Graphic Novels for the Digital Win!: Week 3

Graphic Novels for the Digital Win!

One of the most rewarding and technology-rich learning experiences I designed involved integrating graphic novels and digital storytelling into our final book club/literature circle unit of the fall semester. My kids were yearning for more opportunities to read graphic novels after I explained to them the “taboo” nature of the genre when I was a student. Most of my kids had very passionate responses on their love and preference for more visual storytelling, so I created a graphic novel book club unit that took place between our Thanksgiving and winter breaks. Knowing that I was going to be starting my journey towards my Library Science degree in the spring, I wanted to make sure that I included technology in this so that students could embrace their creativity and showcase their learning in a meaningful way.

What Prompted the Design?

My inspiration for this unit stemmed from professional development on digital storytelling tools and, as previously mentioned, my students’ own voices and desires. As an advocate for my students’ needs and interests, I wanted to create a unit where students could analyze graphic novels and then use technology to craft their own digital narratives. Usually I am a person who designs a traditional unit and then places technology into it in a purposeful manner after the unit’s development, but this time I was very intentional about thinking which technology pieces I wanted to include from different professional development lessons and quick hallway conversations with my techy school neighbors (where some of the best lessons and inspiration has come from for me).

Pedagogical Foundations

I always want my kids to be active participants in their learning, so I intentionally planned the unit aimed at having them construct meaning through both visual and textual analysis. These aspects lend themselves to the constructivist theory which is at the core of my pedagogy. In addition, I utilized:

• Multimodal Literacy: Recognizing that students engage with books and stories in multiple ways, I emphasized the interaction between words and images with technology in mind.

• Choice and Creativity: Giving students the choice to select a scene from a graphic novel and recreate it using digital storytelling tools created more “buy-in” from my students.

The aforementioned elements are rooted heavily in the voice and choice pedagogical approach that I have employed since my days as a student teacher.. Both districts that I’ve been lucky enough to work with emphasize this creed, and I plan to continue to integrate it into my lessons that I lead and/or assist with in my days as a librarian in the future. 

Technology Integration

I used the following tools in this unit:

1. Canva: For students to create and manipulate digital scenes, characters, dialogue, etc.

2. Storyboard That: To create a story map/story board for their narrative scene before finalizing their projects

3. Adobe Spark: For students to combine text, images, and voiceovers (most used this tool and LOVED it) to create digital scene/story

4. Padlet: For peer discussion and collaboration

5. Google Docs: To allow students to conduct peer reviews using the comment feature

After looking at the ACOT Stages of Technology Integration resource from this week’s readings, I realize that the reason I used these tools is rooted in my comfortability with them in my own life (personal and professional). I was ready and willing to go into the Appropriation and Innovation stages because I had already become familiar with the tools that I had chosen to integrate into my unit and lessons within it. Because of this familiarity and previous practice, I was able to guide students through them as an expert in the room rather than having them rely on YouTube videos or other tutorials.  

Overall Effectiveness

Based on the feedback I got from students (and a few parents), I think this unit was a success! Students who struggled with traditional novels and methods of storytelling found graphic novels more accessible, and creating their own digital stories/scenes enhanced their analytical skills as well. 

Affordances of Technology

• Creativity: Students could experiment with design, choice of presentation, possible narration, etc.

• Collaboration: 

• Peer feedback on Google Docs encouraged meaningful discussions. Students had to view and respond to their peers’ projects.

• Padlet showed them a new way of posting their content and explaining certain elements they chose to include.

• Engagement: The use of technology made the unit feel timely and exciting. For most of them, it was something new, and that was enjoyable to watch from the sidelines!

Reflection and Ways to Improve Next Time

While the tools supported the learning objectives, I would consider giving my kids more options for each step. Though they still had “options” in regards to the graphic novels and how they wanted to visually create the scene/story, offering a forum of expression, creation, and collaboration other than Canva, Storyboard That, Adobe Spark, and Padlet would have been a good idea; however, with them being in 6th grade, I didn’t want to overwhelm them.

Next year, I think I will rework the unit a bit and integrate AI. ChatGPT could help students refine dialogue and narration–furthering my desire to show students that AI tools can be used for good and not just evil (cheating). This integration will also force me to become more comfortable and familiar with AI integration into my content.

In my previous district, a majority of my students were categorized as ELLs, and I know that my current district is seeing a rise in that student population. With that, I will show students how to add closed captions to their digital creations and text-to-speech tools (Kami offers this) for more accessibility.