Create Beautiful eBooks

Drop your manuscript into Vellum and it will open as a book divided into chapters. While in Vellum, you can edit your book or start writing a new one. Books may be shared with family and friends and uploaded to online stores. There’s a free download to try the software; if you wish to purchase, the cost is $49.99 for a single book, $99.99 for three books, and $149.00 for five books. The product was developed by Pixar veterans, so one wonders if Vellum may evolve to include interactive capabilities appropriate for exciting eTexts? In the meantime, it looks like a very nice solution for students and educators who want to create good-looking eBooks.

Best Learning Games of 2013

Larry Ferazzo, of Edublogs, lists what he considers the best learning games of 2013. They include World Geography Games, Inca Investigation, The China Games, Plan It Green Live, Broken Picture Telephone, Jay Is Games, Earth Picker, Lifesaver, Room Escape Maker, GR8CTZ—Great Cities of the World, and LocateStreet. This is the second of the 2013 lists. The first list features Wonderground, Pursued, GeoGuessr, Depression Quest, The Republica Times, Breakaway, Quandary, and Review Game Zone. The Edublog includes links to the recommended games. You’ll also find links to the best games of previous years.

Big Bird’s Words: eSchool News App of the Week

It comes from Sesame Street, works on Apple and Android devices, and features Big Bird, games, and fun. Big Bird’s Words, an eSchool News and Metro Bistro App of the Week, encourages children ages four and up to learn vocabulary and read written text.  The App ($.99) uses Big Bird’s wonderful Word-O-Scope to get children hunting for words in their real-life environment. Finding words is fun, especially when they get to use their devices’ camera to click on images of the words—like cereal on their breakfast table. Wired Magazine recommends it as a great app for children who are just starting school. Take a look at the demo reel from Qualcomm to better understand what this app does.

Piaget and B.F. Skinner Tweets

Malbert Smith III, in an Education Week Commentary, wonders what would have happened if great thinkers in education had digital communication available to them. Would they have been able to spread their research and ideas or would modern ways of communication have limited their time to think deeply and engage in continuing observations? Although, Smith says that “our digital toolkits allow us to analyze and publish data faster, connect immediately to scholars about the globe, and disseminate findings instantly”, he suggests, when considering the time we and our students spend engaging in digital communication, that we have become “prisoners” of our devices. If Jean Piaget had tweeted about his children, Smith says, they “would have rebelled with tweets, blogs, and the ultimate rejection: Facebook unfriending.”

Young Students Write Novels

During November’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNaWriMo)

Although, adults are encouraged to write a 50,000 word novel during November, the count is flexible for children. Grade 1 teacher Lily Jones decided to have her young students write novels. The idea was that they’d each write their own novel and all the words written by each student would be totaled. The goal for the class was 5000 words. Jones’ students learned about chapters and characters and enjoyed the freedom of writing fiction. The students didn’t master the art of creating chapters and plots, but they came up with delightful stories and saw themselves as novelists.  Jones went on to help create the NaNoWriMo curriculum for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students. You may want to put some of the NaNoWriMo ideas to work in your classroom this month and throughout the school year. Give your students time to create a story of their own, either using word processing or getting it down on paper. They’ll be proud of their accomplishment.

Grammar with Tech

The TL Advisor Blog is always packed with useful information, like Ozge Karaoglu’s suggestions for great grammar tech tools.  Some of those recommended are the Grammar Ninja, Free Rice, Road to Grammar, and Grammaropolis. There’s also Noredink.com (No Red Ink) where you can create classroom materials featuring apostrophes, fragments, hyphens, subject-verb agreement, and all those confusing words such as its, it’s, accept, except, affect, effect, than, then, and loads more.

Fun With Language Arts

The Children's University of Manchester in the United Kingdom hosts a very nice language arts site for students and parents. On the site, you'll find an introduction to words, a world language map, jigsaw puzzles, and fun with nouns, adjectives, pairs, and much more. There's even a timeline of the English language. —And, if you don’t know what an EPONYM is, you should head to this very nice site, which also includes fun with history, science, and art and design.

Hispanic Heritage Essay Competition

Students in Middle and High School in the CableVision region of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut may enter the 2013 Hispanic Heritage Essay Competition. By writing an essay of 500 words or less, students have the chance to win a $2,500 scholarship, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a Kindle Fire. Students must submit original essay on the topic, “Name a Latino, past or present, with whom you would choose to spend a day and explain why.”  Submissions are due by November 1, 2013 and must be submitted online. Rules and entry forms are available on the site.

Blended Learning for Young Children

Vinci Learning features digital devices and programs for early childhood learning. The devices are 7” Android tablets specifically designed for our youngest learners. Apps for the tablets include Play and Learn studies in mathematics, science, and language arts & literacy. While playing with Vinci apps, student profiles are developed; learning activities are recommended based on the assessment. Information about the suggested activities is sent to teachers and parents, and teachers can adjust the program, as needed. This cloud-based analytical tool follows a blended learning approach that is structured to differentiate learning to fit individual needs.

Storia: A Scholastic Reading Experience

Scholastic’s Storia is a place for your students to find over 2000 eBooks to read at home and at school. There are Read-to-Me books with highlighted text; Enriched eBooks that tackle topics in mathematics, science, geography, and history; reference tools and a dictionary; books with puzzles and quizzes; personal bookshelves; and tools for teachers. Many Scholastic favorites and classics are part of the Storia list, which is divided into categories according to Age (2 to 13 and up), Product Type (eBooks, Enriched eBooks, Read-to-Me Books, Reading Challenge, ePacks, eCollections), Reading Level, Grade Level (Pre-K to 8 and Teen), and Character & Series (Clifford, Harry Potter, Magic School Bus, etc.). Prices vary according to the book or pack selected. The eBooks may be used on iPad, Kindle Fire, Android devices, and Windows PCs. A Mac version will be out soon.