Comic Creators: A Last Laugh

"Many Adults, even librarians who willingly add comics to their collections, often dismiss the importance of comics" (Tilley, 2008, p.23). There are many reasons why this might be the case and many reasons why it shouldn't be case. In my opinion, the most compelling argument as to why this shouldn't be the case is the potential to engage learners. My students love reading comics from Manga to Garfield (one of the most checked out comics as determined by the Collection Evaluation I conducted of the library last year). "[I]llustrated narratives are approachable by many reads who may be reluctant to pick up regular prose. The imagery increases the reader's enjoyment of the stories as the complimentary blend of pictures and the written word tell a tale" (Poitras, 2008, p.49). Comics are another platform teachers can use to enhance teaching and learning.


Comics in Education

Maryan Molishus divides the application of comics in education into 3 categories: Reading Tools, Research and Learning Tools, and Writing and Presentation Tools. While all these applications are valuable and worth exploring, for the purpose of this blog I will focus on using online comic creators as writing and presentation tools. Students can use online comic creators to:

•Tell stories digitally

•Storyboard for videos or plays

•Summarize novels or films

•Create How-To instructions on various topics

•Present research on a curricular topic

•Write a biography or autobiography

•Report on current events

•Express poem and art interpretations

•Document a historical event

•Reflect on their learning

Online Comic Creator Tools

I created this Pinboard using Pinterest as a resource of online comic creators.

Personal Application
To apply the use of an online comic creator, I chose to to reflect on the learning I have done during my Technology Journey through LIBE 477. I chose Xtranormal as my tool of choice because it allows you to make animated comics. The comic I created bookends the hand-drawn cartoon I presented using Voicethread to document my Autobiography of a Technology User at the beginning of this course, depicting the transformation I have made since that point.
Historical Figurez Movie
by: ememmott

The process of using Xtranormal to make an animated comic was surprisingly easy. Making a Movie in Xtranormal Movie Maker: The Beginner's Guide provides detailed instructions. I also found this Getting Started for Students video helpful. 

I signed up for an individual account and was given 300 points for free (points allow you to purchase sets and characters that you can use multiple times). Once you're registered, you click on "Create" and begin by selecting the theme for your movie from the choices pictured below. I chose Historical Figurz.

  

You then choose from 1 or 2 actors and are directed to the editing screen. 

Step 1 has you select your background; I chose the moon.

Step 2 has you select your character; I chose Neil Armstrong but opted to give him the voice of American Girl 1 from a long list of possible voice choices.

Step 3 allows you to choose background noise or music. I chose neither as I wanted to focus on the sound effects. 

Step 4 involves writing and editing your movie. The text-to-speech format is a bit tricky to use and you have to modify some words to make them sound right. For example, I had to write "Web 2 point o" to make the character pronounce Web 2.0 correctly. The edit feature allow you add camera angles, motions, facial expressions, pauses and sound effects from a list of choices in each category.

 

I created two versions of my story using my Flash browser and both times the text froze at a certain length, making it impossible to continue editing. I attempted the process a third time using Internet Explorer, shortening the length of the narrative as I was told not to exceed 1024 characters, and did not face this problem again. Although, I was only able to click and drag the edit choices using Internet Exlporer which was much trickier than inserting them using cursor placement, as Flash had allowed.

All in all, I found this a very fun tool to use and would definitely consider using it with my students as I see the potential for engaging learning and am confident they would enjoy the process. I like that the educator account allows you create class accounts, assignments, and assess student work using the teacher dashboard. Online Comic Creators are certainly a creative avenue for exploring writing and presenting student learning.


Further Resources for using Comics in the Classroom NationalAssociation of Comics Art Educators 
ReadWriteThink
 Comics in the Classroom: 100 Tips, Tools & Resources for Teachers Tap Into The World Of Comics Question: How do you use comics in your classroom?
Works Cited:Poitra, G. What is Manga? Knowledge Quest. 36(3) 49. Tilley, C. (2008) Reading Comics. School Library Activities Media Monthly. 24(9), 23-26.