The Theory
As an elementary school teacher, I see the value in a great
story. One of my favorite parts of the school day is read aloud time. During
this time, I get to share a book with my students, and we get to forget about
the rest of the world for a little while and get lost in a story. Whether we’re
diving into the latest chapter in a book we’ve been reading for weeks or reading
a quick picture book with a great message or connection to what we’re learning,
my students are always on the edge of their seats at read aloud time. Sharing
stories is one of my favorite ways to engage my students, and digital storytelling
sounds like a great next step. According to Alrubail (2015), “Digital
storytelling is the concept of using digital media (photos, audio, video) to
create a story.” Giving students the opportunity to create a digital story to share
with classmates would allow students to tap into their strengths and creativity
while also taking time to appreciate and admire the strengths and creativity of
their peers.
Link to Resource
Above is a resource that I have found that could be a great way
to introduce digital storytelling for elementary students. The app called “My
Story” is available as both a free and paid version and offers bulk education pricing
for schools who are interested in purchasing the premium version of the app. I
spent some time exploring the free version on my Apple device and was impressed
with what I saw. The app gives users the opportunity to create a story by
adding pages to a digital book. On each page, users can draw pictures, add
stickers, and add images that they either take via their camera or save and
download from online. Users can then record a voice over to tell their story on
each page. The paid version offers an extensive variety of backgrounds, stickers,
and visual tools. The free version has a very limited selection, but users
could make up for this by relying more on photos they find online or take
themselves.
Benefits and Roadblocks
Benefits of My Story include the opportunity for multimodal
storytelling. Students can use words, images, and their recorded voice to tell
a story and engage listeners. Being able to create an entire story on one platform
is another great benefit. Story pages can be designed right in the app,
personalized images and text can be uploaded directly to the pages of the
story, and users are able to narrate their story all in one convenient location.
This makes the creation process simple for young learners. A potential roadblock
of My Story is the limited number of free design features. Students who have a unique
story with many characters, diverse settings, and creative events will have a
challenging time finding stickers in the app that apply to their story. They
will have to rely heavily on taking their own photos or finding photos to use
online. This could lead to copyright concerns if young students are not aware
of how to cite sources.
My Story could be a great way for multilingual learners to become more confident with writing. Instead of staring at a blank lined page in a notebook or a blinking cursor on a word document, students will be looking at a storybook template. The familiar side-by-side page format of a picture book will be less visually overwhelming and will allow students to take their story one page at a time. Multilingual learners can ease into writing by organizing their thoughts page by page and voice record to tell their story. Having a bank of stickers, backgrounds, and images to choose from as they write can help with vocabulary practice and provide options and examples if students are uncertain of how their story should continue.
Adaptation for a Third Grade Classroom
My third-grade writers are preparing to write a historical
fiction story during our upcoming writing unit. While I find the historical
fiction genre to be really exciting to teach in reading, I have always found it
to be daunting when it comes to guiding students through writing their own
historical fiction story. Many young students struggle with writing already,
and when you throw in a complex genre like historical fiction, the struggle
intensifies. Not only do students need to select a setting, create characters,
and determine the plot of their story, but they must also ensure that they know
enough about the time period and setting to write a story that accurately
represents that time in history… no pressure!
When exploring the historical fiction genre, we read a lot
of picture book mentor texts as a class and discuss what elements of the story
make it a historical fiction writing piece. Students will often point out visual
aspects of the story and say things like, “In the picture, the characters are
wearing clothes that look very different from what we wear today,” and “I see that
they are riding a horse instead of driving in a car.” When I started exploring the
app, My Story, I immediately thought about how helpful it would be for students
to create a historical fiction writing piece digitally since they so often
connect to visual elements of the picture books we read. Being able to tell
their story using images and stickers along with text and audio will help students
stay on track throughout the writing process and ensure that they are including
historical elements along the way.
References:
Alrubail, R. (2015, September 23). Empowering ELLs with
Digital Stories. Learning for Justice. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/empowering-ells-with-digital-stories
My Story LLC. (2025). My Story: The #1 Story Making App for
Schools and Families. https://mystory.co/
As a third grade teacher I am sure storytelling is a huge part of your everyday lessons, especially during read-aloud time. I agree that introducing digital storytelling with My Story would be a great way to integrate technology during your storytelling lessons. Your point about multilingual learners, and their benefits from the app are very eye opening. I also feel as though this My story would be a great way for them to express themselves and their ideas without it being overwhelming or stressful. Using My Story for writing historical fiction would be a great idea, it would allow students to use visuals and audio to capture the time period that they are portraying in their digital stories.
ReplyDeleteYour point about tapping into the strengths and creativity of students with Digital Storytelling is a good one. I am sure that third graders would love to share their story with the class when they are finished. Read alouds were one of my favorite times when I was a classroom teacher too and one of the things that I miss the most about not being a homeroom teacher anymore. I love it when I am doing coverages and I get to do read alouds again for a day. The My Story app that you introduced seems like a great way to introduce digital storytelling for younger students. I like that everything students need is in the app so that it streamlines the process for younger students. It would help them not to get overwhelmed with choices and help them to focus their attention on their story. It also ensures that they're able to complete the project, but also that they don't unintentionally go to inappropriate websites online while looking for images for their story. Thanks for sharing the new app.
ReplyDeleteI also touched on coming up to the historical fiction unit in third grade in my blog post! You should check out my post on podcasts to see if I gave you any ideas because you certainly gave me some with digital storytelling. I can see how the My Story app would be a fantastic resource for my students. It combines words, images, and voice recordings, helping them to bring their stories to life while staying true to historical details. Many students struggle to balance creativity and accuracy, but this app could help them visualize their time periods. Hearing their voices narrate their stories will also help them connect more deeply with their writing – I also find this when grading their writing pieces. It helps me remember that these kids are only eight and nine years old and their little voices help me keep this perspective.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your point about supporting multilingual learners, as many students find the blank page overwhelming. My Story provides a structured approach, easing the pressure of getting started while allowing them to narrate in small chunks. The chance to choose images and backgrounds can support their storytelling and help them practice vocabulary. While the free version has limited design features, it could encourage students to be creative by taking their own photos or drawing. Overall, I see My Story as a valuable tool for my students to craft and share their historical fiction stories in an engaging way! This may be a resource I use for my own Digital Storytelling project.
Your adaptation using digital stories for historical fiction is awesome! This genre can be tricky for young writers, and using My Story to incorporate visuals and audio will undoubtedly make it more approachable. By giving students the ability to visually represent historical settings and details, you’re helping them stay connected to the context while also making the process more engaging. I can imagine students gathering a deeper understanding of the historical content using this method.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the roadblocks, I agree that the limited design features in the free version could be a challenge. But your suggestion to source photos online while being mindful of copyright is an important teaching moment in itself. It’s an excellent opportunity to introduce the concept of digital citizenship, showing students how to properly credit sources and think critically about the content they use.
I really enjoyed reading your blog about using digital storytelling with your students. I think the My Story app sounds like a fun and creative way to help kids write stories, especially for something as tricky as historical fiction. It’s great that it lets them combine pictures, text, and their own voice to tell a story. I also liked how you pointed out that the app’s design makes it less overwhelming for students who might struggle with traditional writing.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I thought of while reading was how cool it could be to have students use historical photos or artifacts in their stories to make them feel more realistic. Do you think the app’s tools make it easy for students to include things like that?
Thanks for sharing your ideas—I’m excited to try something similar in my classroom!