Comics for Learning: Developing a Unique Instructional Technology through Cross-Departmental Collaboration Jennifer Poggiali Instructional Technologies Librarian Lehman College, CUNY February 13, 2013

Why use comics as instructional technologies?

Why collaborate to create instructional technologies?

Why collaborate with artists to create instructional technologies?

Old Agenda Comics as instructional “technologies” Case study: The Researchers Begins! Read comic Group work How we did it Wrap up and questions

Old Agenda Comics as instructional “technologies” Case study: The Researchers Begins! Read comic Group work (groan?) How we did it Wrap up and questions

New and Improved Agenda Project overview Case study: The Researchers Begins! Read comic Group discussion Collaboration—who brings what to the table Future plans Wrap up and questions

Lehman College City University of New York (Bronx) Senior Liberal Arts College ~12,000 students ~9,600 undergrads

Art Department BA in Studio Art and Art History BFA in Art BS in Computer Graphics and Imaging (CGI)

When Life Gives You Lehman… First library web comic Developed 2010-2011 Collaboration with Art Department and student intern

I like art! The last comic I read: Amazing Spider-Man #312? February 1989!!! I like art!

The Students The Team The Artists The Librarians

Read / Pair / Share Online audience: take your pick! Left side of room: Liz and her friends are hanging out on the Lehman campus when... Read: http://bit.ly/wswcomic1 Right side of room: Liz and Francisco speak with a librarian. Liz needs to research diabetes, because her mother has just been diagnosed with it. Read: http://bit.ly/wswcomic2 Online audience: take your pick!

Read / Pair / Share In-person audience: Find a partner and discuss: Learning opportunities embedded in the comic Learning opportunities enabled by the comic. Online audience: share ideas in chat

A collaboration is working when you can’t remember My one aphorism for you: A collaboration is working when you can’t remember who came up with what idea.

What the artists brought: Practical contributions: Students Equipment (computer labs, Creative Suite, Wacom Cintiqs) Knowledge of comic art and conventions Ability to guide students’ art-making

Totally different way of thinking and working

What the students brought: Student perspective Fresh ideas Enthusiasm Artistic skill

What the librarians brought: Material / purpose Opportunity for experimentation Respect

Up next? Increase collaborators Art history class CGI class By Melissa Puma Increase collaborators Art history class CGI class Make the project sustainable Grant funding Administrative support Assessment Activities Marketing Animation…?

Other library and info lit comics Tales from the Public Domain: BOUND BY LAW? Center for the Study of the Public Domain, Duke Law School, 2006 University Libraries Comics Bowling Green State University (Ohio), 2009 Library of the Living Dead McPherson College (Kansas), 2011 Legends of the Library Ninjas Kansas State University Salina & Kansas Wesleyan University, 2012

References Draper, C. A., & Reidel, M. (2011). One nation, going graphic: Using graphic novels to promote critical literacy in social studies classrooms. Ohio Social Studies Review, 47(2), 3-12. Herbst, P., Chazan, D., Chen, C.-L., Chieu, V.-M., & Weiss, M. (2011). Using comics-based representations of teaching, and technology, to bring practice to teacher education courses. ZDM Mathematics Education, 43, 91-103. Hoover, S. (2011). The case for graphic novels. Communications In Information Literacy, 5(2), 174-186. McCloud, S. (1994). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York, NY: HarperPerennial. Rapp, D. N. (2011). Comic books' latest plot twist: Enhancing literacy instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(4), 64-67.