Earlier this week, a 2nd grade teacher came by and asked, “I want to teach kids dialogue in their writing using comics. Is there a free program that helps me do that?” The answer is a definite YES. There are several programs online that you can use. Although we quickly stumbled upon BitStrips.com as a simple tool–which is what I used to make the comic above–I knew there were other tools available, as well…through Thinkfinity.org. Before we talk about the tools, let’s discuss HOW comics are helpful; here is a short list of web sites for teaching with or through comics in grades 3-12:

1. Creating Comics and Cartoons! (Grades 3-5)

2. Buzz! Whiz! Bang! Using Comic Books to Teach Onomatopoeia (Grades 3-5)

3. Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Genre Study (Grades 3-5)

4. Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure (Grades 3-5)

5. Book Report Alternative: Comic Strips and Cartoon Squares (Grades 6-8)

6. Comic Book Show and Tell (Grades 9-12)
   

Find a lot more through the Thinkfinity.org Search!

Here are some popular tools available via Thinkfinity.org that you can use:

• Comic Creator

• Comic Creator Tool Tip Sheet

• King Tut Cartoon Fun: This Nationalgeogrphic.com Kids resource, part of the National Geographic feature titled “Egypt: Secrets of an Ancient World,” is an interactive cartoon into which users can type dialogue. The cartoon features a man and a boy looking at King Tut’s tomb. Users can type in what they think the man and boy are saying and print out their custom-made cartoon. There are also links to an archive of other cartoons.

SHARE YOUR COMIC TEACHING IN SECOND LIFE
My first experience in presenting in Second Life took place earlier this week, Tuesday, June 15, 2008. It was amazing to be standing on stage, sharing a slideshow presentation, and ideas with educators from all over the world.

A new opportunity has arisen to participate in Second Life. This conference announcement was just shared:

Call for Presenters: Second Life Web Comics Comic-Con and Conference

Proposals are invited for presentations at the Web Comics Convention to be held in Second Life on October 3, 2008.The conference will bring together practitioners, educators, academics, students, journalists and others for a day-long event aimed at lively discussion and fruitful exchange. Participation from all over the world is avidly sought, while conference organizers and tech support will work in English.

Proposals of roughly 200 words are solicited from:
Web Comics Creators
Display samples of your work in our galleries, mingle with conference attendees, and participate in roundtable discussions about web comics creation, self-promotion, career goals, etc.  Play with your avatar,
come as your comics character!

Second Life Artists, Designers and Builders, Educators and Researchers
Demonstrate the potential of Second Life for web comics creators and students interested in making and promoting their own comics.  We are particularly eager to receive a proposal from you if you are making comics in Second Life, or have designed or created a build based on comics.  If you are in the planning process, please also submit a proposal.

Educators
Are you using web comics in the classroom?  Educators using web comics are invited to lead and participate in workshops designed to explore the pedagogical possibilities of web comics, especially if you are encouraging students to create web comics for course credit.

Comics Scholars, Bloggers, Twitterers, Academic Journals on the Web
Share your research into comics history, web comics or comics in Second Life in presentations or roundtable discussions.

Journalists and Comics Professionals
Share your insights into important trends in web comics in presentations or roundtable discussions.  Sit with creators and Second Life artists, educators and researchers to explore the potential of virtual worlds for comics and the industry.

Please direct all inquiries and proposals to Beth Davies-Stofka, Ph.D. at bdavies@estreet.com Proposals are due no later than August 15.  All proposals will receive a reply by August 30, 2008.  Technical support will be provided by the Center for EduPunx, and training will be available by appointment in SL September 17-19.

There are ample tools available to make comics. I stumbled on one called BitStrips.com that was fun to use, but you can also find a few resources via Thinkfinity.org. Here is a short list of comic creation tools available in Thinkfinity: