Turn Out A Treat

Last week I featured one of the new websites, Seriously Amazing, selected by the American Association of School Librarians, Best Websites for Teaching and Learning 2013 at their annual conference in Chicago on June 29, 2013.  Another of those, listed under the first category, Digital Storytelling, Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, 4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning and 4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person, is FlipSnack.  This free site offers users the ability to make flipping books.

There is a separate page specifically designated for educators at the website.  In the Terms of service it is stated users must be 13 years old or have parent/guardian approval to use the provided services.  It is requested that they view the Terms of service prior to granting their permission.

At the educator page four examples are available for your viewing, giving you an idea of possible uses and the format of FlipSnack.  To start click on the blue button reading, Make a flipping book.  At the next screen you are asked to sign in using your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Yahoo account.  It is requested you use the same account every time you use FlipSnack.





I decided to create a separate account specific to this site which you can do by entering in your name, email address and a password.  You are sent an email immediately in order to validate the information you supplied.  Once you click on the link in the email, you are taken to the work
space.




Across the top is a toolbar offering a keyword search of created Flips, the creation of a new Flip, view your FlipSnack, your profile and logging out.  Search results can be ordered by relevance or date.  In your profile you can add a username (can not be changed), your location, a short description, website or blog URL, change email, password or delete your account, add a picture to your profile and link to your Facebook, Twitter, Goggle+, YouTube or Vimeo accounts.


Documents can be uploaded from your computer in jpg, jpeg or pdf format by browsing or dragged and dropped into the available space.  Items can also be imported by using a URL.  Document positions can be reordered by dragging them around after imported.  They are shown as thumbnails under the Add documents section.

Continue adding documents until you have included all the pages you desire. My documents I decided to add were all blog posts.  I copied and pasted them into Microsoft Word, saving them in pdf format.  I then selected the blue Next button in the upper-right hand corner of the page.

At the following screen (Customize) you can edit your documents which appear in a row across the top of the page, choose a template (Classic, Hardcover, Coil, Interactive, Simple) for your FlipSnack, preview your FlipSnack in widget or full screen, and pick from a variety of settings to adjust the physical appearance of your FlipSnack.  You can also go back to the Add Documents step.

During the course of choosing the settings you wish for your FlipSnack, each time you change them the "look" is altered in the preview section.  On the tool bar in the right-hand corner, you can zoom in and out on a single view, view the thumbnails on a single page, go forward and back using the arrows, remove the sound and exit full screen. The options for sharing are not operable at this point in the process.  When you are satisfied click the green Finish button.







Your finished FlipSnack is shown on the next screen with the choice to alter the name.  Beneath the book is a thumbnail for the first page, two edit options, and the delete choice.  For sharing there is a URL link to copy, a direct connection to Facebook, Twitter, or sending an email.  The FlipSnack can be embedded in a SnackWebsite, other websites or downloaded.  The final chart is for viewing statistics. (Note: When embedding your FlipSnack at no cost a watermark will show. )

Here is the FlipSnack I made for the Mock Caldecott unit this year.  I only included books which I have reviewed to date.  To view full screen click on the center.  The entire book can not be viewed unless I upgrade to premium.  Only 15 pages/pdf can be viewed free of charge.




Once you have the items you wish to include in your FlipSnack in the proper format, you could not ask for an easier application/website to use.  There is a nice selection of options for the "look" of your book plus you can always upload your own images.  It's also important that at any time editing can be done which is especially handy when working for the first time with FlipSnack.  I recommend without reservation the use of FlipSnack.