Digital Storytelling Using Narrable

This past Saturday a member of my Twitter PLN, Donna Baumbach, former edtech/edmedia professor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and the co-creator of WebTools4U2Use, sent out a tweet about a recent post by Kathy Schrock, Educational Technologist, DEN Guru, Adobe Education Leader, a Google Certified Teacher, a Sony Education Ambassador, and a Discovery Education STAR.   This post on her site, Kathy Schrock's Katch of the Month, Web-ulous Tools, showcased five of her current favorite web based tools.  One of them used for digital storytelling looked interesting.

In the about section at the site it states:

Narrable is a storytelling platform for the images and voices that matter.  We believe that storytelling is at the core of human behavior, relationships and understanding.

Narrable is designed with educators in mind.  They state that:

• Storytelling with Narrable draws out higher order thinking skills
• Use Narrable to ignite natural creativity and engage your students and
• Belonging to the Narrable Community means experiencing support that makes sense.

A phone number is posted inviting personal contact.  In the Terms it is requested that you be 18 years of age to use this service or at least 14 years old with parental/guardian consent.

When you access the home page you can sign in, sign up or get support. At the support page you can search for answers by keyword or browse by topic.  To sign up I selected the red button.  I was taken to an educational pricing page.  For an individual teacher it is free.  Two other options are listed, classroom and site license.

You can sign up using your Facebook, Yahoo! or Google accounts.  I elected to use my email.  You use the same screen for signing in and signing up.  As you can see the student login is separate.  They use a username and password.  After giving your name, email address and a password, you are asked to check you have read the terms of service and privacy policy.

A confirmation email with a link will be sent to you immediately.  The next window opened is your profile page.  In the upper right-hand corner you can go to the support page or begin to create.  On the left-hand side your choices are to change your profile picture, view your Narrables, alter your account information, review the pricing plans (as a teacher you have unlimited solo Narrables as opposed to an individual who has five free Narrables), view your statements if you have one of the paid accounts and sign out. 

When you click on create in the upper right-hand corner, a new screen opens.  You begin by uploading images from your computer or browsing your Facebook account.  Multiple images can be uploaded.  Image order cannot be changed but images can by deleted by mousing over and choosing the x.

You can have fifty letters in your title.  Any photograph can be dragged down to be the title slide.  After you have uploaded all the images you desire for your story click on save.

At the next window you can manage your Narrable (select privacy settings, to collaborate you need to upgrade), invite (upgrade necessary) or share on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, via email or by using an HTML code to embed it.  By clicking on the tiny icon in the upper right-hand corner you are able to change your title, reposition the image or delete the Narrable.  

To add audio to your images click on the blue arrow to scroll through your Narrable.  As people go through your Narrable they can hear what you have to say by clicking on the picture.  In the upper right-hand corner of each image you can edit the image and add audio by selecting the appropriate icons.  Once added audio can be deleted if you happen to change your mind.  At any time you can click on the plus sign at the bottom of the page to add photographs.

This is the image which appears when you click on record audio.

Here is the Narrable I made to test out this online application.

I can certainly understand why Kathy Schrock has chosen this as one of her five favorites.  This site is easy to navigate, uploading of images is fantastic and adding audio couldn't be easier. I highly recommend this application, Narrable, for digital storytelling.

It could be used to demonstrate a step by step process.  To document a day, week, month or year in the classroom, this would be perfect.  It could be used to give mini-booktalks on books grouped by theme, genre or to introduce a unit of study like the Mock Caldecott.   

Let The Gaming Begin!

Not being what one would call a gamer, knowing how easily it would be a rabbit hole from which I might never return (Remember, I lost a whole summer in the world of Myst), I have saved this next website from the American Association of School Librarians Best Websites for Teaching & Learning 2012.  Yes, I've waited an entire year.  The committee placed it under the heading of Media Sharing aligning it with the following Standards for the 21st-Century Learner:

• 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.
• 3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world context.

Gamestar Mechanic is a free website for basic use.  According to the Privacy Policy your real name, address or phone number is not required for registration.  You will be asked your age to determine which portions of the site are available for your use. (Certain sharing and networking features, no live chat, is for those over the age of 13.)  Users under the age of 13 are not asked to provide email addresses.  If users are registered through an educator in the classroom their real name may be required. Here is an image of what is offered as explanation for parents.

