Digital Tools to Support Writing Development

Storyboard That

Researched by Emma Archer

Clever Prototypes, LLC (2019)

is a digital storytelling platform that supports multimodal literacy development

Teachers and students can use the extensive image library and user-friendly interface to create original multimodal texts. The program can be used for a range of instructional purposes and is adaptable for learners of all ages.

Instructional Video

This video introduces Storyboard That and shows viewers the basics of creating storyboards. Additional videos on the Storyboard That YouTube channel provide instruction and inspiration, including topics such as how to set up digital classrooms, monitor student progress, and incorporate storyboards into content area classes.

Video file (Storyboard That, 2017)

Ideas for using Storyboard that in the classroom

Visual Vocabulary

By pairing text with visual representations, storyboards help contextualize written language. Visual support for vocabulary development can be especially useful with young students, struggling readers, and language learners (Tolbert, Lazarus, & Killu, 2017).

Teachers can create visual vocabulary guides for instruction, provide partial guides for students to complete, or ask learners to work independently or collaboratively to create their own guides. Visual vocabulary guides can be completed and stored in the Storyboard That digital classroom or printed for students to label by hand and reference during lessons and independent work.

Language Arts & Content Area Instruction

Storyboard That can be used by teachers and students to create anchor charts, classroom procedure posters, graphic organizers, and presentations. Bland (2015) found that incorporating images with text helps children to engage more fully with literacy activities and strategies. Visual support can be especially useful for struggling readers (Hibbing & Rankin-Erickson, 2003) and English learners (Kelly & Siefert, 2017) .

In English language arts classes, Storyboard That provides a multimodal platform for writing and responding to readings. Storyboards can be used to create summaries, synthesize information, describe characters and setting, analyze story grammar, make predictions, and develop personal responses.

Example Middle School ELA Projects (Clever Prototypes, LLC, 2019)

Example High School ELA Projects (Clever Prototypes, LLC, 2019)

Storyboards can also be used to reinforce content area instruction. Teachers can incorporate graphic organizers, create research guides, provide structure for presentations, scaffold students' synthesis skills, and assess students' progress.

Example Pre-K Social Learning Storyboards (Clever Prototypes, LLC, 2019)

Example Middle School Math Resources (Clever Prototypes, LLC, 2019)

Original StoryTelling

Storyboards allow students to engage in visual storytelling through the composition decisions they make about backgrounds, characters, and story arcs. Teachers can differentiate projects based on learners' needs and interests. Students could type text in Storyboard That, add spaces to write text by hand, or create a completely visual story.

Creation of original stories, peer assessment activities, and teacher modeling of storyboards can contribute to students' visual literacy. Flynt and Brozo (2010) point to several positive impacts of visual literacy instruction, including improvements with verbal skills, learner engagement, and self-expression. Secondary and university students may be additionally motivated as Yang (2018) found visual storytelling is an increasingly sought after career skill.

Advantages of Using Storyboard That

Encourage Collaborative Writing

Storyboard That can contribute to classroom writing communities. With digital classrooms, the program offers several options for collaborative writing, which can improve literacy outcomes (Graham & Harris, 2019; Karchmer-Klein, 2019). Students can work together on a shared storyboard, whether they are sharing a computer or using separate devices. Teachers can also assign groups or make student work visible to the whole class for peer review feedback.

Develop Multimodal literacy

In addition to addressing reading and writing objectives, Storyboard That builds students' digital literacy. Karchmer-Klein (2019) describes the ability to use digital tools and create coherent multimodal texts as essential skills.

Storyboard That can be used as a springboard to plan audio and video extension activities. Masserman (2015) found that scene writing practice can improve students' writing in different genres.

Creation of storyboards and scripts for audio and video can contribute to students' digital and traditional literacy development.

Logistics

Will Storyboard That be a good fit in your classroom?

Account Options

Free account: two storyboards per week
Educator account (pricing based on numbers of users): access CCSS aligned lesson plans, monitor progress and coordinate student collaboration in a digital classroom, and control privacy settings (students are not required to share any personal information).

Compatibility

Web-based program: administrator rights are not required
Accessible with computers and tablets
Can be integrated with Google Classrooms

Copyright Questions

Storyboard That gives permission to use original creations for educational purposes, including blogs and other web platforms.
There are some restrictions on commercial use.
The program walks users through the process of adding a citation if they upload images, which can help students learn about attribution.

References

Bland, J. (2015). Pictures, images and deep reading. Children's Literature in English Language Education, 3(2), 24-36.

Clever Prototypes, LLC. (2019). Storyboard That. Retrieved from <https://www.storyboardthat.com>.

Hibbing, A.N., & Rankin-Erickson, J.L. (2003). A picture is worth a thousand words: Using visual images to improve comprehension for middle school struggling readers. Reading Teacher, 56(8), 758-770.

Karchmer-Klein, R. (2019). Writing with digital tools. In Graham, S., MacArther, C.A., & Hebert, M. (Eds.), Best practices in writing instruction (3^rd ed., pp. 185-208). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Kelly, K.S., & Siefert, B. (2017, June 2). Tech tools to support English learners' literacy and language development. International Literacy Association Teaching with Tech [blog]. Retrieved from https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2017/06/02/tech-tools-to-support-english-learners-literacy-and-language-development

Flynt, E. S. & Brozo, W. (2010). Visual literacy and the content classroom: A question of now, not when. The Reading Teacher, 63(6), 526-528.

Graham, S., & Harris, K.R. (2019). Evidence-based practices in writing. In Graham, S., MacArther, C.A., & Herbert, M. (Eds.), Best practices in writing instruction (3rd ed., pp. 3-28). New York, NY: The Guilford Press

Masserman, D. (2015). Lights, camera, write: How scene writing can help students write in multiple genres. English Journal, 105(2), 22-26.

Storyboard That. (2017, September 13). Getting started with Storyboard That [Video file]. Retrieved from <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkgNAMDL_sM>.

Tolbert, J.B.L., Lazarus, B.D., & Killu, K. (2017). Flashcards and guided visual vocabulary practice: Experiences of students with learning disabilities when introduced to concrete Spanish nouns. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 22(2), 24-37.

Yang, W. (2018, June 1). Creating visual stories with data. International Literacy Association Teaching with Tech [blog]. Retrieved from https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2018/06/01/creating-visual-stories-with-data

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