Looking to take your class on a virtual field trip? Hear why Nick Riemann chose Book Creator as the platform to document it on and what he learned from the process
I came across Book Creator last year just as we were wrapping up the school year with COVID fresh on our minds. I decided to try Book Creator with a colleague to see what it was about and the impact it could potentially have. All of our students were online, and it seemed the perfect vessel for kids to create something...ANYTHING.
As we had completed most of our curricular outcomes, as well as doing our teaching and learning from home, I decided to have the kids take the class on a virtual field trip to anywhere they wanted to go....(provided it was based in science since that is what I teach 👨🔬)
The students could revisit a location we had gone to, a museum or science center that exists or even a national park or famous location. I wanted it to be science based, but at the same time, have students enjoy the freedom of choosing the content of their book.
The impact was immense! 💥
Despite being at home, the kids did some planning and after a crash course in Book Creator from me, the students went at it! They were definitely engaged!
They were free to be creative and post virtually anything to their book. Photos of themselves, graphics and of course text....but it was the freedom of creating that got each student visiting somewhere around the world when it was a challenge to leave the house.
Less is sometimes more!
I have learned to do less when it comes to being with the kids. Yes, it was important to show students the basic features of Book Creator but the magic was in having them do the exploring and sharing those experiences. 💫
Having students able to view other students' books and not to copy or emulate was special. But to know that there was an opportunity to do something different and even learn a few Book Creator skills along the way was what we all loved!
The more you practice using Book Creator the more you will see that this is a tool that is NOT exclusively about books.
It is a tool to share and present which can be used by any age level (teachers too❗️) and across any subject!
Nick Riemann is a teacher at A. Blair McPherson School in Edmonton Public Schools. He loves to dare himself and those around him to become better educators. Fun fact: Nick (not so) secretly wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up!
Related posts
-
4 December, 2017 -
12 July, 2018 -
21 April, 2020 -
8 April, 2021 -
10 February, 2015 -
12 June, 2018 -
8 January, 2015 -
26 November, 2015