iLearn Technology

What it is:   Awesome Stories is a neat website that looks to me like it could be the future of text books.  Awesome Stories has great primary source materials separated by categories such as biographies, disasters, trials, flicks, history, inspiration, religion and sports.  Throughout the text there are hyperlinks to additional content.  The links are separated by color so you know that when you see a certain color it will open a primary source  image, video, narration, slide shows, artifact, manuscript, document, etc.  You can become a member of Awesome Stories for free, when you do you will gain access to additional features like an extensive image data base, narrated stories, lesson plans, and a free newsletter from Awesome Stories.  This is essentially an interactive textbook.  I love that the site hits different learning styles in its presentation of information.

How to integrate Awesome Stories into the classroom:    Awesome Stories would be a great supplement to traditional text books.  It makes finding primary source materials easy!  With the audio clips, narration, video, and slide shows linked right within the reading material, students are going to get a much richer understanding of a topic or material being studied.  I love that struggling readers can have all the text narrated to read along with.  Many of the videos, audio, and slide shows would be excellent to share with the whole class using a projector or interactive whiteboard.  

Tips:  Sign up for free to see the full scope of Awesome Stories, you will be amazed at the amount of content here!  The lesson plans to use with the site are wonderful!

 Leave a comment and share how you are using Awesome Stories in your classroom.