Digital Reflection

I can remember the very first class of EDUC 584 vividly and even more the heaviness and anxiety I felt in my chest about the level of technology that was going to be necessary to be successful. As the class is coming to an end and I reflect, I am astounded by the vast amount of digital tools I have learned about and my level of comfortability using these tools. This course has provided me with a venue to explore technology in ways I didn't know were possible. As I move forward, I know I will integrate technology into my literacy instruction using the many tools I have learned in class (i.e. Voki, Padlet, VoiceThread, Storybird, Animoto, etc.). In addition, in the upcoming school year I plan to make use of technology as a way of communicating with families via a class blog. I would also like to set up Kidblog for my students to begin their blogging adventures as I did throughout the course.

Below, I have created a Storybird story to highlight some of the many tools and technological terminology that I have learned. Enjoy!

New Fun with Storybird!

During class last Thursday a few of my clever and creative colleagues and I had the opportunity to explore Storybird, for the first time. Storybird is an interactive online tool that can be used to create stories and read already developed stories. There is an array of different genres of artwork that you can choose from to develop your story. For example, there is a whole page of different types of "scary" pictures. I like how you have the option of choosing your pictures prior to creating your story (pictures guide your story) or you can write your story first and then hope to find pictures that match (story guides your picture choice). On our first try with Storybird we chose to pick a genre of pictures first and then create our story based on the pictures. Together we wrote a "quaint-little" story about a little girl named Susie who likes to go exploring. As we dabbled with the program I came to realize that my students would most likely LOVE this story making tool. It was very user/kid friendly and fun! My colleagues and I shared many laughs while creating our story. The pictures we chose helped to spark ideas and take "Susie" on an adventurous journey. I believe in using Storybird my students' writing could be enhanced compared to what they may produce with simply pencil and paper. My colleagues and I ended up developing a story that could be used to teach students about making inferences based on picture and text clues. Take a look...it's in our book...



So...Did you know that Susie was using her imagination in her house the entire story?
Storybird users how would you rate my story?

I would LOVE to find out how other teachers are using Storybird in their classrooms...