There are at least ten good reasons to use cartoons or comics in your. lessons. This article explains what they are, with links to research and. useful resources.
A now defunct embed has been removed, and a link updated.
Idea! by Terry Freedman
How I’ve used comics/cartoons in the classroom
Much of my misspent youth was taken up with reading comics, such as Superman, Batman, Classics Illustrated. I've also always loved cartoons. So it was only natural I often used cartoons and comics in my teaching. I always found them to be very effective in helping kids to learn. The question is: why?
They can be used as a form of assessment
The cartoons in newspapers are useful because they assume that you already know a lot of background information -- otherwise they simply wouldn't be funny. I found that sharing a cartoon with students could be a good way of finding out what they already knew, or thought they knew, about the topic in hand.
They can be used to start a discussion
I would use newspaper cartoons to start a different sort of class discussion going. They always encapsulate implicit assumptions as well as current information, so you can sometimes use a cartoon to start exploring what those assumptions might be.
Even a silly comic strip you create yourself can be useful in this regard. Consider this for example:
Depending on what your subject is, you could use this to start a discussion along the lines of:
How do you go about creating an app?
What exactly is a hologram?
How could holograms, 3D and virtual reality be used in everyday life?
What is cloning, and when should it be used, if at all?
A picture paints a thousand words
Comics and cartoons are useful because they can convey a great deal of information very quickly. Many devices these days come with a quick start guide comprising pictures and little else. There's a reason for that.
They can lead to better retention
Comics etc are efficient from the point of view that presenting text and images together has been found to increase retention. For more information, see https://teach.com/blog/why-comics/.
They provide humour
Cartoons bring a touch of lightheartedness to lessons, which is often no bad thing. In my experience, kids are more receptive to learning new concepts, and less prone to disrupt the lesson, when there is something we can all laugh with together.
There is some research that suggests that students with autism find comics, especially Manga, easier to read than plain text. See Manga and the autistic Mind for more information.
Some kids more expressive in drawing than in writing
When it comes to getting kids to write an explanation or a report, some may find it easier to do an illustration with a small amount of text rather than lots of writing.
They provide opportunities for collaboration
Pupils don't have to work alone in order to produce a comic strip, say. In fact, if one pupil is good at drawing and another good at writing, that pair can make a great team. Not that you even have to be good at drawing: there are comic-creating programs which enable you to select and combine ready-made elements. See the bottom of this article for a link to lots of applications.
It’s part of the milieu
In Japan, Manga comics are ubiquitous, and cover every conceivable topic. In the west there are graphic ‘novels’ covering such diverse topics as the financial crash of a few years ago, computing, quantum physics and the Iranian revolution (see the Digital Education newsletter for my top ten illustrated books). Even the New York Times has got in on the act — see New York Stories.
This is an image I created using pulpomizer.com. Thanks to Julian Wood for drawing my attention to this application in one of his talks.
A now-defunct link has been removed.
A short while before the summer 2017 break, Nick Jeans, Senior Consultant in Learning Technology at Sero Consulting, enquired in the Association for Learning Technology discussion list whether anyone had any recommendations for free comic-making software. I've collated the responses here. (Nobody in the discussion list has objected to my plan to do so.)
You'll need to check for yourself whether all of them are still working or free, but even if one or two have gone the way of all flesh, there is still a lot to choose from!
Wrote this article in 2010. I’ve removed the links, which are now defunct (apart from a link to another article on this website), but in my opinion the argumens still hold.
Here’s a thought. I like to think of myself as a glass half full type of person. So why all the doom and gloom about the apparent lack of Governmental support, in the UK, for technology in the classroom?
Notwithstanding the personal consequences to many people of these decisions, is this not a compliment in a way? Isn’t the Government saying, in effect, “Look, you’ve had over 13 years of sustained funding for educational technology; now it’s time to stand on your own two feet.”?
I went to an ICT Mark Assessor conference recently, and Niel McLean, who holds a senior position in Becta, likened this process of enforced independence to the way the Romans used to build their bridges. Apparently, they would construct a wooden framework to begin with. Then, once the concrete had been put in place, the original wooden frame – for which there was now no need – was burnt away.
I would not go so far as to say that everything in the garden is rosy, and there is little doubt that the importance of ICT in the National Curriculum will become less obvious (but if it has become embedded in schools and in teachers' consciousness, does this even matter?). However, given the freedom from ring-fenced funding, the apparent embracing of a philosophy that the Government should take a back seat in day-to-day decision-making, the advent of free schools and new types of academies and – let us not forget – a wealth of infrastructure and expertise built up over the last two decades (at least), I don’t think the future is as bleak as we might believe.
I published this on 7 December 2009. I don’t think anything has changed since then as far as my opinions are concerned. I have removed a now-defunct link.
So many blogs, so little time. What with all the 101 other things you have to do in your life, you can't afford to waste time on blogs that won't benefit you in any way. Or, to be more accurate, in which the benefits are exceeded by the cost, ie the time spent.
So what kind of things might you take into account when deciding whether or not to subscribe to a blog's RSS feed? Here is what I look for.
I will usually have discovered a blog through a reference to one particular article. The obvious thing to check out, then, is whether all or most of the articles on the blog look interesting, or whether the one I came across was the exception to the rule.
Are the articles engaging? Ideally, I prefer to read stuff that is well-written. Not just well-written from a technical point of view, but in a way that's engaging, that reels me in. I want to have to drag myself away because I have other things to do, not force myself to read it because I think it might be good for me.
