Working on this story project with my partner Iris, was a new and interesting experience. At the beginning, we decided on the topic and the style of our story together. We wanted to create a story for young readers, so we tried asking ChatGPT for ideas about a princess story. However, the first version was too difficult for young children to read and understand. After that, we thought about using social-emotional learning (SEL) topics to inspire the story. We worked together and decided to write a story about emotions and colors, so that children could learn to understand their feelings through the colors in the story. This project taught me a lot about collaboration. I realized that working with a partner makes the creative process easier and more enjoyable. We were able to share ideas, give each other feedback, and solve problems together. It reminded me of my college experience, when I had to make a hand-drawn storybook by myself. That was very difficult because I am not good at drawing. This time, using AI tools helped us create something more professional and fun without needing to draw by hand.

 

​​​​​      Of course, we faced some challenges while working together. One problem was that the pictures from ChatGPT did not always have the same drawing style. To fix this, we used the same prompt every time we asked for an illustration. Another challenge was that the story sometimes sounded too complicated for young children. We had to keep asking ChatGPT to simplify the language so that it would be easier to understand. These small problems helped us learn how to communicate clearly and work as a team to solve issues.

 

​​​​      However, we used several digital tools during this project. First, we used ChatGPT to come up with the outline and storyline. Then, we used it again to create a story that included emotions and colors. After that, we asked for hand-drawn-style illustrations. Once we had the pictures and text, we used Canva to combine them and add the story into Book Creator. I really enjoyed the design process and putting everything together. My favorite part of the project was the illustrations and the story plot. I loved how we used cute animals in the forest to help children learn about their emotions. It was creative and meaningful. Although the AI-generated images were sometimes different, we learned how to manage that and create a beautiful, consistent story.

 

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      In conclusion, to me, it is the most meaningful part of the project for me was seeing how our ideas became a real digital book. It was exciting to go from a simple idea to a finished product. This project also made me think more about my future as a language teacher. I realized how useful digital tools like ChatGPT, Canva, and Book Creator can be in the classroom. They make it easier to create interesting materials and help students understand difficult topics in a fun way. I hope to use these tools in my teaching in the future.