Emily+Edens

Storybird Now, I know what you're thinking....

"What is Storybird???" Storybird.com is a site that allows teachers and students to create and share stories, assignments and ideas. It's also a community for artists to sell and show off their work. Imagination.... That's what Storybird is about.

To get started, I created an assignment on Storybird. I want my students to create a Storybird that is telling me about what they feel is the most important historical time period. It could be Pangea and the movement of the continents....

or the 1980s and the fall of the Berlin Wall.....

No matter what, Storybird allows for their creative side to take flight.

** Why I chose Storybird..... ** Storybird was a program that I wasn't very familiar with. In order to become more comfortable with technology (which I believe is the premise of this class) I needed to break out from what I already knew; PhotoPeach, Museum Box, and the like. Storybird is a creative way to put ideas together. Students can create something that really reflects how they feel about a subject. One drawback I found with the program was that you cannot upload your own photographs to be used in your book/story. There are plenty that are available on the site, but it would be better used in elementary classrooms or even a secondary creative writing/Literature class.

**How would I use it....**  Like I mentioned above, I would definitley use Storybird if I were teaching an English class. But, it would be difficult (though not impossible) to utilize in a social studies class. Students would still be able to tell their story using the program, but I feel that I would lose them a bit in the fact that they have to use pre-loaded artwork. Because I have the necessary requirements to teach high school English, I could use this site if I was ever in that position. If you are teaching younger children or a creative writing class, Storybird is worth taking a look. I had a lot of fun playing around with the site over the last few days and would really recommend it.

** Diverse Learners.... ** Storybird would work really well with diverse learners because it appeals to all different types of learning. It's a very visual program and you can create books to order or print yourself. Those who need to actually DO something to learn would benefit because the site is very interactive. Auditory and natural learners would need a little bit of an extra "oomph" with the site because there is no way to place music or incorporate some of those other learning necessities into the program.

** Overall....Storybird is that site that a teacher could pull out of their pocket and use on a big project or when the class just isn't cooperating that day. It's fun and interactive and appeals to the student's creativity. This is something that I fell is overlooked far too often in upper-level classes. Sites like Storybird are needed to spice up a dull lesson every once in a while. **