Soo Meta: Digital Storytelling Tool
What it is: Soo Meta is an awesome new site that lets students build mixed media stories. Students can use this storytelling tool to collect, sort, edit and publish web content easily.
There are two options for login, with name/email/password or through Facebook. For students who don’t have their own email accounts, you can have them login using a temporary inbox like Tempinbox (just type in a word or words followed by @tempinbox.com and you are in business!).
After students have logged in, they will be asked to enter a title for their new story. Then, they can search for videos, pictures, sounds and text or copy and paste their links into a new story. Videos can be trimmed and edited, pictures resized and text edited.
Soo Meta is incredibly simple to use. Just search the web, choose content to remix and off you go! You can also simply drag and drop content from your computers desktop to create something new.
When finished, just publish the story and you can share it via link on Facebook or Twitter or you can embed the story like I did above. (I literally spent a grand total of 2 min creating this story!)
How to integrate Soo Meta into the classroom: Soo Meta is a fantastic online tool for digital storytelling. It makes the process incredibly easy and the possibilities are limited only to your student’s imagination.
With Soo Meta, students can compile research on any topic or subject and create their own digital “textbook” of the learning to share with other classmates or students around the world. I love that Soo Meta combines the research component with the creation piece. So often students want to skip right to creation…with Soo Meta the two are so interdependent, it would be impossible to do one without the other!
Teachers can use Soo Meta to create learning stories for their students. Pull together various videos, pictures and articles and mash them up for your students. Embed finished video stories on a classroom website or blog.
Older students can create interactive video stories for younger “buddy” students. They can solidify their own learning of history, math, science, geography, etc. by putting together learning opportunities for younger students.
The storytelling aspect of Soo Meta is fantastic! Students can do story re-tells, current event mashups, historical documentaries, political commentary, science discoveries, etc.
Tips: Don’t be discouraged if your students are too young to create their own Soo Meta stories, create your own mashups for them to enjoy!
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Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Soo Meta in your classroom.
