Comics/Cartoons
Make Beliefs Comix http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ -
This application allows students to make their own comic strips with a host of different characters, objects, words, and they can customize it however they want. This comic maker has a bilingual option, which is great for ESL students. This would be useful for helping children explore different literary elements in a creative and engaging way.
Write Comics (http://writecomics.com/)
This website allows users to build their own comic strip. There is no limit to the amount of frames that a comic strip has. To create each scene, users are able to pick from a variety of backgrounds, and then add in people, props, animals, and speech bubbles. It is pretty straightforward and easy to use. The website is completely free and users do not have to create an account. This application could be useful for teachers, especially for literature. Students can recreate stories that they read as a way to respond to the text. However, there are some limitations to using this application, because there is not an unlimited supply of images, so it may be difficult to find images that are needed.
Pixton (for Schools): (http://www.pixton.com/ca/schools/overview)
Using Pixton (for schools) software, teachers could create comics that depict lessons or teach about topics in a format that allows each student to learn at their own pace or review materials if needed. In CI467, we read an article by Yang (2008) that discussed how a teacher uses graphics/comics to teach lessons when they have substitutes and their students enjoy that format of learning at their own pace using comics. I think this tool could serve as a way for teachers, even those who are not very creative or artsy, to produce comics to be used for instruction. Students could also use this software to create comics for projects or responding to books they may read in class. (Typically $8.99/month to serve up to 200 students)
Comic Creator (http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/games-tools/comic-creator-a-30237.html)
Application walks the user through the creation of a comic with 1, 2, 3, or 6 panels. It is easy to use, but it is very limited in props and people, so I don’t think this would be a very good tool, especially for a diverse classroom, because there are a few animals but the people choices all look Caucasian. The user can add a caption or different background, but for example I named mine “Adam loves to play basketball “, but there were not any balls for choices in props. In fact, there was a phone, a computer…the choices were very limited, and, I felt, not quite suited to the audience (really? A cell phone and computer as 2 of the 6 props?). Not the best comic creating tool, but simple. Also, it seems like the only way to save it is to print it. The background scenes would be better as print-outs, and then let the students draw their own stories, but that is not an online use.
Make Beliefs Comix http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ -
This application allows students to make their own comic strips with a host of different characters, objects, words, and they can customize it however they want. This comic maker has a bilingual option, which is great for ESL students. This would be useful for helping children explore different literary elements in a creative and engaging way.
Write Comics (http://writecomics.com/)
This website allows users to build their own comic strip. There is no limit to the amount of frames that a comic strip has. To create each scene, users are able to pick from a variety of backgrounds, and then add in people, props, animals, and speech bubbles. It is pretty straightforward and easy to use. The website is completely free and users do not have to create an account. This application could be useful for teachers, especially for literature. Students can recreate stories that they read as a way to respond to the text. However, there are some limitations to using this application, because there is not an unlimited supply of images, so it may be difficult to find images that are needed.
Pixton (for Schools): (http://www.pixton.com/ca/schools/overview)
Using Pixton (for schools) software, teachers could create comics that depict lessons or teach about topics in a format that allows each student to learn at their own pace or review materials if needed. In CI467, we read an article by Yang (2008) that discussed how a teacher uses graphics/comics to teach lessons when they have substitutes and their students enjoy that format of learning at their own pace using comics. I think this tool could serve as a way for teachers, even those who are not very creative or artsy, to produce comics to be used for instruction. Students could also use this software to create comics for projects or responding to books they may read in class. (Typically $8.99/month to serve up to 200 students)
Comic Creator (http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/games-tools/comic-creator-a-30237.html)
Application walks the user through the creation of a comic with 1, 2, 3, or 6 panels. It is easy to use, but it is very limited in props and people, so I don’t think this would be a very good tool, especially for a diverse classroom, because there are a few animals but the people choices all look Caucasian. The user can add a caption or different background, but for example I named mine “Adam loves to play basketball “, but there were not any balls for choices in props. In fact, there was a phone, a computer…the choices were very limited, and, I felt, not quite suited to the audience (really? A cell phone and computer as 2 of the 6 props?). Not the best comic creating tool, but simple. Also, it seems like the only way to save it is to print it. The background scenes would be better as print-outs, and then let the students draw their own stories, but that is not an online use.