Students who read…write and students who write…read. Build literacy skills as you offer students technology-related opportunities to read and create books online or use the materials I created for my PowerPoint Picture Book Workshop to create and print books for your classroom or as a child take home project.
Big Universe is an online place where students can read, create & share books. Currently, the site features almost 1,000 Children’s books that are appropriate for students age 2 and up. Search through the books by targeted age, category, or search tool. The books are full version and could be read by students individually or projected on a plain or interactive white board for classroom integration. There are many opportunities for differentiation since there are often several books available in each category. Please be aware that the number of books available with the free account is limited…you will find more books and options available with premium accounts that range in pricing and option.
Another great feature of the site is the ability to create and publish (online) books. Teachers, students, and parents could use this feature to write books relating to units of study and the best part…there are 1,000′s of books that have already been created using this feature. “Illustrator/publishers” can select from 7,000 clip art options or upload scanned images or photographs. “Author/publishers” can also change font size, style, and color. Creating a book is intuitive and relatively easy. Books appear online once they are saved and published. There are several tutorials that will walk you through the simple process of creating a book.
There is no question that this Web 2.0 site will hold appeal for teachers and students. The only downside that I see to the site is the fact that the free membership will leave teachers and students yearning for full memberships so they can take greater advantage of the features offered on the site. You can learn more about this exciting and engaging reading and publishing site at you watch the video below:
Tikatok is another online site/community where children can write, illustrate, and publish a book. Simply write a story and upload your scanned illustrations, clip art or photos. Tikatok features a free teacher management tool that includes options for setting up student accounts and parent invitations. The tool is great as an online authoring program, but please be aware that the site does make money by printing student books, so parents will be encouraged to order their children’s books. Purchase is not required to use the tools found on this site and the online interface of the books is really very engaging. Please view the video below to learn more about this publishing/authoring site.
I realize there are some students who do not have permission to use online resources, so I am sharing another technology option that you can offer students…using PowerPoint to create Picture Books. I have taught this workshop several times over the years. It’s been very popular with teachers and their students. Click on the image below to access the templates and materials I developed and posted for this workshop.
Additional Resources I interviewed in past posts (that could also be used for children’s books) include the following:
I have read some of your posts and they are good. Thanks for posting good information in your blog.