Rethinking Social Stories with AI
Written by: Sandy Goehring
Social stories have long been a valuable tool for supporting students with special needs. These stories help children visually understand and perform tasks by showing them step-by-step actions. Traditionally, creating social stories involves taking pictures of the child performing each step, searching for supporting graphics, and crafting a narrative that is clear and understandable. While beneficial, this process can be incredibly time-consuming.
Enter AI
With advancements in artificial intelligence, we can now create social stories more efficiently and realistically. AI tools can be used to develop stories for a broader range of students, including those in early childhood or preschool classrooms. These stories can help young learners with routines such as using the restroom or understanding snack time procedures.
“AI tools can be used to develop stories for a broader range of students, including those in early childhood or preschool classrooms.”
My Experience with AI Social Stories
When I needed a social story to help my toddler stay in bed, I quickly realized I didn’t have the time to take pictures and write a creative story. AI came to the rescue! After some quick searching, I found several sites that could create the story for me with beautiful, animation-like illustrations. Here are a few of my favorite sites for writing and illustrating social stories:
Nookly
Nookly is user-friendly and allows for extensive customization. You can enter the child’s name, age, gender, and ethnicity, and personalize the character with various details. After customizing the story, you can adjust the text before finalizing it. The illustrations are lovely, making the stories unique and personalized. However, the character design may change slightly throughout the story, and the free account limits the number of books you can create. Here’s a video of me demonstrating Nookly.
Ella
Ella is my favorite social story creator. It offers numerous options for personalizing the story, including different visual styles for characters. You can edit the text yourself or let Ella adjust it by simplifying the language or changing the length. You can also upload your own images or use pre-made characters. Ella even allows you to include small details that the child likes in the illustrations. The stories can be downloaded or shared, and Ella can read the story aloud to the child. The only downside is that some images may appear skewed if you use branded characters. Check out my demonstration.
Magic School AI
Magic School AI is a popular tool among teachers. It allows you to create social stories by selecting the grade level and providing a brief description of the story. You can also upload different file types. The generated story can be shared, downloaded, and read aloud to the child. One significant advantage is the ability to translate the story into several languages directly on the site. However, Magic School AI does not include images, which may be less engaging for younger students. Watch my demonstration of using Magic School AI.
Conclusion
Social stories are incredibly helpful for educators and parents, supporting students of all ages and abilities. With AI, creating these stories becomes more efficient and personalized, allowing teachers, administrators, support staff, and guardians to spend more time with children. AI-generated social stories offer vibrant illustrations and greater customization, making them a valuable resource in any educational setting.
Resources
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