Long time computer using teachers will remember some of the classic programs for book creation. Story Book Weaver is one that comes to mind.

The same techniques and concepts that go into creating books with this program can be replicated with some of the more modern software packages.

Hyperstudio is a breeze; it's wonderful for creating and telling stories.

But, let's not overlook Kidpix. Forget what you think about the old Kidpix. Push the new version to its limits.

Yes, it's a drawing program with some of the coolest drawing tools around but it's also a book authoring environment. How? Think of some of the great stories created in the past. You have a picture at the top of the page and text at the bottom or vice versa.

Why not do it with Kidpix? Your students draw each page within the Kidpix environment. The picture goes on top; the text on the bottom. Save each page as a separate file and then head over to the Slideshow environment.

Each cell in the slideshow environment now becomes a page to be assembled. When you're all done, you've created a fully multimedia book. Explore the wide variety of options available for playback and your students will be inspired to write longer, more involved stories.

Kidpix does just stop with simply creating a Kidpix slideshow. You can further extend this activity to create multimedia content for your website or CD-ROM by exporting the results to a Quicktime movie or Flash object.

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