Cartoons and Comics

 Fotojet

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.