Learning through comics
Translator
Hi my friends!
How are you? I've been a little bit melancholic this week, maybe because of the rain, and it has made me realize the importance of sharing our worries and, inevitably, I've thought about my pupils.A primary class is a complex "ecosystem" with different kinds of relationships, which are also changing constantly, since students are experiencing their first friendships, independence (their parents aren't there for protecting them)and content subjects increasingly complicated. All of this involves emotions which are not easy to deal with, such as frustration or rejection. We have also to take into account that our students don't have either maturity or strategies to face these feelings.
Well, as you can see it's a complex issue but we must teach our pupils how to cope with these emotions since they can cause anxiety and low self-steem and, undoubtedly, it harms the students' learning process.
And now, the big question: How? and I answer: comics!!!!
Yes, you read that correctly.Children, and many adults, love comics because they are entertaining, colorful, easy to read and appealing, so why don't use them as an educational tool? If you think about it, comics enable students to use cartoon characters to express and share their fears and concerns, which helps them a lot, and best of all they are using a fun and creative tool to do it, as a result they are accomplishing a complex and delicate issue such as conveying emotions and worries in an easy, enjoyable and educational way. Furthermore, students can put into practice and improve several aspects of English language like grammar, vocabulary, writing and reading. Comics can also be an instrument to reinforce and review subject contents or literacy, students can write a comic about Shakespeare, a fable's characters or healthy habits. Be creative, comics are a versatile and valuable educational resource with a lot of possibilities, therefore you should take advantage of them!
And what about joining comics and computers? Our students love both of them so it is a great idea. There are different websites to create digital comics:
The following tool is only for iPad:
This last one is for Android:
I don't have iPad and I prefer using computers to using mobiles for these issues so I haven't tried the last two apps. After taking a look at the three websites, I decided to use pixton because it seemed to me the most intuitive, neat and easy to use.This is an important factor to consider since these tools are already time-consuming so I don't like wasting too much time finding out where information and tools are and how they work.
First of all, as usual, you have to create an account and log in. The tool offers you the possibility of using it just for fun, as a student and as a teacher. Students need a code to log in and only the teacher can give it to them so the website is safe.
The website of Pixton is intuitive and easy to use, but, even so, there are helpful video tutorials available that I had to use because there are many things to take into account in order to create a comic such as backgrounds, props, characters,outfits, gestures, facial expressions or speech bubbles. Thus, a drawback may be that the tool itself is quite time-consuming, although the outcome is really amazing. Anyway, there are many advantages for example you can use templates to make it easier.Furthermore, teachers will find many useful resources since comics can be printed, projected on the interactive whiteboard (IWB) or shared through social networks. Of course, you have access to other people's comics which is inspiring and useful when you are beginning to use the tool.
Well, I think there many and good reasons to include digital comics in our lesson plans, right?
Here is the outcome,you can clik here to see it. I hope you like it!
First of all, as usual, you have to create an account and log in. The tool offers you the possibility of using it just for fun, as a student and as a teacher. Students need a code to log in and only the teacher can give it to them so the website is safe.
The website of Pixton is intuitive and easy to use, but, even so, there are helpful video tutorials available that I had to use because there are many things to take into account in order to create a comic such as backgrounds, props, characters,outfits, gestures, facial expressions or speech bubbles. Thus, a drawback may be that the tool itself is quite time-consuming, although the outcome is really amazing. Anyway, there are many advantages for example you can use templates to make it easier.Furthermore, teachers will find many useful resources since comics can be printed, projected on the interactive whiteboard (IWB) or shared through social networks. Of course, you have access to other people's comics which is inspiring and useful when you are beginning to use the tool.
Well, I think there many and good reasons to include digital comics in our lesson plans, right?
Here is the outcome,you can clik here to see it. I hope you like it!
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