Cartoons and comics are being utilized more and more in education. But why is the use of these visual components so important in the classroom? According to a 2017 article by Jabari Sellars, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education digital publication "Usable Knowledge", comics serve many roles in the classroom:
ToonDoo
ToonDoo is a cool, comic-creating tool that is a really fun site for to create comics. This site provides lots of options and has user friendly drag-drop features. *Tip: Make sure to enable Adobe Flash Player for this site.
Easy to Create?: I found it very easy to navigate. I created this comic in 10 minutes having never used this site before.
Easy to Save?: It took a little bit of searching to find how to save and download this comic.
Lots of Variety?: I appreciated the fact that it had just enough options to be able to find what you need while not feeling overwhelmed by the amount.
Student Friendly?: I believe students 4th grade and above could navigate this site with minimal instruction.
Pixton
Pixton is a cartoon creating site that allows fully posable characters, dynamic panels, props, and speech bubbles. Every aspect of this comic can be controlled in an intuitive click-n-drag motion. This online comic creation tool allows students to be creative while also improving their reading and writing skills with both pictures and words. *Tip: Make sure to enable Adobe Flash Player for this site.
Easy to Create?: I was able to create this comic in less than 5 minutes. It was very simple and easy to use.
Easy to Save?: I was able to save it easily but could not download or print it in the free version. I copied a print screen and pasted the comic to the left.
Lots of Variety?: This site has a ton of variety for the backdrops but a limited variety for the people in the comic.
Student Friendly?: This was a very easy to use site and I believe older elementary and secondary students will learn how to use it quickly.
MakeBeliefsComix
This site allows you to make your own comics online with a comic generator. My favorite feature of this site is the plentiful teaching resources it offers for free. There are lesson plans for special populations like English language learners, autistic and hearing impaired students, printables, writing prompts and tools. This site was voted a "Great Website for Kids" by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.
Easy to Create?: I found this site to be very easiest to use.
Easy to Save?: It was very easy to save. However the site doesn't allow you to save single panel comic, only 3 panel. I pasted a print screen of my single panel to the left. I also would have liked if they added the title and author to the comic like the other 2 sites.
Lots of Variety?: This site had the most limited variety of the sites. I didn't mind however, as too many options can be overwhelming and time consuming for students.
Student Friendly?: I found this to be the most student friendly site, with its simplistic and easy to use features.
Tellagami
Tellagami is a mobile app that lets you create and share a quick animated video called a Gami. Tellagami is only available on smart phones and tablets.Users enter text or record audio and then choose from a range of outfits, skin tones, and hairstyles to create a custom character to deliver the recording. Users then place their character against a background selected from the free built-in options.
For the Gami above, I created a book review for Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean.
Easy to Create?: I found this app to be easy to use. It was fun customizing your character.
The possibilities are endless for how you can incorporate comics and cartoons into your classroom. Some examples of ways you can use comics in your classroom, which I found on the blog Educational Technology and Mobile Learning, are:
As you can see, the use and creation of comics and cartoons can be a valuable tool in your teaching arsenal. Please feel free share any of your ideas for how to use comics and cartoons in the classroom in the comments.
Don't hesitate to contact me to collaborate on how to incorporate comics into YOUR classroom!
References:
Sellars, J. (2017, December 5). Comics in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/12/comics-classroom
Teachers Guide to The Use of Comic Strips in Class: Some Helpful Tools and Resources. (2018, January 24). Retrieved from https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2018/01/teachers-guide-to-use-of-comic-strips.html
- Facilitate a deeper understanding of complex texts by serving as a preliminary reading activity
- Extend the analysis of a classic work of literature
- Replace less-accessible works while still conveying the same messages, as well as the same literary and rhetorical conventions
- Motivate students with texts that resonate with their interests will increase their investment, leading to an increased vocabulary acquisition
How can you incorporate comics and cartoons to use in your classroom? Thank goodness for all of us non-artists that there are many sites which you can customize comics and cartoons which will capture your students attention while also teaching them valuable knowledge. I will breakdown my favorite sites and give you examples of comics I created in each.