OK, not everyone can be a great writer, so is it informative at least? Am I going to learn stuff that I may not otherwise come across, or not packaged in as succinct a manner?
Is it newsworthy? I find it hard to keep up with news, despite, or possibly because of, the dozens of sources I rely on. If there's a blog that consistently mentions the latest news, be it technical or educational or otherwise, I'm interested.
Is it humorous? Even if it's none of the things mentioned so far, if it makes me smile or laugh that is a big plus.
Is it provocative? A blog should make you think, or react.
Once it's made it through the hurdles presented so far, a blog has to show that its owner is serious about it. The issue here is: has it been updated regularly? If it's been more than a month since the last post, that is a real turn-off for me.
Yes, I know that people are busy, but I think it's a matter of priorities. I have blogs that I haven't updated in months. But this one, ICT in Education, gets updated on average at least once a day during the week, and sometimes more, and sometimes at the weekends and on holidays too. And let me tell you: I am busy!
That does raise another issue, of course: is a blog updated too frequently? That doesn't bother me in the slightest. I figure that someone can update their blog every 15 minutes if they want to, but I don't have to read it all. But I mention it here because I have recently had one person unsubscribe from my RSS feed because he thought that I update my blog too often.
Finally, is it easy to subscribe? I have a Google toolbar which enables me to subscribe to a blog by clicking on a button labelled 'Subscribe'. If I get a message saying 'Feed not found', I become slightly miffed, because it is pretty easy to avoid that,m and people with slick-looking websites ought to know that. All you have to do is insert the following code within the HEAD part of your Index page:
substituting your RSS feed and title for mine, or course.
If clicking on Subscribe doesn't work, I'll click on an RSS feed icon or similar. If have to hunt around for that, I'll probably give up, especially if the decision to subscribe was touch and go anyway.
Total time for this whole process? I would say no more than 5 minutes, and most of that will be taken up with #1.
The results of my original survey, plus updated info from an AI app, is here:
In my article Updated: Why subscribe to blogs? 8 Things to consider, I outlined the characteristics of a blog which would induce me to subscribe to it - or not. I invited readers to take part in a small survey asking the question "Why do you subscribe to blogs?".
I've analysed the results and placed them in rank order. Here they are (below). I also asked an AI app to give me a more general answer. I’ve included the answer at the end.
Characteristic
%
Rank
Informative
21%
1
Well-written
19%
2
Consistent quality
14%
3
Easy to subscribe to
10%
4
Updated regularly
9%
5
Provocative
9%
5
Other
8%
7
Humorous
5%
8
Newsworthy
3%
9
Why subscribe to a blog?
I have to say that to some extent these results surprised me. Of course, most of us suffer from the delusion that everyone thinks like ourselves, but I should have thought 'Updated regularly' would have attracted a greater percentage of the 'vote', whilst whether a blog is easy to subscribe to seems not to worry too many people.
What really is strange though is the low ranking of 'Newsworthy', because several people said that they subscribe to blogs which they believe will help them keep up-to-date in technology and education. Perhaps the word 'Newsworthy' was ill-chosen when I framed the survey. Perhaps the word 'Informative' is sufficient in this context.
I was pleased to see that 'Well-written' and 'Consistent quality' came in at positions 2 and 3 respectively. However, I was disappointed to discover that 'humorous' ranks almost bottom.
Other reasons for subscribing to a blog, or for not unsubscribing, included supporting people who are friends or who are within one's personal learning network. One person said that the content of a blog should not be too personal or embarrassing.
Unfortunately, because I forgot to include a note on the blog stating that respondents may be quoted unless they requested otherwise, I don't feel able to credit individual people for their comments, but should like to thank everyone who took part.
This was hardly a scientific survey, but hopefully it has provided food for thought and a starting point for discussion. Perhaps a similar kind of survey could be undertaken by a school in relation to what its parents look for in a school website. It strikes me that we make all sorts of assumptions about what people like or dislike, and one way (not the only way) to find out if such assumptions are justified is to ask our target readership.
I asked Perplexity.ai why people in education subscribe to blogs or similar, and here’s what it said:
People subscribe to blogs primarily for direct access to valuable, in-depth content delivered straight to their inbox, bypassing social media algorithms and ensuring they stay updated on new posts, trends, or niche insights.emailoctopus+2
Key Reasons
Subscribers seek regular notifications about fresh content, promotions, or industry news that might otherwise be missed during casual visits. Many value problem-solving guides, expert advice, and practical steps tailored to their interests, such as learning skills or making purchase decisions. Niche-focused material on topics like music, writing, or tech appeals especially to dedicated readers wanting specialized knowledge.pollycloverwrites+2
Relationship Building
Email subscriptions foster trust through consistent communication, positioning the blog as an authority and enabling personal connections via feedback or stories. Readers appreciate the mental toolbox of thoughtful perspectives they can reference later, enhancing their work or hobbies. This direct line also builds loyalty, as subscribers feel prioritized over fleeting social media interactions.kajabi+1
Added Incentives
Social proof from visible subscriber counts or testimonials encourages sign-ups by signaling credibility. Exclusive perks like limited-time offers or curated updates further motivate engagement, turning casual visitors into repeat readers. For creators like newsletter publishers, this supports monetization through affiliates or sponsors, indirectly benefiting subscribers with quality content.shoutmeloud+2
