Rip. Mix. Feed

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Jessica Dickens

I tried making a children’s story on Kerpoof:http://www.kerpoof.com/#/view?s=2gs11e7Tdwo3c0hr-c-1d3b65-x

I was motivated to attempt this because my husband is currently illustrating a children’s story and I have never been a very good artist so I thought this site would allow me to step into his world. I also teach ESL students for one of my classes and am always looking for new ways for them to express themselves both in writing and visually.
I attempted to achieve a simple story with a good moral. It is not terribly complex, but I enjoyed experimenting with the different backgrounds and characters.
This site allows one to use their literacy of the written word and combine it with visual learning. It could be very engaging for students of all ages to experiment with varied levels of poetry, prose, fiction and non-fiction. It is an inspired concept that allows those of us without certain gifts to express ourselves. It could engage learners who are more visually-oriented and allow them the confidence to achieve what others can with a short story or essay. It’s exciting because it has the potential to open the doors to a whole different learning style of student.
The drawbacks are the limited creativity. There are only a certain number of character, background, prop and writing style choices which could be great for younger students but may prevent older students from becoming truly engaged.

About Jessica Dickens

I am an English Language Arts, Drama, Film Studies and ESL teacher in Vancouver, BC. I have recently begun a new position at a new private secondary school called Alexander Academy in downtown Vancouver. I am building a curriculum for each of my classes and creating my department from scratch. It is incredibly challenging and rewarding. I live in downtown Vancouver with my husband, Jordan, a freelance illustrator. I am a pop culture addict with a passion for classic films, modern television and all kinds of music. I would much rather spend an evening on Netflix than on a campground, so I am not your typical Vancouverite. I am hoping to finish MET in August 2014.
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2 Responses to Rip. Mix. Feed

  1. kgill says:
    November 18, 2013 at 8:13 pm

    Very cute! I agree, students would love to use this tool! I remember using Comic Life and my grade 2s really enjoyed using that, I think this would be another tool they would fall in love with! Especially since they can see the page turning, like a real book.

  2. cluciak says:
    November 24, 2013 at 5:17 pm

    I tried out kerpoof as well and agree with some of your observations of the program. I have used Comic Life and Pixton in my grade 4/5 classroom. Those programs are few steps so easier for younger students to use. Kerproof, in my opinion, takes story creation to the next level by offering more choices for the student and, therefore, more entry points to begin creating.

    Christina

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