Inspirational Sound

Twice last week one of my favorite people for learning about new websites and apps, Heather Moorefield, Education Librarian at Virginia Tech and chairperson for the American Association of School Librarians Best Websites for Teaching & Learning sent out tweets about a web 2.0 application she feels is worthy of exploration.  The original platform Booktrack: Soundtrack for Books was officially launched on January 5, 2012.  The company launched their dedicated education platform on March 21, 2014.  It is called Booktrack Classroom.  In their about section they state:

Booktrack Classroom is an exciting new technology that synchronizes audio with text to create an immersive reading experience.

When first accessing the home page the navigation bar along the top invites you to go to separate pages if you are teachers, parents, need help, want to log in or click on the free to use button.  You can also view a short video about the site, read six research-based features, and visit another page as a student.  At the bottom of the home page you can read the about section, the teachers' blog, a lesson plan library grouped by elementary, middle and high school ages, press releases, university studies, the terms of service and privacy policy (very detailed) and go to the download page.

To begin using the site I clicked on the green Free to Use button.  A new window opens with several choices, bookshelf, create, register, login and help, available at the top.  I clicked on the register tab.  A form pops up asking you for your display name, email address, and password.  You need to read and accept the terms of service and privacy policy.  An account confirmation email is sent immediately.  You should note that students under the age of 18 need to have a parent or guardian read and accept the terms of service and privacy policy before they can use this site.  This was stated in the terms of service.

When your account is created and you have logged in, you can then create a classroom.  For the purposes of this review I will only have a single student.  When I selected the + Add a Class button a new window opens.  You are asked to enter in a class name, country, school, grade year, school year and a rating.

Once you save your class, you can add student first and last names.  I then clicked on the student details tab.  Enter in a student's name, clicking add when you are done. As you can see in the images below you have the option to choose a common password, and select all to block, unblock, delete and change password.  I have added one student.  It shows their name, login name and assigned password.

To continue with my tour of Booktrack Classroom I selected the Bookshelf tab.  At this new window you can view previously created Booktracks.  They are grouped by content, genres, styles, and languages.  They each have star ratings. If you choose to read one the second image below appears on your screen.  When clicking on read the third image appears advising you on the options for reading the selection. Simply click in the middle to start.  

I then went to the top navigation bar choosing create.  Again an overlay with complete, easy-to-understand instructions appears. Click anywhere to begin.  First you type in a title for your chapter, then type in or copy and paste the text.  You can make any of the text bold or in italics.  There is an undo and redo option.  

Before moving to sound I did select save.  Upon clicking on the sound tab a new overlay appears giving you more instructions.  Click anywhere to start.  After your text is highlighted you can choose between music, ambience and effect.  

With your choice made more options appear above the highlighted text.  You can change the track, adjust the volume, the fade in and fade out seconds, choose to loop or delete.  Plus at any time you can view your work in the reader.  Again before clicking on publish I saved my work.

At the publish screen you add a title, the author and creator are entered in for you, a description, genre, type, rating and language.  You retain the copyright of everything which you held prior to creating this Booktrack.  When you select to create a cover, you are adding text with font style options, font size choice, font color and bold or in italics text.  Clicking adds the text box.  Double clicking allows you to make changes.  You can upload a cover image from your computer or browse through their gallery.

  

You can save, publish or delete your final work.  Choosing publish causes a new window to open asking in which class you would like the Booktrack placed based on your rating.  Make sure you place a check mark in the correct library box; otherwise your Booktrack will not appear on a bookshelf.  Once a Booktrack is on a bookshelf it can be read.

This application makes the reading of your writing much more engaging; actually fascinating.  Including sound with your written words gives them an emotional edge.  I highly recommend you give Booktrack Classroom a try.  My Booktrack, because I created a teacher account, is only available to me and my students.  You can go to the site and read other previously created Booktracks.  I do have a question submitted to see if I can make my Booktrack available to others.  UPDATE In order to make a Booktrack available to the public, you need to use the original global platform linked above.

Rocket Rocks!

Two years ago a little white dog with black spots, cute as a button, and his teacher, rather petite,  bright yellow with wings, introduced readers to the power of combining letters to make words.  In How Rocket Learned to Read (Schwartz & Wade Books, July 27, 2010) written and illustrated by Tad Hills readers are transported to a moment of discovery; knowing words can spark the ability to read.  Being able to read does not happen overnight but when it does, it is a thing of power and beauty.

Since my post linked above I discovered teaching materials at the publisher's site linked here which I successfully used with students last year.  Also since that post Tad Hills's book, How Rocket Learned to Read, received numerous awards including the Irma Black Award about which I posted here.  I was so excited to learn that Rocket and his teacher were returning this summer.

There is nothing better than when friends you've met in a book and grown to love, return.  Last week Rocket Writes a Story (Schwartz & Wade Books) written and illustrated by Tad Hills was released. 

Rocket loved books. ...
Rocket even liked the way books smelled.  When he opened a new book, it smelled like a place he'd never been to, like a friend he'd never met.

With those three sentences found on the first page, book lovers are completely captivated.  We know what Rocket and his teacher know.  We want to see where this adoration of books is going to take these two.

Rocket's love of words leads his teacher to daily ask him to sniff out new ones as he explores.  After finding new words, Rocket goes back to his classroom (the great outdoors) and writes them down.  The ever helpful bird assists when he gets stumped and adds words of her own, posting them all on a nearby tree.

