Adventures in Storyjumper

This term has been so hectic that I haven't had much time to update my Blog. This doesn't however mean, that nothing has been happening! On the contrary, we have had a great ICT - filled term!

One of my favourite things that we did this term was for Bookweek.  Traditionally, the children are able to come to school with their books, blankets, pillow and a toy and are given 'free reading time'. They also use this week to choose a poem, which they learn to recite to their class and 3 from each class are chosen to recite their poems to the school. This week has much more to it, but this is not the point of this blog!

What I did this year that I am so excited about because it worked really well, was to pair up a Grade 5 with a Grade 7 learner and use Storyjumper to write a collaborative story for Bookweek.  They didn't know who their partners were and, until they sat down at their PC, they didn't know what the story was about that their partner had started.

The site is user friendly, easy to open the account and simple to set up a class.  It gives you the option of either choosing one of their story starters or creating your own. 

You are also given characters, backgrounds, random pictures that you use to make up your story. Adding /editing the text is simple for even younger learners. It gives options for Parent Codes to allow the students to work from home and not only under the guidance and time-range of the Teacher.

I had one pair that got so into it, that they ended up writing volumes! I decided to upload it to Flipsnack to make into one easy reading book.

All of their work was uploaded to their Class Wiki's for easy access.

The 2 Volume Flipsnack...

They really enjoyed this activity and I am keen to do it again - perhaps with a school in another country.
That would be awesome!