Digital Storytelling - Image Based Story

Another way to do digital storytelling is by using images to tell a story and just record your voice as a narration telling about each picture. Here is a story geared toward preschool about Easter that would be an example of an image based story.

I used the app, Shadow Puppet to create my image based digital stories. What I liked about this app was that you can highlight certain areas you may be talking about in the picture with a little star by touching the screen as you are recording.  You can also zoom into a certain area.  At first, I didn't realize that you had to load all your photos first, before you begin recording.  But after I tried again, it was fairly easy to use.

First, I made this video with my students talking about their artwork.  It didn't turn out super great, but this concept has potential. I think when I try this again, I will have students answer a list of questions first about their artwork so they know to say...or I would interview them instead and ask them the questions.  I think the idea of recording their voice made the kids a little nervous when they were talking, so I would have them practice it first.

This is the second try with using Shadow Puppet.  A third grader had created an original comic.  We photographed each frame with the iPad.  We then wrote a script.  She read it as we flipped through the frames. The story itself is a little sketchy...some background info not included in the actual comic was essential to understanding the relationships of the characters, so I included it in the script.

In my classroom I could use this image based storytelling to create a movie to demonstrate a technique or or step by step directions on how to do something.  I could also make presentations about collections of artwork by a certain artist and present them to the class.  I will probably use it mostly to interview my students about their artwork.  I think this would work especially well when my students build structures in the architecture center.  The structures are always temporary and we document them with cameras. When they finish, they fill out a paper that asks them questions about what their building is and challenges they encountered while building it.  I could let them record these thoughts with Shadow Puppet, instead of writing it out. Students could also use this app to interview each other about their artwork. For example: student 1 asks questions about student 2's artwork (displayed on the slide), student 2 answers possibly using the highlighter feature and then they switch.

I enjoyed playing around with both Shadow Puppet and Sock Puppet.  I think I will be able to use both of these apps in my classroom for various purposes.  I think that both apps are easy enough for my students to learn and use. For elementary kids, the sock puppets are great and so much fun to use to get across concepts and information.  I don't think one is better than the other. They both could be used to support my curriculum in many ways.

Digital Storytelling - Animated Story Project

Here are some printable Storyboard templates that are great for getting started with digital storytelling.
I decided to just write/draw mine out in Paper, my new favorite app!

My storyboard & script:

Character Descriptions and Setting

Screenshots of the script

I think in that digital storytelling is a great way to for my students to communicate with the viewer about their artwork. Hearing the artist's story about their artwork authenticates it and helps the people viewing it make connections to the artist.  Having students talk about their work is good for them, as well.  Sharing their thoughts and ideas gives them confidence and helps them feel successful.  Students are motivated to use digital storytelling apps like Sock Puppets because they are fun! 

Here is a video of a kindergarten class learning about this App and how they used it to retell a story they had read.

I loved using the Sock Puppets App to create my first animated story project to explain the concept of thinking of an idea for a drawing.  With only 90 seconds available for recording, I decided to make my video into three parts.  I then saved them to my camera roll and then imported them into iMovie and literally created a movie in minutes which I then uploaded to YouTube.  I did find that you have to kind of talk slow, or the sock puppet's mouth just stays open...which looks kind of weird.  I wish I would have moved the puppets around a little more when I talked...it might make it a little more interesting.  But I enjoyed using this app.  I like the idea of the sock puppets explaining concepts or rules in my class.  I think kids would love this and respond well to it...better than just me talking.  So I think I would use the Sock Puppets App to create a video to introduce concepts to my class during mini-lessons.  Sepcifically, I could make a video for what to do when you make a mistake or I could make a video to explain how to use a new center. Or kids could use the app to create a video of the puppets telling a story about their artwork. I think this would be very fun for the little ones!