Online Comic Book Creator Review

Fotojet.com

Fotojet is user-friendly because of its simple design and no need for a login. However, the lack of login prevents the user from being able to save their work in a cloud or the site's server. Meaning the user cannot keep their comic and come back to their project later. To save a comic, users must download their comic immediately after finishing in one sitting, or the comic is lost when the browser is closed. The variety of backgrounds was low, but the few available were high quality. Similarly, the number of clip art and fonts available is impressive. As stated earlier, there is a lack of background, which severely limits the context of a comic. I believe the free version of this application can be good for elementary students to practice with, but it has its limit.

Pixton.com

Pixton has a slightly larger learning curve than Fotojet, yet it has significantly more backgrounds and features to test in the free version. For example, it has dozens of characters that the user can manipulate to sit, speak, frown, smile, or change position. Sadly, users can only create one online comic, and then they are forced to purchase a subscription to create any new comics. Overall the biggest fault of this application is that there is no free version. I believe this is a better application despite the learning curve. Also, middle school and high school students are more likely to want to use this application because they will recognize its high-quality features.

MakeBeliefsComix.com

MakeBeliefsComix's learning curve is medium to low, but it is worth the effort to learn from such a feature reach application. However, finding the area that allows the user to create a comic wasn't easy due to the amount of educational content like tutorials, lesson plans, advice, and story ideas. Yet, it was easy to create a comic strip and surprisingly fun when I found the area. I manipulated the creator with ease and made a first-rate comic. Many valuable features like backgrounds, characters, animals, objects, and speech balloons are available. One significant difference between the other two comic creators' sites was that this site uses cartoon-type caricatures and design. These drawings look similar to many popular comic books, which is perfect for students who read these types of comics. Similarly, it is suited for elementary students, as long as teachers can guide them to the correct area. To sum it up, I would make this my choice for the best online comic creator because it is entirely free, feature-rich, easy to use, and has helpful tutorials and teacher tools.

Sharing with Colleagues

The best way that I utilize these comic book creators is by sharing them with my fellow campus teachers. I do this by holding professional developments where I show them how to integrate them into daily lessons. Similarly, I create online tutorials with screencasts that I upload to YouTube and have QR codes posted on the library website and throughout the campus. The videos will allow the teachers to refresh their understanding when needed. Equally, I will be available for questions through email or in-person needs.