Free Digital Storytelling Tools For Teachers And Students

Editor's note: We have originally written and published this article in February 2013. Thanks to your useful suggestions and our own following of the latest developments in the fast-paced field of technology, we have updated this piece in November 2015 in the hope that you will keep finding it useful. Thank you for sharing!

Are Storytelling Tools Effective?

Storytelling tools are digital resources that facilitate the creation, sharing, and improvement of digital stories, and these tools are practical in corporate training, adult education, and even K–12 classrooms. Their ability to capitalize on how people naturally process and retain information accounts for their efficacy. Here's a list of why they are so effective:

Enhance Engagement: Stories are more engaging than lectures or unprocessed data. Storybird, Toontastic, and WeVideo are examples of digital technologies that make stories interactive and keep learners' attention for longer.
Increase Understanding and Retention: According to neuroscience, concepts connected to stories are easier for people to remember. Storytelling tools help people remember abstract concepts by relating them to real-world situations.
Encourage Active Participation: Passive listeners become active participants when they can access tools that allow them to tell tales (comic strips, movies, or role-playing scenarios). This approach enhances learning through practical application.
Improve Critical Thinking and Creativity: Learners practice problem-solving, creativity, and perspective-taking by selecting characters, problems, and resolutions when they create a story.
Support Different Learning Styles: Because the storytelling process blends text, sound, and images, it works well for kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learners.
Create Emotional Bonds: Narratives evoke strong emotions. Learners accessing tools that customize stories can better engage with the material, which increases empathy and motivation.
Promote Collaboration: Various technologies make group storytelling initiatives possible. Collaborating on a familiar story enhances interpersonal, communication, and teamwork abilities.

Benefits Of Digital Storytelling Tools

Storytelling generally delivers specific benefits that can be hard to find with most other teaching pedagogies. Humans relate to stories and the living characters, which activates their attention. This aspect results in more active and imaginative thinking and increased involvement. Through contemporary digital media, digital storytelling offers the advantages of traditional storytelling, such as:

Creates Community

Learners participating in group storytelling activities can share their experiences and viewpoints with their peers. It helps reinforce the ideas they have recently learnt by enabling them to debate them with one another in entertaining and authentic ways. In addition to assisting students in building critical social skills that will help them thrive in the future, this creates a stronger sense of involvement and belonging.

Preserves Culture

Digital storytelling continues the heritage of storytelling, which has been a crucial means of transmitting cultural norms for millennia. An essential component lacking from many other pedagogies, stories featuring characters from diverse origins enable learners to see themselves reflected in media and develop empathy for others.

Allows Learners To Take On The Role Of The Teacher

Teaching a subject is one of the finest methods to learn it. A solid understanding of a subject is built by breaking it down and processing it to enable the learner to communicate it to another person. Learners can take on the role of the instructor and create courses they are proud of by participating in various digital storytelling activities.

It Gives Them Something To Be Proud Of

Digital storytelling projects frequently serve as interactive works of art that give learners something to be proud of. Facilitating the means to produce intricate products that tell an engaging tale can greatly enhance this degree of pride.

9 Free Digital Storytelling Websites

Stories are important. In the following list, you will find free digital storytelling tools, both websites and apps, which will help you use technology to tell a story while being highly creative and having fun.

1. ACMI Generator

ACMI Generator is a creative studio space where you can explore the moving image, be inspired, create your moving image works, and share your creations with the Generator community. Through their education themes section, you can gain a deeper understanding of the context of these inspiring stories. Try the Storyboard Generator, choose a script, or build and share your storyboard.

2. Bubblr

Bubblr is a tool to create comic strips using photos from flickr, just taking a sequence of pictures where you can add bubbles and create a story.

3. MakeBeliefsComix

At MakeBeliefsComix you can create your own comic strip with an easy and fun way. Choose a character and emotion, add talk or thought balloons, and start your character communicating. You can add other characters, colored backgrounds, objects, and panel prompts to keep your viewers interested. When you are done, you can print or email your comic.

4. MapSkip

The purpose of MapSkip is to create a weave of stories about the places in our lives. Create a free account and mark up places in Google Maps with your own stories and photos. You can also browse other users' stories, rate them, and discuss them. The best part? MapSkip is free of ads!

5. PicLits

PicLits is a creative writing site that matches beautiful images with carefully selected keywords in order to inspire you. The object is to put the right words in the right place and the right order to capture the essence, story, and meaning of the picture.

