This feature is currently only available to multisite organisations. If you're part of a multisite 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 practice 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 in your head office and select in your network setup 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 your head office
To create and edit your network story types go to your head office service's Stories page, and click on Story types.
Note: We enable this feature for individual organisations, so if you don't see this tab, please let us know.
Create a story type from scratch
Click 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. 'Learning story'.
Note. You cannot add learning tags or children to story types.
When you click Save and exit, you'll be taken back to your 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.
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 deactivate it, 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 story from:
Copying a Storypark exemplar story type
Scroll down to the Story type library list, select one you'd like to use and tap the Copy to our story types button.
You can use it as-is, or adapt it by editing it. This story type is now available to 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.
Clicking on a story type will take them to the story editor, pre-populated with your prompts.