Page-Turners: Creating Workbooks Students Love

What started as a result of my learning from the Apple Learning Coach program, has turned into a process that I use for all of the workbooks I create for coaching teachers or student content. Creating workbooks and shared journals can be an overwhelming process. You have to be thinking of your content, design features, accessibility and if you want it to be interactive. I've created a lot of workbooks and journals and have learned many valuable lessons along the way. This resource will hopefully help others avoid some of the mistakes I've made in the past. I’m going to focus on using Pages, but you can also use tools like Keynote and Numbers to create a workbook-like experience for learners. 

A sample of workbooks that I have created to support teaching and learning.

Head into Pages and create a new file. From the Template, scroll down to the different types of Book templates. When creating a workbook for student use, I recommend using the Blank Book Landscape template. This will allow you to include many graphics and images within your work.

Once your template opens, select the Document settings. Decide how you would like to set up your page orientation-landscape or portrait. 

Within the Printer and Page Size section, I recommend setting the Paper size to US Letter. This will allow for ease of printing, if need be, so that all content will fit on a piece of paper. 

Next, select the Page View and select Table of Contents. Select Edit from within the Table of Contents view. Ensure that both Title and Chapter are enabled. This will be very helpful for students to  navigate the workbook.  

Consider editing the Page Template. You can do this by right clicking on one of the page icons. This will allow you to create custom pages for students to choose from when they add an additional page to the template. This will also benefit you as you work to include all of the content for the workbook. I like to consider the content of the workbook and which type of page a student might need additional pages for. Some of my most common custom pages include pages for all text, a blank page, and popular graphic organizers. 

Now you are ready to add your content. 

How to Share with Students

I always recommend three different ways to share workbooks with learners. Below are the three methods and advantages and disadvantages of each. 

AirDrop: 

Advantages:

• Can be easy if there are limited people within bluetooth range.

Disadvantages:

• Student has to be present to get file. If there are many students or the file is large, this can be very time consuming. There is no way for a teacher to monitor progress.

Learning Management System:

Advantages:

• easy
• Students who aren’t present on campus, have access to workbook.

Disadvantages:

• There is no way see student progress as they are working within the workbook.

Schoolwork: 

Advantages:

• Students on and off campus can access the workbook.
• Teacher is able to provide feedback and monitor progress throughout the workbook.

Disadvantages:

• It can take up a lot of space within your iCloud. Be sure to clean out past student work when it is no longer needed to conserve space. 
• Does slightly alter the tool's (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) interface to accommodate a "submit" button.

Tips & Tricks:

1. Leave text boxes unlocked. If text boxes are locked, students who depend on Speak Selection and Speak Screen will have to unlock text boxes in order to use the spoken content features. 
2. Be sure to include image descriptions for any images. This will ensure that students with any visual impairments will still understand how the images support the content. 
3. Consider incorporating your district’s brand color/images within your workbooks, as it adds a layer of consistency for learners. I also recommend keeping consistency within a series of workbooks. 
4. If students are going to be doing any responding within the workbook, be sure to leave space for multimodal responses! I always like to include a little symbol on student work pages so they are reminded of all the features.