Tuesday, March 5, 2013 / 23 Adar
The Technology: inklewriter

inklewriter is a free digital tool that lets students write and publish their own choose-your-own-adventure-style stories. The interactive tales ask the reader to choose how the story continues by offering a choice of story paths. inklewriter keeps track to make sure that all story paths are completed so the reader isn’t left hanging. To get started writing your own interactive story, go to http://www.inklestudios.com/inklewriter. Click here for a video tutorial, which explains how to create a free account and how to get started writing an interactive story.

In Your Classroom
Use inklewriter to explore “what-ifs” in Jewish history. For example, use inklewriter to explore the Dayenu song in the Haggadah. What would have happened if God had not split the sea for us, given us Shabbat, etc.? Or, ask students to retell the Exodus story of Passover using inklewriter and multiple story paths. What if Pharaoh’s daughter hadn’t adopted baby Moses? What if Pharaoh had let the Jews go when Moses first asked? What if there had been fewer or more plagues? What if there had been different plagues? What if the Israelites hadn’t left Egypt? Each “what-if” can be the basis of an alternate story path. Students will have to know how the actual Exodus story happened in order to explore these alternate endings.