Technology Tools for the Love of Reading – Part 1

This may look like a long page of resources, but there‘s tons more stuff out there! Please share your favorites, your new finds, example, tips and tricks on our workshop padlet.

SHARING BOOKS 

Create widgets for sharing recommended books on your webpages, blogs, etc. Collect and display book covers via other curation and collaborative tools.

• GoodReads Widgets – Set up a GoodReads shelf to hold the books you want to display.
• LibraryThing Widgets – add up to 200 titles for free. Set up a category to hold the books you want to display. Create the Widget and select the desired category.  A number of options are available for formatting. Import a list of ISBNs to add books quickly.  Links go back to LibraryThing or amazon.
  • https://www.pafa.net/2017/03/books-kids-empathy-diversity-immigrant-experience/
  • http://www.summerreadingnys.org/teens/teens-booklists/
• Book Box - Nice simple widget and embed code, just html code, with links back to Amazon. But since it’s just html code, if you don’t mind editing, you could change the links to go back to your catalog.
• Pinterest – Add book covers and link back to your catalog. Embed board on your webpage.
• Does your catalog have bookshelf options?

More examples: 

• Staff recommendations from Caroline Street school (Saratoga, Kim Nemeth) – book covers posted to a padlet page.
• Plymouth High School New Hampshire – Staff & student recommendations. Whole site if nicely done!

Handy Tip: If you’re using chrome browser, install the Library Exentsion (Firefox version “coming soon”)

WRITING

• Write the World – For older students. Free writing community, writing prompts, peer review, competitions. Educators can create writing groups for their students.
• Student blogs – Free accounts with WordPress.com, Blogger, Weebly, Edublogs, KidBlog. Great places for students to share all kinds of work – text, audio, images and more. Can reach a wider audience than just the instructor.
• Educator blogs – same free/cheap tools as above. Share your questions and prompts in a blog post and have students respond in the comments.
• Storybird (iOS, Android, Web) Creat gorgeous picture books, longform writing, poetry.
  • Storybird Lark (iOS app) – pick an image, use the words provided to create a poem. (Polly’s masterpiece)
  • Storybird challenges
• #GlobalSpeedChat – short monthly writing/creation challenge, worldwide participation. Model could easily be replicated in your local setting.
• QuadBlogging – Connect with and collaborate with 3 other classrooms over a period of 4 weeks. Each group takes turns at writing and critiquing.
• blackout poetry generator – This browser bookmarklet turn any web page into blackout poem!
• More blackout poetry resources – from Karyn Bartnick at RCSD
• Scholastic Story Starters – Fun for any age, but geared to K-6

More resources 

• EdSurge Language Arts tools – some free, some paid. Selection of 170 tools and apps, sortable by grade level and more.

VOCABULARY, SPELLING, GRAMMAR

• Spell Up game – from Google, runs in Chrome.
• Tagxedo & Wordle – Use these tools to create word clouds of frequently used words in a text. Helpful for teasing out the topic of a text, reviewing vocabulary. Make a game of it – challenge students to guess the book based on the tag cloud.
• Free Rice – Pick the right definition and earn free rice for the hungry. Includes a grammar game as well.

TEXT SOURCES

• Common Lit -“Free literacy resources and progress tracking tools. Hundreds of fiction and nonfiction reading passages for grades 5-12”
• NewsELA – News articles offered at various reading levels.

ONLINE BOOK DISCUSSIONS & GLOBAL CONNECTIONS 

• Find another group of students to collaborate with. Skype with them to share ideas and discussions.
• Use something like the groups features in Goodreads & LibraryThing to have an ongoing discussion. Or use group blogs, padlets, other collaboration tools
• Your school learning management system might also have these features
• Global School Net – One way to find partner classrooms.
• Skype in the Classroom – Connect with other classrooms, authors, etc. with Skype.
• #GlobalSpeedChat – short monthly writing/creation challenge, worldwide participation. Model could easily be replicated in your local setting.
• QuadBlogging – Connect with and collaborate with 3 other classrooms over a period of 4 weeks. Each group takes turns at writing and critiquing.

