Technology Tidbit Tuesday--Storybird

Tuesday is the day I share a favorite technology tool for the classroom. Today  I want to share a site called StoryBird. http://storybird.com/
My class absolutely loves this site. If you have never used it before you should go check it out! You can create a free teacher account and then, under your class name, add all your students. With the free account they can make as many projects as they want, comment on classmate's work, you can send out assignments to the students, and you can make it a private and safe environment.
The way the site works it a little backwards to "normal" storytelling. Students start with the artwork, and create a story based on the pictures they see. They may also choose a topic and pictures will come up relating to that topic as well. Not only do they create stories, they can browse and read them as well. There are some great storytellers on that site, and some really insightful authors!
I usually do this as a whole class first to introduce the site. I walk them through the steps of finding art, using a a graphic organizer to come up with an idea, writing a rough draft, and finally publishing their idea with the artwork.
Sometimes I have this as a center, when they really understand the tools on the website. I will give a story starter and have them finish the story, or a topic to start with, otherwise most students sit and stare blankly at the screen or browse through art the entire time. With this site, I usually have to give guidelines like, "one paragraph per page," otherwise they only do one sentence. After everyone has done a story it is always fun to share a few of them.
Another fun activity is to have students write stories with partners. This teaches them cooperative learning skills, and can benefit the lower level learners who might need a little extra help. It is always fun to allow the students to comment on each other's stories, they usually give excellent advice to each other! Just make clear instructions so no one goofs off and writes comments only to be funny.
This is a website my students enjoy all year! A lot of them choose to work on stories when they have free time. Let me know what you think, and post questions if you have any.
~Teresa