Follow Me:
  Jessica Pack: Teacher, Speaker, Author
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Book
  • Podcast
  • Student Movies
  • Media
  • Speaking
  • Film Challenges

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

4/3/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
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: 

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:

Picture
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

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 jpack@psusd.us 
1 Comment
Terri Douglas
6/20/2013 11:20:31 pm

Thanks for sharing how you used it in your classroom. I also appreciate the little hints. This will be great for retelling about characters would react in a situtation.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author: Jessica Pack

    California Teacher of the Year.  CUE Outstanding Educator 2015. DIGICOM Learning Teacher Consultant.  6th Grade Teacher.  Passionate about gamification, Minecraft, digital story-telling, and fostering student voices.

    Picture

    Download:

    "Digital Storytelling: Connecting Standards to Movie-Making" by J. Pack
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    October 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    3D Game Lab
    Advocacy
    App
    AR
    Audioboo
    Augmented Reality
    Aurasma
    Behavior
    Budget
    Byod
    #CAedchat
    Ca Toy
    Ccss
    Classcraft
    Class Dojo
    Classroom Management
    Common Core
    Community
    Digicom
    Digital Literacy
    Digital Storytelling
    Ebackpack
    Edtech
    Ela
    Engagement
    ETIS
    Flipped Classrooms
    Gamification
    Gaming
    Ibooks Author
    Integration
    Ios
    Ipads
    Itunes U
    Keyboarding
    Middle School
    Minecraft
    Minecraft Education Edition
    Minecraft Education Edition
    Minecraft: Education Edition
    Movie Making
    Movie-making
    Pbl
    Pedagogy
    Philosophy
    Podcasts
    Primary Sources
    Professional Development
    Project Based Learning
    Publishing
    Qr Codes
    Rationale
    Samr Scale
    Social Studies
    Socrative
    Teacher Of The Year
    Teachers
    Technology Integration
    Technology Plan
    Today's Meet
    Tourwrist
    Toy
    Video
    Web 2.0

    RSS Feed