Comic Life is a publishing program that allows users to create comic strips and scrapbooks by dragging images, text, and other elements into page templates. It is available for both Windows and Mac computers. Users can customize pages and apply filters to photos. When finished, projects can be exported as PDFs, websites, images, or movies. The document recommends Comic Life for teachers because it is easy to learn, can be used across ages and subjects, encourages visual learning and thinking, and motivates reluctant writers.

1.
What
is
Comic
Life?
Comic
Life
(plasq.com)
is
a
publishing
program
that
can
be
used
to
create
comic
strips
or
arrange
photos
into
a
scrapbook.
Available
for
both
Windows
and
Mac
OS
X,
it
allows
you
to
easily
drag
photos,
captions,
speech
bubbles,
images
from
a
webcam,
and
text
into
a
range
of
ready-­‐made
page
templates.
Users
can
change
any
aspect
of
the
templates
and
there
are
a
number
of
built-­‐in
style
options
for
every
object
added
to
the
page.
A
range
of
filters
can
also
be
applied
to
photos.
You
can
create
multiple
pages
within
one
Comic
Life
document.
When
finished
working
on
the
document,
there
are
a
number
of
export
options
including
export
to
PDF,
export
to
html,
export
to
an
image,
and
export
as
a
movie.
Why
should
teachers
consider
using
it?
Firstly,
it
takes
a
very
short
time
to
learn
how
to
use
the
software,
so
emphasis
can
remain
on
curriculum
learning
outcomes.
Secondly,
the
software
can
be
used
in
a
variety
of
ways
at
any
age
level
and
students
are
able
to
create
professional
looking
results.
Presenting
information
graphically
removes
the
‘cut
and
paste’
option
for
students
and
develops
thinking
skills
when
they
have
to
reprocess
information
in
order
to
change
it
from
a
text
platform
to
a
visual
one.
Graphical
representation
of
information
can
be
more
effective
for
visual
learners
for
understanding
and
retention
of
concepts.
Reluctant
writers
are
also
more
motivated
when
working
in
a
medium
combining
images
and
text.
How
to
use
Comic
Life
When
you
open
Comic
Life,
a
blank
page
is
displayed.
Written
by
Suzie
Vesper
2010

2. To
start,
drop
one
of
the
page
templates
onto
it
from
the
‘Libraries’
tab
on
the
right.
Shapes
of
image
placeholders
on
the
page
can
be
changed
by
clicking
and
dragging
the
corners
of
the
panels.
Unwanted
panels
can
be
deleted.
After
choosing
a
template,
the
iPhoto
library
(Mac)
or
My
Pictures
folder
(PC)
becomes
available
on
the
right
hand
side
–
simply
drag
and
drop
photos
into
the
panels
on
the
page.
Should
you
want
an
image
from
another
placed
on
your
computer,
either
the
‘Finder’
button
(Mac)
or
‘Explorer’
button
(PC)
at
the
bottom
of
the
right
hand
panel
will
provide
access
to
other
folders.
The
‘Capture’
button
will
turn
on
your
iSight
or
webcam
to
take
a
photo
within
the
application
for
you
to
use.
You
can
also
drag
on
words,
speech
bubbles
and
text
boxes
from
below
the
page
preview.
Hovering
your
mouse
over
an
object,
will
give
you
blue
corners
to
Written
by
Suzie
Vesper
2010

3. resize
each
point
of
the
object.
Clicking
on
the
object
will
give
you
green
corners
for
resizing
the
entire
object.
Clicking
on
the
‘Details’
tab
gives
you
options
for
customising
the
object
you
have
selected
on
the
page.
There
are
options
for
every
kind
of
object;
the
page
itself,
the
panels
on
the
page,
photos
within
panels,
and
all
the
objects
you
can
drag
onto
the
page
from
the
beneath
the
page
preview.
Export
options
can
be
found
under
‘File’
and
then
‘Export’.
Most
of
the
options
are
self-­‐explanatory.
The
QuickTime
option
allows
you
to
create
a
movie
that
plays
through
the
pages
within
your
ComicLife
file.
If
you
have
the
PC
version
of
Comic
Life,
your
export
options
will
look
a
little
different.
The
one
I
use
the
most
is
‘Export
to
Image’.
If
you
want
to
put
Comic
Life
work
onto
a
website,
choose
‘Export
to
Image’
and
then
select
the
following
options:
Written
by
Suzie
Vesper
2010

