Creating Books with Storyjumper

By Andrea Viera

StoryJumper is a website that allows its users to create, design and share their own illustrated books. It also has a platform of published books, which can be explored by students. It offers several design options as well as the possibility to write text, add voice or sound and publish it for a bigger audience. Users start with a blank page to which they can add pictures and illustrations from a panel on the left, apart from text and a background image. Students will spend a lot of time exploring the multiple options this website has and deciding which of them is suitable for their story to become real. Even though youngsters may need more guidance than older students, StoryJumper works well with all kind of students of different ages as what matters is the content and personal touch each student/group of students adds to the creation of the story.

Using this website can highly improve students’ reading and writing skills since, on the one hand, they will be writing their own stories and, on the other hand, they will have the possibility of searching and reading already made books.

As Motteram (2013) presents it, “children love sharing their knowledge about a favourite hobby or relating personal life experiences, such as the details of their last family holiday. They also enjoy playing around with traditional or familiar stories as well as inventing their own. It can be particularly motivating for learners to be responsible for creating and publishing their own digital texts, as this requires them to use language for a specific purpose and audience; for example authoring for peers, younger children or their parents.” (29)

FOLLOW THE STEPS IN THE TUTORIAL AND CREATE YOUR OWN BOOK!

1

Once you access https://www.storyjumper.com/ you will get to see the following homepage. You have to either sign up -if you already have an account- or log in -if you don't have one. You can use your Google or Facebook accounts.

2

Once you have created your account, you will find this page. Click on “Create a Book” to start a new story or continue editing an already started book.

3

Choose a type of book. In this case, I will pick “Blank”. Whenever you click on any other type of book -except the blank option, the website will offer you the possibility of watching a tutorial to learn the basics of that type. Click on “Watch Tutorial” if you want to watch it. If not, click on “Got it”. If you regret having chosen a certain type, repeat step 2.

4

Once you pick blank you will automatically access this page. Here you have all the necessary options to edit your book. If you click on the “invite” button placed at the top of the website, you will be able to write a friend’s email address to invite him/her to help you create your book.

5

Click on “Front cover” at the bottom of the site to add title and author of the book. You add the title by clicking on “Click to add Title”. You can change the font, size and colour of what you write in the toolbar displayed while you are writing. You can do the same when adding the author of the book. You can also change the background colour and pattern by choosing another colour at the left of the bookpage. Your changes will be automatically saved.

6

Click on “dedication page” at the bottom of the site to add some dedication comments.

7

Go to the first blank page at the bottom of the site to start writing your story. There you can add text, scenes, photos and props. By adding any of them, click on each label and select what you need. If you need an option that is not there, you can look for one in the search bar.

8

Scenes

Click on the label “scenes” and choose one from there, look for another one in the search bar or click on the blue button “More Scenes” at the end of all scenes to see more options. As you select one, the scene will appear on your bookpage.

9

Props

Click on “props” and choose one from there, look for another one in the search bar or click on the blue button “More Props” at the end of all scenes to see more options. When you select one, the prop will appear on the top left corner of your bookpage. By placing and pressing the cursor on it, you can drag it to any point on the page. You can also change its size by clicking on the points around the prop. You can add as many props as you want.

10

Text

Click on “text” and select a frame for what you want to write on your page. If you don’t want any frame, you can simply click on “big text box” and directly write on the page of your new book. If you have chosen a frame, it will appear on the page you are working on and you will be able to add text and change its font, size and colour.

11

Voice

To add voice to your story, click on the blue button “Add Voice”, placed under the bookpage you are working on. Click on “record” and start talking. Click on the same button to stop recording. Once you stop, the site gives you some options. You can add music and sound effects. To save the changes click on “save”. You can edit what you have recorded by clicking on the same button you clicked on at first, but now it will read “Edit Voice”.

12

Photo

To add a photograph, click on “photo”. There you can browse for one by typing the theme you want or look for one in your PC. Once you select the photo, the website will ask you whether you want to use it as background or prop. Your photo will be added in the section “photo”.

13

To start a new page, click on the blank space you have next to the page you are working on. If you want to edit other pages, look for the one you need on the bar placed at the bottom of the site or use the left/right arrows placed under the bookpages If you want to move a page to another place (for example, you want page one to be page five), you select it and drag it to that position. If you want to put it back to its original place, you repeat the steps, or you press the “undo” button placed at the bottom right corner of the site.

14

Look at the three options you have in the bottom right corner. Click on “X page” to delete the page where your cursor is placed, on “+ page” to add one, and on the last option to duplicate the page you are working on.

15

Click on “save changes” to save your book. You will be directed to the following page. Here you can go back to edit your work by clicking on “edit”. You can “share” it either by publishing on the website or by uploading it to your social networks, too. You can “print” it, or “comment” it. Most importantly, you will be able to see the progress you have made with your book by clicking on the play ( ▻) button. As the book opens, click on each page to turn it and continue reading. If you have recorded your voice or added sounds or music, click on the “▻” button under the book.

