This document discusses Storybird, an online tool for creating and sharing stories. It can be used by teachers and students in various subject areas. Teachers can write stories to teach new material or explore ideas. Students can write stories to practice language skills or present reports in a creative way. The document outlines how Storybird works, its classroom features for teachers, and upcoming developments like voice recording and an iPad version.

1. Storybird for Linguists
MFL Show & Tell
The Radclyffe School
13 November 2010

2. About me
• MFL teacher at Ian Ramsey School in Stockton
• Love creativity and anything that helps
promote it
• Don’t work for Storybird
• @wizenedcrone on Twitter
• Have a Storybird wikispace:
http://mfl-storybirds.wikispaces.com/

3. Storybird for Everyone
Fiona Joyce

14. For teachers and learners
• Teachers can write stories to teach new
material or present topics and themes in an
alternative way
• Pupils can write stories to explore ideas,
practise skills, present reports, write creatively
or use new language

15. How have I used it ?

31. … or it can be more complex …

33. One of my students’ first stories

39. Why use stories in the classroom?
• Good model of sustained language. Pupils
have to listen and concentrate.
• Offers opportunities to listen, imagine,
predict, comment, participate, express
opinions, access longer texts without
necessarily having to understand every word.
• Involve younger children in the story from the
start with actions and gestures
With thanks to Clare Seccombe http://changing-phase.blogspot.com/

40. • Make a model of one of the characters
• Write a description of one of the characters
• Pupils write their own stories inspired by the
original
• Match words and pictures from the story
• Listen and draw
• Sequencing
• Drama
• Mini books
Follow-up activities
With thanks to Clare Seccombe http://changing-phase.blogspot.com/

41. Who could use Storybird?
• In Primary there are many opportunities from
Reception to KS2
• At Secondary level, several subject areas:
– English and drama
– History
– Science
– RE
– PHSE
– Modern Languages
– … and your area?

42. How does it work ?
Open a free account and
this is how your home
page looks

43. Start a new story by choosing art

44. .. or by choosing a theme

45. The interface

46. Class accounts

47. Set assignments

48. Set assignments

49. Features for teachers
• Student management with no email addresses
to log in
• Embeddable (if written in English)
• Discussions
• Class libraries
• Moderated comments
• Spell check...

50. My hack …
www.mfl-storybirds.wikispaces.com

51. Coming in next weeks …
• gift cards
• teacher fundraising codes
• Challenges (new writing contest for USA
residents over 18 – coming to UK later)

52. Developments for early 2011
• voice recording (I am sooo excited about this!)
• iPad v1 (Read)
• Personal uploads
• Sharable reading lists
• new profile pages
• new Read page
• updated Create page

53. Features designed but not yet
programmed …

54. Tag Typing

55. Search inside storymaker

56. Add to image library

57. Where do I go again?
• Storybird website:
http://www.storybird.com/
• MFL Storybirds wikispace:
http://mfl-storybirds.wikispaces.com/