Cartoons and Comics
Creating cartoons and comic strips in the classroom is an excellent way for students to process information. It's also a good way for the teacher to assess the student's knowledge of the lesson objective. Below are three comic strips that I created using Fotojet, Pixton, and Make Beliefs Comix.
Fotojet was the most accessible platform to use. They have templates created for you, so you only need to fill in the template. You can easily change the image or the speech bubbles. You could have students create a quick comic on the main idea of the lesson, for example, the comic below was created with the main idea of AI.
The next application that I used was Pixton. This app is harder to navigate and it takes more work to create a comic or a cartoon, however, there are a lot of design options. This is a great app for students who are into graphic design and are more comfortable creating comics on their own without the help of a template. The only problem with this app is that it's not free. I had to screenshot my comic strip to be able to share the image. You have to register and pay a fee to use the full benefits of the application. For this strip, I decided to implement the "Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then" summarizing strategy. This is a way for students to summarize a story. I chose to summarize the first season of the Netflix thriller, "You."
Last, I used Make Beliefs Comix. This is a good comic strip app for younger children. It's not as fancy as Pixton but it's very easy to navigate and pretty straightforward. I created a short comic strip answering the question: "what is the purpose of having laws?" This could be a way for students in a history class to answer the essential question of a lesson.
Hi Melody! You are quite the comic creator! I like how you created your fotojet comic. It is quite clever! I think students wiill love the many options that fotojet offers. I like how you made it really different. I also liked Pixton but was a little disappointed on how we had to screenshot. Not a big deal but not as easy and like you said great templates but had to pay $$$. I really liked how you used your Make Beliefs Comix. I love how you really explored the backdrops!
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ReplyDeleteI LOVE the comics you created! The AI one was very visually pleasing and relatable. The other two comics are great ideas for the classroom and library. Students can create a summary or convey character motivation. Kids can also use a question like the purpose for laws to spark discussion and refute answers with evidence that is visually appealing. I also thought Make Belief Comix was geared more towards younger children without many options. I preferred Pixton but the fact that it was not free was a major downside.
I love all your comics, but the best one in my opinion is the AI. I concur, we are not ready. The kids on the other hand are taking to it like pigs in mud. As a future librarian, I feel I need to stay on top of things so that I don't get left behind. I wonder if I can get an upgrade for my brain? I truly appreciate the work you put into these reviews and I found them very visually pleasing.
ReplyDeleteI love your comics! I love you gave ideas of how you could use each different website to create something for different concepts. I think it is a great way to engage the students and bring in many different cross curriculum education.
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