If one looks at american television, it is clear that animation is used to teach with great effect. Similarly, the movie industry... I recall english & history texts with cartoons, some funny, some not but the intention was the same - reinforcement!!!! Imagine what we can do by animating our history, geography, civics, etc.
The role of cartoons, animation, film, video (visual arts) has always been that of a tool for and of teaching. And when the cry from the teaching fraternity is to ban cell phones, I cringe in shock and despair. These people are throwing away the very tool that can teach effectively in this day and age. Yet, the very same people are hooked on the very same cell phone; following news, sports, politics, FB, msn, etc., et al.
All other major societies are bringing cell phones into E-learning framework - apps being written are growing by the thousands, so much so 8yr olds are jumping into the app writing bandwagon and companies are being formed with 12yr olds as the CEO.
John
--- On Fri, 11/27/09, Vasudev Seeram <cavguy101@...> wrote:
From: Vasudev Seeram <cavguy101@...>
Subject: Re: [ttcs] Comics as User Assistance
To: ttcs@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, November 27, 2009, 12:04 PM
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Richard,
What I find interesting is its application in education.
I spoke with a teacher who teaches O and A' level classes. She said that within recent years, the size of these classes has grown as more students are being enrolled into them. Many of these students have very short attention spans, preferring to watch videos and listen to iPods, rather than read textbooks.
Imagine if comics/anime could be used as a vehicle to teach subjects, such as a comic about Carmen Sandiego to teach world geography, or one about Caribs and Arawaks to teach Caribbean History, or even comics to teach the fundamentals of physics or chemistry.
It just may put the fun back into learning.
V.
--- On Fri, 11/27/09, Richard Hamel-Smith <Richardhamelsmith@ gmail.com> wrote:
From: Richard Hamel-Smith <Richardhamelsmith@ gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [ttcs] Comics as User Assistance
To: ttcs@yahoogroups. com
Date: Friday, November 27, 2009, 4:19 AM
Vasu,
I think it's a good idea. People retain ideas from comics. They are
non-threatening. Fear of looking stupid is, I think, a major reason why
people don't do well in traditional classroom situations. Comics get
past that problem.
Another way people learn well, is to play games. As long as the game is
fun, they participate. I believe that participation opens them up to
learning.
Learning anything new is hard. Lots of people can't read text. They need
to learn orally or visually. It just doesn't click otherwise.
<side rant> This is why the Bible and no doubt, other holy books are
really meant to be read aloud, chanted even, sung. They lose their
impact if you just read them softly in a corner somewhere.</ side rant>
So, when you're writing documentation in the famous ISO9001 format,
include some pictures.
I know, too early in the morning for this. Only half way
through my coffee.
Richard
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