When initially accessing the site, in the upper right-hand corner, you can log in, head over to the FAQ section or submit a written request via email for assistance.  It is important to note that Adobe Flash Player version 10 or later is needed for using this website.  The Sharing Games section (as do all the sections)  provides very complete information as to what is available.  You can recommend your game to another mechanic with their user name, a link to your game can be sent to an email address you list, you are given an URL link, an HTML code for embedding and buttons are provided for various social network sharing.

Moving down the page a video to learn more about the site is supplied.  Links with more information for teachers, parents and taking an online course are available.  You can register or log in in this section too.

Skipping ahead further before we begin, an explanation of what users can expect at the site is displayed.  You can play and learn, take courses, make your own games and join the community.  In the parents section this is simplified into play, design and share.

To start using the site I clicked on Get Started.  Enter in your user name, a password, birth date, check the box Gamestar Mechanic Terms of Service and select Register.  (At most screens you can get to the Parent and Help pages.)  At the new screen you are asked to choose your favorite subject, animal, color and activity in case you need to be reminded of your password.  They shuffle the choices at the next window to confirm your selections.

There are several choices at the next window.  The column on the far left represents the free use of this site.  According to the instructions you need to complete a certain amount of play in order to publish and showcase your games.

After choosing Get Started, the next screen gives you several options as shown in image one. Since it stated you need to complete episodes to publish and share I decided to choose Quest.  The second image represents the first page in the Quest.

A adventure story begins where the character of Addison (you) is revealed. In the first episode you have to play and beat four games. Each game has a series of levels.

To begin mouse over and click on Naviron Adventure. (It took me two tries to win the first level. I am definitely not a gamer.) When each mission (game) is completed, the next is unlocked.  You are rewarded with a sprite when you win.

The second level on mission two, Altair Journey, seemed to take forever.  The right combination was hard. It was a challenge in that I needed to not only jump from the bottom but from spire to spire.  Definite thinking and strategy are involved along with hand-eye coordination. 

By the third and fourth missions I was getting the hang of it.  They even threw in a rogue element to the story.  Episode 1 was completed.  (Whew!)

Four more episodes need to be finished.  Between each episode (game with levels) the story began in the introduction continues.  It's like you are in an animated comic.  The image below is after the story has continued.  It's a map of the factory showing I have completed episode one but the challenge of episode two is waiting for me. 

The second and third images show the new missions.  This time instead of player you are put in the position of being a designer.  Addison and company are in a bit of trouble.

In order to continue my exploration of the site I paused here to design a game.  To design a game select Workshop at the top of your screen.  (See image above.) The next window advises you of the rules of the site as well as your standing.  I clicked on Build A New Game!

You are now at the game creation window.  The four small icons on the right represent, top to bottom, move, edit, clone and erase.  They refer to items on the grid.

On the left the top setting is for your game name, game introduction message, game win message and goals and rules.  The other setting is for the level in which you are working.  At the bottom you can see there is a green light for save but not for publish.  It's red.  

To place avatars, enemies and blocks on the grid click on them and move them to a square on the grid.  If you want to use any of the tools on the right click on one, move it to the grid over the item and click.  To release it, move it back to the side and click.

Once you have the blocks, goal, avatar and enemies in place, click on play (top left) to see how the game you have designed works.  You can toggle back and forth between play and edit until you are satisfied.  When you successfully win the game you have created the publish button turns green.  You still can not publish it though, according to pop-up instructions, until your first quest is finished.  The image below is what my created game looks like.  

The next area I will cover in this post is the section for teachers.  At that page you can learn the basics of Gamestar Mechanic, access and view loads of lessons and videos from Gamestar Mechanic and other sources, connect with other educators on Edmodo, and follow a link to their blog. 

As an educator you can sign up your entire class for free or a premium package is available.  The cost is $2.00 per student.  This image shows a portion of the information you need to provide to sign up your class for either account.

After having spent hours at this site, I can readily understand why it was placed on the Best Websites for Teaching & Learning by the AASL committee.  Students are actively engaged in learning and creating.  I highly recommend this site.  Now back to episode two.  I need to get Addison out of the elevator.

