Cartoons & Comics
Cartoons & Comics
I really enjoyed
trying out various digital technology apps to create comics. They each have their own pros and cons and I’d
love to share my opinion with ya’ll.
Hope ya’ll enjoy these library jokes!
This was by
far my favorite! I was able to create a
free, educator account that I can share later on with my students. It was easy to get accustomed to the features
and was fun to use! Pixton has more
features to offer with their free version compared to the others I tried out
and was more user friendly. The characters
are customizable; you can change their outfits, facial expressions, hair color,
and hair style. The feature I really
enjoyed was focus, I was able to change the position of characters within the
template and I had fun trying out the various choices. Overall the features you can edit are
background, characters, focus, words, faces, and actions.
I believe students
will love this app! It aligns with the
look of most graphic novels and they would get a kick out of creating one on
their own. It was very easy to get the
hang of the program and I think they would create amazing projects even with
just the free, basic features. From the
educator side, it was a little confusing that we were able to create a comic
first and then were instructed to create an avatar for a classroom. In my opinion, it would make sense to make
the avatar first, create a classroom, and then get started with a comic. In the grand scheme of things it all worked
out and I’m pleased with my final product.
I can’t wait to share this app with kids this year!
Rating: First
Make Beliefs
Comix is definitely geared towards elementary aged students. The graphics are kid friendly but the app isn’t
necessarily easy to navigate. I read
over the getting started list and it wasn’t all that helpful. I figured out the logistics of the app mainly
by trial and error and clicking around. I
did choose to start with a Comix starter and I assumed it would give me more
than just one panel to work with. For
the rest of the panels I had to recreate the backdrop on my own and I could see
this being frustrating for kids. I felt
that when using the move, scale, or flip feature it was very sensitive. It was frustrating at times when trying to
move or resize text bubbles and wasn’t very seamless. A feature I would like to see added would be
the ability to change features of the character and not be limited to just
their four poses.
Make Beliefs
Comix will require a lot of step-by-step instructions when introducing the app
to students. It’s geared towards younger
kids but it will take some time for them to get accustomed to the
features. I would recommend implementing
it with upper elementary students with very thorough instructions. Since I’m a middle school librarian I don’t
see myself sharing this app with my students.
Overall though I do have to say it was very easy to save and
download!
Rating: Third
Fotojet took
me a little while to get the hang of.
The layout definitely wasn’t what I was expecting; it reminded me a lot
of Canva. I figured the app would be similar
to the other two I had previously tried out.
Once I played around with the various templates and got a feel for the
features it was fairly easy to use.
Since it focuses primarily on photographs I chose to use some of my own
instead of searching through the ones available. I couldn’t resist making one with my nephews
and I think these photos worked out great!
I believe
Fotojet would allow students to explore their creativity and I would challenge
them to brainstorm their comic first.
Once they have a general idea of what they want then I would have them
take their own pictures to create the storyline for their comic. I would plan to introduce students to Fotojet
after they’ve created basic comics using Pixton. This would be a great way to enhance and
challenge their imaginations! Fotojet
was easy to save and was done in one easy click!
Rating: Second
Sharing
Comics with Colleagues
o Occasionally
when you send an email to staff include a comic you’ve created. It can be fun,
and quirky or information pertaining to the library.
o Host a
professional development about comics.
Share with teachers which apps you recommend and take them through the
process of making one. This would be
beneficial in getting buy in from teachers; the process of showing how the app
works and the various features.
o Encourage
colleagues to incorporate it into their lesson plans, and that you’ll co-teach
the concept of digitally creating comics with them and their students in the
library.
I love the creativity in your comics! You gave me some good ideas on how to utilize Fotojet.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Fotojet took awhile to get used to. It seemed mostly limited in the images and backgrounds available, and I found the interface a bit clunky and difficult to use. Pixton was the site I preferred as well, especially as a classroom teacher. The ability to create a class and easily share comics, in addition to the customization of the characters would make this very popular with students. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWe had the same rankings with our favorite to least favorite cartoon strip creators! I loved Pixton so much! I love your ideas on sharing photos with the colleagues. Adding a little humor is always good for the morale and people feel like they can come to you more easily.
ReplyDeleteI love all your comics! Your Pixton comic strip was so funny and I know students are going to love to create comics using Pixton, as you mentioned, it's easy to use and fun to work with. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteComics are a great tool for us to use as future librarians, especially since they are becoming more popular! Your comics are very clean, and I love the content that you share about your experiences with each web application. I loved your recommendation for using your own photographs for Fotojet! That makes the application a little more personable. I had a hard time finding the photos that Fotojet supplied to be of any use. Yours turned out adorable!
ReplyDelete