Novel Effect Review

Novel Effect ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Do you ever struggle with engaging your listeners with a story? Or, have you ever just wondered how you would switch up your story times? Well let me just say that I have the perfect tool for you! 

Novel Effect is a mobile app that truly brings stories to life! As you read, Novel Effect picks up on words from the book and will play music and sounds to complement the story. 

How it Works

To use Novel Effect, you have to download the Novel Effect app to an electronic device. Through the app, there are hundreds of popular book titles to choose from. One really great thing about the app is that you don't necessarily have to physically have the book either, the app is also compatible with ebooks. Once you've selected your book within the app, like magic, the app begins to track the story being read. Specifically, it picks up on certain words and begins to play interactive music, character voices or sound effects. So for example, in reading "A Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats, when Peter in the beginning of the story makes crunching sounds with his feet in the snow, Novel Effect at this moment play sounds of snow crunching beneath his feet. 

Subscriptions

Like many digital tools these days, Novel Effect does offer subscription plans. With the educator's plan, it averages out to $3.33 per month and it's well worth it, as you get unlimited reads and access to all of the books within the app! The subscription plan for educators is definitely something worth looking into. If you're unsure and want to play around with the app before making any purchases, that's okay too. You can always hold off on purchasing a subscription, and utilize their basic plan. However, without a subscription, you are limited to 5 reads a month and you won't have access to all of the books the app has to offer. 

Personal Experience 

I use Novel Effect regularly for all of my classes and my students LOVE it! They find it fun and really look forward to it. I find Novel Effect to be even more helpful for my Intensive Links classes which is mainly comprised of students on the autism spectrum. For these students it can be challenging to keep their attention with traditional story times. However, with Novel Effect, it really hooks them, especially if it's a book with lots of fun sounds or music. To heighten the experience with the app, I began connecting my phone to a bluetooth speaker to maximize the sounds while I read. 

Why You Should Try

Not only is Novel Effect just an incredibly fun way to switch up story time, but it could make all the difference for students who struggle with retelling or following along during a story. Check out this demo on YouTube by Tricia Louis. 


Learn more about Novel Effect here: https://noveleffect.com/


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teachflix Review

Image
 Teachflix Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Teachflix is like Netflix but for school! Teachflix is a free web-based tool that houses a collection of educational videos and resources for elementary, middle school, and high school students. The videos are sorted into different categories, just like how you will find on Netflix, which makes your browsing much easier! After you choose your desired grade level, then you can browse through the different content areas. Here, you will search through the videos which can be used with your lessons. If you are looking for something specific, you can use the search bar.  Not only does Teachflix link videos to different content areas, but they also have links to a variety of read alouds in a range of languages including Spanish and Mandarin! It's worth mentioning that although Teachflix is a growing platform, they continue to add new content frequently. This tool is definitely something worth exploring and integrating into your classrooms. Not only will it co...
Read more

Sora Review

Image
Sora Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sora is a reading app and website that allows users to read ebooks and listen to audiobooks. Sora is without a doubt, a great tool that educators and students are using more and more! With its incredibly eye-catching design and easy-to-navigate interface, users can quickly find materials of interest. With books organized by themes in colorful ribbons, you can rest assured that students of a range of ages will be able to successfully use and interact with this tool.  Apart form the interface, I really enjoy the wide range of diverse titles available for readers. The collection is well-developed, and you are sure to find titles that meet your needs leisurely and in the classroom as well. Speaking from personal experience, I love to use Sora to project books for a read aloud, on my Promethean smart board. It makes story time more engaging and ensures that all of the students are able to see the pictures of the book.  The only drawback that many may associate wit...
Read more