STORYJUMPER

Read this free book made on StoryJumper

Let’s create a storybook!

Hello dear readers! I’m Anna Solé and I going to talk about STORYJUMPER!

Storyjumper is an app which allows you to create storybooks. It is perfect for Young Learners since it is very intuitive and easy to use. Moreover, at the end you can either publish the story or print it off.

I do think it is a good app for teaching students how to write stories using ICT. Sometimes students are far more motivated when the activity is developed through Ipads or laptops. In addition, IT IS FREE! And it is not necessary to have an email account to use it!

In addition, the app is not only useful for students but also for teachers. For example, in order to introduce the app I decided to create a story myself.

Apart from what I have mentioned, there is something that I really like from this app. Once the storybook is created, there is a section in which students can leave comments and feedback. The section is called “Say something nice…”. 

Weaknesses	Strengthens
It is not possible to add music.	There is a tutorial in the same app and students can watch a step-by-step video tutorial at any time, if necessary.
	It is possible to save the book without finishing it.
To comment it is necessary to have an account, which is free.	It is also possible to add pictures from the Internet or from the computer. The app saves the book constantly without having to press the save button all the time.
	Stories can be shared.

As I said, I have created a story based on the following news:

http://www.dogonews.com/2016/4/11/salads-disguised-as-cakes-are-a-hit-in-japan

If you want to talk about current topics and news around the world, dogonews is a really interesting webpage. I really encourage you to visit it!

Concerning the activity, I should say that I created the story to present the app and inspire the pupils before using it. After telling the story I would divide the class into different groups to allow them to create a story themselves. I thought it would be useful to first present the story created by myself since it would serve as an example and also as scaffolding. Moreover, the story is based on something real, which I believe is more motivating for the students.

Instructions to complete the activity successfully 

Each group of students would have a worksheet with the steps to create the story. I do think it would be interesting to practice how to write stories beforehand since pupils will feel more comfortable before using this app.
The instructions would be the following:

1. Title (Cover of the book)
2. Introduction (1 page)
3. Rising action (2 pages)
4. Falling action (2 pages)
5. Resolution (1 page)
6. Name of the authors at the end of the story

(The teacher should explain all of the parts before giving them time to work on the story)

Additional information: It has to include pictures and at least two characters. 

Timing:

I would devote two sessions, each one of 60 minutes.

First session: I would explain the activity and the story and then students would create the story.

Second session: Students would continue creating the story and at the end they would present it to the rest of the classmates.

Aims:

-       To interact orally in English.

-       To engage in simple and basic oral conversations.

-       To respect everyone’s turn to speak.

-       To work with other classmates.

-       To practice writing skills.

-       To learn new words related to food.

Classroom management:

After telling the story the students would work with their partners in groups.  I would give each of them a role. One of the students would be in charge of writing, another student would be in charge of checking mistakes, the third one would search images and information on the Internet and the fourth one would be helping. The idea is that every 10 minutes I would change roles. And so each one of them would have the opportunity to be working on different areas.
I would also bear in mind those students that are gifted and so I would mix them with those students that are weaker. 

I think it would be interesting to have one laptop and one Ipad per group, if possible. The student that is writing would use the laptop whereas the one that is searching for information could use the Ipad. Nevertheless, the activity can also be developed with one laptop per group.

Multiple intelligences

In terms of multiple intelligences, I must say that students learn in ways that are identifiably distinctive. Taking into account the activity that I thought of, I must refer to Visual and Spatial. Students would create a text with images. Therefore, multimedia resources would be linked.

Students would work on groups and so interactively, thus the Interpersonal intelligence is also related. Finally, I should also talk about the Linguistic intelligence. Student would be using words effectively, while writing, reading and talking.

Language skills and competences

The activity is thought to work on the four skills.

Writing: The students would write the story to create a book.

Speaking: The activity is created to be developed in groups, so they would have to talk and discuss what kind of story they would like to write.

Reading: They would read the book that I have created and also search for information on the Internet.

Listening: They would be listening to their classmates and to the teacher when telling the story.

As far as competences are concerned, I must say that all the competences are related.

Linguistic and audio-visual: The students would consider the four skills.

Information handling and digital competence: students would be using laptops and Ipads.

Learning to learn: They would have to organise and regulate their own learning as well as manage their time effectively while solving problems.

Autonomy, initiative and decision taking: students would work autonomously and make decisions when creating the story.

Social and civic: students working in groups.

Cultural and artistic: they would create a storybook.

Knowledge and interaction with the world: students would learn vocabulary about food as well as something that is happening in another country, Japan.

Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy

In terms of Bloom’s Taxonomy, I must refer to a HOTS activity (creating). On one hand, students have to invent a story and afterwards, design/create a digital book using laptops or Ipads.

Content topic and target users

The story that I would explain at the beginning of the session is related to food. So it would be a kind of introduction to this topic. Therefore, the stories of the students should also be related to food.

As I mentioned, Storyjumper is easy to use. I believe the activity can be aimed at first and second cycle. For older students I would probably use Book Creator. The layout of that app is not as childish as Storyjumper.

Assessment

In order to assess students I would use two assessment strategies (self-evaluation and an observation grid).

I believe it is of paramount importance to engage students in assessment since it allows them to be active participants in determining the focus of their learning, and also to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Concerning the self-evaluation, I would use the following statements (I would rate them from 1 to 3):

-      

I    Listened when my teacher and classmates were speaking.

-       I finished my activity on time.

-       I work well with my friends.

-       I liked the activity.

-       I enjoyed using laptops and Ipads.

-       My strengths are:

-       Things I can improve on:

Regarding the observation grid, it would be related to their oral presentation.

So readers, I encourage you to try this app! We all know that students have a lot of imagination and they enjoy creating stories. So, why not take advantage of that and add new technologies to the learning process?