ZooBurst

= Zooburst = "ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D pop-up books. Using ZooBurst, storytellers of any age can create their own rich worlds in which their stories can come to life." = = This is my example of using zooburst to share science content. []
 * Strengths- **
 * Basic edition is free. It allows for 10 ten page books per account.
 * The user manual for Zooburst is an easy to follow PDF and tells about all the sites’ features.
 * You can upload or choose from a picture library (copyright free)
 * Drag and drop these images to create the pages.
 * Page, sky and background color can all be adjusted.
 * There are drawing tools to make your own pictures.
 * Character size, placement and pop up speed can be adjusted.
 * Characters can speak with a speech bubble right over their picture. (Sound effects are available in the premium membership)
 * Augmented reality allows you to interact with the book (turn pages) using your webcam.
 * “build” – lets you update contents.
 * Easily shared with link or embed.
 * ZooBurst books can be set to one of three privacy levels (which can be edited at any time along with commenting preferences).
 * __public__- freely viewable on the Internet by those who have the specific URL for your book.
 * __password protected and private__- will prompt a viewer for a short pass phrase before the book will be displayed.
 * __private__- is only viewed by the author (used while creating).
 * Comments are restricted to users who have a valid ZooBurst account and must be approved by the owner of the book.
 * Weaknesses- **
 * Premium users need to buy a subscription- $50 /year or 9.99/mo- gives you audio integration, unlimited books, 50 pages, and access to the ZooBurst classroom management system—that organizes books into class media library
 * Premium users can link to previous copies from the “revision history” link, make duplicate copies, download your books and import Power Point 2007 documents


 * Threats- **
 * If a book becomes part of the public gallery it can be seen by everyone (which may pose a threat).
 * However, books submitted to the gallery need to be approved by the ZooBurst support team to ensure that they don’t violate our terms of service.


 * Opportunities- **
 * A student's words can come alive. This authentic ‘reading’ is a great motivator and promotes improved reading skills.
 * Comments provide a great way to provide feedback, see what was positive about the creation, and learn appropriate ‘netiquette’ behavior.

__ Ideas for the classroom __

For example- Some guiding objectives would be like this. Your book needs to show all 4 plant parts and what their unique jobs. The plant needs must be illustrated in the book. Examples of how we eat plants must be included. I did a Plant Life web quest and creating a 3D book can be another activity option along with the voice thread.
 * The students can create their own books collaboratively and share their work.
 * This can be a new way to create presentations or write reports.
 * This is an excellent authentic assessment. Using a rubric can give the students focus and direct them to what is needed in the book.