Virtual Post-It Boards-Pinterest

Having read a post by Kelly Tenkely at iLearn Technology, I received an invitation to begin using Pinterest more than a year ago.  To date I've been hesitant to use the site, not because it's not a good service, but because it's one of those places where hours can go by without you even being aware of the passage of time. When it was selected by the American Association of School Librarians Best Websites for Teaching & Learning 2013 in June, I decided it was time to scrutinize Pinterest in earnest.  The AASL lists it under the category of Media Sharing, Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess and 3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world context.  

Pinterest is a free web 2.0 application for those 13 years and older allowing users to collect and post their favorite images, ideas, to a board.  Pinned items on other boards can be shared or repinned.  In addition to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Pinterest has also posted an Acceptable Use Policy.  You can register using your Facebook account or by entering in your first and last name, email address, a password, country, and gender.  (Businesses need to create a different account.)

When you log in to Pinterest in the upper left-hand corner is a tiny icon with three lines which turns red when you mouse over it. If you select it, a menu drops down allowing you to search for pins in the general categories listed.  You can also enter in a keyword in the search term box. When you enter in a word(s) the results will show Pins, Boards and Pinners.  The first is those items about the word, the second is boards with the word in the title, and the third is those people with the word as part of their name.

Moving to the right on the top tool bar, by choosing the plus sign you can upload a pin from your computer by choosing a file, add a pin from a website by entering in a URL (you are reminded you can add a bookmarklet to your browser tool bar), or create a board. (I'll come back to that later.)  Clicking on your name is the means for managing your account.  You can go to your boards, your pins, your likes, find friends, follow boards, get help, alter your settings or log out.  The icon on the far right signifies any notifications you have received.

Upon accessing the home page by logging in, you will see suggestions for friends to follow underneath the search box on the left.  By selecting Find more friends,  you are taken to the boards of people you follow on Twitter or Facebook (if you have chosen those options).  You can invite people through their email address, Facebook, Google+, Gmail or Yahoo.  

Below these choices are pins, more pins and still more pins.  The amount of opportunities for pinning is nearly overwhelming.  I recommend setting a timer for browsing.  

Each time you mouse over an item, three small icons appear on the image at the top, pin it, send and a heart.  When you select pin it, another window appears.  You can choose to add it to an existing board or type in the name of a new board, creating it immediately.  When you have pinned it to a board, you can view it (1) or return to searching (2).

If you elect to See it now, the next screen (moving along the top from left to right) allows you to pin it again, like it, go to the website of the original image, send it using the same methods as looking for friends, or share it on Twitter, Facebook or by embedding it using HTML code.  On the right hand side you can go to your board to edit your pins.  If you scroll down further you can edit the original message on the pin (1) or leave a comment (2) as well as see who has repinned it (3).  You are also invited to see other boards which saved this and to view other images selected by those who pinned this item.  When you are finished with this window, click on the x in the upper right-hand corner.

Whether you choose pin it, send or the heart, if you click on an item using the tiny magnifying glass with the plus sign in the center (your mouse), the same options are available with the exception of your board being on the right.  The board on the right will be the board displaying the pin originally.

Clicking on create a board, opens up a new window.  You need to fill in a title for your board, a description, pick a category and decide whether you want to make it a secret board or open to the public.  A further explanation of secret boards can be found on another page.  Only those people you invite can see this board.  You can decide in the future to make it public but once you do, you can't change it back to secret.

After clicking on the red Create Board button a new page opens.  On this page you can choose to edit the board by changing the name, description, category, inviting people to pin by name or email or deleting it entirely.  If you select your name you are taken to your dashboard which displays your actions to date.

Newly created board

My dashboard

Again pins can be added by uploading files from your computer, using a URL hyperlink or from Pinterest. I discovered that Pinterest has a safeguard in place to protect users against spam.  I could only add 19 pins to my board at one time.  Here is a link to a board I started titled 2013 Picture Books Reviewed.

Pinterest is beneficial in several respects, enabling users to curate their own material separately, combining it with others or simply pinning everything from outside sources.  It's popularity and strengths are the ease of use, the access to multiple pins (an understatement to be sure) and the visual aspect of creating collections.  Another important feature is the ability to make your boards public or private.  I'm glad the AASL decided to select this website for their list.