Technology, Engagement and Student Learning
A YouTube Channel hosted by Sam Kary, Ed Technology Platforms is a fabulous support that I came across during my search to learn more about online teaching tools. Sam says the options for Ed Tech are endless, however the time to explore and learn as a teacher doesn’t feel endless. Most days I feel too short on time to really dig deep into all the options of Ed Technology that exist. Then when I do find the time, that tool is old news and a new tool is in its place. The second challenge of online learning is having the feeling of being an inadequate teacher if you are not keeping up and utilizing all the technology in your classroom. Lastly it feels like there is a requirement that at all times your classroom be engaging by having students use technology on a regular basis. This requirement feels somewhat overwhelming when resources and time are not up to standards in most school divisions. How does one decide what’s engaging, useful and worthwhile? How does one deliver and meet expectations when resources and internet access are not always adequate. Is it possible that this could be a shared experience and we let the students become the experts and we as teachers the facilitators of their learning. Show them the tools and let them explore in order to potentially create self-sufficient learners that are engaged in their own creativity and learning. Possibly a shift in our pedagogy is needed to establish effective online learning communities that utilize a wisely selected array of online tools. This weeks reading from Bates work in Chapter 8 reflects on the rise and fall of online tools. How some tools come and go so quickly because we get excited about them but soon realize the impracticalities of the tool quite quickly. Bates expresses that most new teaching technologies go through the “Hype Cycle”, seen below.
When we understand the intent for selecting our media for teaching and learning it is possible that teachers will select the more valuable online tools. Ones that are long lasting and truly a benefit for the learners within our schools. Tools the support growth as a young person and tools that provide students with essential skills for the future. Bates discusses the pedagogy around media and the questions that we need to ask ourselves as teachers before we select an online tool to utilize in our classroom. One of the critical questions Bates suggests we ask is – “What are the unique and educational characteristics of each medium/technology and how well do these match the teaching and learning requirements?” With that said lets move on and take a look into a new online tool, its practically and usefulness in a high school classroom.
Book Creator Overview
Book Creator is an online story book creator that has both free and paid versions. It is a web based tool that allows students to create blank canvas books or choose from a theme. Teachers and students can easily sign up for the free account with an email and utilize many functions within the program. Like many online tools the paid version simply gives you more access to different functions. The free version allows teachers to create libraries and invite students to join the library once they have created an account. The library allows teachers and classmates to view each other’s books in a code protected space that is provided by the teacher. The website also allows you to publish student work to the online forum where anyone with an account or access to the internet can view the book.
Book Creator Critique
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| – Simple to Use – Very few buttons and tabs to navigate. – Free Account has several functions. Teacher Certification Programs that take less than 1 hour of time. -Teacher Code allows students to access – choice can be given to allow students to view, edit and publish online. – Interactive and engaging for all ages K-12. Training embedded in the website for new users. – Has templates for students that struggle with creativity. – Record your story for students that struggle with typing and for classmates to listen to. – The ability to embed content from other media sources. – The variety of images, symbols and shapes that can be added. | – Collaboration on the same book is only available with the paid version. – Can’t be used on Ipad 13 or higher, not able to do on phones. – Difficult to find how to change the font size |
Teacher Content Creation Tool
As a content creation tool book creator could be really useful to primary teachers…..when they have some time on their hands. A teacher could easily make a book that is tailored to the curriculum and to the content that they would like to match their lesson to. I also feel that there is an opportunity for teacher librarians to create online libraries that would be simply viewed by classrooms. For example I have a colleague – Pam Wenger that has invested time in creating online libraries during COVID. Her goal was to support literacy during the pandemic. I envision Book Creator having a similar look as Pam’s Online Library – except it doesn’t go to audiobooks on YouTube it would go to audio books created and read by the classroom teacher. My one last thought on Book Creator as a Content Creator – Can we flip the process? Do the teachers always have to create the content or can we engage students to write and share with their peers. Remember the buddy system in elementary schools where the little kids read to the big kids – well what if the senior students wrote and illustrated the stories and the primary students got to read them. How fun would it be if that was reversed – the little make the books for the bigs – so cute!
I’m thankful for this week’s assignment. It has allowed me to focus my time on something new and this new has given me an exciting opportunity – this week I pitched Book Creator to my grade 9 career class as a way of displaying their Manifesto Final Project and five of them were hooked. If only these five try it I’m happy. Happy because it was just what the needed to make the assignment meaningful for them.
Leo,
I feel the exact same way when it comes to EdTech. I want to be able to incorporate it, but I find that by the time I am able learn the tech tool, figuring out how I would use it, and teaching the students how to use it there is new, shinier tool that is all the craze! I think your point surrounding the availability of tech to use in our schools is one we need to really look at. It is hard to find a balance of how often should I book out the cart of 20 computers for my classroom of 30 students to use….. this becomes even trickier when you have to share the tech with 4-5 other classes as well. So how are we as teachers suppose to adequetely implement any sort of tech into our classrooms when the device:student ratio is 2:1 or 3:1(perhaps greater in other buildings)?
This sounds like an interesting tool to engage readers and enourage writing! I would love to see this in action. Are you planning to try this with your class? If you do, I would love to see a picture of their creations! Perhaps, even a collaborative book with a page from each child? Is that possible?
Hi Leona, Great post! I agree that technology’s rapid changes make it so hard to keep up. It is almost as though, it’s a luck of the draw that the tool will have staying power.
Book review seems like an awesome tool. It is an engaging and creative outlet for students. However, it is kinda concerning that it isn’t mobile compatible, which makes me question if the software would be updated as many students use their phones for assignments.
Thanks for the great overview of Book Creator. I’ll definitely check it out! Wondering if you’ve ever looked at http://www.storyjumper.com ? It sounds quite similar, although it might have a few more features than Book Creator. With that being said, I totally agree that the pace of changing ed tech can be overwhelming, and sometimes it’s a better use of time to stick with something that you have experience with than constantly jumping to new bandwagons.