In our last post, we took a look at the first steps students go through when they immerse themselves in the Avatar Storytellers 3D environment and prepare to create their very own digital story.
Traveling Through Virtual Spaces for Inspiration
After students brainstorm their story and create their virtual 3D characters, it’s time to get some inspiration! A 3D educational environment is perfect for helping students come up with ideas. The students, through their avatars, travel through themed islands and learn how to create a 3D quest based on the themed islands.
Drafting the Story
This is where the students get to create. Because we emphasize imagination, visualization and creativity, drafting the story means that the students start by arranging ideas in “Imagination Stations.” This reinforces the concept that writing a story is not about the mechanics of writing – these have their place too of course but are not the main focus of the writing process. Rather, writing is about thinking up ideas and developing them.
The Imagination Stations are very flexible, which is important in any creative pursuit. They have editable pictures and signs, and students can rearrange, edit and revise their story as it gradually evolves.
Producing The Story
This step provides students with extremely valuable technology skills. Students have several ways of publishing their stories, all include using advanced tools. They can publish using Comic Life Software, Movie Maker or iMovie, 3D Storyboards, Flash Presentations, or they can produce their digital stories as live plays inside our 3D virtual world.
Needless to say, seeing one’s story come to life is one of the greatest pleasures of any artist and one of the highlights of the creative process!
