Previous Efforts (HTML5)
UPDATED: August 8, 2020
Open Educational Resource (OER) Early Reading "Fliplets": Yes, They Are Absolutely Free!
Q. What's a "fliplet
" early reading application? What's so special about it? Is it really free?
A. It's an open source
interactive audio "flipping" online picture book for early readers...
that works on any device. A "fliplet" is designed so that any teacher
" does not mean
technology skills can create a "fliplet" with original script, images,
and narrated audio. If you are a teacher and you can create a
rhyming story for early readers, you can create
accompanying illustrations/images/photos on 10-15 Powerpoint
slides; then, you can record your own voice
reading your own script using free software. No costs are involved.
can create YOUR OWN online reading application that encourages
early readers to enjoy reading. Yes, enjoy
Anything you create is YOURS. The fliplet "HTML5 software
framework" is free to use and adapt. You can do whatever you like with
your own authored "fliplets".
Fliplets are totally free.
Teachers can create them for early readers. Fliplets can be used
and reused for years to come. Teachers As Online Authors Of "Fliplets"
Q. Are any teachers creating "fliplets" now?
Yes. Graduate students in the Educational Technology Leadership program
at the University of Louisiana Monroe, a large public university, are
authoring their own fliplets for their online portfolios. Many of their
fliplet applications will be be made available from this
location in the near future.
Q. Are there external contributors of content that can be adapted as "fliplets"?
A. At this time, we have these welcome sources of additional early reading content for the development of "fliplets":
- Robert F. DeFinis, author of the "How to Defeat the Icky, Filthy, Creepy, Slmy Corona Monster!" with narration by Wil Turner.
- Theresa Callicott, a veteran teacher, has created new "rhyming story" videos for early readers (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ceIB5En1Fn9s-tBfPwaUQ/videos) on her Youtube channel. The video content will be converted into "fliplets" soon.
- Nancy Stewart
is a professional musician from Washington who has agreed to allow her
200+ songs for young children to be adapted as future fliplets (https://nancymusic.com/SOM-alpha.htm ) A number of her educational songs appear below as text-based "Read Alongs".
- Danielle Buckert, of Red Sky Ventures in Namibia, Africa, is the founder of the outstanding international website https://freekidsbooks.org
She has agreed to allow us to develop fliplets based on the
many excellent "Creative Commons" stories hosted on that website.
The lovely story called "Walking Together" ( https://freekidsbooks.org/walking-together/South Africa) will be the first "fliplet" to be developed... soon.
- Clark Ness, a former former special education teacher from Spokane Valley, Washington, has
kindly agreed to allow any of his own MANY authored stories from
his extensive online library of early reader stories to be adapted
into future fliplets (http://www.clarkness.com/index.htm)
- Spencer Bohren,
a professional musician based in New Orleans, and former winner of the
International Blues Foundation "Keeping the Blues Alive Award" for
Education, has agreed to allow his "Down the Dirt Road Blues"
album to be adapted into interactive audio reading applications.
(Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27bZeW8iO9I) Note:
This level of reading is at a higher level.
Q. I'm curious to experience an interactive audio "fliplet". Where do I begin? What should I do?
A. Great idea! Please click on the link to view a "fliplet" called "Polar Bear & Tiger
Just move your mouse around and click on something! If you are a
teacher using this on an interactive smartboard, hold down the "CTRL"
key and tap the "+"
key to increase the display size of the text. Similarly, hold down the "CTRL"
key and tap the "-"
key to decrease the display size of the text.
Q. How can I participate
in creating an interactive online open source early reading "picture book" ("fliplet")?
A. This explains how you can participate: https://ulm.edu/aceadventures/submission.html
I want to provide artwork for a picture book. But, I can't
draw! Is there something I can see to help me create artwork
using Powerpoint shapes?
A. Yes. Please view this template for artwork created with Powerpoint shapes: https://beutnermedia.com/fliplet/template/Fliplet-Artwork-Template---Polar-Bear-And-Tiger.pptx
Q. Is everything here really free to use?
A. Yes. What you see on this website is "OER
", an "Open Educational Resource
". It's open source
and really free
use. The "digital assets" (artwork, script, and audio files),
however, belong the intellectual property of the respective
authors. The "software framework" is absolutely free to use and adapt
without restriction. When you create your "fliplet" using your own
"digital assets", the "fliplet" belongs entirely to you.
of the authors of the interactive audio applications on this website
have agreed to allow their work to be freely shared, as is
Please do not appropriate individual images, audio, or text
without express approval of the respective author.
The HTML5 "Fliplet": An HTML5 Interactive Online Audio Picture Book That Works, Immediately, On Any Device
Directly below is a list of earlier HTML5 "Read Along
reading "text based"
created at the University of
Louisiana Monroe, a large public university in northeastern Louisiana.
