An Apple a Day...: ComicLife2 RILS comic cellanalogy

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario
Cynthia Madanski and Amanda Rhymer

Brief Overview: As part of the National Science Standards students must learn about the form and function of each organelle in a eukaryotic cell. This can be a daunting task for students who can’t relate to a “powerhouse” or a “control center.” Using analogies, a camera and a comic application we can turn this into a fun activity.

Cynthia Madanski’s 8th grade students will only focus on the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane.
Amanda Rhymer’s 9th and 10th grade biology students will focus on eight organelles.

1. Target Audience- Rhymer: 9th & 10th grade biology (60 students) Madanski: 8th grade general science
2. Materials–

1. Background worksheet: The Cell and the City

2. Student Worksheet: Cell Analogy: The Cell as a School

3. Technical Equipment: Cameras (iPod Touches)

4. Software: Comic App (Strip Designer, Comic Life, etc.) and/or Comic-making web programs (Bitstrips, Comeeko, etc.)

3. Objectives–
    a. The students will be able to explain the structure and function of eukaryotic organelles
    b. The students will be able to use analogies to understand how cell parts work together
    c. The students will create a comic strip to illustrate their analogies.
    d. The students will analyze each others comic strips and evaluate them for accuracy and originality.

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1. Procedure–

a. Complete the Background worksheet (The Cell and the City) as a whole class. Discuss each organelle and how it is “like” a part of the city. Go over the concept of an analogy and explain how it can vary by student.

b. Hand out the worksheet (Cell Analogy) to small groups(4) and have the group brainstorm quickly what part of the school each organelle could be “like.” They should fill out the worksheet before moving to the next step by giving the function of each of the eight organelles and describing why they chose the analogy that they wrote down.

(Cynthia Madanski’s class will not focus on 8 organelles, only 3)

c. Give students a camera, or iPod Touch, and have them quickly go out into the school to take pictures of their “organelles.”

d. When students return they can either upload their photos onto one computer, visit the computer lab or use the comic app on the iPod Touch to make their photos into comic strips. They should add titles and descriptions to explain their analogies.

e. Print out the comic strips and share them with the class. A good follow up activity would be to have the groups swap analogy worksheets and comic strips and have them analyze the final product for creativity, originality and accuracy.

2. Web 2.0 Tool– Strip Designer (iPod/iPhone App) or a comic-strip tool such as Bitstrips that has a free 30-day trial.
3. Social Participation/Social Learning– This activity requires students to work together to brainstorm the analogy for each of eight organelles. They must agree on each analogy and record it on their worksheet. Students will then divide up the organelles (two each) and go out into the school to take pictures. When they return to class, the group must work together to complete the comic strip, adding titles and captions to explain their analogy.
4. Making Connections– The scenario must offer opportunities for the learner to connect on different levels. Include the three types of connections below in your plan. How are the connections being made and how will they help deep learning take place. How will your learner connect with:
a. Class discussion about the cell-city analogy prior to the assignment.
b. Relating the function of the organelles to a part of the school that they are familiar with.
c. Share the finished product with the rest of the class for analysis.

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1. Create/Produce – Comic Strip Analogy: The Cell is Like a School
2. Assessment –Rubric for the activity:

Rubric	Superior (20pts)	Good (15pts)	Average (10pts)	Fair (5pts)
Met Requirements	All requirements met.	One required element missing.	Two required elements missing	More than two required elements missing
Creativity	Project showed creative choices for all eight cell parts.	Project showed creative choices for at least six cell parts.	Project showed creative choices for four cell parts.	Project showed creative choices for less than four cell parts.
Originality	Final project looks completely different from other groups.	Final project only has a few elements like the other groups.	Final project has many elements in common with the other groups.	Final project shows a lack of original thought.
Group Grade	Group divided the tasks and the required work. Every member contributed to the final project.	One or two people did not participate in the project letting others do the majority of the work.	One person took over the project and completed all of the work on the project.	The group fell apart and did not complete the project.

3. Reflection
a. Students will fill out a Google form when they finish answering questions about the activity. They will have the opportunity to identify their favorite parts of the project, as well as those that they didn’t like.
b. Teachers will reflect on this activity and determine what should be changed for the next implementation. When I do this project again, I will make them spend more time on their analogies. They will need to check with other sources, such as their book or the Internet, for the exact function of the organelle that they are working with.

Persuasive Statement:
Strip Designer was a fun and effective tool for encouraging student collaboration and active learning.

For Part 2 of my Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario for the ETC class at Full Sail U, I will be using a program called Comic Life to merge each group's cell analogy comic strips. Comic Life2 is a program that was part of our tech package when we enrolled at FSU. I've used it several times now, and really like the ease of use, printing/sharing options, features and overall "look" of the program. I didn't need a tutorial or any instructions to figure out the program...I just opened it up and took off!

Here is a screenshot of the Comic Life2 interface, you can see that there are only four panes to deal with:

The large pane is your working project, this is where you will work with your photos and other elements to make the comic page. Notice that each of the other panes are numbered: 1, 2, and 3. That's basically all you need to know!
1--Choose your page layout. There are basic blank pages with various numbers and arrangements of pictures. Then there are special layouts from comics over the decades, Euro comics, futuristic comics, Manga comics, maps, etc.
2--Drag in your photos or artwork. The default here is for iPhoto, and you can choose an event, person, etc. You can also use Finder to select any folder on your Mac. Or, you can select the camera and take a picture with the Mac's built-in camera.
3--Add Balloons or Captions. This is where the fun starts! You can add custom lettering and change the color and style to fit your comic. You can also add a text balloon or banner, you can adjust everything about it from size to background color including the direction of the speaking bubble.

I only used Comic Life in this project to merge four students' separate comic strips onto one page. I wanted to have them printed out in color, but save a little money! In the future, I will let my students use this awesome program...I know they will love it as much as I did!

Once your comic page is created, there are several options for sharing it. You can only save the comic as a Comic Life document inside the program. But you can choose print and save it as a PDF, then convert it to a JPEG (which is what I did.) You can also choose to email the page or share it on Facebook.
Hope you enjoyed my review of Comic Life2, and I hope you can think of ways to use it in your classroom or in your personal life. It's a fun little APPle!