Thing # 12

I chose to explore a few of the tools that were listed for this "thing". One of the ones that I am most excited about is called ToonDoo. This tool allows you to create your own cartoon strips. In my last post I discussed how I liked one of the comic strip makers, but that it wasn't something I would be able to share with my students because it had inappropriate material that was easily accessible. I asked for other suggestions, but with ToonDoo, I believe I found a solution to my problem. This site appears to be kid-friendly. I will, of course, do some more exploring before I set my students loose on this. This website has so many cool features...my students could unleash their creativity. One of the best things about it is that you don't have to be an artist to create a great looking comic strip. There are already many pre-made characters that you can tailor however you want to, as far as facial features, emotions, etc. Like I said in post #11, I often offer my students the option of creating a cartoon strip as a spelling activity and this tool will really help my students to do it well.

While exploring Toon Doo, I looked for social features like we were asked to do. I was so surprised at how many there were on this site! There is a comments feature, discussion forums, a help wiki that users can add to, and a message center where other users can send you messages. There is a feature that allows users to suggest tags for images available on the site. There are also many different contests that users can enter. In addition, there is a feature called "Fellow Follow" where you can become a follower of another user and be updated on the new cartoons they create. All of these features allow users to connect to a community if they so desire.