Create Comicstrips online

I came across a video today that got me interested in creating comics online, and how it can be used to interest children in literacy.

I’ll mention a couple of sites that provide the facility, though there are several others.

I’ve picked on Bitstrips

and Pixton (click below to view video)

because they have on open version, but also a (pay for) secure school version that can be used within classrooms; Bitstrips for Schools

and Pixton fo Schools.

Both are quite intuitive to get started with, if after a bit of playing around. There’s lots of control over the characters, both body and facial expressions, and you can design your own.

In addition there’s a collaborative element to many of these services, where for example you are able to mix and remix the comics.

Pixton has a very nice Safety Tips section, helping to ensure that the site is safe for children’s uses, with parent supervision.

And here is the video of how Bitstrips is used in class and what children think about its use:

Evolution of life

This site has a set of aminations to explain aspects of evolution of life.

‘Mutation – selection: the bacteria resistance‘ explains how over use of antibiotics has caused, which in turn meant bacterial mutations led to antibiotic resistance.

‘Darwin on the evolution trail‘ follows Charles Darwin as he embarks on is scientific investigations into diversity and eventual publication of On the Origin of Species.

‘O as Origin‘ follows a water molecule on an asteroid as the planets are created and the first cells evolve.