I thought we could start by looking at Tapestry, an app for creating simple stories/essays in your browser and viewing them on the web or in one of Tapestry’s mobile apps.

The Tapestry platform was inspired by Robin Sloan’s essay-as-app called “Fish.” I’ve been using the platform with my students for the past two semesters on a “Tap Essay” assignment. (If you’re interested, I wrote a blog post about my experience.) All of their tap essays are archived on the Tapestry website:

• Fall 2013 collection of Virginia Tech tap essays
• Spring 2013 collection of Virginia Tech tap essays

If we have time, we might want to explore other platforms and tools for digital storytelling, with a focus on free, web-based apps:

• Creatavist
• Cowbird
• Storybird
• PopcornMaker
• WeVideo
• Haiku Deck
• Pixton
• Dipity

Note: Most of these tools follow a “freemium” model, which allows students to create their first project for free or use a limited version of the app without creating an account.

What am I forgetting? I’d love to hear about what other people are using to teach digital storytelling in their classes.