Students love to write stories and illustrate their tales with original artwork. Whether you prefer your students to handwrite their stories and reports or type them up in Word or Google Docs, you can transform their work into a slick-looking flipbook using a free tool called FlipSnack.

FlipSnack is page-flip software that enables users to create stylish digital flipping books out of PDFs or JPEGs. Once students create their books, they can share them via email or embed them on a website or blog. In addition to stories or reports, this tool is perfect for creating newspapers, magazines, recipe books, tourist guides and other artifacts.

Here are some examples of FlipSnack books that my elementary school students have created:

• Snow Skiing by Kourtney
• Dogs by Brady
• Sharks by Samantha
• Minions by Harrison
• Dolphins by Elizabeth
• Minecraft by Hiakaru

FlipSnack integrates nicely with Google Docs and Word, and it allows your students to share not only their writing but also their drawings, paintings and photos. Find step-by-step instructions on my blog or watch the video tutorial below.

Keith Ferrell is an educational technology coach at Singapore American School. He has been a classroom teacher since 1996 and has taught everything from second to 12th grade. He has always integrated technology into the curriculum, even back when he had only one Apple IIe for 34 fourth graders.