This post explores different free apps that can be used to create stories in the classroom. Some of the features that are in the chart could be different if the user paid for the app.
Comparison of Free Digital Story making Apps for use in the classroom
| Book Creator Free | Story Maker Free | Book Press Free | |
| Can type in words for story | √ | Limited to 3 lines of text | √ |
| Customizable text | √ | x | √ (Many options!) |
| Clip art included | x | Lots! Places, people, clothes, animals, food, etc. | √ Also lots! |
| Clip art customizable (size, rotation, etc) | N/A | x | √ |
| Can add shapes | √ | √ (limited) | √ (very customizable) |
| Can draw | √ | √ | x |
| Add pictures from your photo library | √ | √ (can’t change size once imported) | √ |
| Customizable backgrounds | Limited. Can do different colours, it you want a background scene, you have to find your own and save in pictures | Very good selection! Places like beach, school, skating rink, park, farm, office, city, etc. | √ |
| Background templates of scenes/places (not a solid colour) | X (it you want a background scene, you have to find your own and save in pictures and import this way) | √ | x |
| Can add music or audio | √ | x | x |
| Ease of use for children | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Can export | √ (in many formats including ePub, PDF, and to other apps like Explain Everything) | X (doesn’t even save more than one story in free version) | Can export with a link to online version. (this app is trying to make you buy a hardcopy of the book) |
Additional Comments
Book Creator Free:
This app was good, but I found that the major downfall was that it didn’t have any pre-loaded clip-art or backgrounds. Kids making a story would have to go onto the internet to find all their pictures, take pictures with their device, or use ones already on it. This could lead more to searching rather than writing. This app was probably the most customizable and could be exported in many formats. It was also the only one that you could add music or audio to. Here is the example book I made:
In the grade 4 class that I am observing, the students used Book Creator to make a report about genres. The students seemed to be able to use the app when they were given instruction. Each day they worked on the project, the teacher showed them how to do a certain function, like type, add photos, or add audio. The wifi in the school is quite poor, so students had to take their own pictures for their project. This was not much of a problem for this report, but if it was a story they were writing, they might like other options for photos. Just using photos that they could take would limit what their story could be about. The app also cannot edit pictures, so students had to go outside the app into photos to do that.
My example of what book creator could do: Sample of my simple story using Book Creator
Story Maker Free:
The backgrounds were the strong point of this app. There was such a diversity of places that the story could be set in! When writing a story, a student could look to them for inspiration for a topic. The major downfall was that there was a limit in how much text could be put on one page. Also, the clip art in the app could not be resized which may be frustrating for students.
Book Press Free:
The downside of this app is that it is designed for people to write this digital story, and the buy the hard-copy through their site. Therefore, it can only be viewed online, not in iBooks or anything. One thing that I liked about this app was that it made the story look really professional. For instance, it included an option for a dedication page, and a “this book belongs to:” page. Students may think this is cool, as they would be creating a book like a “real author.”
Here is my very “experimental” story of what this app can do.
In conclusion, Book Creator free was the best app in my opinion if the students were able to access wifi if necessary.
Learning to Teach 