Comic and Animation Technologies in the Classroom

I have several lists of online project-product creators for my K-8 technology students.  I cover a new tool every week or so.  But being kids, they like to explore the other tools from these lists.  The ones that overwhelmingly get noticed and the ones the students get most excited about are the comics and animation creators.  There were several tweets over the weekend that inspired me add to my knowledge, tools, and personal excitement for using comics and animations in the classrooms.  I have aggregated and compiled the following resources for my students.

Here is what covered S. Hendy in her slideshow plus some additions of my own:

Online Comic Creators

• Toondoo – http://www.toondoo.com/
• Comic Creator – http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/
• Garfield’s Comic Creator – http://www.garfield.com/fungames/comiccreator.html
• Make Beliefs Comix –  http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/
• Myths and Legends Story Creator – http://myths.e2bn.org/story_creator/
• Kerpoof Story Maker – http://www.kerpoof.com/#/activity/storybook
• PiZap  – http://www.pizap.com/
• Creaza – http://www.creaza.com/cartoonist
• Chogger – http://www.chogger.com/create
• Comiqs http://comiqs.com/editor/
• Comic Master – http://www.comicmaster.org.uk/
• Be Funky – http://www.befunky.com/create/text
• Charlette’s Web –  http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/flashlightreaders/charlottesweb/comic/maker.htm
• Goosebumps – http://www.scholastic.com/goosebumpsgraphix/makeyourown/index.htm

Animations

The following amazing animation, shared via Twitter, was completely made using the open source 3D software, Blender:

contains minor violence but the story is excellent (and sad)

Animation Creation Tools

• Aniboom – http://www.aniboom.com/ShapeshifterAnimachine.aspx
• Scratch – http://scratch.mit.edu/
• Blender – http://www.blender.org/

Using Comics and Animation in the Classroom

My ultimate goal for using technology in education is having students love learning and creating.  The tools are the means to do so.  As such, they can be connected to a number of content-based assignments:

• Autobiographies – http://www.uic.edu/classes/ad/ad382/sites/Projects/P009/P009_first.html
  Instructional Manual
• To Demonstrate and Record Research
• Mock Interview
• Convert a Work of Fiction to a Comic  http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0013.html
• Report on Current Affairs
• Sequencing http://www.teachervision.fen.com/reading-comprehension/lesson-plan/346.html
• Reflection
• Story Boarding
• Comprehension
• Practicing New Vocabulary
• Poem and Art Interpretations
• Historical Interpretations