Web 2.0 Tool #5: Creating a bubblr comic strip

Link: http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/index.php

Link to this example: (I had trouble with this link so pictures are attached)
http://www.pimpampum.net%2Fbubblr%2F%3Fid%3Dundefined&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHcnx4Q_uL6naldTX2TdKC-M4HJfQ

Description: Teachers and students can easily create free comic strips from flickr pictures. The user can search by tags or flickr users to find photos and then add words using speech bubbles, thought bubbles and banners. Unfortunately, you can only use pictures from flickr which means that creating a class flickr account is a necessity since basic tag searches can bring up thousands of pictures. Also, I tried to embed video links in the text bubbles but this didn’t seem to work. The program doesn’t require a tutorial and would be perfect for students with little to no experience with technology. Sharing the comic strips among students and teachers can be done by emailing a link or using an embed code to include within a website or a blog. When using this site teachers need to remember that all projects are public so school policy should be reviewed and finding anonymous ways to enter names to track student progress should be considered.

When I worked with this product, a number of different instructional applications came to mind. Students could create a story with pictures uploaded to a class flickr account. Foreign language and ESOL class can create dialog strips using target language to demonstrate mastery. Also, students could label photos and create a study guide which could be published on the class website. The strip I created relates to a science experiment. It would be interesting to have a student document a science experiment by taking photos and then labeling the process using this site. All the components could be typed into the strip then used for an assessment.