literacy – Jennifer's reflections 'through the looking glass'

Webcomics and webtoons are the new kid on the block for comics. Incorporating the excitement of interactive digital learning and the popularity of graphic novels, this digital literature trend harnesses pop-culture themes and formats for literacy learning. The contemporary webcomic Breaking Cat News (Dunn, 2017) is an entertaining play on traditional news crews and report topics, and is based on the escapades of the author’s pet cats.

Significant trends in children’s literature have shown an increase in the influence of text design and form . Illustrations and visual images hold power over audience engagement, with the rise of graphic novels an example of reader influence on publishing decisions and form (Short, 2018). Webcomics and webtoons move this appeal to the digital environment, engaging all ages and language learners. This format may seem simplistic in nature, however, they can cover a range of topics and issues in differing detail and complexity.

Dunn writes and illustrates the webcomic strips in her platform Cat News. The watercolour illustrations in animated panels effectively represent a humorous view of the adventures of her cats. The webcomic follows the traditional format of print comics, allowing the reader to follow the storyline through left to right and top to bottom directionality. Speech and thought bubbles are contained within the panels and the gutter space is used efficiently to move the action along. The narrow format of Breaking Cat News allows convenient scrolling for readers accessing the webpage via smartphones. Chapters are created and uploaded bi-weekly, with easy navigational tabs and arrows to explore through the content.

Screenshot from webcomic Breaking Cat News, example report chapter titled 'The bi-monthly 2am running of the cats' (Dunn, 2014)

Webcomics and webtoons offer the opportunity to foster students’ imagination and build their literacy and digital competencies. Research has shown that digital storytelling can positively impact student achievement as well as promote active and independent learning (Towndrow & Kogut, 2020). Meaningful integration of technology in the classroom to support 21st century learning is a goal in education and is reflected in the Australian Curriculum through the Literacy (The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2010 to present-b) and Digital Literacy capabilities (ACARA), 2010 to present-a). With many teachers identifying digital technologies as an area of concern in their professional development (Hyndman, 2018), the simple format and easy access to webcomics could be a practical means to integrate technology in authentic and enriching ways. Inspiring digital resources offer educators to connect literacy, multiliteracies and transliteracies, to engage with learning experiences across a range of platforms, tools and media (Ipri & Newman, 2017).

Breaking Cat News provides a digital literature platform for educators to utilise in their classrooms to enhance learner motivation as well as reading and digital literacy skills. By applying the DIG Checklist for inclusive high-quality children’s media (Kidmap, 2017), webcomics represent an equitable, accessible media option for study, design and creation. Students can relish the opportunity to digitalise their comics through sites such as Storyboard That. In addition, online art platforms including Piskel, Sketchpad and YouiDraw offer functional avenues for illustrating.

One detraction to note is the possibility that parents of students may raise concerns around the format and low density print, underestimating the educational benefits of the visually rich digital narratives and valuable tool for supporting reader motivations. Conversely to some viewpoints, webcomics and webtoons embrace textual concepts for deep understanding, including point of view, perspective, representation, imagery, context and symbolism (NSW Department of Education, 2022).

Screenshot from webcomic Breaking Cat News (Dunn, 2014, Meet our news crew)

Overall, the accessibility, engaging format and entertaining content in Breaking Cat News ensures it is a delightful and humorous read for all ages. Even this dog lover laughed out loud at the comical adventures of Dunn’s cats and will be sharing the page with animal loving friends. In a testament to the popularity of the theme and format, a Breaking Cat News adventure was written and published as a book… and you can even purchase a calendar!

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2010 to present-a). Digital Literacy (Version 9). Australian Curriculum: F-10 Curriculum. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/digital-literacy

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2010 to present-b). Literacy (Version 9). Australian Curriculum: F-10 Curriculum. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/literacy

Dunn, G. (2017). Breaking Cat News [webcomic]. WordPress. https://www.breakingcatnews.com/

Hyndman, B. (2018). Ten reasons why teachers can struggle to use technology in the classroom. Science Education News, 67(4), 41-42.

