OurStory

What: Stories built using interactive timelines

Ease of use: OurStory is an applicatio that can be quickly mastered.

Writing application:

Students that enjoy structure and are inclined to be more scientific in their approach to learning will relish the opportunity to create a story this way.

OurStory allows users to design a timeline using images and text. Stories built using this tool most often appear as sequences of events that lead to a conclusion. Some of the examples I've seen are simply one event leading to another, but others are more subtle.

Take for example, one I read where the students story dealt with man seemingly inconsequential events that, drawn together, explained the eventual life of crime of the protagnoist.

Timeline stories are also a wonderful way of introducing the concept of three act stucture in a story. There are free handouts here to use during classroom discussion of this topic. You'll find that this is also the perfect medium in which to explore forshadowing. You can direct students to more about forshadowing and story structure on Lighnting Bug.

It's suggested that also you prepare the students before they begin with a talk about royalty free images available online. You'll find some useful links in this regard in the Media Library.

Suited: Late primary and secondary students should manage fine with this application.

Teaching with an existing text:

The use for this type of application with a class text is evident. You might chose to outline the sequence of events in one thread of a narrative, a central events, or a characters experiences in the book.

Addition to this page: Though OurStory has many advantages, I recently came across Timeline. It offers many of the features, but is a little simpler to use in my experience, though perhaps less feature filled as OurStory. My suggestion? Offer your students a choice of the two with a simple project - and allow your class to determine which is the more attractive proposition.