Comic books and graphic novels are often thought of as fodder for children or stories for people who cannot read well. Even though graphic novels may seem like a children's book with colored pictures, there is a lot of information to process while reading a graphic novel. Studies show that there is untapped educational potential in these “comics” and that such materials help build complex reading skills and the ability to understand multiple forms of communication. Graphic novels are also considered to be a media literacy text unlike a regular novel that is simply literature. Despite the popular belief that comic books are merely entertainment for children, and while most modern english class curriculums have kept the traditional reading syllabus custom, a large number of schools have begun integrating graphic novels into their english curriculums. Graphic novels tend to be widely popular with adolescent audiences. This assists in the education process by making the prospective work appear less like boring schoolwork and more like entertainment. It logically follows that students who are entertained by their schoolwork will be more likely to complete a simple homework assignment instead of blowing off the usual assigned reading. Why not teach students by employing materials they enjoy if in fact they can learn more? One graphic novel that comes to mind (and which contains all of these qualities in addition to being the most praised graphic novel of all time) is “Watchmen”. Watchmen is the standard for graphic novels. Watchmen contains a theme within the storyline, has interesting characters with admirable traits, and the artwork is unparalleled. For these reasons, among many others, Watchmen should be taught in every highscho...
... middle of paper ...
...g a new language often becomes an even more painstaking burden for the students who have to associate concepts with the printed words.
This is the main reason of rising popularity of graphical novels particularly for young learners in language classrooms.
Today, educational settings are more challenging than ever before and need to be supported by every appropriate material available. Graphic novels in this sense have the potential to play a role on different levels. Carter (2007a) draws attention to the fact that non-text visual media is a far more convenient way of learning for today’s generation. On account of their common features with graphic novels, visual media devices like computers, video games and the internet have created a generation of students that are capable of learning through visual material much easier than the traditional texts (Beers.)
In the essay, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie discusses about how a Superman comic book was the reason he learned to read. He believes that anyone can gain education and achieve their goals if they are willing to put effort, even if the world wants to see you fail. To begin with, Alexie opened up by saying that he learned how to read by reading a “Superman” comic book. Alexie grew up in a Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington. Even though his family was poor, alexie’s father would find his way to collect as many books as he could. His father influenced his love for books and reading. Furthermore, the first word he learned was “paragraphs” and he described it as a “fence that held words,” and began
The graphic essay “Show and Tell” by Scott McCloud is written in the form of a comic book as he explains the importance of words and images, and how to effectively use the two components when creating a comic. “Show and Tell” explains to the reader how creating a successful comic does not occur easily, as numerous components must be used in the right way and amount in order to create a product that is worthwhile to its readers. This insightful graphic essay portrays to the reader how in a comic, words and images can successfully be used in numerous ways if they are kept in balance with one another. Society traditionally believes that in a piece of literature words and images should be kept apart, whereas McCloud opposes this
All graphic novels are structured to provide few words so the reader can follow the story through the illustrations. The comic panels are drawn to be extremely vivid and revealing. In Watchmen, a story based in a Cold War America, political symbolism is everything. Alan Moore strategically places numerous clues for the reader throughout the story to develop and reveal crucial components of the character’s lives, the setting, and the theme of the novel.
The first type of text is the aforementioned classic novel. For this unit, two texts in particular will be utilized. One is J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In the Rye. This novel focuses on the experiences of a cyn...
Scott McCloud gives everyone who reads chapter six of his book Understanding Comics a different view on comics. When people think of comics it's mostly about superheroes and how it's a distraction or a hobby. No one would think comics can in fact be educational. McCloud proves us all wrong by saying when both words and pictures are used correctly are a great way to tell a story or get your message across so that the reader will understand what is is you're trying
There have been considerable debate on research of media comparison as it relates to education over the past few years. According to Richard Clark, there has been a "paradigm shift" that occurred in instructional media research during the past decade from a behavioral to a more cognitive approach. (Anglin 348).
Immediately prior to stating her argument, Kathleen O’Neil discusses the use of postmodern picture books by teachers in order to prompt students into questioning and debating issues within their own personal lives. She then transitions into stating her argument in the third paragraph of her article in the last sentence. She says, “This article examines the use of postmodern picture books in classroom settings to spark discussions that lead to greater awareness on the part of the students of the world around them and the possibilities of their roles in it” (41). Immediately after stating her argument O’Neil initiates a separate section of her article titled “We Turn to Storytellers,” where she discusses the advancement of the current world and how postmodern picture books are responding to these changes.
The Internet gives us a seemingly endless supply of resources; we can search for information, communicate with others, or use it for our own personal work or pleasure. The Internet connects us to the rest of the evolving world, in all different countries around the world. With the ability to seek information on the Internet, we can gain knowledge about an endless supply of topics. For example, if someone wanted to learn how to plant a tree they can simply navigate to Google and type in “how to plant a tree.” Furthermore, thousands of pages will appear with step by step instructions demonstrating the process of planting a tree. This knowledge has made our society smarter because we can figure things out on our own, but at the same time save money; we do not have to pay someone else to tell us how to plant a tree. It can really benefit students in school because it allows u...
Graphic novels incorporate an assortment of simple, compound, and compound complex sentences, whereas comic books have shorter and choppier sentences. The format embedded in a graphic novel engages the reader because it is more challenging and requires more thorough attention to details. In the article, it also states that “[graphic novels] help students learn traditional reading skills and can be an effective way to engage the students into the subject they are learning. This is accurate because graphic novels can be compelling for teenagers to read; they can also gain insight on how to format their own essays or pieces just by reading these
It is a constant truth that technology is growing rapidly and it is opening up many opportunities for students as well as teachers. Through the use of the internet information that would take scholars months to acquire out and interpret can be found in less than a minute though a Google search and not only is the information their, but in many cases the information that you wanted is shown in bolded so it can even be found quicker.
Children also become adept at learning how to wade through an enormous amount of information and material on the Internet in order to find information related to their topic. Some would argue that this is also a beneficial outcome of technology and useful later in life.
The Impact of the Internet on Education A dusty, one-bedroom schoolhouse on the edge of a village. An overworked teacher trying to manage a room full of boisterous children. Students sharing schoolbooks that are in perpetual short supply, crammed in rows of battered desks. Children worn out after long treks to school, stomachs rumbling with hunger.
Today’s generation is like no other. The nation as a whole has completely evolved from past times, with technology being one of the greatest improvements. Traditionally, schooling takes place in a classroom setting, but, with the many modifications in our world’s system, we are able to assimilate more modern means of education, such as online learning. However, with many changes comes differences and requires adjustments. The online learning system has proven to be just as effective as traditional learning, with some minor differences, however, nothing of great significance. A few of those insignificant differences include online learning being convenient, especially for the non-traditional students,
As time goes by, advances in technology will provide more and more avenues for learning by way of the computer. The Internet has opened the doors of the world and unleashed limitless possibilities in research and education. It may be only a matter of time when the classroom is brought online to all children and attending a school classroom outside the home is a thing of the past. Looking back over the last 20 years, I never would have imagined that computers would come this far and impact our lives so much. Just imagine where they will be 20 years from now.
A great number of young people are making use of the Internet than ever before. This is based on the fact