Using Storyboards in the Classroom

Storyboards are useful for helping students visualization content they are studying and there are several ways that they can be used in the classroom. The first way was demonstrated in my PhotoStory posting of Shel Silverstein's "Where The Sidewalk Ends." Teachers can either prepare these in advance for students to use, or students might actually create these storyboards themselves.

This handout describes Visual Think-Alouds and a process by which you can help students get started. You will also want to help students locate images and music that they can use in their digital storyboards. Here are some resources that you can share with your students:

• Google Image Search
• Bing Image Search
• Pics 4 Learning
• All The Web Image Search
• Clusty Images
• Free Play Music - As the name implies, music without copyright restrictions
  

Finally, this pdf document provides a simple Tutorial for getting started with PhotoStory.

Another way of thinking about storyboards is that they are alternative methods for "reading". For individuals with visual impairments or learning disabilities, there are many resources that provide books in alternative formats. Here is a sampling of e-Text providers:

• Accessible Book Collection
• Bookshare
• Unabridged
• The Children's Literature Web Guide
• The Online Books Page @ UPenn
• Franklin Free Library
• Project Gutenberg
• The Texas Text Exchange
• The National Academy Press
• ReadPrint
• University of Virginia's Electronic Text Center
• Audible
• Bartleby
• Rosetta Books
  

For a master list of these sites and more detail about each, check the CAST.org resources page. Finally, here is a list of some additional resources to explore:

• The National Instructional Media Accessibility Center
• Read:Outloud software for Bookshare
• Video Introduction to Bookshare
• A research report introducing HyperStories using virtual worlds.