by Richard D. Solomon, PhD and Elaine C. Solomon rdsolomonphd@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 16, 2012/30 Tishrei
The Technology: Story Bird
Storybird is a fun, collaborative story creation web tool. Users choose from the site’s library of imaginative artwork, write text for each illustration, and create charming digital storybooks that can be shared online or printed. Here is an example of a Storybird book written by a teacher for teachers: http://storybird.com/books/to-my-teacher-friends/. Check out this video for a quick tutorial. Visit http://storybird.com/teachers/ for information about a free teacher’s account.
In Your Classroom
Here are some fun ways to use Storybird in your Jewish classroom:
1. Have students create a Storybird about a mitzvah they did recently. For example, they might tell the story of how they hosted a guest in their home, how they helped a person in need, or how they visited a sick friend.
2. Have students create a Storybird of a favorite Biblical story, such as the story of Noah and the flood (this week’s Torah portion) or the story of Abram leaving his homeland (next week’s Torah portion). While you're at it, why not create Storybirds for each parashah of the school year? Assign students different parshiot (Torah portions) throughout the year and view the respective Storybirds as a class as each parashah comes along.
3. Have students create Storybirds for younger students in the school and read the stories to their younger buddies.
Once students have created their Storybirds, ask them to share them with the class by posting a link as a comment in your Behrman House Online Learning Center (OLC) classroom.
In addition, students and teachers can use Storybird throughout the school year to create and share digital storybooks on almost any subject.
