Common Sense Media Review
By Dana Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Edgy words mar kid-friendliness of cool story-idea sparker.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
StoryForm
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Simply tap "Shake" (or shake the mobile device), and STORYFORM shows five words that are all story elements: traits, professions, locations, themes, and things. If you like some ideas the app generates (for example, "architect," "the future," and "gong") but not the others ("diseased" and "sacrifice"), you can lock in the approved words with a lock icon and shake again to find different words. Then lock the elements you like and shake again. There's a space for writing notes, and stories can be saved and shared.
Is It Any Good?
StoryForm can be an interesting story starter, but it's not suitable for young kids (and only mature teens who can wade through certain word choices should use it, especially for school-related work). True, creative writing and storytelling should include a wide range of life experiences, and not necessarily those of the author. But the words in this app are being generated by a device, not a kid's or teen's own imagination, and thus may be imposing an idea or experience hey wouldn't normally choose and may not be ready to consider carefully, especially without adult guidance. The solution could be a kid filter or a kids' version of the same tool, which could wholeheartedly be recommended as an age-appropriate creative aid. With its current mixed bag of word and subject choices, however, StoryForm isn't the best place for kids to go fishing for ideas.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about where writers get their ideas. Is a story-starter tool "cheating," or is it simply a way to get the creative juices flowing?
Create an offline version of this app by putting story ideas and elements into a hat and then have kids pick five.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Pricing structure :
- Release date : October 15, 2010
- Genre : Productivity
- Publisher : Pig-n-Chicken Software
- Version : 1.0.4
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.0 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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