What is it?
Bookr is a tool to create and share your own photobook using Flickr images. This tool is very fun to use since the students can create their own piece of photobook depending on their own creativity. It is extremely easy to use since the pictures can be simply found from Flickr through the search engine provided in Bookr. Most importantly, this tool is not only about the photos alone, but the students are also required to write a description of each picture that they put in the Bookr.
Suitable for:
I would say that this tool would be a better option for lower secondary school students as you could not add a large amount of text to each page.
Activity Suggestion:
Nevertheless the fact that this tool offer a limited space for writing, Bookr can be used to substitute Microsoft Power Point Presentation, which would be great for students of all levels since it is could be helpful for them to practice their speaking skills.
Bookr is a tool to create and share your own photobook using Flickr images. This tool is very fun to use since the students can create their own piece of photobook depending on their own creativity. It is extremely easy to use since the pictures can be simply found from Flickr through the search engine provided in Bookr. Most importantly, this tool is not only about the photos alone, but the students are also required to write a description of each picture that they put in the Bookr.
Suitable for:
I would say that this tool would be a better option for lower secondary school students as you could not add a large amount of text to each page.
Activity Suggestion:
Nevertheless the fact that this tool offer a limited space for writing, Bookr can be used to substitute Microsoft Power Point Presentation, which would be great for students of all levels since it is could be helpful for them to practice their speaking skills.
Alternative:
Alternatively, you could use another cool tool that works just the same as Bookr. The only difference is that the final product will be in the form of comic strips rather than a photobook. It is called Bubblr.
The Link:
Advatages:
1) It is fun! And free too! What a perfect combination. Most importantly, we do not breach the copyright infringement of the photos since they come straight from the Flickr. Besides, no sign up required, and it is very simple to use. I believe that the students will enjoy learning the language using Bookr/Bubblr.
2) Develop creativity among students. When the students are given freedom, the tendency for them to work creatively is very high since there is no boundary set for them.
3) Develop the students' speaking skills. They could be asked to present their completed photobooks to the whole classroom. With that, the teachers could use Bookr/Bubblr to help the students to improve on their speaking skills.
Disadvantages:
1) Limited space for writing. These tool is not suitable to be used as a writing activity since it is impossible to write long sentences for each photo.
2) Distraction. Since there could be a lot of photos available, it could cause a distraction to the students. When this happens, using Bookr/Bubblr seems to be time consuming as the students would likely to take time choosing their preferred photos.
3) Irreversible. The final product of the photobooks/comic strips could not be altered after it is published. Thus, if there is a mistake in the photobooks/comic strips, it will remain there. Since it is impossible to make changes, the students have to make a new one, therefore this will be quite a waste of time.
Although there are some minor disadvantages of using Bookr/Bubblr in the language learning, I believe that it is still fun to use once in a while; and the teachers and the students could still be benefitted from these tools. So, if you want more information about these cool tools, do click this link that available on Russell Stannard's website:
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