Students can collaborate to create a story asynchronously by passing the story back and forth across several sessions. Each student begins a story, and then sends it to the partner for continuation. This back-and-forth story swap can occur once or as many times as assigned. Stories can be co-authored that feature particular aspects of culture (fairy tales, fables, ghost stories, etc.) or that feature particular aspects of language (vocabulary, genre transformations, etc.).
A useful platform for this activity is the website " Storybird" at storybird.com. The teacher can set up accounts for students, or they can create their own accounts. Students use the vast database of artwork to illustrate their stories, and they can easily invite partners to contribute to the story from within the platform. Another possible technology that could be used include Google Docs slideshow presentations that support static image and text.
Institution reporting the task:
Language of task instructions:
English
Target Group:
Foreign languages
Level:
Any
References and acknowledgements:
Southern Methodist University
Type:
Collaborative tasks
Estimated Duration:
3 sessions
Topic:
Storytelling
Tags:
| task design |
|---|
| teacher training |
| collaboration |
| collaborative reading and storytelling |
Acknowledgements:
None
Language Configurations:
Unspecified
Language(s) that the task can be used in:
Any
Dominant language production:
Writing/reading asynchronous
Target Competences:
Intercultural skills
Specific pedagogical objectives:
Development of students interest in cultural similarities and differences
Suggested Communication Tools:
Collaborative tools
Suggested Resources:
Instructions:
Storybird is a collaborative story-writing website. You can find a short tutorial on how to use Storybird at this link:
Once you see how Storybird works, create a user account (it' s free) and choose your artwork theme to get started. After you' ve begun your story and started to build a story line (perhaps 5 or 6 slides), invite your partner to be a co-author with you. You can choose from the following ideas to get started:
- ​Retell a popular fairy tale from your culture using Storybird
- Choose a learning objective (such as vocabulary) and use Storybird in a way that would help improve learners’ vocabulary
- Choose a theme to write about (themes can be related to hobbies, culture, holidays, teaching, etc.)
- Use Storybird to help give people insight to your school culture (a day in the life of a teacher story, etc.)
Meanwhile, your partner will be starting on a story on her or his end, so be on the lookout for a invitation to finish or continue that story, too!
Learner Texts:
None
Document related to the task:
Criteria for Completion:
Students must begin a story, share it, receive a story, and complete it. Students must invite their collaborator to discuss the stories they created in a separate forum (blog, email, Moodle, etc.)Students must submit a 1-page reflection to their instructor that summarizes a) what they learned about their partner s culture and b) how they might use Storybird for other language and culture activities.
Comments and suggestions:
None
Author/copyright:
Paige Ware