Digital Storytelling

It seems like every technology class I take, everyone uses Animoto, which is a great, user friendly tool to create a visual photo show, but there are many digital storytelling apps and tools.  Here are some that I have used or at least played with. 

Oh, my Animoto project is at the bottom of this post. 


Web Tools for Digital Storytelling:

Simple Booklet – Lets you create digital books by inserting
photos, images, videos, and adding text.  You can format the pages like you do a word document. Can be shared with anyone via the internet. Teacher account is $10/yr for 30 students. They do have a free account but books are only accessible for 14 days. Here's a book some of my students made after studying about Kenya:

simplebooklet.com
Click the arrow to change the page, or go to this link:
 http://simplebooklet.com/kenya for a larger view

Storybird – The site provides beautiful artistic images submitted by artists which you can use to illustrate and spark ideas for a story.  Free for up to 35 students.  Here is an example created by one of my Autistic students. The page turning icon follows your mouse.

Meograph – Uses a timeline and maps to create a 4 dimensional story.

Scratch – A simple programming tool that uses blocks that snap together to form scripts (programs) that let you move characters around a stage, import sounds, use speech bubbles or voice recordings to create a story or project, even video games, while learning basic programming lingo.  

Click on the green flag to start.

  

StoryboardThat – A new one I found recently, reading a blog,  lets you customize cartoon characters by changing physical attributes and then use speech bubbles to create dialog. Can upload or create vector images with paid versions. Up to 15 blocks for paid versions, or 6 for the free version.

Other online digital storytelling tools:

Powtoons Allows you to create animated slideshows by dragging and dropping characters, props and text plus record your voice to narrate the story.

Tarheel Reader - Another one I heard about in a webinar a few weeks ago, is a great place for students with physical disabilities to read, because it is switch accessible. But also an easy to use digital book creator with text to speech so it reads the typed text to the reader.

VoiceThread – A presentation tool that allows you to collaborate, create and share digital stories using imported drawings or presentation slides.

Bitstrips – A comic strip creation tool that allows you to create fully customized characters and add dialog bubbles to create a story.

iPad apps:

BookCreator (iPad)  Lets you create iBooks for your iPad by importing pictures, video, sound, and use text, handwriting or voice recording.  Can export and share as well. There is a free version and a paid version for $4.99.

Pictello – An iPad app that lets you import images and text or voice to create a digital talking story. $18.99

Educreations A storytelling or presentation app, allows you to narrate while drawing or importing images, and it's free.

iMovie Trailer – Allows you to create a movie trailer type of story using photos taken with your iPad or imported images. Add text and music and create a dramatic “preview” story. iMovie is an app on iPad or Mac.

30hands – Is an iPad app that also allows creation of presentations using photos, images, drawings and recordings of  your voice to tell a story.

Toontastic – Allows you to create animated cartoons on the iPad. $9.99 for school addition, contains all the in-app additions from the free version.

DoInk Animation – Another iPad app I discovered recently allows you to create animation paths using your finger, draw your own illustrations or use stock illustrations in the app. 

My Animoto Story:

Thanks to Brian Gray for this info, you can get a free education account by going to  http://animoto.com/education/classroom.  You can create 3 minute videos with no watermark, and use the site for up to 50 student accounts for 6 months free.


Sources:

Hughes, A. (2013) Causes of the civil war. Meograph. [Slideshow]. Retrieved from:             http://www.meograph.com/ahughes17/15303/causes-of-the-civil-war
Ray, R. (2013). A midsummer night's dream. StoryboardThat.com. [Storyboard]. Retrieved    from: http://www.storyboardthat.com/userboards/rebeccaray/a-midsummer-nights-dream
Koren, N., Medeiros, C. and Peb08.  (2013). Pass it on, Halloween tale remix. Scratch  Community. [Scratch programming project]. Retrieved  from:   http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/13875740/
C., Carlos. (2013). The skin I'm in, Book trailer by Carlos C. [YouTube video].  Retrieved from: http://booksnitch.wordpress.com/resources-and-teaching-ideas/creating-a-book-trailer-using-imovie/