9/24/08 Session Stats

For the 9/24 session, I decreased the number of comics I gave each kid in the warm-up from 5 to 4. However, I think I'll decrease this further to 3 to ensure more time for the lesson portion.

Attendance: 7
Comics collected: 29
Student efficiency: 4.14
Maximum possible: 35
Lesson efficiency: 0.83

Unlike the 9/10 session, the kids stayed through the lesson and finished it, thanks to decreasing the warm-up time. So I'm getting better at managing time with this group.

9/24/08 Session Report

The 9/24 session went as planned. 7 kids participated, I'll have other numbers later. For this lesson, I used materials from the upcoming Create a Comic Project #2 in a "panel rearrangement" activity. Panels from 2x3 layouts were cut out and given to the kids with a blank grid. The kids figure out what order they want them in, fill out the panels, and then glue them to the grid. A simple and fun non-linear layout activity.

The attendance for the activities is definitely increasing. I have three regulars who really seem to enjoy it, while the others were new this time. I'm hoping I can get a small but dedicated group going. Video and pictures will be posted later.

9/10/08 Session Videos

There was only one video from the 9/10 session. I took it late into the session when only one girl was left.

9/10 Video

9/10/08 Session Stats

Finally got my computer to a point I could get the numbers from 9/10. Thank goodness I had 9/17 off - I needed it.

Attendance: 6
Comics Collected: 35
Student efficiency: 5.83
Max possible produced: 48
Lesson efficiency: 0.73

One reason for the lower number than with 9/3 was a reduced number of double template comics. Also, while most of the kids completed the warm-up, several of them had to leave before the lesson portion.

New Comic Joins!

School of Rejects (SoRe) by MEDdMI has joined the comic project. She's been following the CCP for a while and decided to contribute her own work for the kids. Glad to have another webcomic creator on board!

(Now I just need to find time and make templates of all the new comics that signed up. Eee...)

Happy Estrada Day!

In addition to the special guest template by Ryan Estrada, there's also a new press release to celebrate the next CCP comic book:

John Baird and Ryan Estrada have teamed up to release Create a Comic Project Presents: Climate Change. The 34-page comic book, which explores the various facets of climate change, is published through Lulu.com.

The comic is the first issue in the Create a Comic Project's Presents line, which seeks to use comics to educate kids about various subjects, such as public health, government, and economics. Climate change was chosen as the first topic to coincide with yearlong efforts by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) to raise public awareness of the issue.

"[The ASPH] is very excited about this project," said Laura Biesiadecki, Senior Program Manager of the ASPH.

John Baird's narrative explores climate change in both its historical and modern day contexts, going through how the Earth's temperatures change, what greenhouse gases are, and why burning oil could be exacerbating the process. It also covers how scientists study climate change and several of the recent developments. As an added bonus, text free versions of every page are included in the comic to allow kids to create their own climate change tale.

"Why did I announce this comic book on Estrada Day?" said writer John Baird. "Because I wanted to be among the first to blatantly commercialize the holiday. Remember, only 365 days until the next Estrada Day!"

Check out the CCP Store for more.

9/3/08 Session Stats

Here are the numbers from the 9/3 session:

Attendance: 3
Comics collected: 33
Student efficiency: 11
Max possible produced: 30
Lesson efficiency: 1.10

So despite the low turn out, the 3 students who did participate really got into it. Hopefully that's indicative of the overall interest the children will show over the course of the year.

9/10/08 Session Report

I only had 6 children for the 9/10 session, so I skipped teaching an actual lesson and just let the kids have fun with the comics. I'm told I should have more kids for the 9/24 session, so I'll plan to have an actual lesson with them then.

I'm currently going through some computer problems, so stats from 9/3 and 9/10, as well as the images and videos, will be delayed.

9/10/08 Session

Since 9/3 had such low attendance, I'm going to repeat the subject matter (Panels) for 9/10 to ensure everyone has the same background. Though I may also forgo a formal lesson structure as I wait for the YMCA program to get up to speed. Because of the smaller number of kids, I'll be using fewer templates overall than in 9/3.

Comics used:

Annie
Cool Cat Studio
Cosmobear
College Roomies From Hell
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
Girl Genius
Goats
Ice
Little Dee
My Stupid Life
Nothing Nice to Say
Penny & Aggie
Phineus
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cartoons
Sketchies
Tea Club
Unshelved
Venus Envy
Weirdlings
You'll Have That

9/3/08 Video

There was only 1 video from the 9/3 session since it had such low attendance relative to the others.

9/3 Session

9/3/08 Session Report

The first session at Sunnyside started small: only 3 students right now. The afterschool program and the school year only just began and they've told me they get more students sign up after a couple weeks. Prediction is that next week will have ~10 with the 9/24 session having the usual number of ~18. Basically, it takes time for parents to take an interest in them.

SInce there were only 3 students, not many comics were collected. I'll have exact numbers soon. For 9/10, I'll reuse a lot of the material I had for this one. I'll post the pictures and video later.

Video Gallery Updated

The Video Gallery has been updated with links to all the recent videos taken over the summer.

7/28/08 Pictures

The Session Gallery has been updated with the pictures from the 7/28 session.