Create a Comic Module

Announcing a new Create a Comic Project related endeavor: the Create a Comic Module.

Unlike the sessions and workshops, the module is not designed to teach now to make comics. Instead, its goal is to use comics for other educational purposes. For example, when the CCP first began, I used it as a classroom activity to teach English, not how to make comics. In some ways, you could say this is the CCP returning to its roots.

Thanks to research by educators, it's known that adding interactive art components to things such as English and History lessons can improve the knowledge retention of students. Likewise, children who read comics and graphic novels at a young age generally have higher literacy levels than those who read nothing. The purpose of the CCP Module is to explore other areas where integrating comics can improve educational activities.

There are currently two planned uses for the module, both related to first establishing efficacy. The first use of the module will occur this Wednesday, 11/7/07. I'll be using several templates from the CCP to test if a change in student knowledge can be detected simply through comparing before-after comics. Wednesday will be collecting the "before" sample. I'll be collecting the "after" sample sometime around 11/26/07.

The second planned module is planned for sometime next spring or possibly next year. The idea is to enhance a health education program by adding an interactive component. This will be a formal analysis, comparing students with and without the module to quantify its effects. The details for this have not been finalized.

The CCP Module is the next logical step in boosting the CCP from a classroom activity, to an afterschool program, to a full fledged academic venture.