This feature is currently only available to multi-site organisations. If you're part of a multi-site organisation and are interested, contact your account manager to ask about trialing story types.
In this guide learn about:
What are story types?
Story types are stories that are pre-populated with reflective prompts, from which a new story can be started. These prompts can contain all the elements expected from high-quality documentation and can provide ideas or scaffolding.
You may wish to create network-specific templates so that all your services are documenting in a consistent way or to embed best practices across your network. These might include story types for a learning story, observation or documentation, an anecdote, magic moment, extension of learning, critical reflection or pedagogical narration.
The story types you create and activate from Multi-site Management will be available for educators across all your services to start new stories from.
To start you off, there are Storypark exemplars created in collaboration with our expert advisors that you can copy to your own list and use as-is or adapt to suit your needs.
Creating and managing story types in Multi-site Management
To begin creating and/or editing your network's story types go to Multi-site Management, and select Network setup and Story types:
Create a story type from scratch
Select the + New button:
You'll be taken to the story type editor which looks and works in exactly the same way as the story editor:
Add your prompts as well as any formatting you'd like to include. Then give your story type a name, eg. Pedagogical Narration:
Note: Learning tags and child profiles cannot be added to story types.
When you click Save and exit, you'll be taken back to your head office's Story types page where you'll see the name and snapshot of your new story type. All new story types you create will be saved as a draft first. This gives you the freedom to share with collagues or edit further before the story type can be used by educators.
Activating and deactivating story types
When you are ready, you can activate a story type to give all services access:
Similarly, if you ever need to temporarily turn off a story type you can make it inactive, to remove it from use. Deactivating a type will not affect any published stories, rather that the type will no longer be available to start a new story from:
Copying a Storypark exemplar story type
Within Multi-site Management in your Network Setup tab under Story Types, scroll down to the Story type library list, select one you'd like to use and tap Copy to our story types in the top right-hand corner:
You can use it as-is, or adapt it by editing it. Any story types you copy will be inactive by default. Once activated, this story type will be available at all your services.
Starting a story from a story type
If we have enabled this feature for all of your educators, now whenever they click on the Create a story button, they'll be asked to select a story type:
They have the option to use one of your story types, or to simply create a story from scratch as they have always done.
Selecting a story type will take them to the story editor, pre-populated with your prompts:
