Thing 31: Final Reflections & What’s Next?

For my final reflection I've decided to create an eBook in Book Creator.  Probably my favorite thing this session.

Thank you Polly-Alida for this class!  You have done an amazing job!!!!  Best wishes to you and enjoy this new chapter!

The link to my eBook from Book Creator.

https://read.bookcreator.com/yqjD3XDxKjXDiUARm55hnKwEDFx2/hPfc6lsJS8qEFH1GGvAUXg

Thing 17: eBook Creation

Link to my project

https://read.bookcreator.com/yqjD3XDxKjXDiUARm55hnKwEDFx2/2Zt1lfJ3TEiBCwg57icXHA

Book Creator is awesome!  I watched the Getting Started With Book Creator for Chrome by Dr. Monica Burns from July 2018.  

The product is very easy to use.  I included a link above to the book I created during the 45 minute video.  I love the recording feature.  It allowed me to add a recording of my voice (which I deleted) and also tried out the speech to text feature.  Students will be so excited about this.

My 1st grade enrichment group just started a state research project.  It s the same group who created the green screen video.   This product will be perfect for them.  They can each create a page using the joining code and then I can combine the individual pages and easily share the book with their classes and families - electronically and a paper copy.

The speech to text feature is perfect for first grade.  They can speak their facts on the page.  They can read the notes they take. This will put the focus on the information and not so focused on the correct spelling.  Some in the group have challenges with their handwriting.  Using the product I can find a balance between them learning keyboard skills and creating a project they are proud of.  Some were very frustrated during the last research project with the writing part.  Having them type a fact and speak a fact provides the perfect balance.  Drawing will provide that personalization students crave.

I can see other uses too - reader's response after I read a story to a class.  A quick way to record and assess.  

I am currently reading Magic Tree House books to  1st and 2nd grades classes.  This would fit nicely as a summary when we finish the book.

Excited to begin using Book Creator!

Thing 28: Anything Goes Google

There is so much under Google!  I listened to Hipster Google - 21 Things you probably never heard of.  I also watched two videos from about self-grading quizzes and sharing quizzes from Teachers Tech.

One of the items I really liked was Google Spell.  I thought it would be great for a filler activity during my library classes.   Well, I went to use it and it looks like it is no longer available :(.   I'll have to look for a similar activity..

One tool I am anxious to try is Google Cast.  My students will be so excited to display their work on the Smart Board.   They recently wrote Haikus and it would have been great to have each student display their poem on the screen in front of the class.  I am definitely going to have my students try Google Cast.

Tour builder was another interesting tool.  I am doing a state research project with my 1st grade enrichment group.   I can have them map out a tour of all the state capitals, and they can each put a fact about their capital.

I was amazed by the Google Translate tool and the ability to translate signs using the camera.  I was sharing with someone at work who said they used it in Italy recently and it was a life saver.  Hopefully someday I will find myself in a foreign country on vacation and can use it.

Toontastic looked fun, but I don't have access to a class set of iPads.

I just looked for Google Story Builder and discovered that app has also been retired.  I thought it would have been a good activity for 3rd and 4th graders to use with fairy tales and folk tale characters.