Pictello

This app was gifted to a special needs child in my classroom, so the whole class took advantage of trying out this "book making" app.  


In social studies we are learning about our community and buildings in our neighbourhood.  We decided to go for a walk and take pictures of the buildings near our school.  The students used our class digital camera and we later converted the photos on to the iPad using my apple memory card reader (I did not want to walk with my iPad since I do not have a great case for it).  


Today we began using pictello.  We used the wizard mode where it walks us through the app step by step.  The app allows you to record your story using your voice or to type a story and to have a "person" read it for you.  There are 2 voice options for the reading and as long as you use proper punctuation they read the story very well.  The app is SO easy to use I am certain my kiddos could now create their own book independently.


I stumbled upon a few glitches that I plan to figure out later, but nothing that prevents me from publishing my book as it is.  I just need to explore the app more without 8 antsy faces staring up at me!  (We broke into 2 groups and created 2 stories!)  The stories are saved to my iPad, they can also be saved to ibooks and I can create a sharing site where my books can be shared with whoever I invite to the site.  I have not yet shared my story in anyway, it is still saved within my app.


The app was designed for special needs students which is why it is so easy to use.  It is expensive - $18.99.  However the ideas for book publishing in grade one are endless!