In Storymaker you can choose characters and objects and the site creates sentences depending on chosen action. It’s easy to use and a nice way for young children to create stories and learn new language. If you work with stories and tales in the classroom, this could be a useful site for assignments. I think it will be even more worthwhile if the pupils sit in pairs and interact while doing the task.
The children choose main character and the main characters goal – for example to travel somewhere, make friends with or rescue someone, find or defeat something. The follow up question then is who/what the hero/heroin will defeat, find, fell in love with etc?
The children set up the background, choose emotions, actions, interactions and give the characters items to use. According to what the characters do – the storymaker creates sentences. The children decides what’s going to happen to hero/heroin – who they will meet and what kind of adventures that are going to take place.
Depending on what happens on the screen the children will figure out what the text means. For example, if they choose the interaction “kiss” or “fight” without knowing the meaning, they may guess by looking at what the characters do.
Because you can write your own text you may also modify the sentences to suit your story. For example, if the program types “The monkey was surprised. The happy monkey jumped”, the children might want to change it into “The monkey was surprised and jumped”. Because they see the meaning of it, it will stimulate and improve their use of function words.
When you choose a character to talk a speech bubble appears, you write something in it and it will appear in a sentence in the text. I believe the comic-book features make it easier to understand because they are well-recognized for all.
Some considerations when using StoryMaker…
When the children finish their story it may be saved as .pdf file, but it cannot be edited again. In the end you will have a freeze frame and not the varied expressions of the characters. If the pupils believe they create an animated story this might be disappointing for them. In a way this could be good because the result is more book-like, but it also unfortunate that one can’t go back and edit. Perhaps the main characters goal hasn’t been achieved when the lesson ends? A way to avoid this is that the children create chapters instead of a complete story.
Siri Öberg
Hi Siri,
ReplyDeleteI got curious when I was reading your blog and checked " My storymaker" out. I agree with you, it is a useful tool when you want to create stories and learn a new language at the same time. It is also good that it suits a younger learner, that they can connect a feeling with their character and in that way learn the word for that feeling. I also think it could be a good idea to let the children work in pairs and create their own story. Afterwards they could also read each others stories.
Hi again,
DeleteI've been thinking a bit more about "My Storymaker" and what could be worth considering. The site has characters that the child can connect with different feelings and interactions. Here I think it is important for the children to have guidance from the teacher. I think that, without guidance, the site could be a little bit like a computer game where the child is playing around with the character. Used in the right way I think it's a good site though.
Hello Linda!
DeleteI agree with you, the children absolutely need guidance to get the most out of the program. Some introduction and some follow-up/closure is necessary to make this a relevant, useful tool in education. Otherwise, it's easily just another game.
Hi Siri,
ReplyDeleteI had never heard about Story maker before I read your blog post. I tried Story maker and really enjoyed the program. I believe it is a very useful program in primary school and this ICT tool is useful for several reasons.
As you said, it is an easy program to use. I believe every pupil would be able to use it. I agree that it is very good that the pupils have the chance to write their own sentences for every page. Otherwise it would have been too simple for the children and the story would not have been theirs, as you also wrote. Another good thing is that the pupils have to use their own imagination when they are making a story. This develops a child’s thoughts and imagination. You recommend that the teacher let the pupils work in pairs and that is what I think that is a really great idea. In pairs the children are able to discuss and together let their imagination flow. Sometimes it is easier and more fun to create a story with a friend. Working in pairs let them practice to listen and communicating with each other.
A good aspect I thought of is that the program is for free. It will not cost anything to use which is very good for the school. It is also a good idea to let the pupils present their own story in front of the class. I believe the pupils will enjoy the exercise and this makes it easier for them to stand in front of the class to present it especially since they do not need to say much.
A negative aspect of this program is that a school needs to have many computers if the whole class is going to work with this exercise at the same time. In the school where I did my teacher training practice, there was no computer room. If the pupils are working in pairs it makes this problem much easier of course. If there were not enough computers I would have made a combination lesson with another task and let the pupils use the computers one pair at a time. Furthermore, it will take some lessons to get this exercise finished.
I believe it is a very good, fun and developing program for the children to use in primary school. I will try working with this program in one of my classes when I finished my teacher training.