My First Impression of Book Creator for Chromebooks

As a 1:1 Chromebook district, we are continually looking for ways to unleash our students' creativity on a laptop-style device. As Chromebooks become more and more popular in schools, quality options are becoming more prevalent.
One of my favorite iOS apps has always been Book Creator. It's simple-to-use interface and ability to add videos in your book/ePub have made it popular with educators around the world. Recently, they have opened a beta web-based version. Even though I'm generally skeptical of beta releases, I had to give it a spin! I tried it for the first time using my two+ year old Toshiba 13 inch Chromebook.
What I found when I logged in as a teacher with my Google account to the web version of Book Creator was the same simple interface that made me fall in love with the app all those years ago.

Even in beta, all of the layout options are available, including comic book templates.

Once you choose your book shape on the web, you'll find the same options for inserting objects as you did on the app. The first picture below is from the iOS app, the second from the web version.

iOS

Web

If you are familiar with the app, you'll likely recognize the layout of a book page. The i button responds to what you have selected, just like in the app. There might be a few features missing from the app, but there are not as many as you'd expect from the web version of an app or software. I'd hate to make it an absolute and say NOTHING is missing, because inevitably I would miss something, but I haven't found anything that I use on the app that isn't on the web. Maybe a slightly different look, but still there. Feel free to put in the comments what I missed that you found missing!

One area that is paired down a bit from the app, but has the main features I would actually use, is the sharing options. Sharing online is really, in my opinion, the best route to go. Your other option on the web is to download as an ePub. If you are going to be sharing the book with parents, I'd encourage you to share online. It's by far the simplest on both ends. Clicking on the globe in the thumbnail of your book will let you copy your link once you've published. There is no need to re-publish once you make changes - it does it automatically! The iOS app has a PDF and video export options, but web and ePub let you take full advantage of Book Creator's features, especially the video embeds in your book.

I was pleasantly surprised when they released their pricing structure for the Chrome version (Click here for the pricing breakdown & FAQ from Book Creator). The iOS app was a relatively expensive, albeit still worth it, $4.99 regular price. Like many app companies, they are moving to a subscription model (read: recurring income), at least for the Chrome version. They are planning to release student accounts later this fall. I think there is a lot a teacher can do with the free account, especially an elementary teacher. The other levels aren't astronomically for those who would need it. According to their FAQ, discounts are available if you purchase 5 licenses or more.
As I told my staff when I emailed them about Book Creator, books are a great "next step" past your traditional presentation software. The format of a book is similar, but there is a lot more flexibility with a page layout and no push to use bullet points. You don't feel as tied down to a presentation color/layout scheme. Book Creator's web version is a huge boost to the creativity toolbox in our Chromebook district. I've told my staff to expect to hear a LOT more about Book Creator in the upcoming year!

Not Always My Favorite

I think it's very important that students create stuff. Having to transfer what you know into a new product it's extremely valuable for really understanding a concept. What tool is used to make that stuff can vary greatly and is largely irrelevant to the bigger goal of increased knowledge. Just like students, teachers have their own favorite tools for creating stuff for students. Like everyone else, I have my favorite apps for different tasks on my iPad or iPhone. As apps change, my preference changes. I used to be a HUGE Penultimate fan (see why here) until they "improved" their app. I was one of many who couldn't stand the new update. While they've made some changes (shameless plug that I was once quoted on TechCrunch), it's never been the same and, although it was once a staple of my iPad dock, it's no longer anywhere on my iPad.
On the other hand, there are some tasks that have two apps that switch back and forth between being my favorites. Screencasting on an iPad is a great example. For a long time, I was in the ShowMe "camp" because of how much I liked their online community. Then Educreations added multiple pages. I sway back and forth depending on their most recent update. I generally tell people to try out both and pick one you like.
Another one is book creation. My two favorites, in alphabetical order, are Book Creator and My Story. Unlike the screencasting apps, these two go back and forth of my "favorite" depending on the situation I'm in. If I'm creating a book for myself, it's definitely Book Creator. It's layout is hands down more "sophisticated" looking. It also allows you to add video within your book, something My Story doesn't do. However, for younger students, the My Story layout is much more friendly. Just recently they introduced the ability to share My Story books between iPads.

1st graders creating books on how to make no bake pies.

We used this to make a template for 1st graders and then Air Drop the template to their iPads. Students could then edit their own book and resend it back to me as a movie. They have the option of making it an ePub that you can read in the Safari browser, an option that is fantastic for class presentations or sharing with parents, but I noticed that when students sent the link back to me, all of the ePubs had the same short URL. I've reached out to My Story, so hopefully that'll get cleaned up. You can see the student videos below.

So which app is best for each task? Depends on the audience, the day, and the most recent update. The apps will always change, but the purpose of the learning will not.

Teaching Tomorrow's Students

I was lucky enough to again see Sir Ken Robinson speak in person this past week. He was invited back to Omaha by state's Educational Service Units (ESUs) to speak on the need for creativity in education, something he knows quite a big about. As you recall, this is the second time I've gotten to see him in person, both here in Omaha. This time I was lucky enough to ride the elevator and chat with him on the way to the lecture hall, although I regret being less than articulate when asked about the history of the Durham Western Heritage Museum (reading through the history for the 2nd time, I was way off).

The previous talk he gave was to the general public. This week was strictly education types. Whether it was the different focus or hearing the message again, I seemed to take more away from this talk.

One thing that I had heard in his previous speech but really caught on with me is his statement "You can't be creative without being intelligent." He went on to say that his definition of creativity is the "process of having original ideas that have value." Similar to the Steve Jobs quote about who Apple builds computers for, a creative person can "step outside their current situation" and create a completely new idea from scratch.

By the end of the speech, a new thought kept coming into my mind: We are preparing students from a different society than what we grew up in for a society that will be different from what they grew up in. That's a huge task. One that can't be done well if instruction doesn't change. It is imperative for students to be able to think critically and creatively. As a curriculum department, we need to make sure that we are encouraging and providing examples of how teachers can transform their instruction and put the learning back on the students. A lot easier to say then to do.

Content vs. Delivery

I had heard about this video while on a little trip this week, but hadn't seen it until I was looking through my Google Reader.

This got me, as well as the great "staff" at Free Tech 4 Teachers, where I found this video at, thinking about how this relates to education. So I forwarded the link out to some of our local admins with a very simple question:

What's more important? The content or the delivery?

Obviously, in my opinion, the content is way more important than the delivery. If you compare the above video with the last flight that you were on, did you learn the same information? You should have. But were the passengers on this plane more engaged than the one you were on? Heck yeah. On a flight I was on recently, they actually stopped the mundane video because some people weren't paying attention. Any need to here? Nope. In education, if you are allowing your students to be creative in how they present the information, you should be able to use the same rubric for Billy's presentation as you do for Suzie's, although Suzie's was way more interesting and way more interactive. Teachers too many times think that Glogster should have a different rubric than a poster. What for? Glogster does the exact same thing that cutting out of a magazine does - it allows you to take pictures and arrange them, add in some meaningful information and share with others. Don't grade the students on the number of pictures any more than you would on the poster. Give your kids the freedom to deliver the content in the way that fits them best.