Story Bird Collaboration

Storybird collaboration with I.P.  My Big Dream

ISTE.NETS.T standard 3b: Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.

This project was a great opportunity to showcase iste.nets 3b in that we each worked in collaboration with a middle school student to tell a story using Storybird, a global hub of readers, writers and artists of all ages. It is a site where one can find beautiful artwork, share stories and do what we did - collaborate on creating your own stories
Our Storybird collaboration was an exercise in creativity and innovation in that we worked with each other's ideas on how to shape the story and find meaningful artwork to help in the telling of our tale.

Although I did not have to opportunity to complete the project in collaboration with my partner, I can see how useful this program would be in the classroom. This is yet another way to develop 21st century skills through an exciting and challenging project which will engage students in active learning.

These kinds of activities are essential to help students prepare for the 21st century workplace in that technology encourages the formation of global collaboration efforts as our world becomes more and more connected. Students in school need to start learning the necessary skills of teamwork, which is considered one of the most important applied skills according to Technology Enhanced Collaborative Learning Cisco System 2009.

In addition to preparing for the workplace, collaborative work is much more conducive to learning than traditional, individual settings.
"The most recent comprehensive reviews of research to date on collaboration were conducted in the late 1990s. Those reviews consistently reported findings that collaboration was a more effective learning strategy than traditional didactic teaching."

In my own experiences I have found this to be true. Group projects are more thorough, interesting and often challenge the members in their own positions. We learn about various ways to solve problems and there is usually something new that can be learned from each experience.