Want to learn how to use a website to publish a book? How much would it cost? Is the final product of high quality? Can you use your own images and photographs? What size and formats are possible? My friend Yaprak Soysal has done done it! Check back for a follow up and answers to these questions.
Publishing with blurb.com by Yaprak Soysal
I am a semi-professional freelance photographer and a member of Delaware Photographic Society. I found about Blurb at one of the DPS meetings. Blurb is one of the many websites that you may use to create a photo book; however, with its book making software, you may not only create photo books but also text books as well; such as children’s books, school text books, memoirs, ...etc. That’s when I said to my self I had tell about this to my friend Eric Miller; as a gifted school teacher with unique and highly effective teaching methods, I am sure he would find this tool very useful and benefit from it. Blurb is a great tool for those whom have ideas, thoughts or in my case photos to nicely put together in a form of book. Their prices are very reasonable; start at $12.95 for a 40 page soft cover book and $22.95 for a hard cover one. Downloading their bookmaking software Book Smart is free. The whole system is user friendly. You may insert photos from your own computer or from other web sites such as SmugMug, Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, iPhoto, ... etc. I recently received my first soft cover photo book. I am very pleased with the outcome. The print quality is very good. I am in the process of preparing my second one. I highly recommend Blurb and its great tools for those who would like to unleash their inner author and create their own master piece which will host their unique ideas, thoughts, and talents.
PROBLEM: You know what content your students must learn but your textbook lacks focus - it is too broad in scope. Many textbooks are of high quality but lack the focus that you need or simply are a glossy collection of images, timelines, and essays.
SOLUTION: Custom design your own notebook that focuses on the content material that you choose. It can contain a variety of interactive activities and pull your students into the content material.
INTERESTED? Want to learn how to create your own custom student notebook? Wondering about what challenges are involved? Stay tuned for step by step examination of this interesting and exciting prospect. Email your questions to me at: ericmiller@dynamicclassroom.com
MakingClass Dynamic: Technology In Education
The 2Know! Classroom Response System
The latest experiment being conducted in Eric Miller's 7th grade social studies classroom is the integration of the use of the 2Know! hand held student responders during every class session. Past experience has demonstrated that the use of these interactive devices greatly enhances student excitement, engagement, and enthusiasm!
Each student has an assigned responder and PIN number to access the application. The teacher has a number of options as to how to use the devices. I use my existing PowerPoints and simply add a new slide which contains a multiple choice or true false scenario. Once activated by the teacher, students enter their response which is instantly registered and recorded. Following each question a display of a bar graph can be displayed for all to see. (Individual student responses are kept confidential.) Following class each student's performance may be viewed and analyzed for understanding by the teacher. Student performance can now be daily monitored and evaluated easily on your desktop!
Check back soon for teacher and student comments.
For more information on the 2Know! system click on this link.
Technology & Webcasting 
