![[Valid RSS]](/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
CraftyPod Videoblog #2: Education + Comics from Diane Gilleland on Vimeo.
Making episode #2… a good sign that this videoblog project might take!
In this episode, I geek out about what happens when you use comic books for education, and I share some dandies:
Gettysburg: a Graphic Novel by C.M. Butzer
Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel, by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett
Imagination Rocket: Science and Social Studies, edited by Brian Clopper
Also, check out:
Marvel Comics’ recent release of Pride & Prejudice
This awesome comic rendition of Jane Eyre, unearthed by Melissa Averinos, who also organizes the fabulous BronteAlong
Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud
Reinventing Comics, by Scott McCloud
(Really, every creative community ought to have its own Scott McCloud.)
Diane,
Thanks for all the educational comic links. I think you just gave me some Christmas ideas for my kids. They are avid readers but also enjoy “quality” comics like Peanuts. We lived in Europe for 3 years and during that time discovered the “Horrible History” series of books, published in the UK (not easy to find here in the states). Take history, comic drawings and a whole lot of tongue-in-cheek humor and it's a great combination. I wouldn't mind learning about sewing/quilting/crafting techniques via comic, especially if they had a lot of humorous anecdotes! Here's a link to the Horrible Histories: http://horrible-histories.co.uk/index.tao?PageI…
Ooh, thanks so much for the link – those Horrible Histories look super fun!
I bought my nephew a copy of Boilerplate, and am eagerly waiting to hear what he thinks of it.
…And YES! I'd love to learn more technical crafts like sewing or quilting via comics! Need to learn to draw, stat!
There's been quite a movement in recent years to use graphic novels as literature. I personally don't buy into the comic versions of classic literature; I prefer to use works that were originally published in graphic novel form. There are many out there that are definitely worth a teacher's time to review and even use in the classroom. I even wrote a zine on using graphic novels as literature several years back.
Now if only I could get the money to BUY the graphic novels for my classroom.
Really?! This sounds like an amazing zine. Is it available online anywhere?
I like the graphic novel form as one more interpretation of classic stories, just like Austen novels are made into films. But then I love to nerd out on what choices the author/artist/film maker made in order to translate the story into his or her medium.
Thank you so much for chiming in here!
Wow, I wish our schoolbooks were in comic form :) Thanks for all the links…how am I supposed to get off the computer now? hehe…
Heh! If you find a way off the computer, tell me! :-)
Nice video, Diane! Wouldn't that work with songs too? I can still sing many of the not-very-good songs of my teenager years, whereas I've unfortunately forgotten most of the interesting things I learnt at university. Teachers should draw or sing, definitely ;).
You probably heard of the comics version of Howard Zinn's People's history of the United States? I guess I'll try it to have an overview before reading the actual book (I would never do that with fiction, though).
Thank you, Adelie! Speaking of singing, many children in the US grew up with Schoolhouse Rock, which was a series of short musical films that taught concepts in English, Math, Science and Social Studies. Here's a sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ
I saw the Howard Zinn comics version at the show, briefly. We also saw a really interesting kids' version of the Beowulf story.
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud is one of my all-time favourite comic books, ever since it was part of the reading requirement in a Media course I once took. I then dragged it out again when completing my Primary Teaching degree.
I completely agree that people are more likely to be engaged when reading a text that has pictures and stories. I think everyone, at a basic level, doesn't like being 'told' how something is – they like to read about it and figure it out for themselves, and comics are a great medium for that. Of course, I'm biased – for the last 10 years I've been reading comics (moving from Marvel to DC to information comics and literature that has been re-imagined through comics). I also have a great passion for incorporating graphic novels and comics into classroom teaching, especially in my class of prep (5 year olds) students who are fascinated by them. They love that they can 'read' or 'learn' about something without having to read 'complicated words' while they're still learning to read.
(Sorry, that's getting rambly.) One final thing I wanted to share is Nicki Greenburg's adaptation of The Great Gatsby (http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=…), which, while it isn't an information text is an incredibly beautiful and super fun read.
I love this post, on so many different levels! As the mom of two “bright-but-unmotivated-in-school” preteen boys who are failing and nearly failing history, I think I am going to buy ALL these comic books for their summer reading pleasure. What I’ve learned is that comic books WORK for reluctant reader boys. Heck, if they work in the fiction department, think of how they could work in the history, language arts, and even math departments… What a great concept.
Now, as far as crafting goes, well, my only thought is this: would girls find the same benefits from comics as boys? (please remember I’m the mom of two boys, and wasn’t particularly interested in comics when I was younger). If so, then by all means, Yes! Craft instructions by comics is the way to go! In the meantime, I do so enjoy a good crafting YouTube video :o)
Thanks for the video blog post. I liked it so much that I’m going to see if I can share it on my blog, that is, if you don’t mind-?!
Ooh, I LOVE that adaptation of Gatsby – especially the idea that the characters aren't human, they're characters. That's going on my wish-list.
And how cool that you incorporate graphic novels into your teaching! I love Scott McCloud's idea of how the reader actively creates “what goes on in the space between the panels.” In a way, comics reading can be a much more active style of reading, I think – especially if you have an appreciation for the art.
Thanks so much for commenting, Stefanie!
This is a -great- video, Diane. You're getting a great hang of it, congrats! :-D It was fun for me to see the Stumptown comic fair as I wanted to go there. (Maybe next year? :-D) And it seems like you had fun editing the whole thing. Eheh!
I absolutely agree with you that comics are great tools as teaching techniques. Comics unfortunately hold such a bad reputation, a lot of people don't understand how wonderful a good comic can be. But I also believe that times are changing and since most of us have grown with comics and animated films, we see them with a different eye. :)
By the way, I know of someone (in the francophone blogosphere) who explains music theory with comics. It's just amazing what you can do with this.
