express for Education (was Adobe Spark for Education) offers this version of it's popular presentation tool, reviewed here, specifically for...more
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Adobe Express for Education (was Adobe Spark for Education) offers this version of it's popular presentation tool, reviewed here, specifically for education. Use Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education to create multimedia projects or presentations using the available templates and graphics tools. The Education version provides enhanced data privacy and the ability for students to log in with a code. This tool can be available through your school's Adobe Admin Counsel if your IT team already uses Adobe products. If not, follow directions on the site to set up and begin using this tool as an individual educator.
tag(s): communication (126), creative writing (122), multimedia (71), posters (44)
In the Classroom
Use Adobe Express for Education to create posters, flyers, or instagrams stories for student presentations for any subject. Enhance student learning by asking students to create infographics explaining facts and information about states, countries, planets, and more. Have students create interactive posters, book report covers, invitations, and flyers to promote school events. Express for Education offers many possibilities for graphics, redefining student technoolgy use, and extending student learning by having students create multimedia presentations in all classrooms.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Storytelling Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Digital storytelling brings together creativity, technology, and communication in a way that engages students and gives their voices a meaningful platform. This collection includes...more
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Digital storytelling brings together creativity, technology, and communication in a way that engages students and gives their voices a meaningful platform. This collection includes professional learning resources for you and features a variety of tools that empower students to craft and share stories using book creators, slides, presentations, videos, podcasts, and more -- transforming traditional writing and research assignments into rich, multimedia experiences. Whether students are narrating a personal story, retelling a historical event, or explaining a scientific concept, these tools provide flexible, accessible ways to create and share work that goes far beyond pencil-and-paper.
tag(s): digital storytelling (177), writing (303)
In the Classroom
Find an abundance of digital writing tools to use in your classroom. Share sites on your interactive whiteboard. Challenge students to create their own projects using the tools on this list. Rather than a unit test, have students create a book (or another online project) to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts. Bring out creativity with these engaging tools!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Book Creator - Red Jumper Limited
Grades
K to 12
15 Favorites
0 Comments
Create beautiful multimedia digital books with Book Creator that combine text, images, drawings, audio recordings, video, links, and more. New users can explore the Help Center and...more
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Create beautiful multimedia digital books with Book Creator that combine text, images, drawings, audio recordings, video, links, and more. New users can explore the Help Center and Getting Started resources for tutorials, videos, and step-by-step guidance. The Resources section offers lesson ideas, example books, subject-specific activities, and remixable templates that can be customized for different grade levels and content areas. Teachers can also access toolkits, lesson plans, and classroom implementation guides. Students can create interactive books featuring narration, comics, graphic organizers, embedded media, and collaborative elements. Books can be published and shared online through Book Creator's web reader, making them accessible on a variety of devices. The creation tools include options to add text, images, audio, video, drawings, shapes, links, and backgrounds, while the Inspector panel provides customization options for colors, layouts, and accessibility settings. The free version allows teachers to create one library with up to 40 books. Book Creator works on Chromebooks, PCs, Macs, iPads, and Android tablets through modern web browsers. Teachers need an email address to create an account, while students can often join a teacher's library without providing their own email address. Book Creator supports a wide range of technology integration levels, making it suitable for simple storytelling projects as well as complex multimedia presentations
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): collaboration (142), DAT device agnostic tool (134), digital storytelling (177), ebooks (48), literacy (122), preK (351), reading comprehension (145), writing (303)
In the Classroom
Create books together, as a class, as you move through a unit or topic. Enhance student learning by adding images and ideas your students suggest. Use in a flipped classroom to deliver course information. Assign several student groups a different topic and redefine their learning by having each group create their own multimedia versions as they learn more about the topic. Students can combine their books later as a class book. Make a digital bookshelf of all the versions for all to use. Challenge gifted students to modify the "standard" class text with the additional material they discover, by going deeper and learning about related topics. In lower grades, create teacher-made e-books for your young readers, perhaps adding audio - your own voice reading the text. Find much more information and ideas for using Book Creator in any classroom by exploring the Book Creator Toolkit for Schools and Districts available here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WriteReader - WriteReader
Grades
K to 5
4 Favorites
0 Comments
The scientific research behind WriterReader is that one develops and improves reading skills by writing. With WriteReader, kids create their books, including text, pictures, and voice...more
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The scientific research behind WriterReader is that one develops and improves reading skills by writing. With WriteReader, kids create their books, including text, pictures, and voice recordings. Adults/Teachers have space on the page to write comments and make corrections. The interface is so simple that even a young child can use it successfully after some adult guidance. Open the Features tab in the top menu to see an index of all features categorized by Literacy Development, Easy Book Creation, Publishing and Sharing, and Teacher & Student Management, each with several links to explore. Click the Resources Center tab on the top menu to select Lesson Plans, Templates, Writing Prompts, Videos, and more. The basic plan offers 40 books and all the essential features. Register using your email or Google account. After logging in, use the menu bars in the upper-right corner to find Guides, which include a Parent Letter, a Quick Start Guide, a Template, and a few other get-started items.
