Storybird

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tina Dahlby on March 21, 2011 at 11:16am

Glad you enjoyed the stories.  Storybird is free to use and you can get the code to be embedded on blogs, wikis, and websites for free.  However, to get a printed copy does cost money.  There are a variety of options for printing and a variety of prices.

 

 I think that Storybird would be appropriate for third grade.  In fact, it is probably appropriate for most ages.  My preschooler likes to pick pictures then have me type in what she wants to say. She caught on pretty fast as to how to add pages and images.  I don't think there would be an upper limit.  All ages could enjoy using Storybird.

 

 I think the hardest thing for third graders would be typing in their password and username, especially the first time they access their accounts.  You'd want to get a class account and set the usernames.  Then Storybird will generate random (gibberish) passwords.  When students log in the first time they are asked to change their password.  If you have the patiences then you could do this for them.  If you have them do it, be sure allow time.   The upside is that if students forget their passwords then you can reset it easily, even without the original password.

 

Let me know how it goes if you decide to introduce it to your class.

 

Tina

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Permalink Reply by Ana-Alicia Valdez on March 21, 2011 at 11:47am

Storybird seems like a great program and I loved your students projects! I am glad to hear that it is relatively easy to use and the fact that its free makes it easily accessible to students at home and at school. Did each student have to sign up for an account? When I was looking at the site I noticed that you can have your Storybirds printed. It would be neat to have students collaborate, come up with a story as a class, and then print the book for your class or school library. Another class project could be to create a Storybird that is a compilation of student poems. Each student could choose the artwork for their page(s) and a class book could be printed. Thank you so much for sharing this website! I am short on time, but will bookmark your class blog so that I can comment on your students' work later.

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Permalink Reply by Tina Dahlby on March 21, 2011 at 1:48pm

Each student had their own account through the class account that I set up.  No email is required for students, unless they want to invite collaborators.  I like the idea of having a class book of poems. Colleen Young had her students use Storybird to create stories reviewing math concepts.  You'll see her comments further up with a link to her students' creations.  For sure there are lots of possibilities beyond just fictional stories.  Wouldn't it be neat to pair up students from different classes or locations to make a story together?

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Permalink Reply by Paul H. Strassner on April 14, 2011 at 6:17pm

Wow, thanks for posting.  I had never heard of Storybird before.  What a great tool for the classroom.  I plan on using it to make my own stories for the kids as well as having them make their own.

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Permalink Reply by C. Hitz on April 22, 2011 at 7:33pm

Tina - I'm late to the discussion but I wanted to let you know that I just posted a comment on one of your students' stories from March.  I used Storybird with my upper level Spanish students and they enjoyed it too.

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Permalink Reply by Tina Dahlby on April 22, 2011 at 9:39pm

Thanks so much!  You're not late - the kids still keep looking for comments!

 

Thanks again,

 

Tina

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Permalink Reply by Colleen Young on April 23, 2011 at 1:10am

C Hitz have you come across the MFL Storybird teacher's wiki. there are Spanish stories there.

There is a link on this page where I put Storybird links for our staff. Russell Stannard's training videos are good for anyone new to and interested in Storybird.

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Permalink Reply by C. Hitz on April 23, 2011 at 8:23am

Yes - I have seen that.  Thanks for asking.  At one time Storybird did not accept stories in languages other than English but now they do, even though at times I find that one of my students' stories will not be accepted.  

 

I'm always looking for ways that will encourage their writing in Spanish and be interesting to them at the same time.  For the Storybird activity, I had them write the first 2 pages of their Storybird and then other students needed to add at least one page to their classmates' stories.  Some of them enjoyed Storybird so much that they wrote their ENTIRE story and didn't want others to change their storyline.  Perfect - my plan worked!  :)

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Permalink Reply by Colleen Young on April 23, 2011 at 9:50am

That's excellent. I have seen students very motivated by Storybird - a real sense of ownership. Much more exciting to publish online than hide your work away in an exercise book where hardly anybody sees it!

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Permalink Reply by Eve Heaton on May 8, 2011 at 2:40am

Thank you for your management tips. I would love to do this with a class but can easily see where they might get overwhelmed with the pictures.

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Permalink Reply by Alysa Beer on May 18, 2011 at 7:43am

I am new to classroom 2.0 and just saw your message about storybird! I am the tech teacher and librarian at my school. This website is awesome and I am planning on using it immediately with my classes. 

 

Thanks a million,

Alysa

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