Click on the link below to see a sample of the book shown in this tutorial

https://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/60202675/5bce9ec14a37e

How can you integrate this tool in your EFL classroom? Take a look here!

In previous lessons, students explored and read different stories and worked on their characteristics (title, author, genre, narrator, characters, etc). In pairs, students used Mindmeister to create a mind map showing their ideas for a future story and in a subsequent lesson, they worked with the importance of characters in stories and revised some useful vocabulary such as main character, secondary role, first/third narrator, etc. They used Fakebook to create the profile/s for their character/s. In the last lesson, they created their drafts for their stories and the teacher corrected them, suggesting changes.

Age group: 11 year-old students
Language level: Intermediate
Objectives: that students write and illustrate their stories.
Language areas: writing - listening - speaking - reading
Number of students: 14
Duration: 45 minutes
Physical Location: classroom and computer lab
Topic: Short Stories

Warmer

The teacher will give students the a worksheet to work in pairs. Students will have to put the story in order by adding numbers to it. Finally, the story will be read in class.

To download the worksheet, click here.

Web

The class will go to the computing room. The teacher will tell them they are going to use a website where they will be able to show their story. For that, students will have to use their already corrected drafts.

The teacher will ask students to access https://www.storyjumper.com/ to start creating and https://sites.google.com/view/andreasictple/storyjumper/storyjumper-tutorial to see the different steps for the creation of their story. Once the story has been created, the teacher will ask students to get a sharable link and post it on the Edmodo wall the class has, for everyone to see.

Instructions:

Get in pairs with the partner you started creating the story.
Access https://www.storyjumper.com/ and create an account. Access https://sites.google.com/view/andreasictple/storyjumper/storyjumper-tutorial as well so as to look at the steps.
Write your story basing your choices on the draft you wrote last class.
Save the changes and get a sharable link.
Post your link on our Edmodo wall with the title of your story and your surnames”

What Next

Once back in the classroom, the teacher will project the Edmodo wall on the board and each book will be open for everyone to see. The books will be read or listened to. After each story is finished, students will be asked to highlight two things they enjoyed about the book and two they did not like much. They will have to account for the answers they provide.

The teacher will give students a final mark, taking into account the whole brainstorming, thinking, drafting, writing and designing processes that have taken place during the last lessons and which resulted in the presentation of the books.

Theoretical Support

SAMR model

According to Puentedura’s SAMR model, in which he distinguishes four steps for the integration of technology in the classroom, the use of StoryJumper can be found in the last phase of his four-step model, that is, the Transformation Phase, which includes the Modification and Redefinition levels. This is so because the use of this website allows the user to add and combine video, text and images (Modification step) and also implies a transformation from a basic task to a more complex one by allowing its users to collaborate online with the initial creation and create interactive content (Redefinition step).

The Triple "E" framework

Liz Kolb’s (2017) theoretical framework, which “encourages teachers to go beyond an instrumental use of technology and consider how it can extend and enhance learning goals”, is based on three components: Engagement in learning goals, Enhancement of learning goals and Extension of learning goals.

The use of StoryJumper can be analysed in terms of this components.

Engagement: the use of this webpage engages students as they have to focus on the many options it offers in order to achieve the final product successfully. Besides, they move to active social learners as they are writing their own stories and adding what they consider important for their ideas to be expressed.

Enhancement: this website presents students with opportunities for creation and production. Furthermore, the different labels and indications serve as scaffolding and help students understand easily what they have to achieve as they go through the path of creating their book.

Extension: this website allows students to publish their book and share it with their friends and family through social networks, therefore, connecting what they do in the classroom setting to their everyday lives. Apart from that, StoryJumper enables students to build skills such as cooperation and collaboration among peers and to solve certain problems that may come up as a result of working in pairs.

NAPs [Núcleos de Aprendizaje Prioritario]

The Núcleos de Aprendizaje Prioritario or NAPs are the core priority areas the Ministry of Education established for teachers to adopt when teaching a second language. These areas are to be taken into account both for primary and secondary schools and comprise listening comprehension, oral production, reading comprehension, written production, language awareness and intercultural reflection. The use of StoryJumper can be thought in terms of these six areas. For example:

Reading comprehension: As they read the instructions and steps provided both by the tutorial and the website itself.
Written production: the moment in which students write their story and comment on other students’ productions.
Oral Production: when students record their voices and add it to the story.
Language awareness: as students have to be very careful not to make language mistakes when writing.
Intercultural reflection: students have to bear in mind the audience for which the book is being written and the origin of the characters that appear in the story.
Listening comprehension: as students listen to the stories created by others: either to enjoy a book or to get examples for their later productions.

A copy of this plan can be found in https://sites.google.com/view/andreasictple/storyjumper/storyjumper-lesson

Sources:
Motteram, G. (Ed.), (2013). British Council Innovations in Learning Technologies for ELT (Innovations). British Council. Garcia, Ledesma & Saumell (n.d.), Creating technology- enhanced language learning materials Banegas, Mario López-Barrios, et.al (Ed.), Adapting to meet diverse needs in ELT

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