Today’s Tech Snack can be found at the following url: http://generator.acmi.net.au/storyboard/
What is it and how can I use it in my classroom?
Generator acmi is an online storyboard generator.Using this generator, students can edit and create their own scripts and then create a 16-frame storyboard that corresponds with that script. Once the storyboard is complete, the students will be able to view their story as a video as well as print out their storyboard. Instructional short videos explain each step to students. Students do not need a username or password to use the generator-though they do need to create an account if they want to save and share their completed work. (**Note: Without an account, students can only print out a pdf of their storyboard.)
Full Disclosure: This tool uses adobe flash-which means it will not work iPads or similar tablets unless you are using Puffin Browser. When I tested it out on my iPad using Puffin, I found that I could see the generator and could edit the script but ran into issues with dragging the pictures to the storyboard itself.
Classroom implications
Now that the disclosures are out of the way, let us discuss how you can use this tool in the classroom. This tool is free to use, though I would not recommend using it for younger elementary students (K-2). The generator provides students an engaging interactive experience that allows them to explore the story making process. Students can use this tool in two ways: they can choose a script or they can build their own script.
In the ‘Choose your script’ version, students select a script template and then have access to more than 90 professionally created “cells” to create a storyboard to match one or more of the three genres of script (horror, comedy and romance) provided on the site. They can edit and change the script template, but with this model, students do not have to start from scratch. In the ‘Build your own’ version, a user can upload their own location photographs or use images from the Free Media Library, build their own visuals using silhouette characters and write their own script.
You can be use this tool in multiple classes including but not limited to English, Foreign Language and History. If you have access to a LCD projector, you should demonstrate how to create a storyboard. Brainstorm together to create a storyboard for a video story as a final plan of a story, report, or poem. Create a storyboard of a book or short story recently finished in class as a review of the characters and story plot. Create storyboards as part of a World Languages class, and label images, or tell a story in the language they are learning. Work together to complete biographies of famous people. Tell the story of different famous events in history. Share students’ work and have them add content for a collaborative effort. Create your own video storyboards and share them online either on a class website or LMS(Learning Management System) to create a flipped classroom environment so students can review content from home.
Ah, what a delicious snack! 2016 is off to a good start!