On the Road Again: Google Lit. Trips

 WEBSITE WEDNESDAY

Bud, Not Buddy  is a story of an orphaned 10 -year old boy who during the Great Depression goes on an adventure of a lifetime in hopes of finding his long, lost father.  The only clues he has are the flyers about a band left by his mother in an old suitcase. Along the way he meets interesting characters who lend a helping hand in the search for his father.

Now imagine while reading this story with your class, you can follow in Bud's steps and experience his travels? You can with Google Lit. Trip. 

Google Lit. Trips are downloadable files that mark the journey(s) of character(s) from famous works of literature on the surface of Google Earth.

To begin your first  Lit. Trip

1. Go to Google Lit. Trip
2. Fill out the GLT Globel ED Member Registration so that you can      access all the incredible trips and resources.
3. Install Google Earth on your laptop or desktop.
4. Browse the Lit. Trip Library *The library holds titles for all ages from  The Armadillo from Amarillo to My Brother Sam is Dead to The Grapes  of Wrath. 
5. Request a Lit. Trip

But wait...Google  Lit. Trip is more than just following a story's map on Google Earth. Along the way there are links to audio files, websites with more information on a topic, videos, and much more. 

What adventure will you and your class take this year? 

A book is a device to ignite the imagination.

–Alan Bennett

Storytelling with Storify

Storify defines its service as "the easiest way to find, collect, and share what people are saying all over the web." I suppose that is the correct definition, but it's so much more than that. 

Storify uses a multitude of different social media resources to create stories. From Google images to Facebook posts and everything in between, Storify takes content from the web and helps you develop your own story about a certain topic.

Check out these articles to get an idea of how you could use Storify in your classroom - 

4 Ways to Use Storify in the Classroom 
Potential Uses for Teaching with Storify
How Storify can be a New Platform for Students

Happy Storytelling!

Adobe Slate - A Beautiful Story

I talked about Adobe Voice in the last Mobile App Monday post, so I thought it only made sense to talk about Adobe Slate in this Monday's post.

Adobe Slate is a free iPad app that gives you easy to use tools to create the most stunning multimedia product. You upload your pictures and type in your text to tell your story. 

Here's a quick video to explain Adobe Slate. 

This is a great tutorial that walks you through the app step by step. Create something beautiful today!

Creating Videos with Shadow Puppet Edu

Using Shadow Puppet Edu makes video creation super simple. With only a few clicks, students can create videos to tell a story, share ideas, or show what they know. 

Using images from the iPad or the built in image search including the Library of Congress, NASA, Creating Commons and much more, students can create videos with up to 100 images per video and up to 30 minutes long. They can also add narration, background music and text to each slide. When the video is complete, students can save it to the camera roll and then easily share it through social media, email or copy to Google Drive, Classroom, or OneDrive. Best of all, there are over 30 activity ideas built into the app to help everyone get started.

Check out the Shadow Puppet Edu app in the app store. 

Get the Story Started with Story Dice

Sometimes the hardest part about writing a story is getting started - that's where Story Dice comes in. 

Story Dice is a creative writing prompt tool that helps students come up with ideas for plot, character and setting and the app can be used with all grade levels.

Just select the number of dice you want to roll and get started - there are 170 pictures included in the app. 


Several ideas for using the dice - 
1. Use the dice to create a character in a story that students have already started.
2. Create sentences.
3. Develop a skit.
4. Play charades.

And much more! Look at their app in app store to get more ideas on how to use Story Dice and let the stories begin!