Ipri, T., & Newman, B. (2017). Beginner’s guide to transliteracy: Where did the term transliteracy come from? Libraries and Transliteracy. https://librariesandtransliteracy.wordpress.com/beginners-guide-to-transliteracy/

Kidnap. (2017). The DIG Checklist for Inclusive, High-Quality Children’s Media. https://www.joinkidmap.org/digchecklist/

NSW Department of Education. (2022). Checklists for selecting quality texts for K-6. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/english/planning-programming-and-assessing-english-k-6/selecting-quality-texts

Short, K. G. (2018). What’s Trending in Children’s Literature and Why It Matters. Language Arts, 95(5), 287-298.

Towndrow, Phillip & Kogut, Galyna. (2020). Digital Storytelling for Educative Purposes: Providing an Evidence-Base for Classroom Practice. Springer.

The Shire: Hobbiton, New Zealand; Author’s own photo

What a fabulous journey Literature Across the Curriculum has been! I have thoroughly enjoyed this elective and it certainly lived up to my expectations of bringing literature to the forefront of education, providing opportunities to explore the literary benefits and applications of diverse and multimodal texts in our libraries and classrooms.

Children’s literature has evolved with the information and technology environment. Reading holds the power of knowledge, however it is more than literacy skills students are gaining. In my post on Children’s Literature: reflection of professional knowledge, I explore some of my initial knowledge on the benefits of literature, trends in publishing and rise of visual texts (Holland, 2023, January 7). Studying this subject has deepened my knowledge of genres and formats, with particular learning around multi- and transliteracy. There were many terms to learn and the module readings and videos extremely helpful in developing my understanding. I created a post of concise definitions of terms for easy reference in the future (Holland, 2023, January 17).

Researching for assessments led to the discovery of substantial studies into student learning outcomes being enhanced through a literature perspective (Merga, 2022, Merga 2020, Lance et al., 2018). The examination of different reading activities and strategies during Assessment 2 was an applicable task for future teaching opportunities. Literary studies, curriculum documents and learning programs all demonstrate how reading strategies like literature circles provide students with opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of texts.. Additionally, by linking the literature focus to the curriculum, it was clear how broader capabilities such as empathy, care, values and ethical understanding enhance student learning. Further exploration of the benefits of literature through the application of diverse multicultural texts is outlined in my blog post Multicultural literature in schools (Holland, 2023, January 2). This is an area I want to expand in my school setting, to promote literature for cross-curricular learning, to embody and enrich teaching practices for a variety of societal and world perspectives and experiences.

School learning programs and libraries aim to meet the needs of users by providing access to a balanced collection of resources. Schools need to evaluate the school community to learn more about their context to effectively address the demographics and needs. Research into my school context was interesting; reading through board reports, school improvement plans and gathering statistics and data on diversity and literacy achievements. Reflecting on my school clientele in a medium to high socio-economic area, many students have a strong knowledge of, and access to, digital technologies. Schools should utilise this experience and engagement to provide opportunities for an enriching learning environment with the incorporation of digital tools (O’Connell et al., 2015). In module 4 discussions I reflect on ebooks in our school context (Holland, 2022, December 28).

Learning about interactive books, hyperlink texts and gamification has renewed my professional and personal goals of expanding the use of digital technologies in my pedagogy. As much as I love the smell of a new book and the “crack” the cover makes as you open it for the first time, I know that technology and innovation is my personal development area. I just need to give it a go – the more you delve in and use the applications, the more confident you will become.

Lance, K., & Kachel , D. (2018). Why school librarians matter: What years of research tell us. Phi Delta, 99(7), 15-20.

Merga, M. K. (2022). The role of the library within school-level literacy policies and plans in Australia and the United Kingdom. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 54(3), 469–481. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211022410

Merga, M. K. (2020). School libraries fostering children’s literacy and literature learning: mitigating the barriers. Literacy (Oxford, England), 54(1), 70–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12189

O’Connell, J., Bales, J., & Mitchell, P. (2015). [R]Evolution in reading cultures: 2020 vision for school libraries, The Australian Library Journal, 64:3, 194-208, https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2015.1048043

Tag: literacy

Comics for the Digital Age

ETL402 Assessment 2: Reflective Practice