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Day 3: Interactive Writing and eBooks

Overview

Learn how to setup, use and moderate content on a classroom blog to improve student writing skills. A moderated classroom blog is the ideal platform to use to share announcements, classroom news, and student work for a public audience. In this workshop we’ll use several free blogging and learning management tools. These will include KidBlog (powered by WordPress), My Big Campus, and Edmodo. We’ll also explore how free Posterous.com sites can be used to share rich media including images, audio and video files from iPads including “cart-based” iPads using a shared student “sending” email account. In addition, we’ll learn how to create enhanced/multimedia eBooks including digital text, hyperlinks, images, and embedded videos using iPad apps as well as other software programs. These will include Book Creator for iPad, iBooks Author software, Apple Pages software (part of iWork), and Calibre software (free and cross-platform).

Digital Show and Tell from Day 2

  1. Many of our videos from yesterday are on ipadmediacamp.posterous.com.

Puppet Pals Demo

  1. Santa Goes to Washington DC (on "Learning Signs")
  2. Puppet Pals Directors Pass HD

Student Blog Post Examples

  1. Mapping Media to the Common Core / Curriculum
  2. Cooper's Poem (6th grader)
  3. The Fire (poem by 8th grader Alexander)
  4. Jarrod and The Power of Twitter (@kathleen_morris)
  5. #comments4kids project
  6. More on Yukon PS Interactive Teacher Websites

Blogging Tools

  1. KidBlog
  2. Posterous
  3. Blogger - (New blogger account setup instructions)
  4. Class Blogmeister (Request from david.warlick at gmail dot com)
  5. Edublogs (uses Wordpress)

Other Resources on Blogging

  1. Configure KidBlog for Safe, Moderated, Interactive Student Blogging & Commenting (27 Jan 2012 post & screencast)
  2. Kathy Cassidy's October 2008 research results for the impact of her classroom blog on parent communication is great
  3. Georgetown Elementary's excellent wiki tutorial on blogs and blogging
  4. Ann Davis' wiki "Improving Instruction Through the Use of Weblogs"
  5. The collaborative Blog Tools Wiki includes many links to blog examples and different blog tools.
  6. The July 2006 skypecast on blogging tool options also includes many links in the shownotes.
  7. Resources and links from my MACE 2007 and MacWorld 2007 presentations on "Safe Classroom Blogging to Improve Student Writing" are available. Refer to the curriculum for Writing Across the Curriculum for more links and tips.
  8. My Classroom Blogging World Tour
  9. Ten habits of bloggers that win! by Vicki Davis
  10. Support Blogging Wiki
  11. More on "Interactive Digital Writing"

eBook Examples

  1. Our Choice ($5), Lauren, The Tickle-saurus Rex ($1)
  2. Digital Storytelling for First Nations, Tribes, Communities and Families (direct iBooks link)
  3. Snowflake Gets Lost (direct ePUB link)
  4. Zander's Soccer eBook (Mrs Callison's 6th grade English class)
  5. Lost Dog Story (Mr Simon, 4-5 STEM teacher)

eBook Creation Resources

  1. Workshop: Creating Multimedia eBooks (includes 1 hour video)

Group Activity 1: iPad Video Lessons eBook

  1. Appoint a scribe for your table group
  2. Brainstorm things you learned yesterday about creating, editing and sharing videos with an iPad.
  3. Draw several pictures which represent / reflect at least two of your learning points.
  4. As a group, we'll use Book Creator for iPad to create a narrated audio eBook of our iPad Video Lessons
  5. We will email our completed class eBook to ipadmediacamp@posterous.com
  6. Download and view / listen to our eBook on our ipadmediacamp.posterous.com.

Individual Activity 1: Flickr Flashlight Story eBook

  1. We will use Alan Levine's 5 Card Flickr site to select 5 photos for a "Flashlight Story" and email/share them to our ipadmediacamp.posterous.com site. (If you want to get your own photos for your story, you can.)
  2. Save each picture for your story to your iPad's photo roll: Open each picture in a new TAB on your iPad, take a screenshot of each one in full-screen mode (press HOME and POWER at the same time)
  3. Use Book Creator for iPad to create a narrated Flashlight Story eBook with your photos.
  4. Email your completed eBook to ipadmediacamp@posterous.com
  5. Download and view / listen eBooks created by your classmates on our ipadmediacamp.posterous.com site. Write constructive comments as feedback on their posts!
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