Featured: 2-17-2014 myHistro

Create stories that are displayed on maps and geo-located interactive timelines with myHistro.

 

You can watch and read thousands of user-created timelines at myHistro or create your own dynamic timeline mashup with text, video, and images.

 

 

Combine maps and timelines seamlessly into unique presentations, convert any public timeline into a pdf file, or export it into Google Earth format (kml) for offline storage. Completed timelines can be embedded into blogs and websites for sharing.   

 

Features of myHistro:

• Archive with several hundred historical timelines to choose from.
• Collaboration tools, ideal for class activities.
• Secure content management.

Three privacy levels to choose from let you decide what others will see. You can keep your timeline private, make it public, or keep it between you and those you choose.

 

  

 View a slide presentation: myHistro Basic Guidelines For Teachers

 

There is an official free myHistro application for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch with simplified functionality. In this version you can create new accounts, add new stories, add new events, and manage existing stories and events.

 

Currently myHistro supports YouTube videos and pictures in JPEG and PNG formats. It does not require Flash.

 

 DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0 

Featured: 12-18-2013 Metta

Use Metta to create learning stories, documentaries, summaries, and compilations from videos, pictures, text, and sounds that are already on the web or upload your own material.

Insert polls and quizzes into your Metta stories, lessons, or slides to get feedback from your viewers. Get insights and track who answered your questions, when, and where.

A convenient Collect Button makes it easy to gather videos, images, and text wherever you’re browsing on the the web with just a click.

 See an example Metta story

Your Metta profile can be shared with your followers and you can follow other Metta users. Even build your own channel.

All Metta plans includes a 30-day free trial. The free plan allows you to create and publish an unlimited number of stories, but you get only 10 MB of media storage and are limited to just 10 responses per poll. If you decide to go with a paid plan, be certain to check the EDU Discount box for 50% off.

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Featured: 8-22-2013 Kid in Story Book Maker

Create visual stories in support of learning, social modeling, and early literacy with Kid in Story Book Maker.

Place your student’s picture on every page of the story using Kid in Story Book Maker’s templates. It's easy and fun to make any child the star character. You can also write your own custom story or modify any of the templates.

Kid in Story Book Maker was specifically designed to benefit children who use visual narratives to complement auditory directions, model task analysis and expected social behavior, reinforce routines and to engage struggling readers.

The free Kid in Story Reader allows teachers and parents to share stories they create with students, friends, and family via email or Dropbox.

 Watch the Kid in Story Demo

Kid in Story Book Maker is available from the iTunes App Store for $6.99 (USD). It is compatible with iPad and requires iOS 5.1 or later.

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Featured: 8-13-2013 Flowboard

Flowboard is a free iPad app that lets you create side-scrolling presentations with text, images, video, and links.

 

 

 

Create each screen of a Flowboard using simple touch gestures. Add buttons, videos, and galleries for interactivity. Present your Flowboard and let others explore, using the interactive features, on your iPad, online, or offline.

 

Create Flowboards with content on your iPad or from the cloud. Add photos and videos from Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive; pictures from Facebook or Instagram; and use Google Image Search, as well.

 

Flowboard automatically saves your presentations locally as you make changes, and you can save drafts to the cloud, so your presentation is always safe.

 

 

Present straight from your iPad, connect to a projector, or mirror using AirPlay. You can share your Flowboard to other iPad users and the web by a URL that can be posted anywhere.

 

 Watch a Flowboarddemo from TechCrunch

 

Flowboard is free to download and use (Requires iOS 6.0 or later). Premium increases your monthly upload quota to 1GB, with bigger file upload sizes, and the ability to upload PDF files. Currently, a subscription for Flowboard Premium is $5(USD) per month. 

 

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Featured: 2/18/2013 inklewriter [Writing]

inklewriter is a free online tool designed to allow anyone to write and publish interactive stories. Teachers and students can combine computer skills and creative writing.

inklewriter lets writers branch the story with interactive choices, and then links those stories back together again. It will track which paths are finished, and which are incomplete. Start writing and see where it takes you. It’s free to use, no set-up, no programming, no diagramming.Once written, stories can be shared with whomever you like. Every story is given its own unique web-page that you can share any way you choose.

An inklewriter story can be converted to a Kindle ebook. For a fee of £5(UK) or $10(US), your inklewriter story can be made into an ebook that can be read on a Kindle, or sold through Amazon. The ebook reads like a normal Kindle ebook, except that choices are included using hyperlinks.

Watch a video introduction to inklewriter

inkle is a Cambridge-based start-up focused is on making interactive stories that are easy to play and beautiful to read on modern tablet devices.

