Digital Storytelling

I am constantly amazed at the tools that are available to help students with story-telling! While many teachers argue that they leave narrative writing out of the picture in favor of "test prep" with expository writing - I constantly push back about the importance of understanding story structure and elements in comprehension.  And what better way to understand them than to write?

Some recent resources I have found via my learning network on digital storytelling:

• Digital Storytelling Teacher Guide from Microsoft: An e-book that teachers can download and reference for using Windows MovieMaker or Photo Story.  Even better are the templates from teachers which also includes a sample rubric.
• Zimmer Twins: Drag and drop elements to create a story or to finish a "cliff hanger" - great for elementary students.
• VoiceThread wiki: I've blogged before about VoiceThread but this wiki is full of examples, best practices and tutorials.  It even includes a link to form a classroom partnership.