The first comic creator site I used was Fotojet. For the most part I found this site pretty easy to use. I was able to quickly locate the comic strips and choose one to work with. It was easy to insert pictures and add the text. You can also use this site to edit pictures, make photo collages, and create photo invitations. One of the cons was that there were limited choices for free. Many of the templates are only available if you upgrade your membership. The price is not too expensive, it is between $4-$6 per month depending on what plan you want. If I was regularly using this site I would consider it. The only other con was that I was unable to figure out how to change the speech bubbles on the comic strips. It seems that you are pretty locked in to the layout of whatever template you choose. Also, the print was very small, I have a touch screen and was able to enlarge it while I worked but that would be difficult for people who are working on older or desktop computers. Overall, I thought this site was fairly easy to use and fun!
Pixton
I really enjoyed using this site. I thought that it was very easy to use and had so many choices for your comic strip. Everything was laid out perfectly that it made it so easy to use. You have control over everything from background and characters to facial expressions. I really had a fun time making my comic strip using this site. However, when I went to share the strip it would not let me unless I upgraded. I was unaware of that until after I had already spent time making it. I found this to be a huge con. In order to post for this review I had to grab a screenshot of the comic I made and upload it to my blog as an image. I really loved this site for its ease of use and great selection but when I couldn't share what I made I found it very frustrating.
Make Beliefs Comix
This site did not have all of the bells and whistles of the other sites but it was easy to use and I think students would like it. I also found that the site had many different resources for different writing prompts and lesson ideas. When it came to making my strip there was not a lot of fun choices for characters and backgrounds and it was kind of a hodgepodge of styles. However, everything was free and they aren't hounding you to upgrade. Overall, this one was not the fanciest but I think it would be a fun and free resource for students to use in the classroom.
Ways to use comics in the library and classroom:
to answer frequently asked questions in the library
to demonstrate knowledge of learned material
book reports
all about me at the beginning of the year
writing workshop
to demonstrate class rules
Comic strips are a fun and engaging way for students to share information. I think they would be a great and fun addition to any classroom or library setting.
Videos are a great tool for the library. Here are some ways they can be used in the library:
to show how to use the online catalog to search for books
to show how to use the library's databases to research
book trailers
upcoming events in the library
showcase student projects
The Unquiet Library:
The first video is the most helpful because it is showing students how to use creative commons images in their work. This video shows students what creative commons is and why it is important. It also shows them how to find images that they can use in their projects.
The second video is one that I think students would like best. It shows how students can use the app Evernote in their real lives. It shows a student sharing how she uses Evernote out of school and the features that it has that she finds helpful.
Pikesville High School Library
The first video is the most helpful because it shows students the steps of how to make a paper slide project. It has two students sharing the process of how they made their project using vocabulary words that they were studying for the SATs.
The second video is a parody of "Pimp My Ride" but instead they are doing "Pimp My Binder". This was such a fun and creative way to show students how important it is to stay organized with your school work and school supplies. The video is engaging and fun to watch.
BBMS Media
The first video is the most helpful because it shows students how to use NoodleTools to form a website citation. This is helpful because students can refer back to the video any time they need help with adding their citations. It is also useful that it provides step by step instructions that students can follow along with.
The second video is a fun parody of Star Wars and overdue books. I think this would be great to show at the end of the year to encourage students to get their books turned in. It is a great attention grabbing way to get your point across.
QR Codes
QR codes are another great tool for the library. Here are some ways QR codes can be used:
book trailers
students can make voice recordings of book reviews to post on the book itself or a bulletin board
link to the library website
library newsletter
link to interest surveys
It’s boys vs. girls when the noisiest, most talkative, and most competitive fifth graders in history challenge one another to see who can go longer without talking. Teachers and school administrators are in an uproar, until an innovative teacher sees how the kids’ experiment can provide a terrific and unique lesson in communication. In No Talking, Andrew Clements portrays a battle of wills between some spunky kids and a creative teacher with the perfect pitch for elementary school life that made Frindle an instant classic.
