Digital Storytelling... Hits and Misses

Well, I have only looked through the first 4 links so far. I thought that fairy tale site was cute, but I don't know how valuable I would be able to make it. I'm teaching 2nd grade for SOE right now, and I do feel like it would be a blast for them. I can't see making it work in 4th because I think the kids would cheat the exact same way that I did. I simply scrolled down after reading the very first section and answered the question in the prompt. I genuinely have no idea what my story said. The only catch about using it with younger kids is that the text the insert is pretty lengthy. It was definitely neat, but don't see myself using it.

The Historic Tale comic strip thing was pretty cool. I actually spent a good 30 minutes creating an original about a Greedy King (that was, in fact, the title). I sent it to the gallery and that was the end of it. I am so annoyed at myself for not emailing it to my account first. I have tried to view the gallery on the page, but it just loads forever and never displays anything. Grrrrrrr.... Very annoying... Anyway, it was fun, BUT it is definitely limited to a particular time period (obviously the medieval times). Therefore, I can see myself showing this to my student for them to utilize for fun and inspiration, but I don't know how I would integrate it into our curriculum.

The Digital Storytelling site was very moving. It gave me chills to watch and see what an impact it has on people of all ages when they have an opportunity to share their stories. I think that we could use that tool for some of the things I have mentioned before (acting out family histories or dicey moments along the Oregon Trail), but I almost feel bad not utilizing it for its true purpose! I think the kids would be incredibly engaged, and I like how they help to organize it with specific roles. Definitely has potential, but not one I'd be ready to toss in next year.

The Myths & Legends site was my favorite! I fooled around with it a tiny, tiny bit but kept getting the sign-in pop-up. Plus, it is packed with an incredibly wide variety of choices. I knew I would have spent many, many hours on it. And, if using this in the classroom, the students would, too. Again, I believe we could use this tool to retell the story of their colonial family's journey to the new world or a moment along the Trail. BUT I also think that this one lends itself to creative writing in general. We do a Pumpkin Pal story in October. The kids decorate a little pumpkin and write a story about their new addition to the world. Typically, the pumpkins are on a very wild adventure. It would be a lot of fun to use this format to retell it. Plus, giving them the constructs of a myth or legend may help them organize their tale better. I also thought the site had WONDERFUL resources for teaching. I liked the suggestion about tying in the witch trials for colonial times. And I like the graphic organizer for planning out the storyboard.

So far, so good. I'm looking forward to investigating the scrap booking tools!