Transcript for the 8/25/13 #storyappchat: Writing Lesson Plans Featuring Your Story App

Last night we discussed the logistics of putting together a lesson plan, and why a content creator would want to do so. Here is one brief framework for authoring a lesson plan:

Grade/Class: cite the targeted grade here (i.e. Fifth Grade)

Subject Area(s): ELA, mathematics, science, etc.

Lesson Topic: title reflecting the topic

Suggested Learning Outcome(s): detail what the students will Know, Understand or be able to Do as a result of this lesson

Common Core OR State Learning Standard(s): list the specific standards this lesson is designed to address (CCSS available for perusal here)

Learner Prior Knowledge/Learner Background Experiences: these can come from the standards for the prior year

Materials and Resources Needed: specific listing of all the items needed to carry out the lesson (paper, pencils, smart board, etc.), including the name of your book or app

Suggested Teaching Strategies: these are the specifics of carrying out the lesson plan, including Anticipatory Strategies (Background Knowledge), Developmental Strategies and Concluding Strategies

Assessment: how will the students be evaluated on their understanding of the material covered in this lesson?

EC accommodations/modifications to strategies or assessments: detail any necessary considerations for exceptional children as seen in the typical classroom (ADHD, ASD, HAG, etc.)

Resources Used to Create This Lesson Plan: mention any books, videos, websites or other resources you consulted to put this lesson plan together, including a link to your app

Here are the links I shared:

A site with free lesson plan templates, and another similar one

Discovery Education’s bank of free lesson plans

Google’s monster database of free lesson plans

Free Gradebook and lesson plan software from Google

Hundreds of free lesson plans from the International Reading Association

A free web-based software package that generates lesson plans, and another one that incorporates CCSS

Some tips for writing lesson plans:

Five Secrets for Writing Great Lesson Plans

About.com: How to Write a Lesson Plan

Principles from Colorado State University, including a sample lesson plan format

While the up-front work of creating a custom lesson plan may seem daunting, it’s really not a big deal and ultimately it will help sell storybook apps!

The transcript for the chat appears at Storify here. Do plan to join us for the next chat, on Sunday, September 8!

8/18/13 Transcript

8/18/13 Transcript

Transcript for the August 18, 2013 #storyappchat. Title: “Apps For Babies: The Good, The Bad and The Educational”

Welcome to #storyappchat!

What was #storyappchat? It was a weekly Twitter meeting for those of us interested in creating storybook apps and ebooks for kids. We talked about all aspects of the business, from the latest software tools to avoiding burnout. Most of our weekly visitors identified themselves as:

• Authors
• Illustrators
• Software Developers
• Librarians
• Educators
• Consultants
• App Reviewers
• Parents

…but if you don’t fit into any of these categories, don’t worry. We’re happy to have you join us if you are interested in a behind-the-scenes look at children’s storybook apps/ebooks.

The weekly chats are no more, but people still use the #storyappchat hashtag on Twitter to share news, information and to ask questions. Keep an eye on us!

We post topics on our Facebook page and on Twitter, so be sure to Like and Follow us there. After our chats, we generated a transcript so even if you missed the live discussion, you could benefit from the wisdom of the attendees.

Scroll down for transcripts from every #storyappchat session held since 2011.

Transcript for 8/11/13

Transcript for 8/11/13

Transcript for the August 11, 2013 edition of #storyappchat. Topic for this one was “Measuring the App Marketplace.”

Topic for the 8/11/13 #storyappchat: Measuring the Marketplace

Kindle + Apple + B&N + ??? = 100% (+ or – 50%) (via Digital Media Diet)

This week we’ll be discussing how to measure the marketplace for children’s illustrated digital ebooks and apps. How many book apps are on the market for kids across all formats? What’s the average price, median price, typical sales? How many digital books have been downloaded for the iPad since 2010?

These seem like simple questions, and on the surface they are very basic questions that almost everyone asks when they enter the kid’s digital publishing industry. The part that isn’t simple is the answer. One of our hosts, Carisa Kluver (@iPad_Storytime) has just published this blog post in The Digital Media Diet about the dilemma intrinsic to evaluating the story app market in particular:

Illustrating in the Dark: Why Dick & Jane Can’t Count (A Publishing Mystery)

Other recent discussions within the publishing industry include:

• Apple, Amazon and B&N: Adds up to 125%? — Digital Book World — June 15, 2013
• Book apps or ibooks? — The Futurebook — July 23, 2013
• WRITING ON THE ETHER: Counting in the Dark — Jane Friedman’s Blog – August 1, 2013
• The ‘Other’ E-Book Pricing Problem — Huffington Post – Aug. 4, 2013

Let’s talk about what we know about the market from our own experiences, stories from other content creators and how to make sense of the limited data available when making future plans for publishing projects.

So join us this Sunday, August 11th, at 9:00 pm Eastern/6:00 pm Pacific. Just start including the #storyappchat Twitter hashtag to participate, or try using our new #TWUBS account, twubs.com/storyappchat. And follow @storyappchat for resources, transcripts and updates! Follow us on Facebook too.

We’ll see you there!

Transcript for Mickey Mantle’s #storyappchat, 08/04/13

Transcript for the August 4, 2013 #storyappchat, a weekly Twitter gathering where we discuss all things related to creating storybook apps and ebooks for kids. Guest host Mickey Mantle, founder/CEO of Wanderful interactive books, re-releasing Living Books. More info at WanderfulStoryBooks.com

Find Wanderful’s titles in the iTunes App Store here with a free sampler here.

Check out Wanderful’s YouTube channel here

Guest Host for the 8/4/13 #storyappchat: Mickey Mantle—Launching Wanderful Interactive Storybooks

First Living Books, now Wanderful Interactive Storybooks

Do you remember Brøderbund’s Living Books series from the 1990s? We sure do as they were one of the first attempts to do interactive storybooks on the “new” CD-ROMs. They set the standard, introducing innovations we all expect in storybook apps: read aloud with text highlighting, touch a word to hear it read again, touch objects on the page to see them animate (with 10-20 interactions per page, sometimes with multiple random animations for each hotspot), great art, sound effects, and high production values (thanks in large part to Living Books creator, Mark Schlichting).

Mickey Mantle, Founder, President and CEO of Wanderful interactive storybooks

We’re very excited to have Mickey Mantle as our guest host this Sunday, August 4th. Mickey was the VP Engineering/CTO at Brøderbund during the Living Books years, and  has recently launched Wanderful Interactive Storybooks to re-release many of the original Living Books titles for iOS, Android, and Mac featuring The Berenstain Bears, Marc Brown’s Arthur, Mercer Mayer’s Little Monster, Eli Noyes’ Ruff’s Bone (previous #storyappchat guest host) and more.

Mickey will be talking about the “journey” behind launching Wanderful. There is a lot more than meets the eye…though they’ve posted some of the backstory of the “journey” on their website, there’s much more to hear.

So join us this Sunday, August 4th, at 9:00 pm Eastern/6:00 pm Pacific. Just start including the #storyappchat Twitter hashtag to participate, or try using our new #TWUBS account, twubs.com/storyappchat. And follow @storyappchat for resources, transcripts and updates! Follow us on Facebook too. We’ll see you there.