A Little Birdie Told Me

Storybird is a online tool for collaborative storytelling.  It is designed for personal use or in the classroom. 
At the home page there are initially three choices:   Create, Read, Tour. 

If the Read tab is chosen the user can read Featured Storybirds, New & noted, The Best of Storybird Challenges, Featured author or Recent Storybirds.  Once a Storybird is read one can read it again, send it to a friend, create a Storybird or read more Storybirds. 

A four plus minute video that gives an overview of Storybird is embedded in the Tour.

Several choices are presented when the Create tab is selected; a Get inspired by art, b Storybird Challenges:  Summer Break, and  b Explore themes.  By following one of those links a working screen appears where the book is made. 

Prior to making a Storybird I registered for a Teacher/Class account by clicking on Teachers and Librarians on the home page.  To create an account pick a username, enter in your email address and password.  (Account types listed are Regular, Teacher/Class, Kid (under 13) )  Advantages of a Class Account as stated at the site are:  no student emails required, safe, secure, and private, unlimited classes, assignments, beautiful class libraries and foreign languages.  Tutorials are offered on adding students and making assignments. 

To begin I choose a theme instead of a particular artist or challenge.  The screen had art on both the left and the right which could be dragged and dropped to the cover or pages.  Text could be added to the left or the right of the graphic.  Pages can be added or removed.  Cover colors can be changed. As the work progresses the Save button can be used.  When the user believes they are done click on the Menu button.  A drop-down menu says: Invite someone (to collaborate), Publish this Storybird and Save and close. 

When saved the Storybird can be sent via email, embedded or Storybird badges can be embedded using HTML code.  The story can continue to be edited as can the details.

One way to publish your Storybird is to click Save and close.  At that time you can Jump in! go back to work on the Storybird or pick Details.  Options under that choice are writing a summary of your Storybird, tags associated with the theme, school or not for school, a personal story or a public story and an age range.

Using Storybird is simple and engaging. The artwork is varied as are the themes thereby offering users much to stimulate their imaginations and promote writing even for those reluctant to do so. 

You Make My Life Whole on Storybird