Scan the code below for my book trailer for No Talking by Andrew Clements.
Screencasts are a great tool that can be used in the classroom to teach students how to do something on the computer. I found screencasts to be very helpful during the pandemic when students were home and did not know how to access assignments online. I could send out a video or post it in Google Classroom so that they could go through the steps with me. Screencasts can also be used in the classroom to show students how to find sites for research or how to create something for a project. The possibilities are endless.
Screencast-o-matic
I downloaded and tried out the screencast-o-matic app on my computer. This app is free but you can pay to upgrade and get better options such as unlimited video time. I found this app to be easy to use. You can record just your screen, just your camera, or both which I found to be a nice feature especially working with kids who may want to see your face while you talk. I also like that it allows you to record up to 15 minutes for free. It also gives you several options of where to upload your video when you are finished. There are easy to use editing tools that allow you to customize and perfect your video.
Screencastify
The other app I chose was screencastify. I used this app often during the pandemic when we were all online. This is also a free app with the option to upgrade for a fee. This app allows you to record your desktop, browser tab, or webcam. This app also gives you the option of recording your webcam and screen at the same time. Screencastify only allows you to record a video up to 5 minutes for free, to record any longer you have to upgrade. This app also has easy to use editing tools to perfect your videos. You have a few more sharing options with this app. As a teacher I like that you have the option to share straight to Google Classroom which is nice because we use Classroom all the time and this makes sharing easier.
Overall, both of these apps are great and easy to use. They are very similar but the biggest difference is the length of the video that you can record for free. I could probably limit my videos to 5 minutes for some things but I like having a longer time with the other app. Also Screencast-o-matic was much easier to embed on my website. Screencastify was much more difficult and I was only able to post the link. Therefore I chose Screencast-o-matic as the app that I liked the best.
Here is my screencast using Screencast-o-matic showing students how to access and use Pebble Go and Pebble Go Next.
Here is a link to the video of how to use the Sora App using Screencastify. Click here.
The first site that I checked out was easelly. I found this site to be easy to navigate and basic. It has a good amount of free templates for you to choose from with many options for free. You can upgrade for a much larger selection with the pro account. They have three different options: student, individual, and business. I decided to make my infographic by not using a template so I could see all of the features that were available. There were many pictures, graphs, and text options to choose from and I found it easy to navigate. Making the graphs was easy to do and fun! It did not take me too long to organize my information and get my graphic made using this site. The only con I found was trying to get the text to move forward or back behind an image. I got a little frustrated because it seemed self explanatory but turned out to be more difficult. Overall I thought it was a good site and fun to use.
Piktochart
The next site that I visited was piktochart. This site had a lot to offer. They not only had templates for infographics but also for presentations, posters, reports, flyers, and social media. There are a ton of free templates for you to choose from in each category. This site has three different pricing options: free, Pro, and Enterprise. When you upgrade to Pro you get more storage options. This site gives you impressive looking graphics and makes your work look professional. A couple of cons for me was the limited storage space in the free account and the overwhelming number of choices. I think this is a great site for people with experience but as a not-so-tech-savvy person I found it to be overwhelming with so many bells and whistles.
Infogram
The last site that I visited was infogram. This site has many different templates for a variety of projects including: infographics, reports, slides, dashboards, and whiteboards. Each category had some template options for free. However, I found that most of the templates required an upgrade to use. There are five different account choices: free, Pro, Business, Team, and Enterprise. The pieces ranged from $19 a month to $150 a month. This site has a ton of options and seems like the perfect fit for someone with experience and looking for professional quality.
Overall, the sites were somewhat easy to navigate with minimal experience required to make a basic project. They each had some nice templates that would accomplish my goal. However, I found easelly the easiest to use. It did not have all of the fancy features that the other sites had but I found it straightforward and simple to navigate for someone just wanting to complete a basic project.
Geiger, AW. “Public library use in U.S. highest among Millennials.” Pew Research Center, 21 June 2017, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/21/millennials-are-the-most-likely-generation-of-americans-to-use-public-libraries/. Accessed 28 February 2022.