Easy to Create?: I found it very easy to navigate. I created this comic in 10 minutes having never used this site before.
Easy to Save?: It took a little bit of searching to find how to save and download this comic.
Lots of Variety?: I appreciated the fact that it had just enough options to be able to find what you need while not feeling overwhelmed by the amount.
Student Friendly?: I believe students 4th grade and above could navigate this site with minimal instruction.
Pixton
Easy to Create?: I was able to create this comic in less than 5 minutes. It was very simple and easy to use.
Easy to Save?: I was able to save it easily but could not download or print it in the free version. I copied a print screen and pasted the comic to the left.
Lots of Variety?: This site has a ton of variety for the backdrops but a limited variety for the people in the comic.
Student Friendly?: This was a very easy to use site and I believe older elementary and secondary students will learn how to use it quickly.
MakeBeliefsComix
Easy to Create?: I found this site to be very easiest to use.
Easy to Save?: It was very easy to save. However the site doesn't allow you to save single panel comic, only 3 panel. I pasted a print screen of my single panel to the left. I also would have liked if they added the title and author to the comic like the other 2 sites.
Lots of Variety?: This site had the most limited variety of the sites. I didn't mind however, as too many options can be overwhelming and time consuming for students.
Student Friendly?: I found this to be the most student friendly site, with its simplistic and easy to use features.
Tellagami
Easy to Create?: I found this app to be easy to use. It was fun customizing your character.
Easy to Save?: It easily converted the video to MP4 files and gave lots of options to share.
Lots of Variety?: The free version of this site had very limited options.
Student Friendly?: This was very student friendly and great for students who might struggle with oral presentations.
The possibilities are endless for how you can incorporate comics and cartoons into your classroom. Some examples of ways you can use comics in your classroom, which I found on the blog Educational Technology and Mobile Learning, are:
- Digital storytelling
- Students use comic strips to visually retell a story they have read.
- Using comic strips to introduce a topic
- Provide students with pre-designed comic strip with missing panels and ask them to fill in the blanks to complete the story. (writing activity)
- Provide students with blanked out comic strip and ask them to write a story based on the illustrated characters. (writing activity, promote predicting skills)
- Use comic strips to raise students awareness on social topics such as racism, bullying, digital citizenship…etc.
- Use comic strips in language learning to teach vocabulary, grammar, communication (use of language in contextual situations), writing, and reading.
- Use comics to improve students speaking skills by asking them to act out comics they created.
As you can see, the use and creation of comics and cartoons can be a valuable tool in your teaching arsenal. Please feel free share any of your ideas for how to use comics and cartoons in the classroom in the comments.
Don't hesitate to contact me to collaborate on how to incorporate comics into YOUR classroom!
References:
Sellars, J. (2017, December 5). Comics in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/12/comics-classroom
Teachers Guide to The Use of Comic Strips in Class: Some Helpful Tools and Resources. (2018, January 24). Retrieved from https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2018/01/teachers-guide-to-use-of-comic-strips.html
What a great idea to make your comics share information about comics!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching your Tellagami. I wasn't able to access the app. It wouldn't download to any of my devices because the app hadn't been updated for iOS 11. I think agree that it would be a great option to use for students who get nervous speaking in front of others. It gives their voice an platform to be shared. :)
I have never really worked with comics and to be honest never really read them. But when I created them for this course and really got to explore them and read everyone elses comics, I had so much fun! I found it hard to find comics for younger grade levels, but most of the comics I came across I found were for older students. Any suggestions for comics for younger students? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to have the same format to evaluate these tools. I enjoyed your Tellagami and know that students will love creating an avatar to resemble themselves. Things like these are trendy and attract students. Also, thank you for the suggestions on how to use them in the classroom. I would definitely share it with teachers as a librarian.
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