6. Slidestory

Slidestory, which is currently only available as an app, allows you to combine picture slideshows with voice narration. Each picture in a slideshow has an accompanying voice-narrated MP3 audio file, optional tags, and a text caption. Isn't this a very exciting way to make presentations and share them?

7. Smilebox

Smilebox lets you quickly and easily create slideshows, invitations, greetings, collages, scrapbooks, and photo albums right on your computer. To get started, download and install the Smilebox application. Then simply select the photos you want to use, choose a template, add comments and music, and voila, you've made a Smilebox! With more than 1000 customizable templates to choose from, you'll find inspiration around every corner.

8. Storybird

Storybird lets anyone make visual stories in seconds. They curate artwork from illustrators and animators around the world and inspire writers of any age to turn those images into fresh stories. Note that while making, sharing, and reading stories on Storybird is free, printing them or downloading them have various fees that are clearly explained with each option.

9. ZooBurst

ZooBurst is one of the leading digital storytelling platforms that lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D pop-up books. ZooBurst books "live" online and can be experienced on your desktop or laptop computer, or on your iPad via the free ZooBurst mobile app. Authors can arrange characters and props within a 3D world that can be customized using uploaded artwork or items found in a built-in database of over 10,000 free images and materials. The basic, free account allows you to create 10 books of 10 pages each.

Note: While the tools remain free for core features, some limitations or fees may apply for advanced functionality.

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6 Free Apps For Digital Storytelling

1. Adobe Slate

Named App Store Editors' Choice, Adobe Slate lets you turn your next newsletter, report, invitation, or travel adventure into a gorgeous visual story that delights readers on any device. Simply tap to select a unique look; beautiful fonts, color, and magazine-style design are automatically incorporated. Fluid movement and elegant motion are applied instantly. Create your Slate story and share the link anywhere.

2. Puppet Pals

Create your own unique shows with animation and audio in real time with PuppetPals! Simply pick out your actors and backdrops, drag them onto the stage, and tap record. Your movements and audio will be recorded in real time for playback later. This electronic creator app is as fun as your own creativity!

3. ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard

Turn your iPad into your personal interactive whiteboard: ShowMe allows you to record voice-over whiteboard tutorials and share them online. It's a straightforward app that anyone, young or old, can use.

4. Sock Puppets

Sock Puppets lets you create your own lip-synced videos and share them on Facebook and YouTube. Add puppets, props, scenery, and backgrounds, and start creating. Hit the record button, and the puppets automatically lip-synch to your voice.

5. WeVideo

If you wish to be a digital storyteller, you can make and share videos using WeVideo's online video editing software, available on Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, and Chromebook. In this cloud-based collaborative video creation platform, you can save your work to your hard drive, upload to the cloud, and pick up where you left off on another computer. Note that free accounts are limited to 5 minutes of published video time and 2GB of cloud storage.

6. 30hands Starter

30hands Starter is a very easy and exciting way to tell a story, explain a concept, or flip a classroom. Create a multimedia presentation in minutes and publish it as a video to share. This tool was designed to be simple and fast, so it takes a backseat to learning and expression. In a single class period, students can complete a video activity. Mapping these activities to a longer project helps students make PBL projects authentic and fun. Whether you are in Kindergarten or College, 30hands Storyteller helps you learn better by following UDL principles and getting you to think and create iteratively.

Note: While the tools remain free for core features, some limitations or fees may apply for advanced functionality.

You may also find the following lists of tools useful:

Additional Note:

Storytelling is a powerful way of communicating ideas, and digital tools have taken this art to the next level. Today, students and educators can access interactive platforms that bring stories to life through visuals, animations, and multimedia elements. We have seen these tools make learning more engaging and encourage creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. Whether it's creating interactive timelines, designing animated videos, or developing immersive virtual experiences, we're huge fans of digital storytelling!

At eLearning Industry, we recognize the value of merging technology with storytelling to enhance education. It empowers students to express their ideas innovatively, fostering communication skills crucial in today's digital world. We have witnessed educators using these tools to create more dynamic lesson plans, making subjects like history, science, and literature more interactive. While traditional storytelling will always have its place, digital tools provide new dimensions. These dimensions allow learners to explore narratives in ways that were once unimaginable. Educators can make learning more customized, engaging, and impactful for every learner by integrating these resources into classrooms.

Originally published on February 28, 2013

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Free Digital Storytelling Tools For Teachers And Students

Free Digital Storytelling Tools For Teachers And Students

Are Storytelling Tools Effective?