Comic Creation and 21st Century Peofessional Development

How can comics provide an avenue for providing professional development?

Quite often we are teaching teachers, but not teaching them the way we want them to teach.
The goal was to use a different model to have teachers learn about technology, think deeply about content and become engaged.
This was based on a graduate level technology course. Many of the comics were created by teachers who didn't want to be there.

Why comics creation?

• Builds visual literacy
  
• Sustains interaction with content
• Enhance motivation
• Has potential for dual controversy
• Values multiple perspectives
• Appeals to males

It allows:

• a forum to voice concerns
• honest observations
• safer- non-threating environment that allows for expression, questioning

When you are trying to get teachers to break out of the model of teaching they way they do, you need a way in through the strong barrier that already exists. Decker, 2007, identifies a "Comic Pedagogy" which identifies these elements about comics:

• Sustains the question until the learning has a place of understanding
• Attends to complexity and discourages the search for the simple
• Embraces a 'punch line'- the counter-intuitive option

PD Structure with Comics

1. Choose a comic making tool
2. Partner on content
3. Start with a single panel prompt
4. Introduce an "in-service question"
5. Then try a multi-panel comic

Comic Builders
Comiqs- Online pc version of Comic Life
Bitstrips - school account available
Pixton
Make Beliefs Comics
Blabberize
Zwinky
Voki


Act 48 code: AL052162