COLLABORATIVE READING & ANNOTATING 

• Hypothes.is -  Shared annotating of a web document, article, blog post, etc. Public commenting or set up a private oup discussion. Free account, signup required. Chrome extension, browser bookmarklet for other browsers. Join the SLS Cool Tools group and test this out with an article on reading myths.

LOTS OF READING RELATED IDEAS

Let’s add to this list via our Padlet

• Are You a Techie-Kind of Teacher?  – Nice outline for doing a lit circle with another classroom. Using small groups of students and skype. Her blog has other great ideas http://musingsfromthemiddleschool.blogspot.com/
• Thinglink map of england literary adventures https://www.thinglink.com/scene/891286582256992257
• Short read-alouds by students (See World Book Day Audio stories for some professional read-alouds)
• Create new covers for their favorite books – Buncee has a template, though any creative tool would work, even crayons.
• Record short audio responses to reading prompts. What character did you relate to and why, etc.
• Draw an image representing something from the reading, upload it and add audio to describe the image or reading.
• Take a screenshot of a map with the locations in a book, use thinglink to annotate the locations. Project could include documents, photos, audio, video, embedded questions via a google form and more.
• Do a #booksnap – take a photo of a page in a book and annotate it with ……….
• 6 Alternatives to Reading Logs by @shfarnsworth

BOOK TALKS AND READ ALONGS

Read alongs – YouTube videos with you or guest reader reading a book they might be reading at home.    find example from guy who was on the 10 minute teacher podcast Saturday march 11

• Content Needed: 
  • Audio – record with mobile device or microphone attached to computer.
  • Graphics – picture of book cover, student created artwork to go with the book, take photos.
  • Script – Wing it or write a script. Google docs or other editor.

• Possible Tools
  • Audio only – AudioBoom,
  • Images and Audio – Buncee, Little Bird Tales
  • Video – Record with phone of table video camera.

BOOK TRAILERS

Short videos akin to movie trailers. Can be done quite simply or make it into a big creation project.

• Content Needed: 
  • Spoken Audio – record with mobile device or microphone attached to computer. (Vocaroo is a ridiculously simple tool for creating a quick audio file. No editing though.)
  • Music –  Search Creative Commons sources. (More resources)
  • Graphics – picture of book cover, student created artwork to go with the book, take photos with phone, iPad or whatever device is handy.)
  • Storyboard – map out the images, transitions and audio. Simple to do on paper. Or use StoryBoardThat
  • Script – Wing it or write a script. Google docs or other editor.

• Possible Tools
  • Adobe Spark – (iOS and Web) Add photos and or video clips. Control timing. Add music, record your voice. Very flexible. Free.  This tutorial covers Spark and Stupeflix
  • Stupeflix - Free online video editor. Upload images, control length of time they display, add annotation, transitions. Lots of options. This tutorial covers Spark and Stupeflix
  • Animoto – Easy, just upload images,pick some free music and let the program do the transitions. example
  • Many more tools
  • Buncee – (iOS and Web) Upload photos or use content in the Buncee library. Voice recording available for each slide. Free and premium accounts.

• Share: via the site where content was created, download and share locally, upload to YouTube, TeacherTube, embed on your website.

• More resources
  • How to make a Book Trailer – detailed information from Teacher Librarian Michelle Harclerode
  • Examples – lots of student created book trailers from Teacher Librarian Michelle Harclerode
  • Slime Kids book trailers

 SO MANY CREATION TOOLS

Each has it’s own pro and cons. Most of these are free and may have a fee for premium features.

