Xtra Normal is a site that I read about on a few different sites including iLearn Technology, but it wasn’t until Gerardo Lazaro shared with me an example of his students’ projects that I decided to try it out. Xtra Normal is a unique service that enables students to create animated, narrated movies just by typing the dialogue then dragging and dropping characters and set elements into the movies. There are free and paid plans for using Xtra Normal. The primary difference between the plans being that the paid plan offers more options for the setting of your story. The standard plan should be more than adequate for most academic applications.

Applications for Education
Xtra Normal could be a great way for students to create animated digital stories for most content areas. The example that Gerardo Lazaro shared with me has students getting ready for a science lesson.

Here are some related resources that may be of interest to you:
A Great Blog for Digital Storytelling Ideas
Go Animate – Make Your Own Animated Film
Digital Children’s Library in English and Spanish