Storytelling with Toonastic 3D

There are a few apps that I absolutely love using with students. One of them is Toontastic 3D, a storytelling app that lets students animate and narrate their stories.  I wrote about it several years ago and included some graphic organizers and other resources I created then. Back then the app was super awesome. After Google purchased it, the app has only improved! It now supports scrolling backgrounds and 3D characters and settings.

The app works best on a touch device such as an iPad or Android tablet, but there is also a version available in the Google Play store that runs on select Chromebooks. I'm not sure how well the touch interface translated to a web-based version, but I've got students testing it out.

I recently used Toontastic 3D with 3-5 grade students in a weekly explorations class. After exploring the app and creating a very simple (beginning, middle, end) story, students used this template to develop a story following the 5 part story arc used by Toontastic. Students then spent several sessions narrating their stories and bringing their characters to life. Below are a few of the original stories students created.

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Click the playlist icon (3 lines) to see more videos in this playlist

What went well

• highly engaging - Students were very excited to use the app. They stayed on task and focused on telling their stories. Students that finished the required story early were eager to move on and create more stories.
• ease of use - The first session we met I demoed the app, showing how to add a setting, characters, and record my voice. That was all I needed to do. Students dived right in and were able to show me a few tricks, like adding their own face to a character (that became a huge hit).
• sharing - Students were motivated by their desire to share their story. When I first introduced the app I let them create a simple BME story and then played it to the class via AirServer on my laptop.
• creativity - This is the reason I love apps like this. Its very open-ended, allowing the students to be creative. As you can see from the stories above, the stories varied widely.

What I want to fix

• story development - The problem with engaging apps like Toontastic 3D is that students want to jump right in to the creation part without developing the story first. Usually they end up with a lot of sound effects and fights, but little story. This was a short 6 week course, meeting only once a week for 50 minutes. I tried having the students complete their stories at home so they would have more time in class to record, but they tended to forget their script and had to start over. If this were done in a regular classroom setting where I could stay on top of them, I'm sure the quality of the stories would go way up. 
• best on a touch screen - Because of the way to manipulate the characters on the screen, this app is best used on a touch screen device like an iPad. Unfortunately at my school we are 1:1 with Chromebooks, so I had to scramble to get enough iPads for everyone. There is a version that can run on Chromebooks, but I could already see that the screen was smaller. I'm not sure how the well it will work for moving the characters.
• voice volume - When it comes to recording their voice some students become very shy and talk softly. Plus there were a lot of us in the room so it was easy to pick up each other's voices. The best way to record your voice is with a headset, but I didn't have enough for everyone. You can tell the quality of the sound between those that used it and those that didn't.

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Awesome iPad App: Toontastic

One of my favorite iPad apps is now completely free! Toontastic by Launchpad Toys is a digital storytelling app for iPads. Students use puppets, narration, animation and their imagination to tell a story. Students are guided through a 5 part story arc to develop their story. Final cartoons can be exported to the camera roll or uploaded to the ToonTube website for anyone to view.

Toontastic is available for free from the App Store and includes all the settings and toys from a variety of themes. Finished cartoons can be uploaded to the ToonTube website where can be public or private. Students cannot create accounts. Instead, the teacher would create a class account and all student work would be uploaded to the same location.

Toontastic has a great features that guide students through the steps of building their stories. The task and purpose of each step is explained in easy to understand language, while arrows prompt students to the next step.

Tap Create Cartoon, then New Cartoon.

For each scene in the story arc, begin by tapping the scene, then the Paintbrush.

Select a Setting.

Select Toys (characters) that play a part in that scene.

Tap the Start button and record the story while moving the puppets around the screen with your fingers. There must be narration or you cannot go to the next step.

Add background music to the scene. 

When all scenes are finished, tap the Done button. Give the movie a title and enter the Director’s name. The video will be created and can be exported to the Camera Roll. It's that easy!

Integration Ideas

• Have students retell a selection from a story read during class.
• Use the story arc to teach students story development.
• Have younger students create a simple story with just 3 scenes: beginning, middle, end.
• Have students recreate a famous scene from American history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
• Print out settings and character cards and have the students select characters that normally wouldn’t belong in a setting. Have students create a story explaining what happened.

Resources

I've used Toontastic with several different grade levels. I've developed a few resources that help students create their stories before recording them. These resources are free to download and use as you see fit.

Scenes and Toys - each theme has settings and toys. I've put each theme and all it's toys on it's own page. This makes it easy for students to see all the possiblities for their story elements. It's also useful for rooms where not all students have access to an iPad.

Storyboard Scene - this is a one page planning guide for each scene. Students draw their scene, the characters, and write this part of the story. 

Storyboard BME - this storyboard was designed for my kinder classes that created stories with a Beginning, Middle, and End. Students can plan out their entire story on one page.

Download my Tech Integration Challenge for Toontastic and see if you are up to the challenge!

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