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Cartoons and Comics

Let's look at cartoons and how they can be used in the library with students. I tried three different cartoon generating tools.

First, I created a little comic about reserving library books using ToonDoo.

ToonDo was fairly easy to use, but inserting text and changing the size was a little tricky. Saving was really easy. There was quite a bit of variety, but the quality of the pictures and backgrounds wasn't fantastic.

My second comic was created using Pixton.

What I liked about Pixton was that the graphic choices were really vibrant. The backgrounds were more fun than at ToonDoo. I made a cute little easy comic of a library joke. It was easy to save, but difficult to place the characters where I wanted.

Lastly, I used MakeBeliefsComix to make a 3rd comic strip.

I think MakeBeliefsComix was my favorite generator. I found the creation process to be the most intuitive using this tool.

I would use comics with my classes in several way. Many of the generators had ways to make longer comics, including graphic novels. I could use that with older grades at the end of a research project. They can make a graphic novel about their topic. In addition, comics are a fun way to communicate with students. QR codes that link to comics about library procedures can be posted around the library and can function as information stations when a student needs help and the librarian isn't readily available. I will also use comics as a fun way to interact with the parents and students on instagram, facebook and twitter.

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