Cartoon & Comics
As a child born in the 20th century, I remember the joy of reading the comics from the newspaper at my grandparent's house. I loved getting the new Sunday paper, pulling the comic section out, and sitting at the breakfast table for another round of Garfield’s antics, or reading about Calvin and Hobbs’ new adventures. Cartoons and comics have a great effect on children in many ways. As stated in an article published by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, “Motivating students with texts that resonate with their personal interests and identities will increase their investment, leading to greater exposure to words, greater vocabulary acquisition, and more frequent use of reading strategies — three cornerstones of comprehension” (Sellars, 2017). So how does one begin using cartoons and comics in the classroom so that students may experience the benefits of such? There is a plethora of websites geared toward those in the teaching field looking for ideas and ways to incorporate the use of comics and cartoons into their classroom and coursework. I have created comics with the use of three particular websites and will share my thoughts on them below.
Fotojet
The first website I used was Fotojet. Take a look at the comic I created below using this site.
FotoJet is a free, online comic strip website that offers its users a way to create comics with real photos of their own! The site also allows users to create collages, posters, cards, and other fun projects. There is an upgrade option available if users want additional editing tools, effects, graphics, and more. The free version has multiple templates to use and is fairly simple to navigate. While working in this program, it reminded me of Canva (if you are familiar with such). As you can see in the comic I created above, I chose not to use my own photos, but rather clipart that was offered on the site. As I stated earlier, for me, it was fairly easy to use because of its similarity to Canva. I was able to create my comic strip with ease and had fun doing so. I did find that I was limited in some ways using the free version, as I was wanting additional options for clipart. Also, after finishing my creation, I was able to download or share my comic. If I was willing to pay for the upgrade, I would have been able to save my project to my account to access it at another time. Overall, I was pleased with the website. Students would easily be able to create their own comics using FotoJet and would enjoy doing so.
Pixton
The next website I tried for comic strip creation was Pixton. Check out my comic below!
Pixton was by far my favorite of the three websites I used. The site offers various plans for educators, parents, students, and businesses. Upon completing the account setup, you are taken to your dashboard where you can begin creating right away. This particular site has a lot of options available to users such as more realistic characters and backgrounds. Users can easily change multiple aspects of their characters, from haircuts to outfits, and more! Additional options available (right away without a paid account) include just about everything you can imagine! I found it easy to manipulate each scene as I progressed in creating my comic. Story starters and writing prompts are available if your creativity is stuck. The only downfall to the program was I was not able to download or share my creation without upgrading my account. All in all, this was my favorite website of the three comic strip-making sites. Students would genuinely love using Pixton in class!
MakeBeliefsComix
The last website I used was MakeBeliefsComix. Check out my creation below.
After having such a great time using Pixton, my hopes for this particular site were high. I will honestly say I found this particular website difficult to use. Before I continue though, I must convey that this site has A LOT to offer educators. There are tons of ideas and resources available and other various ways to use this website. For my comic strip, however, I found navigating and figuring out tools somewhat of a challenge at first. I would have liked more realistic characters and more options for changing the characters I selected to use. Once I figured out how the program worked and how to use the tools, creating my comic became easier. I was able to download a copy of my creation and also had the option to print. If I wanted to save it online, I needed to sign in which required creating an account. I don’t think students will enjoy using the comic strip creator as much as some of the others, but I may try using this site again to see if my experience changes.
Using Cartoons and Comics in Class
The use of cartoons and comics in class can have a powerful effect on student learning. Because of this, I plan to share this idea with the teachers in our school. As a librarian, I collaborate with my teachers as often as I can and I try to bring new ideas each time we meet. Here are some ideas using cartoons and comics I will bring to them:
Use for creative writing
Character perspectives
Current events
Social/Emotional learning
Vocabulary practice for ESL students
As you can see, there are many ways to incorporate the use of cartoons and comics into the classroom and other educational settings. For more information and useful ideas and resources, check out MakeBeliefsComix!
Works Cited:
Sellars, J. (2017, December 5). Comics in the classroom. Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/12/comics-classroom
Comic builder. Pixton. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://www.pixton.com/comic-builder
Turn your ideas into stunning artworks. FotoJet. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://www.fotojet.com/
Zimmerman, B. (n.d.). MakeBeliefsComix. Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://makebeliefscomix.com/
Pixton was by far my favorite as well. I know that this year buying a subscription is not in our budget, but maybe for next year. I also agree that MakeBeliefsComix was a bit overwhelming, but after seeing what it has to offer I think that this is the one to go with until then. I really liked how scaffolded this site was for students.
ReplyDeleteI loved all of your comics! Great job! I also really liked that you included recommendations on how they can be used. I loved the idea of incorporating vocabulary terms, points of view, and creative writing. I really enjoyed Pixton and see myself using it in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteTrying making comics using a computer was a different experience from what I had done in class. When I used comic strips in class, my students drew everything and wrote everything. But I loved learning how now we can use the computer to create these. I think students would have a blast trying out this new form.
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