Digital Literacy Side-Entry: Apps for Publishing

 

Flipsnack:  This is a tool that I would use to create a class publication.  I would expect students to use this tool, unless it is part of a high school creative writing class.  This site allows the user to upload a PDF of the pages that they wish to publish and it creates a flipbook-style magazine that can be published on a website or can be downloaded and printed.  This site allows the user to create a cover and design their publication so it looks professional.  As a yearbook teacher, design is important to me, and this would aid in publishing an eye-catching class book.

Wordfaire:  This is not an app that I would use in a normal classroom.  This is a free liveblogging platform, meaning that whatever the students write gets published in real-time.  That said, I could see this type of site being useful for sports journalism.  I imagine that students could liveblog a sports game and link it to the school's Twitter feed. This would take a lot of boundary-setting for students, and I would imagine that administration would want student live-blogging monitored at all times.  I did not know that blogging apps like this existed! 

Canva:  This site is gorgeous.  Again, I teach high school yearbook and a huge component of the class is digital design.  This site is geared toward professional branding development, but it can also be used for things like prom posters, website design or t-shirts.  In reality, I would direct students to this site for ideas that they could recreate in their yearbook pages or design assignments.  The visuals on their site are fresh, modern, and fashion-forward. 

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