Comics and Cartoons

Comics and cartoons are great ways to engage kids in learning.  Some kids who shy away from picking up a chapter book will gladly pick a graphic novel and read.  There are several websites that allow you to make your own cartoon strip.  They are ToonDoo, Pixton, and MakeBeliefsComix.  For this post, I will create a cartoon at each site and evaluate it's initial setup, ease of use,  functionality and availability of content.

ToonDoo (http://www.toondoo.com/)

Initial Signup: ToonDoo has a typical registration process.  Signing up was easy and requires an email, user name and password.  There are two different types of accounts: a free account or an account you have to pay for called ToonDoonSpaces.  I opted for the free account.

Easy of Use: ToonDoo was very easy to use and I believe it is the most intuitive of the three sites I evaluated.  Comics are built though a series of drag and drops and selecting the the menu options is easy.  I think students would be able to navigate this site with very little instruction.

Functionality: Once you select "Create Toon", you can pick from 15 different layouts.  Creating your comic strip is a matter of drag and drop where ever you want it. A toolbar at the bottom allows for formatting options like shrinking, enlarging, flipping and rotating.  You can also create your own images by selecting the Doodle Toolbar or import pictures, but I found it a bit cumbersome and sometimes my images wouldn't show up in my gallery.  Maybe this is user error? I'm not quite sure at this point.  Once you are done creating your comic, saving is easy.  You give your comic a title, a description, tags, and also make your comic public or private.  Click Publish and you are good to go.

Availability of Content:   I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of content available in the free version of ToonDoo.  There are many categories to choose from and within each category, multiple images are available.  The few items that are not available are grayed out in the free version, but overall, they have a nice catalog.

Pixton (https://www.pixton.com)

Initial Setup: I originally had a hard time with registering for Pixton because my school network blocked it.  If this happens to you, be sure to contact you network administrator.  Once I got my network issues figured out, I registered for a "Fun" account and created a password using my email.  I created a character to represent me and then created my first comic.

Ease of Use:  Pixton was easy to use and provides a series of steps to help.  This would be very beneficial for beginners and I think students would be able to easily create comic strips.  I was able to create a first draft of my comic very quickly.

Functionality: I found it a little difficult to maneuver my characters.  I wanted to switch my characters around and change the way the were standing or sitting, and the slightest move of my mouse would drastically change the characters.  I was getting a bit frustrated with this, but ultimately was able to get my characters the way I wanted them.  I probably would only use this with students if they had access to a computer with a mouse.  I wouldn't find this tool very easy to use on an iPad.

Availability of Content:  Pixton has a decent amount of content.  The the availability of settings was very impressive, although everything else (characters, the ability to download, etc.) was a bit limited because I was using a free account.  If you are considering Pixton as a comic editor, I would definitely splurge for a subscription account.

MakeBeliefComix.com (http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/)

Initial Setup:  No initial setup was required which is unusual for a site like this, which in my book is a big bonus.  A user goes directly to the homepage and can start creating a comic.

Ease of Use:  I did not find this site very easy to use.  It was very cumbersome and I found myself getting frustrated.  If I did not have to evaluate this site for an assignment, I would of given up. I would not use this site with students.  It is not very intuitive and is not very forgiving when you make a mistake.

Functionality:  Functionality is limited to a few standard functions like changing the size, arranging objects in the box, flipping characters and deleting. Overall, I would consider the functionality as basic and not up to par to the other two sites evaluated for this blog post.

Availability of Content: Content is very limited.  You can select from a range of characters in both color and black and white, few settings and bubble words.  Talk and think balloons are available and can be inserted into each window, but other than that, not many other options are available.

My Choice: ToonDoo
I would definitely use ToonDoo as my comic editor.  Besides the fact that it was not blocked from my school network, it was the easiest for me to use and it had a wide range of content avialble on the free account.  I would definitely consider paying for a subscription in the future if I felt it would add value to my curriculum.

Comics in the classroom
Comics could be a great tool in the classroom.  Here are a few ideas:

1. Book teasers: Students create a comics around their favorite book.  This would be a great way for kids to encourage kids to read different books.
2.  Vocabulary: Students could create a comic around a vocabulary that would visually depict a word and it's meaning.
3.  Reflective writing: Students could upload images to reflective on what they've read or other observations that have made throughout the day.

Tellegami - Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper Book Teaser