Cartoons and Comics

 I truly enjoy reading cartoons and comics as an adult. Graphic Novels' popularity is on the rise, and it would be crazy not to take advantage and apply this in the classrooms. Comics are so much fun to use in the classroom and library! I truly enjoyed trying out these various digital technology applications to create comics. They each have their own pros and cons, and I'd love to share what I learned and created.

Check out these comic makers: 

FOTOJET

FotoJet took me a while to get the hang of. I liked that I was able to log in using my google sign-in. You can get an upgraded membership for $6.99 a month, or you can save a little money by signing up for an annual membership fee of $39.99.  The layout is a lot like using Canva. Once I started playing around with various templates and got a feel for the features, it started getting easier to use. Fotojet has a limited amount of templates and focuses primarily on photographs.  I searched their images to find the ones that I can use. You can upload your own photos to personalize your comic. 

I believe FotoJet will allow students to explore their creativity, and I would definitely try to challenge them to brainstorm their comic first. Once they have a general idea of what they want, I would have them take their own pictures to create the comic's storyline. Fotojet was easy to save and was done in one easy click. 

Pixton

You can log in to Pixton by using your Google login. Pixton offers a free basic educators account, which allows teachers to make simple comic strips. When I was creating my comic, I was limited to the details that I could add. If I wanted to add more details, I had to upgrade my account. Pixton offers educators a monthly pack that costs $9.99 a month, an Access Everything deal for $24.99 per month, and an annual All-Access Plan for $99 a year. There is also an option for your school or district to pay for All Access Plans for multiple teachers, but your school or district may request a quote.

The characters are customizable; you can change their outfits, facial expressions, hair color, and hairstyle.  The features you can edit are background, characters, focus, words, faces, and actions. By the time I changed everything, an hour had gone by, so it does pull you in with the options you have.

I believe students will love using Pixton. It aligns with most graphic novels' look, and they would get a kick out of creating one on their own. It was effortless to get the hang of the program, and I think they would create amazing projects even with just the free, basic features. It was easy to save and download. You can also share via email and social media. I truly enjoyed using this app over FotoJet. 

MakeBeliefsComix

MakeBeliefsComix was my least favorite of the three. You don't have to sign up for an account, and I could log in using my Google sign-in. There are no upgrades that you can purchase because it is a free application. It was limited, and I felt like I didn't have much freedom to create a great comic. With MakeBeliefsCoxic, students will not be able to use their own original work. There are a few characters to select from, and they each only have a few poses to choose from. The images look old and outdated. The dialogue bubbles can't be moved, but objects and words can be added, which makes up for the dialogue bubbles not being able to be moved. You can print, share, save and email your comic. I emailed my completed comic and saved it to my desktop, and uploaded it to my blog. It wasn't a quick one-step process. 

My Thoughts: 

I loved using Pixton and FotoJet. I can see both of these applications working well in the classroom and library. My least favorite of the three was MakesBeliefsComix, and this is because it has fewer features than the other two. How can we, as librarians, get teachers on board using comic makers in the classroom? Here are some ways we can share comics with our colleagues. 

Sharing Comics with Colleagues:

• Try to be creative and fun by adding a comic that you created into an email. It can be fun and have information about what you are doing in the classroom. 
• Come join my professional development and learn how to make a comic. 
• You can incorporate comics into your lesson plans. You can even collaborate and co-teach with the teacher on how to digitally create comics. 
• Have students plan and create a comic based on a story that you read. 
• Instead of having students write a boring paper, challenge them to bring their paper to life by making a comic.