Thing 5: Digital Storytelling & Presentation Tools

I checked out a bunch of digital storytelling & presentation tools and clicked on many, many examples.

VoiceThread
The digital library on VoiceThread's site was filled with examples of how it could be used in a K-12 environment and got my wheels whirring. It wasn't immediately obvious that you could have a free account. I like that it gives you a chance to try it out, but a school license is costly and I'm not sure many teachers would be willing to pay $79/year for access to this resource.

Animoto
I see the appeal; kids would love being able to mix visuals with music. Maybe it's my age, but I found the music in both examples I watched -- Polar Bears and Celebrating Dr. Seuss -- to be very distracting and overpowering. I had to really concentrate to attend to the visuals and the messages that accompanied the slides. If I used this tool I would want to spend some time teaching students the importance of selecting music that enhances what they are trying to communicate. I'd want to construct some examples that would help them understand that the choice of music is key; if it overpowers the visuals and written comments then it hasn't served its intended purpose.

Storybird
I'd never heard of this tool so I clicked on the link and was immediately drawn in by the graphics. I can't draw and my experience is that many students feel the same way. I found myself clicking on an image and wanting to write. This could be so wonderful for kids that feel stymied by having to draw. It was so easy to navigate that I just had to see the process and I imagine many kids would feel the same way; they wouldn't be able to resist the urge to write. You can check out my experiment by clicking here -- An Early Valentine. I could definitely see myself sharing the Tips link: Using StoryBird in the Classroom with a teacher that might be interested in exploring digital storytelling with his or her class.

Little Bird Tales
Maybe it was the examples, but I felt uninspired. If you haven't tried anything else it's certainly a starting point, but I've used the iPad app Book Creator

so I was and wondering why I would use Little Bird Tales when I could use Book Creator just as easily and, in my opinion, end up with a better final product.

I spent so much time on the digital storytelling tools and examples I'd run short on time for investigating all the links under Tools, tips and Resources. I did click on one -- Digital Storytelling and Stories with the iPad -- and found it to be so good that I'd want to go back to it before starting a project with a class. It was full of links for sites, apps and rubric ideas that I'd want to be certain to check out and possibly incorporate.