Super Duper StoryMaker

Remember when you were at school and you used to have to write little projects with pictures about what you did during the holidays or, you had to write a creative story with illustrations? Those were the fun projects that teachers used to provide you with so that you could engage and practice your writing skills as much as possible.  This app makes this process really enjoyable. The digital classroom will never be the same again if this app gains wide-spread popularity.

 

There is a whole range of things that you can create; the limit is your imagination. The developers state that you can create photo albums, special occasion cards, comic books and stories – to name a few examples. Another usage would be for family collaborative learning. For example, parents could use the app to create stories for their children which they could then narrate. Imagine how beautiful it would be for children to have a special personalised story from their parents, friends or even teachers?  The fact that you can narrate them too makes it all the more engaging as you can go that extra mile and create special sound effects!

 

One of the great things about this app is that you can share your creations on social media and via email so that children can share their work with teachers, parents,  family `or their friends.

 

We found it very easy to create stories. There are two options: you can “Create a Story” whereby you draw on each page and then you write your text in the picture in order to describe the scene. The other option is “Tell a Story” which lets you use the pictures from “Create a Story” (if you want, or, you can create new ones) and then you can record your narration. The process is so much fun. Even the adults amongst our testers were completely engrossed in the process.

 

You can either draw your pictures with a very basic and easy to use set of tools or you can use and incorporate readymade pictures of people, objects, activities and landscapes.

 

There are over 800 pictures to choose from so imagine all the combinations and stories that you can create with that.  The readymade pictures also serve to help in recognizing objects and creating concepts with the pictures. It is also possible to add your own pictures via the “camera” toggle. This really opens up the scope of the creations.

 

In terms of learning outcomes, children can improve their vocabulary if they read the work of an adult and they can also enhance their abilities for forming sentences when creating their stories. We can also imagine teachers creating assignments via the app and sharing it with their students. All the stories received and sent can be edited so you can even create collaborative work with other children. The possibilities are endless.

 

This app is one of the most engaging and inspiring that we have seen so far for creating unique pieces of work. The app has very contemporary pedagogical features. For example, the fact that you can collaborate with others and learn about (basic) digital media creation rather than solely focusing on drawing and writing.  Children will be begging for your iPad in order to use this app. As you can see, we rather liked it.