EDIM 508 u04a1 Comic Life

Identify and present a digital resource or tool (e.g., website, application) that can be used to develop the creating mind.

Comic Life is a software package manufactured by plasq and can be downloaded for a 30-day free trial here. It is available for both Mac and Windows platforms and is very user friendly and has characteristics of both platforms. Comic Life allows students to create and produce their own comic strips. Students take digital images and import them into the program. Students can then choose from a series of templates and add in their own text to create a story that looks like a comic strip. Is there a kid that does not like to read comics?

Students can create a simple scrapbook, like the example I have shown on the left, to practice using the software. This program is available in seven different languages – English, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Japanese and Italian so would be a great addition to second language classes. Comic Life could be used in language arts classrooms to design stories and create book reports, in math classrooms to explain a concept, in science classrooms to replace traditional lab reports, in physical education classrooms to show and explain the mechanics of a free throw or in home economics classrooms to illustrate a recipe.

Comic Life is a great example of a digital tool that would aid students in the development of their creating mind. Students can script, film and produce their own stories. They get to focus not only on image capture but the development of their storytelling skills as well. The same learning outcomes that can be achieved with the more traditional pen and paper approach can also be met through the use of Comic Life. I bet that most students would think that using an application such as Comic Life would be much more fun than more traditional seat work. Comic Life would allow for more freedom and a greater level of creativity than most traditional teaching methods.