I spent this evening comparing a few different comics creation websites: Pixton, Comiq, and Toondoo. See below for my examples from Pixton (Technology Dog) and ToonDoo (Technology Bear). I did not have an example from Comiq because it was it appear to me to used only photographs. You could upload these from your Flickr account or you could use the public domain photos provided. But these photos did not seem as adaptable to a school asssignment as did the comic characters in the other two programs. ToonDoo was by far the least complicated and probably the program I would use if I were to have an assignment to create a comic. ToonDoo was a very simple drag and drop interface. It did not allow the user to change the expression of the character, but it did provide multiple versions of one character to cover a wide range of emotions. Pixton also had a form of a drag and drop interface, but it took me a bit longer to figure the program out. It is more complicated, but it also allows the user more freedom to create and alter characters.
I like the idea of using cartoons for comprehension checks. Comics can also lend themselves to some some pretty creative/higher order thinking. I am going to write a proposal for some summer work to add more technology to my reading classes (they are going to undergo some big changes due to staff cuts and schedule changes). I would like to find a way to incorporate comics into the kids' blog--something else I going to require.
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Thanks for the info. I also thought ToonDoo was the easiest and haven't tried Pixton yet. Again sometimes it is just easier for the students to draw their own so they don't have to fight with technology especially if it is hard to get access to it. But on the other hand there are some students who would absolutely thrive in this environment. And there is the paper issue of once they turn it in for a grade it usually gets thrown out which is disappointing. I noticed ToonDoo had access to accents as well.
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