Student Stories

When a student logs into the Digital Storyteller application, available at:

www.PrimaryAccess.org/ds.htm

a startup screen appears. The student can select the Load Activities button at the bottom of the screen to load an activity. The instructions assigned by the teacher appear on the initial startup screen.

1. Write

   The student often will begin by using the Digital Storyteller word processor (found under the Write tab) to write the script of the short digital movie - typically a pararagraph or two.

2. Find Images

   In the next step, the student can find images to illustrate the story. An appropriate selection of images chosen by the teacher will appear on the screen accessed through the Find tab. As the student browses through these images, they can add the ones that they want to use to the Image Resource folder (found under the My Folder tab).

3. Sequence Images

   The student can experiment with arrangement of the images in different orders, creating an informal storyboard that depicts the story sequence. The images are then dragged from the Resource Folder to the column at the left of the text in the Digital Storyteller word processor.

4. Narrate the Story

   The student then records the text of the story using the audio recording tool (found under the Narration tab). A link to an MP3 music file can also be added at this point.

5. Add Motion Effects and Titles

   The draft story is then saved. The Play button in the View window is selected to play the interim version of the story. Motion effects and titles are added, and a final version of the story is saved.

6. Teacher’s Comments

   This process sometimes will take place in a single session, but often will be implemented over a period of several days. The teacher has the opportunity to review the student’s work at any point, and provide electronic comments as the story progresses.

7. Sharing with an Audience

   The final version of the story can then be shared with an audience through a web link that makes it available to others.

For more details about creating student stories, please visit the Digital Storyteller Userguide.