Group items tagged

"I have been thinking a lot about the topic of literacy as I review iPad books at Digital Storytime. As the mother of a preschooler who is just now learning to read, the idea of digital books both delights and terrifies me. When I first read an iPad book to my son, back in April of 2010, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. What did these new picture books, with their instant appeal, mean for print books and more importantly, for reading as a pastime? Would my son 'read' or would he instead be distracted by books he could passively watch, or even worse, books that were more like toys and less like educational tools for literacy?"

"Zip! Zap! Zoom! My library is anything BUT quiet during our recess time. Of course students are visiting and sharing about books they love. But they've also had a great time exploring iPads this year. Students read picture book apps, explore nonfiction book apps, and play math games to practice basic math facts."

"The whole 'kids coloring' books has changed now that Crayola has come to the iPad. They released a fun stylus last year, which several of us have, just for fun. Now, they have rolled out a literally endless number of pages coloring book. The basic Crayola Lights, Camera, Color! HD app converts any image you have on your iPad (or take with the iPad2 camera) to a line art, ready for coloring. Included 64 crayon colors, 24 colored pencils, 10 Crayola markers and even an eraser."

"This is, as I am sure you are aware, a debate as old as the iPad itself. "A computer without a mouse or keyboard," went the argument when the iPad was announced, "is no kind of computer at all." Then people started using iPads to write books, paint pictures, make music, and much, much more. Harry Marks recently summarised the position of most of the Apple blogosphere when he dismissed the "iPad is made for consumption" idea as "thoroughly-debunked"."

"I recently wrote a post about "Creating and Collecting Digital Work". When my son brought home this really charming and heart-warming hand drawn "about me" book, I instantly wanted him to tell me about each picture. His descriptions were so amusing and charming, I felt inspired and compelled to create a digital artifact of his work… with my iPad."

"Age Group: Pre-K and Elementary students Cost: Lite= Free; Full version= $6.99 StoryBuddy is an app that allows children to create their own picture books. The pages can be filled of students' own drawings or digital photos"