I absolutely LOVE the concept of Storybird... its amazing, creative and inspiring. Storybird is designed to assist with creative writing by providing a range of artwork to inspire the young writers creative expression. The concept is simple to use with a drag and drop tool, allowing easy use for even the younger grades.
My initial experience with Storybird was a little frustrating however! I spent an hour creating the same story concept 3 times!!!! I initially found the navigation to be very touchy and frustrating - I Lost my stories and then lost my inspiration and creativity - all the things it originally inspired in me!!!!! I got so wrapped up in my story creation, that twice I accidently hit something off the story board menu with my mouse and ended up on the home page - story gone!!! That said, I would love to experiment with this tool with students in creative / expressive writing - I'm actually really looking forward to the day I can use it.
However, 1 hour later, I could not resist but to go back to the tool, ... I take my daughter with me this time, she is 6 and she is already keen to read the stories and make her own. I discover my story right where I left it.... so here is my story..
beginnings by shalenob on Storybird
Further analysis of this tool leads me to thinking about more benefits of its use. The print option is fantastic. Although online storage is great, a tactile story book is a huge benefit and a means for encouraging the younger students to share their creations with their families and peer.
The capacity to create a collaborative story as a class is exciting, and again builds group work skills. The art work is amazing, and a sure inspiration to the even the most unimaginative student, assisting in the area of creative writing. For those with learning support needs, Storybird also works with Co-Writer word prediction and Dragon Naturally Speaking software. I love that you can share each others stories, seeing deep into the hearts and minds of your students. In addition, for myself reading others stories was amazing and inspired me to 'give it a go'.
Safety and ethical issues have been well thought out by designers; as Mark Ury, (2009) Cofounder of Storybird states" every Storybird that's shared in the public library is moderated/screened in advance to ensure it's child appropriate and doesn't contain inappropriate language or themes. We also curate and moderate the narrative art supplied by the participating illustrators to ensure that it's appropriate as well. And, the tag and comment engine uses a language scrubber to filter out the vast majority of words used in name-calling. To compliment that, all comments are removable by the thread owner and we do regular sweeps on the daily comment streams to double-check anything the system may have missed." He also states regarding legal concerns the following measures have been taken - a) allowing Storybird to allow you to syndicate your content (ie.embeding it on your blog) and b) protecting the existing copyright of illustrators. (http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/storybird-1) Some drawbacks to the tool include the usual technology issues (connection speed, access, skill level etc). I also wonder about the art work being somewhat restrictive to ones imagination - in that if a student cant match the art to their work, are they limited in their story line? On a forum containing feedback about Storybird as a teaching tool, the following teacher/student feedback was posted;Ok, six of my kids (gifted ed class grade 4) tried Storybird this afternoon. They really liked it. Here are some of their concerns and comments:
"No easy way to find your book off the frontpage once you have published it."
"No ability to search by author or tag."
"Too hard to find the artwork by using the ' word cloud', most kids want to SEE the art work."
"Only two page layouts, with same size images."
"Can only be one picture on a page"
"Most characters have only one pose--so if you wanted to write a story about only one character he'd always be in the same pose."
"Like the 'creative' outlet."
"Nice to be able to use professional art work--especially if you can't draw"
"Love it!"
"Cute animation makes me want to write a story"
Application:The thing I love about Stoybird, is not only the individual application, whereby a student can express and create, but I'm really excited about the collaborative opportunities Storybird offers. Some examples can be found here. When reflecting on how I would use this tool I have lots of ideas that combine collaboration and connectivism learning, to individual application. The artwork is emotionally provoking, and I feel this tool would be excellent to use to explore feelings and empathy.Some more information about Storybird use in the classroom can be found at:http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/curriculum/tech/digital/storybird.htmhttp://kate.murraystate.edu/in_your_classroom/172/http://www.scribd.com/doc/50688300/17/Share-your-Creativity-with-storybird-comhttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/26415/Simple-Social-and-Snazzy-Storytelling-with-Storybirdhere
http://www.thedigitalnarrative.com/teachign%20method%20lessons/storybird.htm
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