Who knew storytelling could be so versatile and fun all at the same time? Listening to Alan Levine go through the many aspects of how students can tell a story was inspiring. I never knew how to get started with innovative ways to teach my students. It seemed too daunting so I just focused on what I always did. Now, I’m stepping really far outside my comfort zone by creating digital stories and videos.
My brother Trevor was always my go to guy for helping me with computers. He came up with a creative way to share his family’s skiing trips through an iMovie. When I first saw this video, I was really impressed. Never thought in a million years that I would soon be assigned the task of creating videos and digital stories myself.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5hqgejo7aanght0/Fairmont%20January%202014.mp4?dl=0
Well, here goes!
I am glad I chose to start with the Animoto video. It was a great way to start because it is a user friendly site.
Here is my Animoto video; A Leisurely Day at the Beach
Creating the video went very well and I was able to finish it in about 10 minutes. Figuring out how to embed it in my blog is another 1 hour story.
I like that it was an activity that my students could do easily and in a short amount of time. My students will love it!
Next, I searched for comic apps and programs. I found Comic Life and was able to download it. I created a quick comic strip featuring a field trip to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. I know my students will enjoy creating a comic strip story.
I wanted to try another type of digital story so I went to the site that posts 50 sites and apps for digital storytelling. I decided to try digital films to give myself and students a variety of options for digital storytelling. It took longer than expected but that seems to be the norm. Anyway, I ended up with a story/film that I can share with my students as an example. Check it out!
http://www.digitalfilms.com/mymovie.php?id=16288
Finally, I chose to make one more Animoto video to post on my blog but I also want to share it with my class to help kickstart interest in making an Animoto video!
I am definitely planning on teaching a lesson with pechaflickr. Another great way to teach students to be more ‘dialed’ into learning. Since my intern is still on her 3 week block of teaching I will have to wait until the end of next week.
I was looking for a good comic strip free app for our class ipads? Does anyone know of a user friendly app for 9-10 year olds?
Thank you for reading!
Jennifer Huber's Blog 
It’s awesome that you tried out more than one resource here! I really love the look of your animoto videos. What’s the gist of your 1 hour embedding issue? Was it animoto specific or was it a blog setup issue??
Aside from intro of topics, what other uses can you see for the animoto videos? I’m thinking blog writing prompts, class discussion, etc. but what else?
The comic is great – I could see kids really getting into that, especially since they can use their actual pics! Yearbook????
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The 1 hour embedding issue was a blog thing. I found out from Sue Waters that I need to upload the videos to you tube and then they will embed in the blog.
I don’t see any other issues right now. I’m sure some will arise! I think the site is user friendly enough that the kids won’t have too many problems. I think the kids will use them to share things about themselves, projects we are working on at school. Also, Jenn said her class created book trailers on Animoto!
Thank you for the comment!
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Jennifer, animoto is probably one of my favorite web tools for digital storytelling. It takes very little effort for huge impact. I upgraded my acct to the education one for a little over $30/year, and it was worth it! Last year I had some students use my acct for their book trailers, and they all found it pretty user-friendly. I’ve also used comic life in a few different ways, from core french to recreating scenes in a passage in lit circles. It’s another easy and powerful tool, and that’s really what it’s all about isn’t it??
Overall I appreciated the variety of tools you have used just this week in your class. In some ways it’s beneficial to take this grad class in the fall, so you have the whole year to learn apply your learnings with (or on 😉 your students! 😉
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Thank you for your comments! I will definitely consider paying the $30/year for Animoto because I think I will find it useful and the kids will really like it.
It took a lot of time trying these tools out, but I need to do that now or I will find it hard to set aside time for it when I’m back teaching.
Yes, I’m finding that I’m feeling antsy and I want to get starting using more of the tools in my class. Right now my intern is on her block so I haven’t been teaching for a couple of weeks. Thankfully I will have the rest of the year to try them out!
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Love the comic strip one! That would get a lot of use in classrooms:) And yes, I hear you about it always taking longer than you plan for to try out new video tools! Good for you for trying so many new things for this post!
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