bitstrips is an online tool that allows you to quickly create your own comic. comics can be used in a variety of classroom situations. you could have your students create a skit in a foreign language class, visually express vocabulary terms in english class, or create a timeline for history class. with bitstrips, you can quickly & easily make learning visual.
what is bitstrips?
when starting a new comic, bitstrips first asks you to choose the number of cells for your project. you can create your own avatar or use one of the dozens of pre-made characters. characters can be customized in many different ways. you can choose their size, emotion, mouth & eye shape, posture, & head tilt. bitstips also comes pre-loaded with dozens of background images & props. your comic could take place in a city, desert, office, or living room. props include everything from bananas to rubber chickens. bitstrips also gives you several options for text bubbles. you can select a traditional bubble, shouting bubble, thought cloud, or caption box. there are many different possibilities for comic customization.
my problem with bitstrips is its requirement of the user to create a user account, which in a classroom, is difficult. also, after your comic is created & saved, it becomes part of bitstrip's commons, & is available to other bitstrips account holders unless saved as private. i circumvent both of these requirements by creating a comic without signing into an account & taking a screenshot of my finished product (command+shift+4, mac users) instead of saving my comic on the bitstrips site. students then post their screenshot to a wiki or blog to share with the class.
final verdict.
bitstrips provides quick & easy comic creation. the resource is extremely easy to use & provides enough customization options for a quick project. my complaints with bitstrip involve its account requirements, & overall depth. i already discussed the headaches associated with creating user accounts for every student. lastly, there is little depth. bitstrips is good for a quick assignment, but i would not recommend it for a summative project. there is just too little content to use. your choice for background is limited to only 13 options, for example. i recommend bitstrips to the teacher that wants their students to quickly create a comic, better solutions exist for deeper learning.
bitstrips is a good resource that is soon to get better. with the announcement that bitstrips for education will make its debut in the near future, i have great hope that content will greatly increase. there are plans to add massive content & curriculum-based activities. thanks to ba from bitstrips for this information, i look forward to seeing the new bitstrips.
