Why Comics?

Over the course of this inquiry project I have spent a large amount of time thinking about social Web 2.0 tools such as Twitter and Google Reader.  I have noted how they are used in my life, and I have spoken to a variety of people about how they use them, and I would say I have developed a better appreciation for how these tools can serve my life and the world.  A part of my inquiry project which I have yet to present about is the use of comics in the classroom.  I originally wanted to create comics that coincided with a unit I was teaching, and eventually get to the point that my students could create their own comics about a part of the curriculum.  The tool I wanted to investigate is www.pixton.com.  This site claims on it's home page to be the "World's Best Way to Make Comics."  The site is available in 12 different languages, and is extremely friendly to use.  I originally thought comic making would be an escape from the social world of Web 2.0, but I am quickly discovering that we are now surrounded by the opportunity to be social.  On Pixton, I am able to browse through comics created by authors around the world, give ratings, post comments, and post comics to Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.  There is even an option to put any comic on a t-shirt.  The main site is free to use, and I can even log in with my Google account.  For educators, Pixton has a separate site which requires a fee and allows teachers to set up individual students accounts, private sharing, and even the options to post grades.  At this point, I am not prepared to step into the Educator side of Pixton.  There are endless options for investigation and practice through the use of the free Pixton site.

Last week at my school, I had to make a case to one of the parents that there is a purpose for my grade 5 students to read graphic novels other than just entertainment.  It was simply a coincidence that this was a topic I have been thinking so much about lately.  In the past few years there has been an abundance of graphic novels/comics which have streamed through my classroom such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Bone.  The majority of my students have loved reading them, and I have always had the belief that if something inspires a child to read then it is useful.  Being able to understand comics are part of standardized reading comprehension tests, and they are a used as a critical thinking tool for studying history such as the classic political comics from newspapers.  The video posted at the top of the page by Scott McCloud gives an academic explanation for why comics are useful.  A key point which stuck out for me from his presentation is that comics create a "visual medium that embraces all senses within it."  (McCloud, 2005)  As a teacher, I try to provide as many situations as possible which emphasize the multiple intelligences of my students.  I teach my students to write, and provide numerous opportunities for them to use show the five senses in their writing.  Comics provide yet another medium for practicing this essential writing skill.  I have yet to find a student who is not engaged by a comic.  Either when it is used to introduce a lesson, or to study a concept.  Comics can be used to engage struggling readers and writers.  In the presentation, McCloud also describes comics as a "balance between the visible and the invisible."  (2005)  After hearing that I immediately thought about how difficult it can be sometimes to teach a lesson on poetry which I feel is also a balance between visible words and invisible meanings.  Would a student be able to develop a better understanding of a poem if that student had the opportunity to create a comic about it?

While watching Scott McCloud discuss the history and future of comics from the ancient Egyptian drawings to the use of computers to create a flowing comic, I was reminded of the first time I saw someone make a presentation using the Prezi tool.  A quality Prezi has a flow which wants the viewer to focus on one screen shot at a time with the purpose of tying together the purpose of the presentation.  A comic works the same way with its individual boxes, and according to Scott McCloud this has been used for thousands of years by humans.  The two books which I used to emphasize the skeptical parent last week were The Arrival by Shaun Tan and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.  The Arrival gives stories of immigrants and is told through illustrations.  The author created images that expresses emotions, conversations, and thoughts without actually using words.  The Invention of Hugo Cabret uses illustrations as part of the experience of reading a novel.  Parts of the novel are told through traditional text and parts are told through the use of illustrations.  The two flow together perfectly to create an extremely creative and effective story.

'Ticket' 

'Inspection'

William Kist asks the question, "What is the relationship between entertainment and education?"  (2010, p. 118)  Kist further comments that teachers worry about the "Entertainment Factor" of utilizing new types of media in the classroom.  "By opening up their classrooms to Web 2.0 and other new literacies, they disrupt the seriousness of school and 'dumb it down.'  All this cyberspace activity is seen as too much fun for the kids and not enough 'rigor'." (2010, p. 118)  This was part of the clarification I had to defend when speaking to the parent last week.  If used appropriately much like all Web 2.0 tools, students can feel more engaged in the classroom, and even learn something while having fun.  Students can tap into their visual intelligence when reading and writing.  Students can also become better critical thinkers as they try to express or comprehend complicated concepts through pictures and minimal words.  To create a high quality comic requires a great sense of language, and the ability to express the senses through facial expressions or onomatopoeia.  Perhaps the world of comics has received a bad reputation through low quality works which often appear in the Sunday newspapers, but is used correctly, comics and graphic novels can provide an enriching and challenging tool for sharing information.




McCloud, S. (2005, February). Scott McCloud on comics [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/scott_mccloud_on_comics.html

Kist, W. (2010). The Socially Networked Classroom; Teaching in the New Media Age. Thousand Oaks, California, USA: Corwin.

Tan, Shaun. (2007, October 1). Inspection [pencil on paper]. Retrieved from
http://www.shauntan.net/books/the-arrival.html

Tan, Shaun. (2007, October 1). Ticket [pencil on paper]. Retrieved from
http://www.shauntan.net/books/the-arrival.html