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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Week 3 Thing 6: Digital Images-A Comic Relief


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Enriching our students is a hard task when we are so focused on “bringing up the rear”, so to speak.  By allowing and encouraging creativity, planning higher level thinking while still setting a foundation can be easier than you think.  What do you think of when you look at digital images?  How can digital images, more specifically comics, play in role in the classroom?
According to Rachel Marie-Crane Williams an Associate Professor of Art Education at The University of Iowa, “graphic novels and comics can be an innovative way to bring visual culture into the classroom. They can spark a wide range of interdisciplinary discussions and focus students on a variety of topics, ranging from war to fantasy to memory and childhood. Comics and graphic novels are tools to help teachers reach reluctant students and learn about youth culture outside of the classroom” (Retrieved from Iowa Research Online on March 13, 2011).

Take a look at this great resource which provides ways you can use comics in the classroom.  Feel free to explore the different sites and bookmark your favorites.

Like the ideas in the presentation above?  Embed it onto your blog!  Click on "Share" for the embed code and put it into a post...

Week 3 Tech-tivity Thing 6: Create a strip
  1. Go to www.toondoo.com and explore the comic creator site.
  2. Register with toondoo.
  3. Sign in and select “Toon” and “Create Toon”.
  4. You need to create a two panel comic reflection about how our students learn today.  Be creative, there is no right or wrong way.  As you explore the site you will see that you can create your own characters, scenes, etc. or you can use what they have provided.
  5. Embed your comic on your blog as Week 3 Thing 6 post.
Extra credit:
Share with the Junkies any ideas you have in the comments below.  Did you find any other neat comic creator sites?  How have you/how would you use(d) comics in the classroom?  Post comments here on the Junkie blog.

23 comments:

Ms. Rackard said...

Students can use these comics in their reading. Students can retell a story they have previously read.

christine said...

Comics definitely have a place in the classroom. Kids love the quick, simplistic nature of the comic strips. I can see it being used in all subject areas. For example in writing...reflective strip of what exciting new thing they learned that week...persuasive strip on a specific topic...the possibilities are endless. Can't wait!

Meredith Gilbert said...

Since I teach first grade, I can see me creating comics rather than the students. Especially at the beginning of the year! I am thinking about creating comics to post for center instructions!

Anonymous said...

Toondoo seems to be very user friendly. I am going to use comics in my presentations. For my studens I will have them create comics to show they are learning geography skills. It will be a great motivator and alternative assessment.

Cyndi said...

This is easy to use; I can see alot of time disappearing when playing with this site. At this time, I don't see using it with my students because of the lack of computer access as well as the time needed to create.

Sue said...

Can I delete any post that I created on my blog? If so, how?

Anonymous said...

Comic creation would be option that I would like to make available to students as another outlet of expression and creation, particularly in hw assignments or at home projects. I have had some students who would only do / read something if it had a comic attached to it.

I liked the ideas of embedding the comic into presentations and center directions. Another idea is to put it in a parent letter. Students aren't the only ones attracted to visual images. :-)

Mrs. Stewart said...

@ Sue-
Yes you can delete a post to your blog. View the tutorial on the tutorial page.

Gizbe said...

I use comic strips to teach narrative writing but this is so much more engaging for students to create! I will provide this opportunity for my students to work at home. Unfortunately with minimal computer lab time and usually only 1 working classroom computer this will be presented with the incentive to work at home.

Holly said...

I think bringing Comics into the classroom will make learning more engaging for students. Kids can be so creative with a little bit of support from the teacher. A comic here and there would break the repetitive routine that sometimes happens and it brings humor to the classroom environment. I really enjoyed playing around with all the features of toondoo.

Señora Sarasua said...

So many ideas! In foreign language learning, students could do a myriad of activities to show learning: stories, routines, conversations/dialogues, paraphrasing, direction-giving, commands, and the list goes on. No more students saying "I can't draw"- when pressed to do this with paper and pencil!

J. Whittley said...

Comic strips are a fun and innovative way to engage students. Creating the comics will be particularly motivating for those students that are artistically inclined. Comics are often a way to get reluctent readers to read as there are less words on the page and it is presented in a fun format. As an Academic Coach this past year, I introduced our 4th and 5th grade teams to a science based comic strip titled "Max Axiom" and assisted with creating centers to incorporate practicing reading strategies into the science based comics. The students seemed to really connect to the comic strips and enjoyed reading them versuses the science text book.