4. The
image
of
a
single
page
I
created
using
these
settings
was
82
Kb
in
size
and
the
quality
was
good
enough
for
websites.
A
high
quality
jpeg
at
72
dpi
created
a
file
that
was
369
Kb
in
size
and
I
couldn’t
see
much
difference
to
the
average
quality
image.
A
high
quality
image
at
the
highest
setting
of
600
dpi
(for
printing
not
putting
on
websites)
was
12
Mb
in
size.
Note
that
the
name
you
choose
when
exporting
to
an
image
will
actually
be
the
name
of
the
folder
that
Comic
Life
creates
to
house
the
images
for
each
page.
The
page
names
inside
the
folder
will
have
the
format
of
Page_1.jpg.
Remember
to
rename
these
pages
before
uploading
them
to
the
internet.
Written
by
Suzie
Vesper
2010

5. Examples
of
Comic
Life
in
action
Recounts
of
current
or
historical
events
–
For
younger
students,
this
will
involve
being
able
to
sequence
images
correctly
which
is
an
early
literacy
skill.
Older
students
can
show
their
understanding
of
key
events.
Image
used
with
permission
from
the
page
of
‘Other
examples’
on
the
website
http://comiclife.com/education
Biographies
and
Autobiographies
–
At
Point
England
School,
students
made
a
visual
mihi.
By
uploading
this
to
Flickr,
students
were
able
to
add
more
information
about
each
section
of
their
mihi
through
the
use
of
pop
up
notes.
Image
used
with
permission
from
Point
England
School.
Flickr
link
is
http://www.flickr.com/photos/extpes/2381801530/
Written
by
Suzie
Vesper
2010

6. Science
reports
and
labelled
science
diagrams
–
These
can
easily
be
created
within
Comic
Life.
Students
can
also
photograph
stages
in
a
science
experiment
to
write
up
in
Comic
Life.
Images
used
with
permission
from
Debra
Hicks
from
her
wiki
http://debsplace.wikispaces.com/Comic+Life
Illustrating
a
poem
or
story
–
Pupils
can
use
images
to
complement
the
message
of
their
story
or
poem
such
as
this
example
combining
photography
and
poetry
by
a
Year
6
student.
Image
used
with
permission
from
Jacqui
Sharp
from
her
wiki
http://writingandpublishing.wikispaces.com/Aanan
Written
by
Suzie
Vesper
2010

7. Summarising
key
information
or
identifying
key
events
–
In
this
secondary
example,
Year
12
students
summarised
the
key
information
from
the
Karl
Fisch
video,
‘Shift
Happens’
using
Comic
Life.
Image
used
with
permission
from
Andrew
Churches
at
Kristin
School
Other
uses
–
There
are
many
other
possible
uses,
including:
o Creating
visual
instructions
such
as
how
to
use
a
software
application
o Collecting
images
of
things
starting
with
the
letter
of
the
week
o Retelling
a
story
in
visual
form
o Creating
posters
of
2D
or
3D
shapes
o Charting
the
journey
of
food
through
the
digestive
system
o Showing
the
life
cycle
of
an
insect
o Illustrating
a
saying,
metaphor
or
new
vocabulary
term
o Creating
a
visual
diary
–
a
day
in
the
life
of…
o Showing
examples
of
cause
and
effect
o Explaining
how
to
solve
a
geometric
maths
puzzle
o Creating
a
travel
guide
for
a
city
or
region
o Showing
solutions
to
problems
that
can
happen
in
the
playground
o Identifying
the
key
events
in
a
narrative
o Labelling
the
parts
of
a
computer
o Storyboarding
a
video
production
o Producing
language
for
different
situations
in
a
second
language
eg
ordering
food
in
a
cafe
o Sports
reports
Written
by
Suzie
Vesper
2010