This was the only game allowed on the computer's in my grammar school.
In a bizarre power trip, the school's tech guy decided that children shouldn't be playing games. He deleted everything that could be construed as fun, The Oregon Trail, etc. By the end of his electronic killing spree, the only things left was MS Paint, Mavis Beacon teaches typing, and Story book Weaver. So, all the kids in our school had to do for fun was either use the spray paint function of MS Paint to make dirty words about the girl with the afro, play the level of Mavis Beacon where you have to type many letters in rapid succession and if you were correct a giant chameleon would eat it, or find a world of fancy in story book weaver.
This was the only game allowed on the computer's in my grammar school.
In a bizarre power trip, the school's tech guy decided that children shouldn't be playing games. He deleted everything that could be construed as fun, The Oregon Trail, etc. By the end of his electronic killing spree, the only things left was MS Paint, Mavis Beacon teaches typing, and Story book Weaver. So, all the kids in our school had to do for fun was either use the spray paint function of MS Paint to make dirty words about the girl with the afro, play the level of Mavis Beacon where you have to type many letters in rapid succession and if you were correct a giant chameleon would eat
it, or find a world of fancy in story book weaver.
The interface for story book weaver is simple enough as I recall. So simple that many of the second and third grade students were able to handle it in its most basic form. the elements are complex enough and diverse enough that it kept 6th graders interested for a very long time indeed.
The basic functions of story book weaver is to allow children to write their own story book, however they may choose. First they design their own cover and pick their own title. They then open the book and are allowed to tell their story, page by page, using a simple text entry field at the bottom of each page to add the words. However, the story book that you craft is indeed a picture book. This is where story book weaver becomes a creative and original piece of software.
The children are allowed to select from a plethora of backgrounds, characters, items and whatever else you might imagine to be in a fable, fantasy, or whatever sort of story you can imagine. The children can drag the pieces into place and use whatever eclectic gathering they choose to best illustrate their inner most imaginations.
The real genius here, in story book weaver is that it simply provides the user with dozens upon dozens of choices and allows them to pick however many or however few they like to craft their perfect story book.
This program holds a soft spot in my heart and I would recommend it to anyone interested in letting a child craft their dreams. two thumbs up for story book weaver!