Late Comer said...

I have always scoured the daily papers for comic strips depicting school life. My favorite is one from "Zits" that shows a huge backpack on Jeremy's bent back with everything falling out of it. I always post it in the media center. Comics have been an acceptable way to depict the unusual, sometimes sarcastic, and seemly side of life. I have had students create comics to depict their outlook on school life so that I can have more insight into their personalities. This is very helpful in dealing with many of their problems. Now with toondo.com, I can send them out on the web and they can have fun creating more than stick figures.

stageforlearning said...

This is one more tool in my technology toolkit! I like the idea of providing students with a choice on how to show me what they have learned. If students are having fun, creating comic strips to document their learning than GREAT! This can be used across all curriculums not only with the high, but the low as well.

andrews3 said...

I believe students will love using ToonDoo for a variety of skills. It's fun as well as requiring our students to think, plan, use sequencing and writing skills, and a lot of creativity.

Sherri Callahan said...

This presentation is a goldmine of sites for comic creation! I had a student this past year obsessed with his comic book creations and I can't wait to share this with him! Lots of applications for art elective kids in comics! I think it will be fun for those intimidated to draw to excel too! I wish I had computers in my classroom...I don't know how I'll be able to schedule enough time in the Media Center! This is going to make an easy lesson plan. The toughest part for kids will be requiring them to be original. They love the familiar cartoon characters, but the art curriculum frowns on it due to copyright issues.

Mrs. Jacobsen said...

I have always scoured the comics for simple strips to use for sequencing with first graders, but too often the dialogue was above their level. I can now create my own toons, control the vocabulary and print out for use. I loved Melissa's idea for creating cartoons strips for center directions. I may have to get busy on some of those myself.

Cool Beans said...

I also collect comic strips to use when teaching inferences with my fifth graders. Max Axiom is such a part of my science curriculum that I had forgotten they were even comic books! Although students are motivated to read them, they don't necessarily make the science content any easier to understand.

My students love to use technology. They spent hours scouring the web looking for pictures for their Avatar when I first introduced them to Edmodo. I can only imagine the amount of time they would be willing to spend on toondoo.com if I made it part of a homework assignment.

Not all students like to demonstrate their learning in the same ways. Some students like to draw pictures to show the meaning of vocabulary words while others like to write a story using the words with context clues. In the past I have had students make a simplistic hand drawn comic strip to help them in the writing process for a narrative prompt. Since not all students draw well, this website will help them in the planning process to think about adding the setting and character traits.

Students love to share their creations and comment on what others have made. It is interesting for them to discover how outsiders view our projects.

Katy said...

We know how much students love comic books, super heroes and graphic novels. Many of our reluctant readers are attracted to these books and characters, and that's why we media specialists can't keep them on the shelves (why would we want to?) So it makes perfect sense that many of our students will find this an appealing way to express themselves, and show us what they've learned. Perhaps they'll work harder at their assignments if they know that their "reward" is to use these programs.

Wright's Rippers said...

I thought this site was pretty easy. I think I might start by showing them a 3 panel beginning, middle, and end with one of the 1st stories in our reading series. Then I think I might let them create a single panel as partners in our school computer lab. Who knows from there?!?

I can see this to help with writing, reading retell and comprehension, maybe even math math problems and I do think my 1st graders might be able to do this. I can't wait to see and will message back. Thanks for the sharing.

cathycity said...

Cartoons/comics are a good format for guidance lessons. I don't often have a lot of time to see students because of the rigorous academic scheduling, so anything that is eye catching and quickly read would be great for spreading the guidance "news". I hope my creative juices are flowing so that I can work up some sort of series for the bullying education that is so necessary.

Mme Augat said...

I think that comics are a great tool. I did not think that the comics online were easy to make, contrary to others! It did not come easy to me! Perhaps it has to do with my style, and decorating and drawing are not much part of what I do. I can see the students using this better than me, hoqwcwe, and it'll be a tool to use to increase their fluency in a fun way.

Michelle Deibler said...

I use the comic creator as part of my "early finisher" list. Students that finish and say "what now?" while others are still working can create comics about what we are studying or to tell a story and share.