Create an eBook using free software

A colleague of mine is famous for his fabulous workshops where he shows teachers how to create ebooks using Flip Flash Album free.  So I thought I would share some information about this application.  It is a free software you can download.  Students can add images, text and flash animations to create an interesting ebook.  This is great for storytelling, presenting a research task, the alphabet, learning a language, instructional manual, art portfolio, digital photo album, etc.  The album can be exported as a flash file.

You can choose the size and template.  Add an image one at a time or select a folder of images.

Select one of the pages and add text and flash animation

Comix - Free Online Comic Creator

I love looking for new ways students can create comics. A colleague of mine passed on a link to me called Comix. It is described as a free preschool online game. It is very easy to use with simple click and drag on the page functions.


The site offers a range of images students can choose from. In the Draw section ,there are text options with speech bubbles or text box. You easily change the size of the cell and add more. Students can also draw and upload their own images. The great thing about this site is you don’t need to register and you can save the image as a jpeg when click on Publish. (It asks for author's name but you don't need to fill it out to save)

Students can use this site for many purposes:

• Creating a multimodal text
• As inspiration for a story
• To interpret a story
• Practice spelling words
• Create a sequence
• Create Big, Bigger, Biggest images
• A poster

Using Animations to Apply Knowledge

Creating animations is a great way for students to apply their knowledge and demonstrate understanding. It also allows students to develop problem solving and decision making skills while being creative and having fun.  I have included a few links to sites to give ideas and a table to show how animations can be used across subject areas.


I Create to Educate

Great student sample I particularly like to animated diagram of the heart.


Sam Animation


Klutz: great ideas for stop motion animation


Animate Clay


RollerMache


Animation for education

Using Animations Across Subject Areas

English

• Demonstrate knowledge of the genre and audience

• Create a Book trailer as an alternative to a book report

• Interpret myths and legends

• Interpret a poem or nursery rhyme through animation

• Create a persuasive animation by focusing on environmental issues

• Bring characters from a novel or play to life by adding them to an animation

• Write a story and adapt to an animation

• Using foam letters to spell words

• Using magnetic words to create sentences

• Use new vocabulary words in context

• Create an advertisement

Maths

• Demonstrate understanding of fractions and percentages

• Display number equations

• Create shapes

• Demonstrate understanding of percentages

• Demonstrate understanding of time

• Create animated graphs

• Use lego blocks for counting

Science

• Demonstrate phases of the moon

• Life Cycles

• Solids, liquids and gases

• Forms of energy

• create a sun safe animation

• Growth of a plant

• Circulatory system

• Digestive system

• Demonstrate a volcanic eruption or earthquake

• Time-lapse video of plant growing, weather changing and melting

• Show understanding of laws of physics

• Show the position and movement of planets in our solar system

• Demonstrate understanding of magnets

SOSE

• Indigenous dreamtime stories

• Re-enact events in history

• Environmental sustainability

• Travel around a map

• Natural Disasters

• Languages Stroke order of script writing

• Characters speaking in the target language

• Create an animation depicting a culture

Art

• Demonstrate colour theory

• Bring an art work to life

• Demonstrate understanding of the elements and principle of design

• Document the creation of an artwork from beginning to end

• Create animation exploring art movements e.g. Surrealism

Music

• Create music tracks for animations

• Demonstrate how to write music

• Demonstrate music theory

Home Economics

• Demonstrate procedures and safety

• Create the illusion that a meal made itself by taking images during the preparing and cooking process.

• Nutrition

The Changing World - Show World

There are many sites now which convert data into visual forms. This site called SHOW world displays a range of data in a visual form using the map of the world. Instead of land mass, the size of each country will represent the data for that subject. This can be the stimulus for class discussions or research activities.


Categories include:

People: Demographics, Causes of Death, Education, Health, Religion

Planet: Animal Resources, Crop Resources, Energy, Environment, Metals and Minerals, Natural Disasters

Business: Economy, Global Brands, Industry, Technology, Transport

Politics: Government, Law and Order, Migration, War & Conflict, Aid

Living: Food & Dining, Travel, Sports, Media

http://show.mappingworlds.com/world/

Online Comics and Graphic Novels

Here is a list of Online Graphic Novels and Comics. They vary from being read online or download as a pdf. With these comics you can use them for comprehension activities, use them as stimulus to give students ideas when they are making their own, you can also look at characters, setting and the plot of the comic.

http://wormworldsaga.com/

The WormWorld Saga is an Online Comic and is available in a range of languages.  This makes it a great tool for learning laguages.

http://dckids.kidswb.com/

DC Kids offers a range of comics which are free to download.

http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/

The Dream Chronicles is an online Graphic Novel.

http://www.andyrunton.com/owly/

This site offers a range of comics which are free to download.  they are great for beginning readers andto use for visual literacy.

http://www.toon-books.com/rdr_one.php

This site offers a range of online comics for early Phase students.  They are also avaliable in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese.



http://comics.com/

This site offers a range of Online Comics

This site provides free sample downloads of classics which have been converted into Graphic Novels such as Romeo and Juliet, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol and many more.  The site also provides teacher resources and comics with no text so students can interpret the images and add their own text.

http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/comic/

This site is a Forensic Science Mystery better suited for older students.

http://www.howtoons.com/

Free 'How to' downloadable comics



http://cindispace.utdallas.edu/education/cindi_comic.html

Free Download

http://www.sciencecomics.uwe.ac.uk/index.php

Online Science Comics

http://www.grammarmancomic.com/twilight.html

Free Download comics on Biographies of the Twilight actors.

http://www.grammarmancomic.com/grammarcom.html

http://www.grammarmancomic.com/marvelidioms.html

http://www.kinsa.net/widgetFiles/file/Web%20of%20Deception.pdf

Free Download about internet safety

http://www.nsteens.org/Comics/HowMuchIsTooMuch

Online comic about internet safety

http://www.adrianbruce.com/machinima/macbeth/macbeth.htm

This link shows an adaptation of Hamlet created using a game similar to Machinima by Adrian Bruce.

http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/g/Scholastic_GraphixPages01.pdf

This is a great resource to about Graphic Novels.



Online Comic Creators Glog

I have had another play with glogster and created this Virtual poster. Move your mouse over the words and click to go to the link.

Create Fun Interactives using Hyperlinks in PowerPoint

Many use hyperlinks to direct people to information such as websites by highlighting text. In PowerPoint you can add links to shapes by creating an invisible hyperlink.

This can be done by drawing a shape, selecting it and then finding the Action Button (2003 version will find it under Slideshow; later versions will find it under Insert). You then select which slide you want to link to the shape. Think of it as the first slide as the main page and the other slides are hidden behind it. This process adds more interactivity to PowerPoint and is a useful tool for Interactive White Boards.

There are many ways to use this process:

Create a Non-Linear slide: Create a Mindmap or picture and link the slides, rather than sequential

Create a Quiz or Game: You can create a quiz for students or they could make their own. Create a multiple choice and when the students select the correct answer they see a picture and sound.

Choose your own adventure: Add interest to story writing by asking students to write different alternatives to their story, the reader can choose the different options.

Create an Interactive Map: Take a screenshot of a map, add a shape and place it on the map. Link the shape to a slide with information about the place.

Create Flash cards: when learning words or another language. Make a box with a word and link it to a slide with a matching picture. Make a box with Japanese script and link it to the sound.

This process can really be adapted to suit any subject area