mp3 – iLearn Technology

Books Should Be Free: Free Audio Books from the Public Domain

May 25, 2011Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4632 views

What it is: Books Should Be Free is a fantastic collection of audio books that students can download and listen to for free from the public domain. Books are easily searchable by genre, keyword, title or author. Books can be downloaded as MP3 files, iPod or iTunes format. Each book includes a description of the book, full text from Project Gutenberg, a Wikipedia link, and the audio download. Students can play a snippet of the audio before deciding to download. The collection is pretty impressive, including my favorite classics.

How to integrate Books Should Be Free into the classroom: Not every child has an extensive collection of books at home, or parents who model a love of reading. Books Should Be Free expands every classroom and home library by giving students access to some of the most loved books of all time. Students can download both the audio and accompanying text for a read along or simply listen to the audio file. Audio books help students build comprehension, fluency and help students develop a love for story. Books Should Be Free is a great way to start a Reading Buddies program at your school with some MP3 players or iPods that can go home with students loaded up with good books.

Tips: Looking for some more ebooks to expand your classroom library? Check these out!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Books Should Be Free in your classroom!

Online Audio Stories

February 24, 2010March 2, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments4056 views

What it is: Online Audio Stories is an impressive collection of free audio stories online. The audio books are all free and downloadable. The online version of the story includes accompanying text for students to follow along with. The short stories will transport students on a fun adventure of listening to fairy tales and classics. The extensive collection includes stories by Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Brothers Grimm, Tales of Time, Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Bronte, Aesop, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Joseph Jacobs, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Blake, Oscar Wilde, Louisa May Alcott, Hans Christian Andersen, William Shakespeare, and many more. The stories are read with excellent voice, inflection, and timing, making them a joy to listen to.

How to integrate Online Audio Stories into the classroom: These Online Audio Stories will transport your students to new magical worlds and adventures, they will allow struggling readers to enjoy stories that may be just out of reach otherwise. Online Audio Stories will help increase student vocabulary and improve listening comprehension skills. Students may not choose to pick up these classics in the library, but they will enjoy listening to the stories online. This is great exposure to the classics! If you have computers in your classroom, set them up as a reading/listening center that students can visit during silent reading time. Because the Online Audio Stories are free to download, these are also perfect for downloading to an iPod or MP3 player.

Tips: Let parents know about these free online stories, they make great bedtime stories, listening enjoyment for long car rides, or for a fun listening experience any time.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Online Audio Stories in your classroom.

Lit2Go

January 22, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3877 views

What it is: Lit2Go is a FREE online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format from Florida’s Educational Technology Clearinghouse. With Lit2Go teachers and students can download files to an iPod or Mp3 player, listen to the Mp3 files on the computer, view the text on a webpage and read along with the audio, and print out the stories and poems to create a customized book. Lit2Go can be searched by author, tiltle, or searched via the database (by authro, keywords, title, or reading level). Each reading passage can be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or supplemental reading material for your classroom. Many of the selections can be downloaded directly to your iTuens library making it a simple transfer to one or many iPods.

How to integrate Lit2Go into the classroom: Lit2Go is a fabulous resource for all readers, but is especially valuable for struggling readers. Set up a Lit2Go listening center in your classroom. You can either download the audio to a Mp3 player or let the students listen from the computer. Each audio file has a PDF text version that can be downloaded and printed out as a read along. If students are listening from the computer they can also view the text online. Lit2Go would be a great help for a reading buddy program. Send your struggling readers home with a Mp3 player loaded with level appropriate stories or poems and the PDF print out. Students can practice reading anywhere, even if a parent or sibling isn’t available to read with them. Reading levels range from .10 to 53. You are sure to find something for every student! This is an easy way to help differentiate instruction.

Tips: Search Lit2Go in the iTunes store or visit the Lit2Go website to get started.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Lit2Go in your classroom.