Online Story Maker - Photoshow

Regular readers of The Book Chook (blowing kisses to you all!) may have noticed my fascination with web spaces that encourage us to create stories. I've described PhotoPeach, Storybird, Cartoonist at Creaza, Little Bird Tales, love2read, My Story Maker, Glogster, Myths and Legends, MakeBeliefsComix, and more - all of them accessible to kids with a little parental guidance. If you're new to The Book Chook, you can read why I believe these publishing opportunities are so valuable at my post, What's the Deal with Online Publishing?

Today I want to tell you about a new one. It's called Photoshow. It is similar to PhotoPeach in that it allows you to upload photos from your computer and other places, add captions and other bits to them, then publish them as a slideshow. I timed myself yesterday and it took me half an hour to learn the ropes and create the digital story, After the Storm, that you can see below. This is more a testament to Photoshow's user-friendliness than my technological ability. You can try it out without signing up, but it will prompt you to sign up if you want to save your creation.

Photoshow does have a little more bling than PhotoPeach. You can add stickers (I added the little white dog in my story), borders, and captions to each slide. There isn't a wide choice of music or bling in a free account - for those options, you need to pay ($40/year). But the free option is perfectly adequate for telling a simple story with images and captions. Although Photoshow doesn't have PhotoPeach's option of adding a quiz to your slideshow, I urge you to consider it as another place where kids can write for an authentic audience, even if that audience is only Dad and Grandma!


Update, February 10. It seems a free account with Photostory means your slideshow only lasts for 30 days. After that, you get the black screen of death.