This week I came across an article titles "17 Popular Sites like Storybird." I have been looking forward to researching specific digital storytelling tools, so when this article populated I was excited!
To begin, I took a further look into Storybird. It is a resource I have heard of, but did not know much about. I wanted to get a deeper understanding of Storybird so I could use a more critical eye on the other sites listed in the article. Storybird is a website that allows users to create their own picture books, longform stories, flash fiction, and poems. With over 9 million members, there are a wide variety of stories for users to explore. Storybird offers courses and challenges within the website for students. This resource does come at a cost, even for creating the digital story. Additionally, users can pay for their work to be printed. Some of the benefits to the website are: it supports Google Classroom imports, students can upload their own artwork or choose from provided illustrations, and their work can be shared on the website. Even though it has a lot of great features, unless my district were to cover the cost, I do not know if I would use it.
Out of the 17 sites listed in the article, I spent time researching two other resources. The first one being Storyjumper. This digital storytelling resource is free to use when creating the initial story. There is a capability to pay for the book to be printed. I found a few great benefits to Storyjumper: multiple students can collaborate on one book, page templates are available which would be useful for younger students, students can upload their own artwork or use provided illustrations, and students can design their own characters for their stories on the website. The feature I found most intriguing was the ability to record audio for the pages. This tool would be useful for ELs as they are practicing speaking and would add an extra layer of customization to their book. If the book gets printed, the company includes a QR code for the reader so they can hear the author's recording. As I was playing around on the website, I found a very useful tutorial that walks the user through each of the tools they can use while creating their book. Overall, I would consider using this resource in my classroom for a digital storytelling project.
The second resource I looked at from the list was Story Creator. This app, for iPads and iPhones, is 100% free. Unlike the Storybird and Storyjumper, there is not an option to print the book out. However, the story can be shared between devices or through email. Similar to the other two tools, students can add text, photos, and audio. One additional feature with Story Creator is the option to add text highlighting. I think this feature would be beneficial to ELs because as they are reading along or listening, the words are highlighted. This would be useful for practicing word recognition. Story Creator also has a drawing tool feature. Viewers have the ability to comment, which I think would be great when teaching students how to leave feedback for their peers. Within an ESL classroom, students are able to interact with one another online while practicing their English skills.
Each of these three resources I discussed offer a way to bring digital storytelling into the general education, while supporting ELs, or an ESL classroom. Digital storytelling provides ELs with a fun and engaging way to practice their language skills, while ending up with a final project they can be proud of. Students are able to learn from one another as they share their stories.
17 Popular Sites Like Storybird. 17 Popular Sites Like Storybird (Updated: Jun 1st, 2021). (2021, June 1). http://www.moreofit.com/similar-to/storybird.com/Top_10_Sites_Like_Storybird/?&page=1.