My Introduction To Bitstrips

I started playing around with Bitstrips a couple of weeks ago, unsure about how I would incorporate the concept of comic creation into my classroom. I was pleased to see that Bitstrips had been licensed for use in all Ontario classrooms so I created a class account and got busy developing activities that would not only introduce the students to this new tool, but would "hook" them so that it would serve a meaningful purpose.

I introduced Bitstrips the day before our Thanksgiving long weekend (remember, I live in Canada), and I was completely unprepared for what followed: during the long weekend I received 51 comic submissions from students! The students were so engaged with this new tool that they spent a significant amount of their spare time away from school working on comics that they wanted to share with their peers. The fact that completely blew me away was this: of the 51 submissions, 49 of them were from boys!

We have had another week since then to play around with Bitstrips, and the heavy student engagement does not come without its bumps. Here are a few issues that have come up:

• The clip art that comes with the program includes items such as bombs, machetes, fire, etc. The boys seem to be fond of blowing things up in their cartoons (including each other). This has led to discussion about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable about placing bombs in a comic.
• The students are encouraged to create their own avatar and characters, which can be a lot of fun, but it can also lead to bullying and hurt feelings. It's possible for a student to create a character and name it after a classmate, and then use the comic as a forum to pick on the classmate.
• The students can leave comments on the comics that have been created by others. The potential is there to have inappropriate, hurtful, and off-topic comments left on a students Bitstrip.

Despite these potential bumps along the way, there are incredible teaching opportunities that arise from this. Teaching mini-lessons and developing anchor charts about acceptable use would certainly be a good start. I have also created my own character so that I can personally model appropriate use of the site. We spend a significant amount of time discussing how to leave an intelligent blog post or comment (we blog as well), so this ties in perfectly with leaving comments an another student's Bitstrip. It's also important to note that every comic that is created gets sent to me for approval before it can be shared with the class. The students also have the ability to "flag" comics that they feel should not be shared. This provides for great discussion, as the student who flags the comic gets an opportunity to explain why they feel it's offensive, and the student who created the comic gets to defend his/her position.

I would love to hear from others who have tried Bitstrips, or any other comic building program with their students. What teachable moments have you encountered? How has it enhanced your literacy program? Does the increased engagement continue over time, or does it taper off? I think that this tool has a ton of potential, and I look forward to exploring it more as the year goes on.

Photo Credit: Vimeo.com