Storytelling Made Simple Storybird is a Web tool that allows adults and children to create stories online (independently or collaboratively) then share them with the world or select individuals. Teacher accounts are available that allow you to create a class (or classes) and enroll students with a username and password of your choice. If a student already has a Storybird account you can invite him or her to your class. Once the student accepts the invitation, enrollment is automatic. Any time someone enrolled in your class publishes a book it will appear in a class library that is accessible from the teacher and student accounts. You can hold discussions about the books the students make and create thematic assignments all from within your teacher/classroom account. All of the artwork is provided by professional artists and the community library is scanned for inappropriate material by the Storybird team. The tool uses a drag-and-drop interface which is easy to manipulate. Visit www.storybird.com to register and begin creating stories. Create an Account Signing up for an account is free and easy and if you choose a teacher account, you can still create your own stories which are housed in a personal area that the tool provides. To sign up for your account navigate to www.storybird.com and select the sign up link in the top right hand corner of the screen (if you click sign in you are still presented with an option to sign up at the bottom of the screen). Once you click the link, fill out the form that appears and then submit. Storybird will send a Updated 10/2011 Page 1
confirmation email to you with an account activation link in it. Once signed in you can create your first book in a few easy steps. Instructions for creating a Teacher Account, can be found later in the handout along with instructions for class creation. Your teacher account will look similar to the image below. Creating a Story 1. Click Create to begin the Storybird process. 2. Pick Artwork from the many options available. a. Based on subject To start a story by subject you can either pick one of the random artworks that is displayed or you can use the search box to search all of the artwork for a specific subject. Once Updated 10/2011 Page 2
you have found the artwork you want to use the easiest way to select the artwork is to click on the name of the artwork that appears under the picture you like. This will take you to a page that shows pictures from that particular series with a link to Start a Storybird with this art. b. Based on a theme You can also choose to start a story based on a theme. You can select a theme by scrolling to the bottom of the initial page that launches when you select create. There you will find a number of themes in a word cloud. Click on the theme you want to use or select the reload button at the bottom to get a new listing of themes. Once you select a theme you will be taken to a new page. At the top of the new page you will see a link to Start a Storybird with art tagged with (your theme here). Click that link and you will have access to all of the artwork with that particular theme/tag. c. Based on an artist s offerings The final way to start a story is by selecting an artist and then using all of the artist s work. This is done easily by looking at or searching for pictures that go with a certain topic via the search box and then click the artist s name located under the results. If you select the artist s name, you will be taken to a page with an option to Start a Storybird with (insert author s name here) s artwork. This gives you access to everything the artist has submitted inside your new book. 2. Once you have selected your artwork and started your Storybird you will be taken to the construction page. a. Pages at the bottom This area is where you jump between pages of your book or add new pages (located at the bottom of the screen). b. Content creation at the top The area to edit each page is at the top of the book.you edit one page at a time. Pictures can be dragged and dropped in this area and depending on the size of the picture the website will give you a choice of layouts. c. Artwork is scattered The artwork you can use for your story is piled around the content creation area. Any of the artwork can be dragged onto the canvas. Area on the book page not used by artwork is left available as a text box for writing. 4. Create the Story Story creation is based on click, drag, drop and type. a. Drag artwork where you want it b. Fill in with text where there is no artwork c. Add pages as needed d. Note that facing pages are indicated in the pages area e. Saving happens automatically but you can also save from the menu drop-down 5. Invite a Collaborator You can ask others to proofread or edit your book or simply work on a book together. Updated 10/2011 Page 3
a. Invitations are sent from the menu drop-down b. When you create an invitation you must provide a name and email for your invitee (Storybird promises to forget the email address once the message is sent and to not sell or spam the address) c. Once someone accepts the invitation, he or she can take a turn as though it was his or her own story. Signing-Up for a Class Account You can save your Storybird, but in order to keep all of your work together you should sign up for an account. To sign up for your account navigate to www.storybird.com and select the sign up link in the top right hand corner of the screen (if you click sign in you are still presented with an option to sign up at the bottom of the screen). Select the Class option. Once you click the link, fill out the form that appears and then submit. Storybird will send a confirmation email to you that contains an account activation link. After initial account activation, you will be given the option to create your first class. Please create one at this time.you can always add others later and delete the original you set up. If you forget to create a class, sign-in and go to http://storybird.com/teachers/ (just add /teachers to the web address after you sign-in). This will give you the option of creating an initial class again. Signing-In and the User Interface Once you have an active account you can sign in to Storybird by visiting the website and clicking the sign in link in the top right hand corner of the screen. If you sign in with a valid account the sign in link will be replaced with a welcome message with your user name. You will also notice that the Storybird screen changes some and you now have options labeled you, classes, create, and read. Note that if you do not set up an initial class you will not see the classes tab. Also, only one class may be created in the free teacher account. 