Zooburst

Today I found a new toy.

It is a digital storybook creator, named Zooburst, that allows the user to create and read 3D pop up books.

It also uses Augmented Reality to bring your book to life.  To use zooburst you will need a web browser (I use google chrome but Safari, IE and firefox are also compatible), a webcam and a marker.

I created a sample book which you can view above.  To use the Augmented Reality aspect you need a marker which you will find here.  (Rather than printing the marker it is possible to use it on the screen of your iphone/ itouch etc)Then click webcam mode.

The potential for use in the classroom to develop many areas of the curriculum beyond literacy is what really excites me.  Pupils love trying out new things and the quirkiness of this tool is a sure way to engage learners who may not be stimulated by the thought of traditional class work.  Variety drives pupil motivation and if a tool such as this will enable motivation and progression while being relevant then why not use it?  Zooburst recognise the potential for classroom use and this is an extract from their FAQs page:

"In the very near future we will be releasing a "class management" feature inside ZooBurst that will allow teachers to set up classes, create assignments and set up usernames & passwords for your students. In the interim you can always log into ZooBurst on behalf of your students. ZooBurst will allow you to access your account from multiple computers at the same time, so if you are in a computer lab simply log into the site for each student and have them create their own books"  (Zooburst)

My sample book is not very exciting and I have only added basic graphics but I wanted to see how easy it was to create a book.  See what you think for yourself.




{Edited} zooburst example is now on the right hand side of my blog (main page)