Prompted by his teacher Rocket wonders what to do with all these words.  Before long he has an idea.  But the blank white page does not seem to fill up with the story Rocket wants to write.

Again the nose knows, as Rocket looks for something to stir his imagination.  He writes all afternoon and returns in the evening to a tall tree, the source of those enticing smells.  He speaks but is not answered.

In the morning on his way to school there is a new word spelled out along his path.  A voice from the tree introduces the word to Rocket.  Not only does the precious pup have a new word but perhaps, the best kind of new.

Day after day Rocket works on his story.  Day after day he succeeds, pauses when perplexed and takes long walks.  Encouraging Rocket with questions, his teacher helps that story to grow.  As the story grows, so too does a new friendship.

A completed story is an invitation.  A completed story can even coax shyness into trust.  A completed story opens up possibilities.

Unfolding the book jacket readers are drawn to Rocket and his teacher, the little yellow bird, as they gaze outward; those eyes are irresistible.  On the back teacher and student are looking at each other completely focused on a conversation.  Without even opening the book you know there is a mutual admiration sensation in this classroom.

Endpapers are covered in a leafy array, a backdrop for small white pieces of paper with Rocket's words and pictures on each of them.  A two page title spread pictures Rocket (in a small circle on the right) bent over writing with his teacher watching from the tree branches.  Hills, using oil paints and colored pencils, alters his visuals from double page layouts to several small, round-shaped, close-ups on a single page, to single pages, always in tune with the narration, complimenting and enhancing.

Employing the use of white space to focus, primary colors, bright but softened, to promote reader participation, and the placement of text, all work to create a delightful, pleasing whole.  I have complete and total admiration for this newest title by Tad Hills, Rocket Writes a Story. I'm almost giddy at the potential for using this in the classroom setting but the appeal to children is undeniable.

A couple of students, living in my neighborhood, stopped by yesterday to stock up on books to take with them on vacation.  One of them noticed my copy of Rocket Writes a Story sitting on the stool where I work on my computer.  Guess what?  How Rocket Learned to Read and Rocket Writes a Story are on their way out West.

Thanks to John Schumacher at Watch. Connect. Read. for pointing me to this interview with Tad Hills about Rocket Writes a Story at School Library Journal.

Update:  August 6, 2012

Rocket responds to the readers who made ROCKET WRITES A STORY a #1 New York Times bestseller! @tadhills twitter.com/randomhousekid…
— Random House Kids (@randomhousekids) August 6, 2012

Grrrrrrrr...Learning To Read With The Bear

In a November 3, 2011 post, I Like "Reading Bear" Larry Ferlazzo of Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day talked about a relatively new site that teaches reading through the use of phonics.  At the site introduction this is what the originators have to say:

Reading Bear, a project of WatchKnowLearn.org, is the first free program online to teach beginning readers vocabulary and concepts while systematically introducing all the main phonetic patterns of written English, all using innovative rich media. We have launched with 14 presentations and plan to increase the number to about 50. In the end, well over 1,200 items of vocabulary will be given the Reading Bear treatment.

I began exploring the site by clicking on the large orange Getting Started button.  At the next page users are greeted with the following video:


Beneath the video are informative categories as follows: 
General Information about Reading Bear, How to Get the Most from Reading Bear, The Reading Bear Software, Videos of the Presentations and The Interludes.

Each of the seven presentation modes for the phonic being taught run about fifteen minutes in length. 

It is recommended that the first three be done in order using the last four as methods of practice and review.  After a presentation there is an option of taking a quiz.  After viewing five presentations grouped together there is additional review which changes each time selected.

Sound It Out Slowly goes like this:
Parts of each word are sounded out at two different speeds enabling the user to adjust and become familiar with those sounds.  As the letters or combinations of letters are read they are highlighted, read as a whole, the user is invited to say the word, it is read again and illustrated with a picture and lastly it is used in a sentence.  The sentence will be repeated as a whole, each word being underlined as it is read, read with an illustration and the single word is read aloud again.  If you wish to hear the pronunciation of any word in the sentence, just select it.

When navigating during a presentation use the keys shown at the bottom left.  Individual presentations by default are shown as a video but by clicking on the auto button in the lower right it becomes a slide show using the navigation keys to move in the desired direction.  The HD button is also on by default.  If the presentation is loading slowly, turn this off.

At the top of the viewing screen is a series of As increasing in size.  This allows for the presentation to enlarge or become smaller.  By clicking on the gear icon settings such as always show video of word spoken, always use the same font and color, pause and ask me to say the words, show in random order and enable interludes can be used or not.

Interludes are videos, usually grouped by six, of music and some of the best Western art.  Rest assured that the paintings are "kid-friendly" except for the Michelangelo Creation of Adam.  These are placed between presentations with the intent of refreshing the user's attention.  Their length is about fifteen seconds.

This site is free but there are perks to registering.  For registration enter in an email address, password and password hint.  When your registration confirmation is received you can keep track of content viewed, presentations mastered and quiz results.

Larry Sanger, co-founder and the original organizer of Wikipedia, imagined this site, created the software and gathered most of the content.  He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Reading Bear.

Credit goes to Shutterstock.com for images and many of the videos at Reading Bear.

Did you hear that clanking click?  That would be me adding Reading Bear into my virtual toolbox to use with my students.