Storybird

= = =Storybird: collaborative & creative stories=

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Read the Storybird Mrs. Durante created to introduce her students to Storybird.

Sample Storybirds:

 * [[image:Screen_shot_2011-12-06_at_12.55.56_PM.png width="233" height="145" caption="Click the image to view Mrs. Waugh's Storybird" link="@http://goo.gl/qYupf"]] || media type="custom" key="12938790" ||

How could you use it?

 * To tell a story with a beginning, middle, & end
 * To provide a space for free writing
 * To develop visual literacy, making inferences, & writing with details.
 * To demonstrate mastery of a skill (using vivid verbs, quotation marks or similes)
 * To get kids reading
 * To provide opportunities for students to practice commenting appropriately on other students' work
 * To synthesize & share knowledge
 * To model the creative process and write alongside your students!

Storybird Features:

 * Teachers can create free accounts for themselves and their students (student emails not required)
 * Stories/accounts are private to that classroom & can only be viewed by people you share your story with
 * Teachers can assign, review and grade student work
 * Reward with student work with digital stickers
 * Bulk upload of students
 * Embed storybird
 * Buy the books
 * Fundraise
 * (Some of the above features might be for the paid account only)

Tips for getting started:

 * Play!
 * Be open to learning new things from your students
 * Emphasize class criteria for publishing stories (spelling, stories should not describe the picture, but should have a beginning, middle and end....)
 * Establish parameters--Example: "stories that do not meet criteria will be deleted"
 * Buy the Pro account--it saves time and enables teachers to see all their students at once