By the way, gotta love Pushkin's cameo!
How cool is that, Fanie? I love the idea of explaining music theory with comics. I have a couple old comic zines, too – one shows DIY screenprinting, and the other explains the Dvorak keyboard.
Interestingly, in the US, we're starting to see more comics study programs at some universities – although for the most part, these programs seem to look at them through a lens of literary analysis.
Pushkin says thank you! He rehearsed a long time. :-)
Thank you so much! I'd be honored if you'd like to share it on your blog.
I was thrilled to see a lot of female comics artists at the Stumptown festival. I think there are so many stylistic ways to share information in words and pictures, comics can appeal to anyone at all Scott McCloud has some wonderful writing about the universal nature of our attraction to picture stories.
I hope your boys enjoy the comics!
you can get grants for that sort of thing if you look around. Our middle school librarian has amassed a huge graphic novel collection by getting grant money from various sources. Our local utility company offers small grants, as well as our local education foundation. We also fund a yearly manga workshop for 6th graders with a grant from our local arts council. You might also try to work with your local bookstore or comics retailer, they may donate or be willing to give you books at cost.
I like Howtoons.com – great science and art projects via comic art. I use them in teaching comic art, as well as actually doing the projects with my girl scouts.
graphic books are perfect for emerging readers. In my classes we talk about how the pictures support the words and the words support the pictures. For my middle school kids who don't read well, a graphic book gives them the support of the language they need. A good graphic book will have challenging language, getting them more gains than had they just read.
Visual literacy is a subject that I speak to other teachers about, for we all need to learn to meet our students where they are. The kids who have grown up with digital media are literate and will need to be literate visually as well as textually, and Scott's Understanding Comics book is a great way to get a grip on how to understand that part of communicating visually.
I'm a big Howtoons fan, too!
What an interesting perspective, Jennifer – I completely agree that kids who've grown up immersed in digital media think differently and need different teaching.
Hey Sister D! Remember me? Fell off the face of the earth for a bit, but am happy to be back with renewed something or other… Did you get my thank you email? When I didn't hear from you I worried during one of those “it's all about me” moments. Your videos are so awesome, cutting edge and fun! Who knew that comic books could intrigue a girl like me. PS: The hair growing project is looking good! Love the softer notes compared to the previous portraits I've managed to get a glimpse of. Congratulations on becoming such a household name in the crafting world an thanks for gently pushing us forward through the dark caverns of on line crafty goodness with your daring and courageous flashlight. xo xo xo
When I first watched this post, I too thought of: 1) Howtoons – which I cannot wait to introduce to my girls and 2) Schoolhouse Rock. For better or worse, I still remember how a U.S. bill is created, whereas I often have to look up the stages a Canadian bill goes through in the House for my job! Mind you, it is a catchy song. :)
Not to be a downer, but I wonder about the feasibility of using comics widespread as an education tool. Are there enough talented writers and artists that can get together to create an understandable format for teaching a craft? Do people want to create that? Do other people want to consume their craft “education” that way?
Of course, having now written that I'm thinking about that website where people draw their recipes and send them in (link unknown, a google search provided me with a drink called “Red Draw”? Yuck!) and there are individuals who create their free crafty tutorials online by drawing them out. And, sometimes the panels of their hand drawn tutorial is just as awesome and crafty as the project they're demonstrating.
Well, I guess I've answered my own concerns there. :-)
I'll leave you with a semi-educational comic that I've loved – “Stagger Lee” by Derek McClulough. An interesting tale of American Folk Music and racism.
Now I'm off to make more hexes!
Definitely, I think that the world has opened up to niche content so much in the internet age, there's “room” for absolutely anything. Would craft comics have mainstream success? Who knows? But there's no reason at all a few of us can't try putting some out there.
Thanks so much for the Stagger Lee suggestion. I just found the website: http://www.staggerleebook.com/ I added this one to my list – looks amazing!
Hi, my dear! So nice to hear from you – I've missed you online. Hope all is well.
My sincerest apologies – I did get your email, and realized that I haven't responded. (My email box is once again getting out of hand.) But I'm so glad you liked the little surprise. :-)
Sending you hugs!
I'm not sure if you'd count this animation as a comic, but it kept my attention in a way that the standard interesting speech does not: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
Oh, yeah – I would count this, personally, since it combines words and images so powerfully. I adore this video – thanks for sharing the link here!
I've always thought that comics were a great artistic medium. And when you combine them with novels or other types of books you often get a seriously engaging source of information. I've always been an avid reader but I'm also a visual learner too so when knowledge is combined with pretty pictures I'm all over it.
Apparently there has been a great move towards using comics in the classroom, it obviously has it's opponents but I hope that we see lots more great comics in the future because of it.
Oh and in reply to valsartstudio: If your girls are interested in any kind of artsy visual things then I am sure you can find comics they would like. I've loved comic books most of my life because I'm such a visual person. It just depends on the type of animation and the topic that is being discussed. I prefer stuff that is more artistic and colorful rather than hard edged and dark. I also prefer stories that are more about humanity and less about battles or action. My suggestion is to look at some comics and let them flip through, see what their reaction is to the first few pages, this can be done easily right in a bookstore or library.
Sadly, those copies are all gone and I don't think I've still got the word files where I typed my documents. I will look back on my jump drives this week to see if I've got it; if so, I can pass it along to you.
For me, the draw of the graphic novel is the intersection between the visual and narrative threads. The best graphic novels, in my opinion, are the ones with strong narratives that come through in the pictures, despite the use or lack of words. When stories are remade into graphic novels they seem to lose a little bit for me.
Then again, I wonder what Craig Thompson would do to Pride and Prejudice. :P