A must have!

This is the killer app that got me started using iPods and then iPads in school with my students. There are so many ways you can use this app! It is simple enough for most first graders to catch on to using quickly and be fairly independent using it. You can use the drawing tools in the app to illustrate your story, use photos, or scanned images that youve added to the iPod/iPad.

Although you cant change the font size, type, or color this CAN be an advantage - Ive seen kids waste vast amounts of time tweaking fonts instead of getting on with writing when theyre using a computer. With this, they just get on with the primary task of writing!

I LOVE that kids can record themselves - especially good for language learners or kids who need to practice their reading fluency. Ive taken advantage of this two ways - have kids tell a story and then use their recording to type up the story, or have kids write the story first and then read it aloud. (Make sure the written story is on paper if you do this as the text is hidden by the recording window.) Last year I had one student finally clue in to the fact that her reading was not very fluent when she listened to herself reading her own story. She said "I sound jumpy!" If I had asked her to reread and reread till she sounded fluent, she would have rebelled, but because SHE noticed she didnt sound fluent, she re-recorded and re-recorded of her own accord until it sounded right!

The kids love that the final product is available on the web to share with their families.

Im did have minor issues with it crashing after the latest iOS upgrade, but am hoping the 1.1 update will have completely fixed that problem.

ESL teacher 2 about StoryKit