Mini Project #1

 
I chose to create a comic for Mini Project #1. I used the Comic Life 3 tool (plasq.com/products/comiclife3/win), which is $19.99 for a single school license. I was able to download the free 30-day trial. This is a great tool and even if administration will not sign off on the purchase of the program, the trial can be utilized for 30 days in order to allow students to use this fun digital tool. Although this tool would be great to use with girls and boys of all ages, I believe this tool could be especially engaging and motivating for those hard-to-reach boys. Comic Life 3 allows students an opportunity to develop literacy skills, especially writing, in a creative way. I chose to create a life cycle comic, but Comic Life lends itself to endless possibilities as it provides users with over 30 templates to choose from. I had a lot of fun creating my comic as an adult, so I know the tool would be fun for students! Users can add different speech bubbles and wordart to each frame of the comic. I found the wordart to be particularly neat because you can manipulate the size and slant of the word, which is great for sound words.
 
I did have a difficult time when I first began creating my comic. This was not because of the program itself, which was extremely user-friendly, but because of trying to find copyright-friendly images. I originally wanted to create a comic about community helpers, but I was unable to find images I needed, even after many attempts on several copyright-friendly image sites. I think the key to utilizing the Comic Life 3 tool with students is to provide them with a specific skill or concept they must demonstrate using the tool. That way the teacher can provide specific copyright-friendly image databases in order for students to find the necessary images for that particular project.