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Featured: 1/22/2013 Storyboard That [Storytelling]

Storyboard That is an innovative tool to help visually communicate ideas and concepts to quickly tell a story.



Storyboard That was designed to be fun and easy to use, implementing a simple drag-and-drop interface with hundreds of pieces of clip art that can be used.



Storyboard That is a great tool for students to collaborate. Students can discuss what they want their story to say, how to structure it, and what imagery to use.

Watch the Storyboard That Intro

Storytelling by creating a story in Storyboard That can be fun and exciting. The experience of rapidly creating a storyboard that looks good and tells a story from the students' point of view can be stimulating and thought provoking.

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COD - 3/13/2012 - My Story [Digital storytelling]

Children can draw, use photos, record voice, type, and then send their finished creations to family and friends using the My Story iOS app.

My Story helps kids expand their art skills and self-expression in a new way, giving parents and teachers another tool to help develop these kinds of literacy skills.

My Story's drawing tools include multiple size-adjustable brushes and a pallet of 20 colors from which kids can choose. Add photos from the iPad's photo library or take a new photo from within the app (iPad 2+).

An easy-to-use button lets you start and stop voice recording on every page of your book. Voice recordings remain intact when your book is shared or published to iBooks. Kids can type words on each page of the book.

Watch a video introduction to My Story

You can create an unlimited number of My Story books. The finished book can be read right inside the app. Share your story book by email with anyone who has an iOS device. Stories can be published to iBooks.

Note: My Story - Book  Maker for Kids is $1.99 (US) in the iTunes App Store.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Catch of The Day - Showbeyond - 10/4/2011

Showbeyond is a multimedia slidecast creator, online publishing platform, and story sharing community.

A slidecast is a multimedia format that can be used for online story telling and online presentations. A slidecast combines and synchronizes a slideshow with a podcast. Showbeyond lets you easily mix your images with sound and text to create multimedia stories, then share your stories with others or post them to blogs or social networking sites.

Showbeyond features include:

• Compile your stories in real time with simple, yet powerful tools.
• Upload images from your computer or on-line sources such as Flickr, Picasa, or any image URL.
• Automatically arranges your image to the proper position in a slide.
• Each slide can have a text description.
• Automatically sets up the interval between slides based on content.
• Public and private sharing.
• Community oriented, collect, discuss, and share.

The Showbeyond system allows one soundtrack for narration of each individual slide, and another for background sound. Showbeyond currently accepts only jpg and jpeg image formats with a maximum file size of 8MB. You can use up to 24 images.

View an example of a Showbeyond slidecast

Public content is accessible to anyone who visits Showbeyond. By default, private content can be viewed only by the owner. However, if you share the link to your private content, anyone who clicks on the link will be able to see that content.

Note: Showbeyond supports Internet Explorer 6.0+, Firefox 1.5+, Safari 3.03+ and Opera 9+, with cookies, JavaScript, Flash Player, and Java enabled.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Catch of the Day - AwesomeStories - 8 Apr 10

AwesomeStories, a gathering of primary-source information, is today's catch

Launched in 1999, AwesomeStories is a site to help educators and individuals find original sources located at national archives, libraries, universities, museums, historical societies, and government web sites.

AwesomeStories Home Page

The purpose of AwesomeStories is to place primary sources, not opinions, at the forefront. Its objective is to take users to places where those primary sources are located.

Awesome Disaster Stories

The stories at AwesomeStories exist as a way to place original primary source materials in context and to tie those links together in an interesting and meaningful way.

Awesome Sports Stories

Joining AwesomeStories is free. Members can access everything on the site and explore all its many features, such as …

• An extensive image data base
• Narrated stories
• Lesson plans and text documents
• A monthly newsletter profiling current events and hot topics

Front Page of a Story

The author of each AwesomeStory is identified on the front page of the story and linked to more detailed information about the author. Additionally, hundreds of teachers have provided specific input for site improvements and story requests.

Listen to this article

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Catch of the Day - My Storymaker - 2 Oct 09

Today's featured catch is My StoryMaker

My StoryMaker is an interactive tool which allows kids to create animated stories. My StoryMaker lets the student control characters and objects - and creates sentences for him! Once finished the story can be saved online or printed, or it can be put out in the Library.

Watch this short video to see how My StoryMaker works.



My StoryMaker is brought to you by the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh and is made possible by a grant from the Grable Foundation.

Tips For Digital Story Telling

Digital Storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights. Tell your story now digitally.
- Leslie Rule, Digital Storytelling Association

Techlearning > > Tips For Digital Story Telling > November 1, 2007