Ten Good Tools for Telling Stories With Pictures

Image Yourself in Front of Any LandmarkRemove.bg and PhotoScissors are tools for eliminating the background from any image that you own. If I have a photo of myself in front of my house, I can use either Remove.bg or PhotoScissors to rapidly get rid of the background and simply leave the image of me in front of a white background. Once the background is removed I can take the image of myself and layer it over a brand-new background image by utilizing tools as easy as Google Slides and PowerPoint. That procedure is outlined in this video. The process of getting rid of image backgrounds can likewise be achieved in PowerPoint by following the actions laid out in this video.

Thread Images Into StoriesAdobe Spark offers an excellent suite of digital development tools for trainees to use. One of those tools is Adobe Spark Page. Adobe Spark Page can be utilized in your web browser or you can use it as an iPad app. With Adobe Spark Pages your trainees can produce websites that consist of images, text, and videos. Those pages can then be published as stand-alone sites or they can be embedded into post or other existing webpages. A tutorial on utilizing the Pages component of Adobe Spark can be seen here..

Create Talking PicturesChatterPix Kids is one of my preferred digital storytelling apps for elementary school students to utilize. To utilize the app trainees simply open it on their iPads or Android gadgets and then take an image. Tutorials on how to utilize both versions of the app can be seen here.

Here are some of my favorite tools for students to utilize to create image-based stories.

The core of Make Beliefs Comix is a complimentary set of tools that students can utilize to create their own comics in multiple languages. Trainees do not have to be good at drawing in order to make comics due to the fact that Make Beliefs Comix provides loads of complimentary artwork that they can use in their stories.

This is an upgrade to an article that I released 6 years ago on this topic. Some of the tools in the initial post are either no longer readily available or have actually executed a subscription-based company model..

In addition to the comic strip creation tools, Make Beliefs Comix hosts free ebooks that you can use online or download free of charge. All of the ebooks have plenty of motivating drawings and are designed as fillable PDFs that your students can write in.

Over the years Ive found that utilizing photos assists a lot of students get started on crafting stories. Adobe Spark Page can be utilized in your web internet browser or you can utilize it as an iPad app. By using Book Creator trainees can produce ebooks that include their own photos and drawings. WriteReader is a great tool for primary school students to use to produce image-based stories. The core of Make Beliefs Comix is a totally free set of tools that students can utilize to produce their own comics in several languages.

Develop Picture BooksBook Creator is a popular service for creating multimedia ebooks. Reserve Creator can be utilized in your web internet browser or as an iPad app. The web browser-based variation of Book Creator can be used totally free while the iPad app costs $4.99 (less with volume acquiring). By using Book Creator trainees can develop ebooks that include their own pictures and illustrations. Trainees can use Book Creators built-in voice recorder to include their voices to their photo books. A total tutorial on how to use Book Creator can be seen here on my YouTube channel..
WriteReader is a great tool for primary school trainees to utilize to develop image-based stories. WriteReader has two distinguishing functions that I always mention to new users. Initially, it provides space for instructors to give feedback to trainees directly under every word that they compose. Second, WriteReader has a substantial library of images, including some from popular programs like Sesame Street, that can be utilized for writing prompts. WriteReader does have a Google Classroom combination that makes it simple to get your students began developing picture-based stories. A series of WriteReader tutorials is offered here..
Picture Book Maker permits students to produce six page stories by dragging background scenes into a page, dragging in animals and props, and typing text. All of the components can be sized and positioned to fit the pages. Text is restricted to approximately two lines per page. Completed stories are shown with easy page turning results. Stories created on Picture Book Maker can be printed and or saved as PDFs.

Composing a story from scratch comes naturally to some individuals. For the rest people, it can be a battle. Over the years Ive found that utilizing photos assists a lot of trainees begin on crafting stories. In many cases Ive had trainees develop collages to represent aspects of a story. In other cases Ive had them choose five photos and write 2 hundred words about each. Being asked to compose 2 hundred words about five pictures feels a lot less challenging than being asked to compose one thousand words in one shot.

Develop Collages to Tell Stories.
Canva uses a huge library of clip art and photographs to use in your designs (some of the clip art is complimentary, some is not). You can also import your own images to utilize in your graphics. Examine out Canvas education page for more concepts about using it in your classroom.
Google Drawings, Google Jamboard, and Google Slides can both be used to create simple collages. Into each service you can import images from your desktop or your Google Drive account. You can drag and drop images into any placement that you like. The tools consist of alternatives for cropping images and adding borders. Word art is readily available to use in each service too. You can download them as image files when youre ready to utilize your collages outside of the Google Workspaces environment. Heres a tutorial on using Google Drawings to produce collages that can be shared via Google Classroom.
Once your trainees have actually completed their collages they can improve them by using ThingLink to add an interactive element to their collages. A video tutorial for that procedure can be seen here. Heres a video on how to use Google Drawings as an alternative to Thinglink..

If you see it in other places, it has actually been used without approval. Websites that take my (Richard Byrnes) work include CloudComputin, TodayHeadline, and 711Web.

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