• Adobe Spark – (iOS and Web) Create slideshow videos, graphics, web pages and more.
• Animoto – Easy, just upload images,pick some free music and let the program do the transitions. example
• Many more tools
• AudioBoom – Free account lets you record up to 10 minutes. Upload a photo for a background image.
• BookCreator – (iOS, Android, Windows) Video, audio, writing, drawing. Keep a reading journal, snap a photo of a book page and annotate it in book creator. Pricing: limited free option, $4.99 for regular iPad app, EDU discount for 20 or more copies.   5 Tips for Using Book Creator for Reading Responses
• Buncee – (iOS and Web) Upload photos or use content in the Buncee library. Voice recording available for each slide. Free and premium accounts.
  • Buncee reading and book ideas padlet from Shannon Miller
  • Buncee & #Booksnaps: Engaging Student Readers & Writers
• Chatter Pix Kids (iOS) – Take a photo or upload an image. Record your voice while and the image will talk. Simple, engaging, fun.
• DoInk – (iOS only) Animation, drawing, green screen options.
• Fotobabble -  upload an image or link to one already on the web. Record a 60 second audio.
• Little Bird Tales – (iOS and web) – upload an image, record a voice track over the image. Simple and free.
• Photos for Class – Source for photos.
• Recap – (iOS, Android, Chromebook, web browser) Free classroom audio/video response tool with classroom features. Add students, review their work, share with others. up to 2 minute recording. No other drawing, writing or annotating. But simple to use. We have a class set up for the workshop: letsrecap.com/classpin PIN: kpwowqt  Recap Blog has lots of interesting ideas.
• Screencasting can be a simple way for students to record a voice over images. Put the images in Google Slides, Powerpoint or other presentation tool/app. Present the slides and talk over while screencasting. This article covers several tools and apps.
• Sharalike – (iOS, Android, Web) Create photo slide shows with music. Free and simple. Example
• Movie maker or iMovie – for more involved projects.
• Stupeflix - Free online video editor. Upload images, control length of time they display, add annotation, transitions. Lots of options. This tutorial covers Spark and Stupeflix
• Tellagami – (iOS only) upload a photo for background and record a 30 second audio in free version, 99cents to increase to 90 seconds.  Edu version costs $4.99 and includes all addons, 90 second audio.
• Thinglink – (iOS, Android, Web)  Upload a photo or image, annotate with links to other content. Imagine a map with links to information about the locations. Or a photo of a favorite page from a picture book with link to student talking about that page.
• Vocaroo – very simple tool for creating a quick audio file. No editing though. Download and use with other tools.

MORE CREATION TOOLS

• 10 Creation Tools for Web Browsers & Chromebook
• More tools than you could ever hope for! – Kathy Schrock’s HUGE list of web based tools that will work on laptops and Chromebooks. Notes which ones also have Chrome apps. (some links may be out of date)
• iPad Creation Apps – again, Kathry Schrock’s list.
• Bloomin’ Apps -  iPad, Android, Google and Web 2.0 applications to support each of the levels of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy.
• 150+ Chrome Apps and Extensions for Teachers and Students – Kasey Bell’s collection of resources. Sortable by type of tool, grade level and more.

READINGS, RESOURCES AND MORE

• PRHS Book Club – Lots of good ideas here. Free website with weebly. Librarian has embedded lots of professional book trailers from YouTube. Google form for book suggestions. Staff & Student recommendations.
• 5 Tech Tools That Help Students Develop a Love of Reading
• ReadWriteThink – The Classroom Resources section has lesson plans, apps, printables and more.
• World Book Day – Book suggestions, activities and more.
• Three Myths About “Reading Levels”And why you shouldn’t fall for them…
• 11 Technology Tools for the Reading Classroom – Includes link to a nice graphic with 15 Tools for the Reading Classroom
• 5 Alternatives to Book Reports
• Class Tech Tips – Reading and Writing posts – lots of ideas here.
• Notice and Note Facebook group – Good source of ideas and advice.
• Polly’s “reading” bookmarks on Diigo