Tell Me a Story: Why You Should Heart Docs Story Builder

It never ceases to amaze me just how much good stuff is out there on the Internet, in terms of tech tools that are useful in the classroom.  While attending #CUE13, my hands-down favorite session was called "Get SLAMMED with Google" presented by some pretty awesome Google Certified Educators. (Note: On the Educative Gradient of Awesome, these people are off-the-grid wowzers!) They had plenty of useful recommendations, tips, tricks, etc. - but what I really appreciated learning about was a neat little tool called Docs Story Builder. It is such a great find that I went straight back to my classroom the Monday after CUE and put it to work!

What is Docs Story Builder?  
Docs Story Builder is a Google web app that allows users to create conversations in a simulated Google Docs collaborative environment.  Check out this silly sample from the Docs Story Builder home page: 

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Tell Me a Story: The Process
To implement this brand-new-to-my-classroom tool, I gave my students a quickie tutorial that lasted about a minute, then gave them five minutes to mess around and explore.  Because the interface is super easy to use, this was more than sufficient time and generated a lot of excitement. In case you're a fan of how-to videos, here's a brief tutorial, which is actually longer than the prep I gave my students:

Docs Story Builder integrated seamlessly into Language Arts.  Students had just finished reading the short story, "What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything?" by Avi.  The focus for this reading selection was symbolism, but we also spent quite a bit of time talking about characterization.  In the story, a boy named Willie asks his mother difficult questions about life and unhappiness after encountering a homeless man on the street.  Students were able to engage in rich discussion because of the complexity of the content.   To extend that interaction, I asked students to write a conversation between Willie and his mother, Mrs. Markham.  Students had to stay true to the characterization of each as seen in the text, and include a text-based controversial statement made by the character of Mrs. Markham.  

Here are a few of the Docs Story Builder projects they created:

• "Money is Not Everything to Him" by Rodrigo
• "Optimism: The Greatest Cure" by Michael
• "Difference in Opinions" by Lorenzo
• "Money's Not Everything" by Maria
  
• "Disagreement of a Cure" by Katrina

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Reasons Why You Should Heart Docs Story Builder:

1. Docs Story Builder is engaging and gives kids the opportunity to get creative.  The app itself is incredibly versatile in terms of how it could be used in the classroom, too.  My next plan is to integrate Docs Story Builder into Social Studies, and have students write a conversation between Alexander the Great and his arch nemesis, Darius III of Persia.
2. At the end of the creation process, users are given a share link to access their finished product. This could be easily turned in via a simplistic Google Form or copied and pasted into a collaborative Google Doc shared with the whole class.  I ended up creating a collaborative Google Doc that I shared with all of my students. (I have a master list of their Google Docs account usernames, so I copied/pasted the usernames into the share function of the Doc.) If you need to build a master list quickly, have kids fill out a simple Google Form and check the box that automatically logs the usernames of respondents. 
   
3. While you can't download the finished product, you could easily screen capture it using a free screen casting tool such as Screencast-o-matic. 

Have you used Docs Story Builder in your classroom?  I'd love to hear what you asked your students to create - or better yet, see some examples! Comment on this post or hit me up on Twitter (@Packwoman208) to continue the conversation. 

 Happy Story Building!

By Jessica Pack
Follow Me on Twitter  @Packwoman208
Email me at [email protected]