Digital storytelling is not a new concept. It has been around for several years within GISD and I know the fabulous technology facilitators (cough, cough) have promoted, shared, and taught a fair number of classes helping teachers integrate with this idea. While Photo Story is a great and reliable option, there are a number of other free sites that can be used. Through Twitter his morning (8Amber8) I came across a great blog post that again goes into detail of what digital story telling is and how/why a teacher might want to use it in their classroom. He also compiled a great list of what he considers to be the top 10 best storytelling sites. (Thanks, @web20classroom)

Top 10 sites for Digital Storytelling

1. Digital Films – Quite simply one of the best digital storytelling sites around. This site is very user friendly w/ an iMovie HD feel and great for beginners!!
2. Myths & Legends – Excellent site for storytelling, can add characters, backgrounds, objects, etc. and great for education w/ an educational instance/portal.
3. Xtranormal – Very popular/fun site for digital storytelling. A very easy to use site where text is all that is needed to create an original story.
4. My StoryMaker – Great site for young readers to create a cartoon looking story.
5. Storybird – An excellent site for creating pictures books for storytelling.
6. Primary Access – Is a wonderful site for creating digital stories using historical stock footage.
7. Google Search Stories – A very easy site to use by selecting stock video/audio to create a digital story.
8. Zimmer Twins – A fun site where users select cartoon footage to create their very own digital story.
9. Zooburst – Is a brand new site for creating 3D/pop-up stories. A user can either upload their own image or use stock photos. Hopefully, audio/video integration will be coming soon!
10. Stage’D – A very impressive visual site where users choose their characters, backgrounds, and items to create their very own computer generated story.

Now that we are AT (after TAKS, not to be confused with Amber Teamann, ;)) letting your students create a digital story telling summary of a unit or lesson would be an investment for NEXT year’s teachers; their students will already know and be ready for an earlier assignment. We will be incorporating more technology next year and this would be a perfect opportunity for you to test it out and get a feel for this program. 🙂

We have a couple digital cameras in the office that you can check out. You can also easily turn ppt slides into jpg’s that can be used for your stories.

In PowerPoint 2003/2007 :

• Open the PowerPoint presentation (PPT or PPS).
• Go to File > Save As > Other formats
• Now you will see lot of options for in the combo box. Select JPEG format and save.
• This will save all your file into a folder with same name as your ppt or pps name.

Like to try this but not sure you can?? Send ME your most TECHIE-RIFIC student, I’ll show/teach them and they can come back and teach the class. Or, if you have time, stop by and see me and I’ll show you how easy it can be!

Story ShareN,
Amber

Did you LAUGH at my title? As teachers, we all know that there is NO such thing as extra time. Especially in the Spring in Texas, wink wink…

I think there are spurts of time, maybe just not for us or for every single student. There’s always one or two kids who get done first or maybe aren’t on the same page with you in class anyway that could use a bit of direction.

I got this site in my email today (gotta love the listservs!) about ABCya! Their blurb:

ABCya! is the leader in free educational kids computer games and activitiesfor elementary students to learn on the web. All children’s educational computer games and activities were created or approved by certified teachers. ABCya! educational games are free and are modeled from primary grade lessons and enhanced to provide an interactive way for children to learn. ABCya! games and activities incorporate content areas such as math andreading while introducing basic computer skills. Many of the kindergarten andfirst grade games are equipped with sound to enhance understanding.

I checked out the fourth grade options and there looked to be some good centered based activities. Keep in mind that even an extra 5 minutes in the
computer lab, in the back of the room, or on the presentation computer would be SO beneficial. Students who are struggling could use a different

approach or another visual to help solidify what they are seeing. Take advange of this free site, ABCya!

C-ing ya later,

Amber