Over the past week, I challenged myself to create two books in Book Creator. Over the past several years, I have seen other people create and share content through the tool. I decided it was time for me to take the leap and create some books.
I have always been a Google Slides fan – it is an easy tool and I can create and share content in no time. After about 10 minutes of playing around with Book Creator, I found myself liking this tool as well. I was finding that there were some limitations until I discovered that I could actually change and customize fonts and colors of text. I learned how to embed items – such as links to websites, links to google documents, and YouTube videos. There is only one thing that I hope that I can figure out next time, how to embed gifs that I have created into the book. I find that students are more likely to watch a gif over a YouTube video. When I have more time to explore, I hope to have a solution.
Book Creator Examples
Book #1: The first book that I created is called “Taking Learning to the Next Level”. Rather than sending out an email with text explaining different tools that teachers can use in their classroom with students, I thought of putting together this information in a more visual format. My hope was that it might entice teachers to want to take a look. Click HERE to view this book.
Book #2: The next book I decided to put together pertains to helping students at the high school with managing their own Portfolio of Work sites. This is done through the new Google Sites. Students are required to showcase a minimum of four projects a year to highlight and promote the things that they are most proud of. This book is a supplement to the Portfolio of Work website that we have put together. Click HERE to view this book.
I am not saying that Google Slides or Book Creator is better over the other. Each serves its own purpose and each has its own strengths. For those of you at BHS, we do have some paid teacher licenses to give out for those of you who are interested in having students use this tool. Big benefit with these paid accounts is that students are able to collaborate with each other! If you are interested in learning more about Book Creator and how it can be use with your curriculum, let me know. You know where to find me.
And that is my Spiel…
Craig M Sheil 