http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Sat, 18 May 2013 20:24:47 PDT Sat, 18 May 2013 20:24:47 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=577755 This site offers links to authors who are willing to Skype to classes that are reading their books in school or for book clubs. Although designed for middle school students, there are also links to authors of adult books.According to the site host, "I started it because I’ve found that virtual author visits are a great way to connect authors and readers, and I realize that many schools facing budget troubles don’t have the option of paid author visits. With that in mind, this is a list of authors who offer free 20-minute Q and A sessions with classes and book clubs that have finished reading one of their books.״ http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=707824 'Impress your friends with your own personal comic strips, created on your iPad, iPhone or iPod using just the photos from your photo album or iPhone camera.Select one of the many included page templates. Insert photos into the cells. Add a couple of balloons with fun words. Add additional effect symbols (stickers) like "Boom״, "Splash״, or "Bang" to spice up the story. When you are happy with your new graphic novel, share it with friends and family.Photos can be added from the camera, your photo-album, or downloaded directly from your Facebook account. You can apply filters to photos, and change the layout of the page to fit your needs. You can even paint on the photos, or draw your own sketches from scratch.Text balloons can be positioned, sized, and rotated freely on the page. You can alter colors, font, text-size. You can even give the balloons color gradients for additional impact.There are plenty of stickers to spice up the action, but you can also create your own using photos from your photo-album and the built-in masking and drawing tools.Use warped text with thick borders and gradient color-fill to give your cartoon the super-hero look.Additional fonts can be installed from the web, so you will only be limited by your own imagination.While you work, you can freely pan and zoom to control even the smallest details.Once you have finished your masterpiece you can save it to your photo album, email it to your friends, upload it to Facebook or Flickr, or create a Tweet with Twitter and Twitpic -- All from within Strip Designer.Features:• More than a 100 strip templates with 1 to 9 photo cells • Create your own layouts with up-to 12 photo cells• 12 different balloon types• Warped text• Change ballon size, rotation, color, and transparency• Use any iOS font or install additional fonts• Color gradients• More than 150 stickers to insert for additional impact• Dropbox photo, fonts, and document download/upload support• Publish on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter• Direct Facebook photo download• Export to PDF to create real comic book pages• Control scale, position and rotation of photos• Paint on photos or your own stickers• 5 different cell styles• Image filters for photos• Freely pan and zoom while you work'This app costs $2.99