My presentation about Storybird for the MFL Show and Tell on 13th November 2010 in Oldham.

1. Storybird for Linguists
MFL Show & Tell
The Radclyffe School
13 November 2010

2. About me
• MFL teacher at Ian Ramsey School in Stockton
• Love creativity and anything that helps
promote it
• Don’t work for Storybird
• @wizenedcrone on Twitter
• Have a Storybird wikispace:
http://mfl-storybirds.wikispaces.com/

3. Storybird for Everyone
Fiona Joyce

14. For teachers and learners
• Teachers can write stories to teach new
material or present topics and themes in an
alternative way
• Pupils can write stories to explore ideas,
practise skills, present reports, write creatively
or use new language

15. How have I used it ?

31. … or it can be more complex …

33. One of my students’ first stories

39. Why use stories in the classroom?
• Good model of sustained language. Pupils
have to listen and concentrate.
• Offers opportunities to listen, imagine,
predict, comment, participate, express
opinions, access longer texts without
necessarily having to understand every word.
• Involve younger children in the story from the
start with actions and gestures
With thanks to Clare Seccombe http://changing-phase.blogspot.com/

40. • Make a model of one of the characters
• Write a description of one of the characters
• Pupils write their own stories inspired by the
original
• Match words and pictures from the story
• Listen and draw
• Sequencing
• Drama
• Mini books
Follow-up activities
With thanks to Clare Seccombe http://changing-phase.blogspot.com/

41. Who could use Storybird?
• In Primary there are many opportunities from
Reception to KS2
• At Secondary level, several subject areas:
– English and drama
– History
– Science
– RE
– PHSE
– Modern Languages
– … and your area?

42. How does it work ?
Open a free account and
this is how your home
page looks

43. Start a new story by choosing art

44. .. or by choosing a theme

45. The interface

46. Class accounts

47. Set assignments

48. Set assignments

49. Features for teachers
• Student management with no email addresses
to log in
• Embeddable (if written in English)
• Discussions
• Class libraries
• Moderated comments
• Spell check...

50. My hack …
www.mfl-storybirds.wikispaces.com

51. Coming in next weeks …
• gift cards
• teacher fundraising codes
• Challenges (new writing contest for USA
residents over 18 – coming to UK later)

52. Developments for early 2011
• voice recording (I am sooo excited about this!)
• iPad v1 (Read)
• Personal uploads
• Sharable reading lists
• new profile pages
• new Read page
• updated Create page

53. Features designed but not yet
programmed …

54. Tag Typing

55. Search inside storymaker

56. Add to image library

57. Where do I go again?
• Storybird website:
http://www.storybird.com/
• MFL Storybirds wikispace:
http://mfl-storybirds.wikispaces.com/