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Excellent Tools, Apps, and Tips to Create Educational Book Trailers

Excellent Tools, Apps, and Tips to Create Educational Book Trailers
November 12, 2014 There are several ways to use technology to engage students and enhance their literacy skills and one of them is through creating video book trailers. Yes, they are similar to movie trailers we see now on YouTube but they are different in scope. A video book trailer is a concise review of a book created with the help of a variety of digital tools that include : images, text, clips, voiceovers, recordings, and music. Why include book trailers in your instruction? Creating book trailers is a comprehensive learning task in which students get to experiment with different literacies.Book trailers is a good way to get reluctant readers to readBook trailers are good for those readers who find it hard to visualize what they readBook trailers are a good alternative for the traditional book reportsTips on how to create Book Trailers Here are two sources I would recommend for learning about some important tips to keep in mind when working on book trailers: I- Audio resources:

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: 10 Tips for Close Reading Success October 28, 2014 Reading well requires much more than just decoding textual input, it is rather a process of making meaning of text using a wide range of critical and intellectual skills and drawing on different cues . Close reading is one example of a theory that explicates the intricacies surrounding effective reading. Language Close attention to the diction or word choice ; identify the words the author chose to repeat or emphasize ? In the visual below which I discovered through CoolcatTeacher, ten tips are provided for successful close reading activities. Here is a quick round-up of the ten tips for close reading success: Select Short PassagesMake Your Focus IntenseExtend Focus Through the TextStudents Markup the Text as They ReadEncourage Exploratory DiscussionsEncourage RereadingRead in Every Subject AreaAnnotate the TextUse Close Reading Marks IndependentlyUse Close Reading Strategically in Small Bites

Graphic Organizer Worksheets Advertisement. EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.Click here to learn more. (Already a member? Graphic Organizers Graphic organizers (some of which are also called concept maps, entity relationship charts, and mind maps) are a pictorial way of constructing knowledge and organizing information. Increasing Understanding by Creating Graphic Organizers: The process of converting a mass of data/information/ideas into a graphic map gives the student an increased understanding and insight into the topic at hand. The creation of graphic organizers also helps the student generate ideas as they develop and note their thoughts visually. Uses of Graphic Organizers: Graphic organizers can be used to structure writing projects, to help in problem solving, decision making, studying, planning research and brainstorming.

Finding Your Element Audiobook | Ken Robinson, Lou Aronica Would you consider the audio edition of Finding Your Element to be better than the print version? I'm not sure. This is the first time that I have felt the need for the printed version. Unfornately, as of date, the book is only available in hard back. What other book might you compare Finding Your Element to and why? This book has many parallels to many spiritual teachings, from which the author occasionally quotes, but it is your choice as to whether you see finding your element a spiritual jouney or merely a way of finding the right career path for yourself or a child. Which scene was your favorite? All the exercises are valuable tools and I loved the personal stories of how some people found their element. What’s an idea from the book that you will remember? What makes you happy? Any additional comments? If you are like me, you are an audible subscriber because you prefer to listen to books whilst you are on the move.

The Biggest Stumbling Blocks When You Start Mind Mapping Some people start mind mapping and they’re changed forever. They can’t stop raving about it. Then there’s another group of people, which you might be in. It’s the group that tries out mind mapping, but finds there’s something not quite working for them. If I’m describing you, read on. And Fear not. If you’ve come across a stumbling block that’s not included in this article, let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it. Deal? Onward. Block #1: I’m doing this wrong Never. If you think you’re doing it wrong, then you’re doing it wrong. Alright. But I don’t believe there’s a way to “do it wrong.” Most of your stress from mind mapping will come from you thinking you’re doing something wrong and not wanting to make a mistake. Don’t stress out about it. The process will feel a little weird at first. Don’t wait until you’ve learned everything about mind mapping before starting. And stop worrying about rules, or what someone says you should be doing. Block #2: I can’t pick a program to use Um. Phew.

Improve Students Reading Comprehension with These Common Core Aligned Materials October 11, 2014 ReadWorks is an excellent platform that provides effective free resources to enhance students reading comprehension. It also gives teachers a bunch of research-proven tools and support they need to improve the academic achievement of their students. ReadWorks also provides a wide variety of reading materials that are aligned to the Common Core Standards. To learn more about ReadWorks watch the video below. Search Engines for Serious Writers June 20th, 2010 Finding the information you need as a writer shouldn’t be a chore. Luckily, there are plenty of search engines out there that are designed to help you at any stage of the process, from coming up with great ideas to finding a publisher to get your work into print. Both writers still in college and those on their way to professional success will appreciate this list of useful search applications that are great from making writing a little easier and more efficient. Professional Find other writers, publishers and ways to market your work through these searchable databases and search engines. Writing These helpful tools will help you along in the writing process. Research Try out these tools to get your writing research done in a snap. Google Scholar: With this specialized search engine from Google, you’ll only get reliable, academic results for your searches.WorldCat: If you need a book from the library, try out this tool. Reference Need to look up a quote or a fact? Niche Writers

5 Great Tools to Improve Students Reading Comprehension Skills September 27, 2014 One of the key concerns I often hear primary teachers vociferate revolves around the potential of technology in enhancing students reading comprehension skills. As a matter of fact, technology's role in this regard is phenomenal and there are now several web tools and mobile apps that are designed specifically for the improvement of students reading skills. These tools make use of a variety of activities and exercises all of which are geared towards providing students with meaningful practice in areas related to reading comprehension. 2-Rewordify Rewordify lets you read more, understand more, learn more words, and teach more effectively. 3- SpeakIt SpeakIt reads selected text using Text-to-Speech technology with language auto-detection. Reading Bear is a great tool for helping kids learn to read. Read with Me is a web platform that for monitoring oral reading progress on any web device. 5- Language Garden

Useful Apps and Tools For Designers Who Hate WritingDesignrfix.com If you are a designer, it is entirely understandable if you aren’t too fond of writing. Your talent is based on visual resources, and you might find hard to deal with words instead. But while it might be true, you don’t want it to stop you from climbing in your career. If you are a graphic or web designer, written content is always around you. From a one-phrase slogan to a magazine website, you are expected to know your way around words. Thankfully, there are several tools for designers on the market that will help you upgrade your writing skills. # 1 – Dictionary.com If you have a problem remembering the meaning of some words, Dictionary.com is the app for you. But Dictionary.com isn’t only about word definition. # 2 – Grammarly Prefer something that will check your writing straight on? They also offer plugins for Microsoft Word, Chrome, and Firefox so that it can check your e-mails and posts for you. # 3 – Phraseology Phraseology will make writing on an iPad much easier. # 4 – Hemingway

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