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Interesting read at start of the new school year.

"For a single subscription fee per student, schools can enable teachers to access the combined resources of publishers, both by chapter or whole text and with advanced search functions. The content is mapped to the Australian curriculum, State curriculums and the NSW syllabus. It also provides single sign-on with anywhere, anytime access including iPad, Android and PC reading applications."

"If you don't have a Kindle, you can download Kindle for PC for free. There are also Kindle apps for iPad and iPod, as well as Droid. Amazon frequently runs freebies on books for the Kindle, but there are many books that are always free. This post lists/links some of the free Kindle books available. It is no way exhaustive, but begin to get a collection started by to collecting classic children's literature on the Kindle

Here is a masterclass from a teacher on how to print your Book Creator ebook and get a professional finish. This educator used the iPad but an android version of app is also available

I liked this for the Lego Creation Stationhowever there are more ideas here. "At this station, I have pre packaged 4 different ziplock bags of 100 legos each.  Students will choose the lego bag, and take a planning sheet.  Students are asked to draw and write about what they are planning to create.  (The boys in my class are crazy about lego so I thought this would be a great motivator for them.)  Students then will build their creation using their blueprint.  When they are finished, they will take a picture of their creation, add it to the class book that I have created on the Book Creator App and write a summary of their creation and how it compared to what they had originally planned."

"Most teachers know what close-reading is. The part that I found most interesting the seemingly alien idea of technology promoting patient reading. Apps, for example-how on earth can a tablet or an app or an iPad or headphones or some other gadget help with the focus, patience, curiosity, and will to sit with a text and make sense of it? It seems like the opposite would be more likely. And that's certainly possible. There is no "truth" here. In one setting with one student in one kind of classroom, technology could overwhelm the fragile interaction between reader and text. In others, it could catalyze the reading process like never before. But that's a matter of design. Of strategy. Of context. At one point, books were considered "technology" during a move from oral storytelling to written record. The same with certain kinds of binding, the printing press, and so on. Throughout history, reading has been altered by technology."

A digital storytelling wheel that features quite a few interesting resources that your students could use in class to create and share digital stories.  They have been organized into 3 types: iPad apps , Android apps, and Web tools for digital storytelling.

Interesting article. Some children's books look/sound fabulous on a tablet. Tap the screen and hear/see action. "But does this count as story time? Or is it just screen time for babies? It is a question that parents, pediatricians and researchers are struggling to answer as children's books, just like all the other ones, migrate to digital media."

" Teachers and students have a variety of ways to show what they know and to express themselves. Some of the best online and mobile tools for showing, explaining, and retelling are offered in this infographic, "Show What You Know Using Web & Mobile Apps." Most of the apps listed in the infographic are free of charge. you may download the infographic as a PDF (2 MB) by clicking the image below. Web links and app names are hyperlinked within the PDF for one-click access to the apps and resources."

Book Creator is available as an Android and iOS app. Offers a way for students/classes to create their own individual books. Simple to use.

An app that may be useful or parents or educators when they first come across a title. Level It Books is an app that tells you the DRA, gre, lexlile, and guided reading level just by scanning it!

This app, available on IOS and Android, gives students unlimited access to classic, new, and educational stories (for a low monthly fee). Because it's interactive, students are encouraged to dive deeper into the text, whether they're simultaneously drawing or watching the words come to life with animation.