Writing Assignments using Comics

Comic Life by plasq is a fun, low cost tool for creating social stories and writing assignments. Many of my students love comic books and were very excited when I told them we would be making a comic book to demonstrate what they learned. Comic Life allows the user to select designs, upload pictures, and add comments to create a written product. Students can use this program to summarize daily newspaper articles, create and retell stories, and sequence items from stories or activities of daily living. Teachers can use Comic Life to create social stories to teach the students problem solving skills and socially appropriate behavior. I also used Comic Life with some of my augmentative device users. They used their devices to comment on the pictures. Then, I was able to enter their comments into the Comic Life speech bubbles. After trying out several comic design programs, I felt that this one was the most user-friendly. Options for sharing include email and printed copies. Great option for only $30 dollars!
http://plasq.com/comiclife

ToonDoo is a free interactive website where individuals can create and share comic books that they have created. In my opinion, ToonDoo is a little harder to use than Comic Life because of the multiple toolbars that can be distracting and a little overwhelming to a new user. However, this free tool has built-in options for adding cartoon characters and backgrounds. Students can also create their own characters to use in their comic strips. If you are not interested in using the cartoon characters or scenes, photographs can be uploaded into the toon creater to utilize instead. Each comic strip can be combined together to make a comic book. Once completed, students can share an interactive copy of their comic book through email or embedding it directly into a class blog.
http://www.toondoo.com/

luriekd23

Comix is another free online tool for creating your own comic strips. Comic strips on this website can have up to four cells per comic. Students can choose characters, character emotions, background colors, and speech bubble options. This website is very easy to use and not visually overwhelming for students. As compared to other comic creator programs, the Comix characters are only available in black and white, and there is not an option to upload your own images. However, students could create quick written work without needing extended amounts of time to create the comics or learn the program. Options for sharing student work include print or email copies.
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/