Digital Storytelling for Elementary Students

I am looking for feedback regarding the best free tools for digital storytelling for elementary and middle school students. What have you used? What do you like and don't like?

Tags: digital, storytelling, tools

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Permalink Reply by Mark Miller on December 2, 2008 at 5:29pm

VoiceThreads are quick and easy. They are online slide shows with voices able to be recorded on each slide. In addition, people who view the voicethread can add their own comments and even record a temporary doodle on the slides. It is free, though you can get a more private education account for a very reasonable fee. Check it out at
http://voicethread.com/#home

I've also used the book templates that come with iPhoto and have had students add captions to their photos. Instead of ordering the book, you can just print it out (in color or B&W). Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Donna Hebert on December 4, 2008 at 11:21am

I love VoiceThread. Thanks. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Anne-Maree Moore on December 7, 2008 at 1:31am

I LOVE voicethread also. It is one of the best web2.0 tools for visual literacy and other collaborative activities on the web - if it is unblocked in your school...

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Permalink Reply by Sarahk on December 2, 2008 at 6:09pm

i agree that voicethreads are a great new tool. It is free for the student to use and there are many options for how to use it for peer to peer and peer to instructor collaboration. You can comment on each slide with text, voice, or video. A great bonus is that if the student's microphone isn't working, they can enter in their phone number and an automated recording will call them so they can record their comment. We think this is an excellent feature here in Alaska where we have many rural students that may not have the latest technology on their home computers.

here is a link to a voicethread twith more info on education ..
http://voicethread.com/#q.b3352.i28616

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Permalink Reply by Krystal on December 2, 2008 at 10:21pm

I just finished experimenting with using Photo Story 3 and liked the way it works as well, it is very user friendly even for young ages and the stories can easily be uploaded to a blog if you wanted to store the students stories on the web. It allows voice recording, and placing music behind the story if desired.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photost...

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Permalink Reply by Donna Hebert on December 4, 2008 at 11:23am

Thanks Krystal. I will explore Photo Story more. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Michael Wacker on December 2, 2008 at 10:53pm

Hey Donna! it's Michael :)
Here's what we use in our 6th grade class and ideas that we've bounced around and are looking at using...
www.Voicethread.com http://myths.e2bn.org/story_creator/

CogDogRoo It's an amazing resource

http://www.sotherden.com/video101/storyboard.htm
The 50+ tools courtesy of CogDogRoo

Slideshow Tools
1. Bubbleshare
2. Joggle
3. ImageLoop
4. One True Media
5. RockYou
6. Slide
7. SlideFlickr
8. flickrslidr
9. Slideoo
10. pictobrowser
11. PhotoShow
12. Slideroll
Timeline Tools
13. Dandelife
14. OurStory
15. xtimeline
Mixer Tools
16. Voice Thread
17. VUVOX
18. VUVOX Collage
19. FLEKTOR
20. Mixercast
21. Zude
22. Flowgram
Comic Tools
23. gnomz
24. ComicsSketch
25. Toondoo
26. Kerpoof
27. Bubblr
28. Comiqs
29. PikiStrips
Collage Tools
30. Tabblo
31. Scrapblog
32. glogster
Map Tools
33. Mapwing
34. Google My Maps
35. Wayfaring
Flickr Tools / Ideas
36. Flickr Tell a Story in 5 Frames
37. Flickr Six Word Story
38. Flicktion
39. Linking Flickr Notes
40. Pictures with Stories Flickr Group
Audio Tools
41. Podcast People
42. Blabberize
43. yodio
Video Tools
44. Jumpcut
45. Splashcast
46. BubblePLY
47. Motionbox
48. Animoto
49. JayCut
50. xtranormal
Presentation Tools
51. Empressr
52. Spresent
53. Thumbstacks
54. Slideshare / Slidecasts
55. Zentation
56. Viewbook
57. Zoho Show
58. Vcasmo
59. MyPlick
60. Google Presenter
61. WebSlides
62. Slideboom
63. SlideRocket
64. 280 slides

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Permalink Reply by Donna Hebert on December 4, 2008 at 11:28am

Michael,

I've love CogDogRoo! It's comprehensive.

Myths and Legends Story Creator is new to me. Do you have examples of student work that I can see? :-D

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Permalink Reply by Jon Orech on December 4, 2008 at 5:02pm

Simple: Photostory 3. Period. Free, easy to use, great results. I have had teachers in my workshop report successfull projects with 2nd graders.. Here is my Webpage...tons of resources, tutorials, and how to's for Photostory: http://jonorechwikispaces.com