For my first blog post, I thought I’d write about comics. Sometimes, as a child, I’d ready the Sunday funnies, but I’ve never been a real fan of comics. I’ve never been a comic-hater, either. I just existed peacefully, and blissfully, ignorant of the world of visual representation and limited-text ingenuity. I say blissfully because, since my colleague Edie briefly mentioned www.pixton.com, I’ve not had a moment of rest.
I can’t stop thinking about how to turn the real world into a comic world, complete with my inner monologue cat and cacti! Classroom discussions- comic. Bike commute home- comic. Trip to the grocery store- comic. Cooking dinner- comic. Phone call from best friend- comic. I can’t stop making comics- comic.
On the upside-this little tool has proven to be very useful for creating humorous but helpful how-tos for Moodle questions, document turning points in group work from class, and create personalized notes about important readings.
Pedagogical Implications! (Yes, it’s not JUST fun!)
Comics can be used to spark discussions in class. Create a comic about your lesson topic and use it to introduce a new topic or start group work.
As a language teacher, I see the value in creating scenes with blank speech bubbles. Students, alone or in groups, can fill in dialog. More creative freedom could be given by sending students directly to the website to create their own stories!
PROS:
free, easy to learn
save comics for future use
fun
create own characters and scenes, or use preset ones
CONS:
some limitations on props and characters
addictive