Digital Storytelling for Beginners

Recently, I've been working with PreK-2 teachers who are new to ed tech. I've been trying to find tools that are easy for both the teachers and their (often pre-literate) students to use.

So far, my favorites are Little Bird Tales and UJAM, but I'm also a fan of Voicethread and Blabberize.

I wrote a blog post about these four tools, called Digital Storytelling for Beginners, if you're interested.

Are there any other easy-to-use tools that offer BIG rewards in the PreK-2 classroom?

Tags: PreK-2, digital, elementary, lower, storytelling

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Permalink Reply by Michael Juskiewicz on May 3, 2011 at 8:17am

I would try Storybird. Inspiring art and easy to use.

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on May 3, 2011 at 9:45am

Thanks! I forgot about Storybird -- it's definitely a good one!

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Permalink Reply by Jaime Lassman on May 4, 2011 at 10:18am

I have a few iPads in my 3rd grade classroom. Our school bought a few to experiment with, and I have them for a month. We have an app called PuppetPals HD that I'm very interested in trying out. It looks like a simple way to have kids create digital puppet show videos with audio.

I have not used it yet, but I'm excited to dive in.

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on May 4, 2011 at 5:46pm

I think I've heard of this before. It sounds really cool. I'll have to download it -- thanks!!!

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Permalink Reply by Jimmy on May 4, 2011 at 10:48am

Thanks for the great article. Can't wait to try out ujam with my daughter tonight!

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on May 4, 2011 at 5:46pm

Let me know how it goes -- it's definitely fun for all ages!

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Permalink Reply by tsocko on May 9, 2011 at 7:55pm

If you are using an ipad, try StoryPatch or Toontastic. Both recommended at EdCamp Boston and I have a lot of fun playing with them.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Fuson on May 11, 2011 at 8:09am

Have you looked at Storybird? I used it with high school freshmen to create stories for our elementary students, but it is very easy to use.

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Permalink Reply by Mathew Needleman on June 5, 2011 at 7:33pm

I used iMovie with my first and second graders and that was plenty easy.

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Permalink Reply by Sheila Fredericks on March 11, 2012 at 7:09pm

I love Little Bird Tales. So much fun! So easy to use!

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Permalink Reply by Natalie Ringeis on February 4, 2013 at 10:32pm

Yes! My kindergarteners adore LittleBirdTales. I like that it is available on the iPads and on the computers as well. It gives me the freedom to email the stories to parents, save them as .pdf files and print them for our class library! It saves their work and is easy to manage. All strong points in my book!

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Permalink Reply by Kate Miller on March 12, 2012 at 5:23pm

As far as making stories, Kerpoof is a fun resource to have students create books with already created character images and settings that may make storytelling easier.