So Why Should I Use Webcomics? And How?
If the Technology section didn't convince you that using webcomics in the classroom can be a motivational, purposeful tool, don't throw your hands up in the air and disregard everything just yet. You skeptics out there might be asking, "Why use webcomics, though? Why can't I just use print comics to teach media literacy/reading skills/political discourse/?!" Consider the following data we collected from a survey given to a small sample of 54 high school students. (Click here to see the survey questions and data represented graphically):
- Of the 54 students surveyed, 42 students checked the internet once or multiple times daily. In other words, our students are constantly online, and using webcomics is a way to connect what they are doing inside the classroom to what they are outside of the classroom.
- In this sample size, 60% of students read comics online, in the newspaper, or in comic books. By effectively using webcomics that interest or captivate our students, we have a resource that draws from some of our students' interests and links the pop culture world of webcomics to their learning.
- We want students to stay informed and involved in political discourse, but less than 1/3 of the students surveyed said they always felt informed about the news. With nearly 80% of students surveyed and more than half of the students already getting their source of news online, why don't we guide students to political webcomics as part of their web browsing?
Using webcomics for analysis and interpretation, as engaging hooks, opportunities for creativity, or simply as a way to add a little spark to your lesson plan has creative and meaningful potential when used in the context of encouraging active political discussion, improving reading skills, and teaching media literacy. If you aren't careful though, this could be a case of using technology for technologies sake. To get the creative juices flowing, here are a few more applications and contexts in which you can use webcomics:
Contexts, projects, explorations, hooks, and other ideas in which to use webcomics!
Author: Jennifer Lundstrem
Contexts, projects, explorations, hooks, and other ideas in which to use webcomics!
Author: Jennifer Lundstrem