The original reading story applications work on any
device, immediately, without installation. It took nearly a
decade to create a software application that could be used by
teachers to create their own open source interactive audio online reading applications.
Previous versions of interactive audio "Read Along
" applications will be converted into "fliplets
a "fliplet" includes flipping pages, images, and clickable audio.
As an "online talking picture book" with easy-to-use
designed for young readers, the "fliplet software framework"
is completely free to use and to adapt. Young readers do
enjoy using the much newer
"fliplet" format. Throughout 2020, the focus is on creating more
fliplets and new "click-and-hear" early reading support
"mapped image applications" of illustrated elements of "word
families", alphabets, and "sight
words" used in early elementary school curricula. A child just
needs to clicks on "anything displayed as an image"' when that
"invisible mapped region" is clicked on, associated audio plays
- Our goal is to create at least 100 working "fliplets" in 2020 before introducing them to elementary
schools across Louisiana... at
- We intend to create visual tutorials
help "non-coder" teachers to create their own "fliplets" using free
software. We believe
that professional development support will make it possible for any
interested teacher to create original early reading applications.
- This technology could also be used for learning a new language or in music education applications.
on this ULM website is free. The HTML5 interactive audio "fliplet"
applications are free, child-friendly, and provide immediate
interactive audio support for learning on any device. The prototype "fliplet" template is: "Polar Bear
when you click on the image that appears directly below, you can
experience how easily and intuitively the responsive HTML5
application works immediately without
installation. And, yes, the applications work on cell phones.
Graduate students in the ULM graduate
program (M.Ed.) of Educational Technology Leadership
are directly involved in the design and development of an evolving
digital library of
open source "fliplets" and related HTML5 interactive audio applications
to address the great and serious issue of early literacy as an
advocacy project of community service.
this free online resource effectively address the greatest educational
problem facing elementary schools in Louisiana? We believe it is possible to address the serious issue of
early literacy, at no cost! Future plans include encouraging and
supporting doctoral students to study the direct impact of struggling
early readers who have access to interactive online audio reading
applications. We are actively seeking external support for
funding research and further development.
Below are previous HTML5 text-based
reading applications that were developed in previous years. However, based on direct feedback from young learners,
the overwhelming response was a huge preference for "pictures". So, a
redesign was necessary. These text and audio working
applications will be converted into the updated and revised "fliplet" "flipping picture books"
1. This is an advanced level "read-along" story
2. This is a very
basic "read-along" song for learning the
ABC's called "Alphabet
3. This is
a popular and traditional "read-along" song called "Hunting We Will Go":
4. This is a short rhyming story about sharing called "A Tasty Treat
5. This song is about the salmon
life cycle. It's called "Salmon
6. This rhyming story is about "Tiny Tadpoles":
7. What happens when it snows? It's
a "Snow Day":
8. This is
a simple French song called "Bonjour":
9. This rhyming
story is one of our most popular!
10. We are
very proud of this particular
rhyming story about Louisiana, created by one of
our graduate students.
Q. But... the much older examples displayed BELOW don't
That's right. The much older applications don't
major browsers have now eliminated "Flash
" support. In the future, they will be "recoded"
so that the new "HTML5" applications can
be selected. Also, the search criteria "tags" (grade level, types of content) will be recoded.
Past Efforts ("Pre-HTML5")
So, below are working relics of a few of the "flash
-based" reading applications that, indeed, did offer interactive audio... before
modern browsers discontinued flash
support. The criteria selection process works. Eventually, when we
have 100 new HTML5 interactive audio "fliplets", we will replace
everything you see below with an interactive filtering capability
to use the various "filter buttons" to select HTML5 learning
applications "fliplets" that can be searched easily by
section here to remind ourselves of the progress in developing a
cost-effective (free!), scalable, and universal way for educators
without coding skills to actually author their own
original open source early reading online applications
designed for mobile use because it works on any
device... with no costs involved. We hope that this
initiative may positively and significantly impact children
everywhere during the critical formative years when early reading has a
huge impact on a child's confidence, willingness, and perceived
ability ("efficacy") to learn. There is just too much at stake
when a child's
self-confidence can be eroded by a lack of reading resources.
We believe that the availability of freely available interactive audio
resources can provide new opportunities for children to read
without "obstacles"; instead of quitting when an unfamiliar word
appears, a child can click on a sentence to hear immediate audio... and
then continue reading. This can encourage family and guardians to
read with children, even when English is not the native
language. These free early reading applications may make an
immense difference in the near future. Financial Support
If you are interested in supporting this initiative directly, you can donate through the University of Louisiana at Monroe Foundation by clicking on the "Designation" drop down menu to select "Ace Adventures"
. We appreciate your support.