The Phantom of Level G-5

world-shaker:

If you haven’t heard of Storybird, it’s one of the coolest web applications out there for helping students tell digital stories. Click through for three great examples of how teachers have used Storybird. Here’s one:

Stephen Davis on How He Uses Storybird

Here is an example from my eighth grade class based in Cypress, California.

Storybird can help students bring abstract thoughts in their mind to life and adds a dynamic, digital component to traditional storyboards.

Without requiring any artistic ability, students drag and drop characters and images onto a digital storyboard. Students are inspired by the themes and artwork available on Storybird: abstract thoughts and emotions students could not express easily come to the surface.

A concrete visual representation of their abstract thoughts can now be transformed into wonderful writing. Students can use the finished Storybird to write a paper that expands their abstract thoughts into a traditional essay.

Destinee, a student in my class, created a Storybird prior to writing part of her essay. Then, Destinee’s Storybird became a portion of an essay that she wrote. In this way, students in my class can choose which piece, the Storybird or the formal essay, they want to be given a formal grade. Students now have experience writing formal essays and expressing themselves in a relevant, meaningful manner.