Toonlet ; Digital Story Telling Using Comic Strips

Toonlet is another strip generator tool that we can use in education . It is almost the same as Strips Generator I have talked about earlier here . Toonlet allows its users to create their own comic strips filled up with the characters they want .It is in fact a new way of digital storytelling using comic strips .

Some features of Toonlet

Toonlet offers several features to its users , here is some of them ;

• It is free
• It has requires registration
• It provides a simple to use editor
• It has a set of different frames to choose from
• It lets you tell your story using speech bubbles
• You can share your finished strip via a direct link or embed it in your blog or wiki
• You can also send your strips as ping file

How can I get started using Toonlet ?

Go over to Toonlet main page and sign up for a free account
Watch these two tutorial videos to learn how to use Toonlet .

The first Video

Someries : stories read aloud by kids for kids

Someries is a fantastic  storytelling site . It has  a continuous flow of new stories, read aloud by kids . The stories are all made by kids and for kids,  learners of English can benefit a lot from this site too . Some of the videos in Someries are subtitled so that kids can both read and listen to what they read .

Some features of Someries

Here is a list of features that Someries offer to its users

• It is completely free
• It is does not require any sign up
• You can not publish your own videos there just watch them
• You can not download or upload any video from it
• Videos are made just by kids
• Videos are short and have a high resolution picture

Applications of Someries in Education

Teachers of EFL and ESL , here is your site . Someries is really a great source for educative videos . For those who teach English in non native English speaking countries , Someries offers a good opportunity for their students to get exposed to real and authentic English . Videos from this site can also be used for speaking and listening activities . Pick a video and write a set of questions relating to its content and then let students listen to it then answer the questions .
That’s it about Someries : stories read aloud by kids for kids

ZimmerTwins : Creative storytelling web2.0 tool for teachers

The ZimmerTwins is a site which teachers should really consider when talking about enhancing students’ creativity . It is all about creative storytelling. ZimmerTwins is a web2.0 tool that allows students to give vent to their imaginative powers and exercise their storytelling skills from early stages to advances ones.
Edgar and Eva Zimmer are 12 years old twins who appear normal but have developed psychic powers strange things began to happen when the twins adopted a black cat named 13 . On ZimmerTwins students create their own endings to story starters or create stories from scratch.

Some features of ZimmerTwins

Here is a set of features that characterize ZimmerTwins service :

• It does not need any registration to use it
• It provides easy to use movie making skills
• Members can create their own music videos, serials, or even commercials
• It provides a “sharing” service so that users can share their work with the rest of the world ( only for pro members )
• It enables interaction between its users by leaving comments and messages on each others’ pages
• It also allows for easy accessibility to favorite movies by using the favorite page.
• It has an extra service which is that of downloading interesting games to iphone and ipad.

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The Making of The ZimmerTwins

how can I get started using ZimmerTwins ?

Log in to ZimmerTwins main page



As I have already said , ZimmerTwins can be used without registration , however, students will not be able to save their creations. Creating an account is easy and requires only a valid email address ; a teacher can create a class account that every student uses to access ZimmerTwins and save their videos .
To create a movie click on “ make a movie “ button .
First you need to pick an animation clip . There are actually 4 different types of clips to choose from :

            1-Talk bubble clips

Use this clip to make the character sing, talk, whisper….etc 

            2-Action Clips

Action clips make the character play, sit, laugh,……etc

          3- Close-up clips

They make the character act bored, confused,dizzy ………..etc

          4-Star Clips

This is for fun things like typing a newspaper headline ,there are many clips to choose from



Watch this video tutorial to learn more

Tutorial ZimmerTwins

Or you can watch ZimmerTwins official video on how to make a movie

Applications of ZimmerTwins in Education.

Here are some ideas that might be of some help to support you in integrating ZimmerTwins in education :

• Students can use ZimmerTwins to create their own animated movies from scratch.
• Students watch a starter and finish the story and publish their finished work
• Students can “Collab-o-write” and work together to create a collaborative video
• Students can use ZimmerTwins to create movies about certain historical events, to describe their experiments or concepts, as a story problem in Math, or for vocabulary review.

That’s it about ZimmerTwins : Creative storytelling web2.0 toll for teach.

If you have any questions, comments or additions , feel free to add them below.

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