ELT in the Digital Era - Practical Ideas and Strategies (Digital Storytelling Session) 2025

Welcome to our Digital Storytelling Course

The Digital Storytelling PearDeck Code (Interactive Slides Presentation) will be projected.

Access to the Google Slides presentation is provided here:

Pedagogy for Digital Storytelling

Pedagogy for Digital Literacies (Refer to the presentation slides for more details)

Life Writing

Graphic Novels

Fan Fiction

Other Possible Pedagogical Approaches:

LA (Language Arts)
CLT (Communicative Language Teaching)
TBTL (Task-based Teaching and Learning)
G-in-C (Grammar-in-Context)

Key Stages 1 -3 Text Types

Platforms for Digital Storytelling: Hyperdocs = Blogs, Websites, eBooks and Online Slides

Please share your platform for your digital storytelling lesson here. The platform will be the place students go to learn (think of a digital textbook unit or activity). It might take the form of a blog, a Site (website), interactive online slides (Slides or PearDeck), or another Hyperdoc platform, such as BookCreator.

To share, click the the Sheets document HERE and past the link to your platform in the column next to your name. Thanks for sharing your experiences, ideas and useful resource discoveries with your classmates.

Blogs

Hyperdocs

What is a Hyperdoc?

A HyperDoc is a digital document—such as a Google Doc—where all components of a learning cycle have been pulled together into one central hub. Within a single document, students are provided with hyperlinks to all of the resources they need to complete that learning cycle. Here’s an example.

Read this blogpost to learn more about hyperdocs.

Book Creator (eBook Creator App for Teachers and Students)

Online Slides (PearDeck Interactive Slides)

Open Pear Deck and create a presentation using all of the question types available. You can start by creating a new presentation with Google Slides or adapt an already-made PPT or Slides presentation by adding the Pear Deck questions. Use the video guide for step-by-step instructions if necessary.

As a demonstration, I launched a student-paced Peardeck presentation sample "The Gingerbread Man" at this link.

This is an example of how to use Peardeck for self-guided learning or asynchronous lessons. The students can view the presentation and answer your questions anytime. Their answers are recorded in the same way as a synchronous (teacher-paced) presentation, and you can check them anytime as well.

If you have trouble logging into Pear Deck to create an account or start a presentation, try using the area code "22150" and select a school from the pop-up window, such as "Lynbrook Elementary".

Content for Digital Storytelling

Multimodal Content for Digital Storytelling

1. Text

2. Images

3. Videos

Teacher videos
Student videos
Other videos

4. eBooks (Integrated Media)

Book Creator

Slides/PPT
Other eBook Platforms

5. Graphic Organizers

6. Chatbots

7. Other

Explore the possibilities of teaching reading

(and other skills) with eBooks

What are the advantages and limitations of using e-books - the electronic format of the classic teaching tool - the book?

Consider the type of text that your group will include in your Unit Plan assignment. Can you convert any of the text of your unit to an eBook? Plan and create an eBook together as a group. If not, you can try it out for yourself, using content or a text type that you would normally teach your students.

Here are some resources for your reference:

PowerPoint eBooks: Creating your own teacher-made eBooks with PowerPoint

Example:

1. "The Gingerbread Man" (with optional plot lines and ending) https://eteachers.online/wp-content/uploads/Gingerbread-Man-eBook.pptx

Book Creator eBooks: https://bookcreator.com/

Examples:

1. "Bark, George" (Primary eBook on animal sounds) https://read.bookcreator.com/IkPmlIw8nVXdbJjneMnk3uBMsIZ2/OclcCXg-RPK0C8TLBV4fng

2. "Matilda" (Secondary eBook, Chapter 21)

https://read.bookcreator.com/yN3fiPxXPJTzcOmLyoQxCvkwgtg1/KUpTLq4sTY6TLISQ1_uzVg

Adobe Spark eBooks: https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/welcome-to-adobe-spark

Examples:

1. Teacher-made Adobe Spark eBook

Ms Fiona Yung, a primary English teacher, made this eBook "It's Okay to Be Different" with Adobe Spark. This is a good example of how to use eBooks in a creative way. Ms Yung inserted an original page into the book, giving a new way that "It's okay to be different" for the story. She wrote, "It's okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bath!" And she has signed the page with her name.

This is an example to students of what they can do themselves... help write the story! The activity would have all the students read the book and write one of their own pages, including illustrating it and signing. The final eBook could be different for each student (with just each student's own "page" added), or an eBook with many - or all - of the students' pages could be created as a class-written eBook.

Two styles of Adobe Spark e-books from our class

2. Student-made Adobe Spark eBooks

AdobeVoice is also an excellent tool for student-made eBooks. In this example, the teacher taught her primary students how to write a diary, using a story book (Camp Diary) as a model. She then asked them to draft their own diary entry based on a school visit to Taipo Waterfront park. After checking their drafts, students made and shared their own eBook based on their school visit to the park and pictures they took there. Here is an excellent example.