For many students, comics can be a less intimidating and a more enjoyable reading experience. Allowing students to create their own comics gives them an opportunity to express themselves creatively and artistically while still engaging with plot, reading, and storytelling concepts. Thanks to online tools like Bubblr, comic creation is easier than ever .
http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/
Bubblr is a community where people can create comic-strips (photo novels) using photos from Flickr. You just arrange a sequence of pictures and add bubbles and create a story. All stories are saved in the archive. You don’t have to create an account simply go to the website, search for the photos you want, drag them onto a timeline and add your text . The finished story strip looks great and can be printed, shared and also embedded onto a webpage or blog.
Bubblr is one of many creative tools at Pimpampaum, a site provided by teacher/artists Daniel Julià & Anna Fuster.
While the tool itself is simple, there are many possibilities of activities that could be generated out of the site. One interesting approach is taking an existing published comic, and use the “recycle” button to redo the same strip with different bubbles, edit the bubbles, or add new panes.
By using only Creative Commons images, Bubblr ensures that all comic strips are in keeping with copyrights, so all of your student’s projects will be plagiarism free. This is a great time to give them a quick lesson on how to use images correctly and cite sources.
Other ways to use this tool
- oral presentations: students upload pictures and comments in bubbles but prepare their presentation to be delivered orally in class
- getting to know each other: students upload their own pictures by choosing only pictures from their own flickr account (search through “username”, not only “tag”) and comment on them in bubbles or orally.
- my favourite things: students upload their own pictures and comment on them in bubbles or orally.
- tell or write a story: teacher prepares picture prompt for students to tell or write a story