Blog Post 5: Comic Life Article & Workshop Reflection

Article Summary and Commentary

Faulkner, G. (2009, January 29). Digital comics spur students’ interest in writing. National Writing Project. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2811.

This article follows Glen Bledsoe, a fourth grade teacher who helps students improve their writing skills through the use of digital comics. He serves on many committees in which the primary focus is how technology can be used to help hone writing skills in students. Bledsoe says that technology opens a whole new world for the way students write and how their writing is preserved. He states, “no longer are students confined to blots of pencil or ink on paper as the medium to preserve their words and ideas” (Faulkner, 2009, ¶ 5). Furthermore, Bledsoe recognizes the high engagement level and strong vocabulary of comics. To this end, he began to delve into the world of digital comic creation to help his students with writing. He has found Comic Life to be a great tool to create these comics. They create comics as an entire class with Bledsoe acting as director, rather than writer. The students dictate the plot and characters of the story being depicted in the comic.

I really enjoyed reading this article as it especially pertains to me as a language arts teacher. I am always searching for new ways to teach writing because writing can become a tedious, monotonous task. Comic Life would be a great way to teach certain writing basics, such as plot, characterization, style, vocabulary, organization, and so forth. In addition, I like the implications that Comic Life has for teachers of social studies, science, and math. I have always felt that students should write across the curriculum so they see it as a valuable skill necessary no matter where they are. Comic Life would give these teachers an alternative to the less exciting essay or journal entry.

Reflection on the Comic Life Workshop

I have to say, first, that this was a very, very smooth project for me, and this is due first and foremost to my group members. We have created a dynamic, cooperative, comfortable environment to share ideas and help one another. So for this, I am very, very thankful because it made my job as project leader very simple. I didn’t feel the stress I usually feel when I am in a leadership role because everyone met the deadlines and did a fair share of work.

As for the actual workshop part, I am so glad that I was given this opportunity. I have lead professional developments before, but I have never put as much thought into them as I did for this workshop. Now that I have gone through this workshop process, I feel that I will be a more effective workshop leader the next time I am asked to take on that position. I will be better prepared with presentation materials and handouts and a survey—had never done that one before! This was a very tedious process but a necessary “evil.”

I also really enjoyed working with Comic Life itself. It is a really, really cool program and would be fantastic for kids to use. My kids would absolutely love this! I would love to use this tool to help my students with their writing skills—especially when it comes to planning a bigger piece of writing. This would be a great way to kind of outline a piece of writing. My one regret is that, as project leader, I didn’t have as much time to fiddle around with Comic Life as I would have liked. This is due to my needing to be focused on other elements of the project, such as the workshop plan, the survey, the PowerPoint, etc. Time constraints just did not allow for me to use Comic Life as much as I would have liked. However, I do intend to explore it a little more after this project is over.