1. You This tab houses all of the information and material that is relevant to your account on a personal level. Any books you create can be accessed here whether published or unpublished, your reading list can be accessed here, and you can enter to change personal account settings in this area. 2. Classes This tab houses all of the information that relates to any classes you set up. At the top right you have the ability to switch between or set up new classes. The sub-selections to the top left allow you to manage assignments, discussions, your class library, students that are enrolled, and settings relating to your class. 3. Create This tab is a shortcut and allows you to jump in and create a book. If you choose to save the book as you work it will be saved to your personal library in the unpublished area.unless you publish it of course. Updated 10/2011 Page 4
4. Read This final tab allows you to read publically published works. Creating Classes and Students You should have created a class during initial sign-up. This class is very important because if you do not create one, your account will not show the Classes tab until you set one up. If you followed the instructions at the beginning of this handout, you should have no problem adding other classes. 1. Adding other classes is done through the class drop down near the top of the Storybird window. 2. Click the drop down near the name of your class on the left and you can select the link to Add Class. 3. Once you create multiple classes you can jump between them using this drop-down. 4. To add students to a class, first select the class from the drop-down. 5. Next select the Students tab under the class name. 6. You should then receive a dialog that looks like the picture below: Updated 10/2011 Page 5
a. Once you add a student name and a username (must be unique and can be seen by the public) you can delete, change the student name or change the random password that was generated by using the icons under the actions column. 7. Once you have created your users and passwords, you can then distribute them to students and when they are logged in they will have access to your class. 8. Note: if working with students in multiple classes they only need one login as you can invite existing students using the link at the top right hand of this screen. Using Assignments and Discussions 1. To create an assignment, click the assignment link and then select add assignment. Any previous assignments will show up here so that you can edit them if you would like. Fill out the form and click to assign. Students will then be notified when they log in and select the classes tab that there is a new assignment and they will be able to click on it to read the instructions you have given. The students should use the link inside of the assignment to start a Storybird for the assignment. 2. To create a discussion, click the discussions link and select add discussion. Any discussions that are started will appear here in the future so you can close or delete them as necessary. Please encourage only positive comments and make students aware that you can see any discussions that are posted and all comments. If you want to close a discussion or delete it click on it and select the appropriate link. 3. Assignments can only be created by the class teacher but discussions can be created by teachers or students. Commenting on a Storybird Story 1. Students and the teacher can comment on any stories in the class library. 2. To leave a comment on a story, select the story in the class library. The next page that launches should have a summary of the story with picture and a comment box with post button at the bottom. Updated 10/2011 Page 6
Privacy Settings and Comment Moderation 1. Settings affecting privacy, turning off discussions, and moderating comments on class Storybirds can be found under the settings link for each class. 2. If you would like to moderate the comments, you can go to your class settings and select the comment tab. You can then turn on the ability to moderate posts. If you do this, you moderate posts from the new comments link at the top of your window. Comments only apply to postings in reply to a storybird, not to class discussions. 3. There is no way to moderate class discussions other than encouraging proper use. If you do not want to use discussions at all, you can turn them off from the settings link. 4. Overall privacy settings are found in this same area and can be set to public or private. The default is private and if you wish to use the public setting please consult with your building administration first. Looking at the Class Library Any time a student publishes his or her book (this is done from the menu drop-down) the book is added to the class library. By default, any student in the class and the teacher for the class can view the class library. All books are initially published as private, meaning only the creator and class can see the book. If you wish to change the book to a public view, you can do that in the settings menu. You can sort your class library by assignment, student, recent or title by clicking the links at the top right of your library view. You can also post comments about a book after you select it from the class library. Updated 10/2011 Page 7