Resources for Creating Digital Stories
- Windows Moviemaker is a way to create a digital movie. Windows Live Movie Maker is the fast, easy way to turn photos and videos into great-looking movies and slide shows you can share with your class, on the Web, or on DVDs. Create videos and slide shows, add variety and artistic effects to movies, and share movies with others
- iMovie is a good choice for for Mac users who want to create digital stories. This digital movie creation and editing program has most of the same features as Photo Story, however, it also supports the use of full-motion video clips. iMovie lets users add titles, effects, and transitions to their digital story projects.
- Photostory is a creative way combine photos into digital stories. Import photos from your camera, organize them into albums, and edit them so they look their best in Photostory. Use powerful photo tools to create stunning panoramas, movies, slide shows, and more.
- Garageband is a great application to use for creating your own music or podcast. Garageband is like having your very own music studio right on your Mac. Thanks to a range of built-in instruments and sound loops, you'll be able to create, record, and put together your own music masterpiece and easily share it with others. You can also work with multiple audio tracks and audio filters.
Digital Story Websites
- PhotoPeach is an interesting ways to make digital storytelling simple and adaptable in my classroom. PhotoPeach is an interactive and easy to use website that allows users to tell a story using photos. Photopeach allows users to upload photos, background music, captions, and comments. It is such an easy way to make digital storytelling a reality in your classroom.
- Animoto is another simple program online to create simple videos from pictures, sound, text, and existing video clips try Animoto. Animoto makes it possible to quickly create a video using still images, music, and text. In the last year Animoto has added the option to include video clips in your videos too. If you can make a slideshow presentation, you can make a video using Animoto. Animoto's free service limits you to 30 second videos. You can create longer videos if you apply for an education account. Sample Video
- One True Media is a creative ways to share your video creations with your family and friends. One True Media provides easy-to-use tools to mix and share their own video creations. One True Media is easy to use, makes the creative process fast, fun and rewarding, enables you with one click to transform your creations into shareable online videos.
- Myna is a free web-based audio track mixer created by Aviary. Using Myna you can mix together up to ten tracks to create your own audio files. The sounds you mix can come from the Myna library, your vocal recordings made with Myna's recorder, or audio tracks that you upload to your Myna account. Using Myna you can record and save podcasts.
- Little Bird Tales is a nice site for younger students to create digital stories. Little Bird Tales walks users through each step of creating a multimedia story. Users can upload images, draw images, or record from their webcams. Stories can be written with text or narrated by students using microphones connected to their computers. Sample video
- Jaycut is a nice free online video editing service. JayCut has elements of iMovie and Movie Maker in a free online application. JayCut is free to use and your final product can be downloaded to your local computer. Here are some of the highlights of the JayCut editor: The play length of each element in your video can be shortened or lengthened by simply dragging the ruler tools. JayCut has options for adding slow motion effects, direct recording from your webcam, a green screen, and color editing.
- Zooburst is another service that allows you to create digital stories. ZooBurst allows users to create 3D pop-up books using nothing more than public domain clip art and ZooBurst's web-based editing tools. Users can view ZooBurst 3D books in augmented reality by enabling their webcams (click webcam mode) then clicking the ZB button present on each story.
- Simplebooklet is another program that allows you to create and publish online multimedia stories. Simple Booklet is a free service for any age group. To create a book using Simple Booklet just sign-up for a free account and click create. Select the layout template that suits your needs. To add content click anywhere on the blank canvas and a menu of options will appear. You can add text, images, audio files, videos, and links to each page of your booklet.
- My Ebook is another service for creating rich multimedia eBooks. My Ebook allows users to create ebooks that contain text, images, and videos on each page. Users can create ebooks from scratch or upload their existing PDF files to display in a book format.
- Dvolver Moviemaker allows users to create short animated videos with cartoon figures. You can select from different locations, backgrounds, plots, characters, titles and music. When Dvolver Moviemaker is completed, projects may be emailed to others or posted to a blog
- Tabblo is a story-style photo sharing site that allows users to upload images and add text descriptions, which may be viewed as web pages or slideshows. Stylized templates are available and may be customized to add interest to your photo collections. Projects may be published on the Tabblo website where online visitors may post comments, or they may shared on other websites or blogs.
- Audacity is a good choice for beginners. Audacity, which is a free audio recording and editing program that is available for both PCs and Macs. Here is a tutorial
- Stupeflix is a service that allows user to quickly and easily create video montages using their favorite images and audio clips. Stupeflix allows users to drag and drop their images into the sequence that they would like the images to appear. Adding text to the images is easy to do in Stupeflix. Stupeflix offers only one default soundtrack so you have to upload your own audio clips. That said the advantage of Stupeflix over some similar services is that you can use more than one audio clip within the same video.
- Fotobabble a tool to record your voice for pictures. You upload your picture, record your voice using your microphone and publish it online using Fotoabble. You can get a link or an embed code to place it on your blog/website. Children can record their voices telling a short story or a poem about a picture or they can listen a fotobabble story and talk/write about their favorite part.
- Blabberize is a very easy application that allows you to speak through a picture. Students can manipulate the picture to say what they want it to say. Teachers have used this resource for quick projects such as having students retell a story, book reviews, explain a math or science process, create biographies. The ideas are endless. Take a look at a few below and then follow the link
Works Cited
"Digital Storytelling." Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. University of Houston, 2011. Web. 22 May 2011. <http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/video.html>.
Good Digital Storytelling Resources. TechNOaim. Web. <http://technoaim.wikispaces.com/Digital+Books,+Story+telling+%26+eReaders>.
Karaoğlu, Özge. "Digital Storytelling With Audio Tools." Ozge Karaoglu's Blog. Web. 29 May 2011. <http://ozgekaraoglu.edublogs.org/2011/05/23/digital-storytelling-with-audio-tools/?utm_source=feedburner>.
Wcboe. "Blabberize." Web20. Web. <http://web20.wicomico.wikispaces.net/Blabberize>.
"Windows Live Movie Maker Teacher Guide." Windows Live Moviemaker in the Classroom. Microsoft. Web. 22 May 2011. <http://www.microsoft.com/education/teachers/guides/windows_movie_maker.aspx>.