To create student accounts, you can enter students manually, or students can join the class using a class code. WriteReader has upgraded its page templates to support older students. US English, UK English, Dansk (Danish), and Svenska (Swedish) are available. There is also an introductory video on the landing page that will help everyone get started. This video resides on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable. WriteReader has added new premium features, including Read Aloud, Voice Search, Book Templates, and more. For these, you must pay.
tag(s): digital storytelling (177), literacy (122), multilingual (83), reading strategies (85), science of reading (37), writing (303)
In the Classroom
WriteReader is so simple that very young students can use it successfully after a demonstration on a whiteboard or projector. While creating their books, students will be able to add images and multiple pages, delete pages, include voice-over, use color on pages, view one page at a time or the entire book, and toggle between letter names/sounds and no audio. Use this tool to design simple projects using student drawings to tell the story. Have students draw and annotate stories about their summer at the beginning of the year and share them with classmates. Students of any age love to draw, so why not have them draw their impression of what the message to the reader was after hearing a story, and then explain it in writing? Nonreaders and ENL/ESL students, in particular, will benefit from hearing letter sounds as they begin writing in their new language.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Odyssey - CartoDB
Grades
6 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Build interactive, map-based stories without coding skills using the Odyssey open source library. Click Create Story to begin and follow the prompts to choose a template for slides,...more
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Build interactive, map-based stories without coding skills using the Odyssey open source library. Click Create Story to begin and follow the prompts to choose a template for slides, scrolling, or an animated story template. Add story content, images, links, and more within the "sandbox." When finished, publish directly to GetHub, download, or share as iFrame to embed directly into your blog or website.
tag(s): digital storytelling (177), gamified learning (60), images (276), interactive stories (23), maps (222)
In the Classroom
Most storytellers will find a bit of a learning curve to working with Odyssey, click on the three bars on the left top of the home page to find the Quick Start Guide tutorial for using the site. Share this site with tech-savvy students so they can be experts and help others become familiar with using the site. Use Odyssey for creating map-based stories based on works of literature, important events in history, or mapping scientific discoveries. Odyssey is perfect for use with gifted students when creating multimedia presentations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Add Text - FlamingText.com Pty Ltd.
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Add text to any image or photo, using a web browser or smartphone, and share with no registration. Choose images from one of seven categories or upload your own. Change ...more
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Add text to any image or photo, using a web browser or smartphone, and share with no registration. Choose images from one of seven categories or upload your own. Change the color of the text or elect to add more text. Share using Google+ (available with G Suite), or the URL given. At the time of this review, all images in the Gallery were appropriate for the classroom. However, we recommend to preview the images before you share with younger students.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creativity (93), DAT device agnostic tool (134), digital storytelling (177), editing (98), images (276), noregistration (74)
In the Classroom
Use Add Text to add captions to images to create memes or posters for your bulletin boards. Use this easy tool with students during back to school time as a way for them to get to know each other. Have students upload a picture of themselves doing their favorite activity and label it with amusing text or a favorite quote (or song lyrics?). Have them upload images that represent their interests and character traits. Print the images with text for a back to school bulletin board. Use after a field trip for students to write captions on the photos they took. Be sure to share the photos on your class webpage, blog, or wiki. Haven't started blogging yet? Check out TeachersFirst's Blog Basics. For other uses, have students practice new words in a world language class by labeling and identifying images in that language. Help ENL/ESL students learn English by labeling the images. Create writing prompts using several annotated images. Have students create annotated images to explain key terms in science class. In ELA class, make homophone or vocabulary images to show the correct word along with a picture that explains it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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