Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Use of the storyboad when children create stories

So far in DigiStory we have experimented with two types of techniques to get children to invent a story. One of them is allowing them to work individually, developing their own characters and drawing the plot up within storyboards. I have developed a little video that illustrates the practice. The advantage of this approach is that the children develop their imagination and zero in on the characters that they like. We have found the use of storyboards highly effective for this because the storyboard presents a sequence where the children can develop a plot in an orderly sequential manner. Using blank pages does not seem to be as conducive to sequential plot development as children seem to then concentrate on doing just one illustration. Story boarding seems to be more conducive for the children to think in terms of small sequences of events tied together which then they can illustrate.





Individual work also allows children to explore the situations that are of importance or relevant to them. I had for example a little girl developing a story about a crab caught in a fishing net, and this story meant something to her because her father took her fishing frequently and her father was abroad and she missed him. Individual work therefore seems to allow children to explore their own emotional issues within a safe environment. Group work seems to do different things.... More about this later on.


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Posted by VP Cano at 06:28
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4 comments:

  1. Dale Jarvis18 February 2009 at 13:25

    It is nice to see someone using this technique! I use a similar storyboard technique teaching children how to tell stories. They start with the text of a folktale or fable, create a storyboard or story map, and then put away the text, and use their page to "explain" their story. After a few times explaining the action in the story, they slip into telling the story in their own words, and eventually can tell it without the storyboard, and without having memorized the text.

    You can listen to the result of some of this at:
    http://holycrosselementary.blogspot.com

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  2. Anonymous18 February 2009 at 20:52

    Interactive web comics are a great way to engage and motivate children to create storyboards.

    If you're interested in creating comics online, check out Pixton - an award-winning website where you create comics without having to draw.

    Design every aspect of your character, and move it into any pose you want. All you have to do is click-and-drag to change or reposition any part of it - the creative and artistic possibilities are endless!

    Share with others, post to your blog or remix comics to add your own twist. Read comics in over 40 languages, with our automatic translation by Google. Language filters, privacy settings, and flagging mechanisms help preserve a safe online environment.

    Try it out and let us know what you think. Sign-up is free!

    thanks,
    Clive
    Creator of Pixton - Interactive Web Comics

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  3. VP Cano20 February 2009 at 03:02

    Hi Dale
    thank you very much for sharing your information about the way you use storyboards in St John's. I have also found out hat the children can tell the story in their own words without memorizing it, which is great because I think that then, they have really internalized the structure of the story. I really like to be able to hear the children tell their own story, as you have in your website. Thanks for sharing the way you do things.

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  4. VP Cano20 February 2009 at 03:10

    Hi Pixton
    Thank you very much for pointing out this comic software. I have previously used Comic Life because it is the software that has been introduced in schools in Scotland but I am keen to try other products. I will sign up and start experimenting. Thanks.

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