More Than Cute: The Power of Playful Cartoons in Online Courses
Concurrent Session 4
Brief Abstract
A well-crafted cartoon can do more than entertain, and you don’t have to be a Disney animator to create one! Come explore examples of effective course cartoons and brainstorm ways to transform your own course content into an animated video. “If we can dream it, we can do it!”
Presenters
Extended Abstract
Decades after Walt Disney introduced the world to his delightful mouse, educators are still hesitant to embrace cartoons as valuable course content, especially in online college courses. In fact, many college professors become either suspicious or dismissive of animated content, assuming that a traditional lecture, screencast tutorial video, or online interactive will best achieve their learning objectives. Even if instructors are willing to incorporate animated content into their course, they often shy away from building their own cartoons, assuming the animation creation process will be too tricky and time-consuming. However, our recent student survey results indicate that cartoons not only engage students and enhance learning, but give instructors the opportunity to create substantive course material that can stand the test of time. Cartoons are more than cute: they captivate students in profound ways that we can no longer afford to underestimate.
As UAEC 200 Instructors at The University of Alabama, we have learned this the hard way. We teach the required College Readiness Course with UA Early College that all students must pass in order to take additional classes with our program. We teach about 1,000 students each year, and that number is expected to increase since our course will be entirely free starting in August. We radically revise the UAEC 200 course every three years, and if there is one thing the course revision process has taught us, it is this: cartoon videos have staying power, and all other course content demands continual change. In other words, students insist that the cartoon videos we created seven years ago are still helpful, relevant, and effective, whereas all of the videos featuring instructors, screencast tutorials, and online interactives throughout the course need significant revision.
During this session, we will briefly explore the history of cartoons in education: the fears, assumptions, misconceptions, and trends. Participants will also share the philosophical concerns and practical challenges they face when creating cartoons for their online courses. For example, are cartoons always the best option based on the speciifc subject matter and/or student populuations we are serving? Are we “dumbing down” the material when we animate it? Do we have the time for animation creation, and what animation programs are affordable and/or user-friendly?
Next, we will share specific examples of some of the cartoons we created and discuss how they have enhanced the course. These examples include two cartoons on note-taking strategies, one cartoon about online academic discussions, and three cartoons on academic misconduct. We will then discuss our experience using PowToon, GoAminate, and Vyond, and we will model for participants how user-friendly animation video creation tools like Vyond have become. As we explore the options and opportunities in Vyond together, we will share some tips for cartoon creation: how to establish the appropriate pace and scope for the video, what to consider when selecting music and characters, when to adhere to repeated themes and when to embrace variety, and the need to value play (no matter what the content is, a playful approach is powerful!).
Finally, we will invite participants to brainstorm ways they can transform current course content, program basics, and/or important topics for their institution into animated content. Participants will be given a “Dreaming and Doing It” handout that helps them identify opportunities for cartoon content and guides them through the initial stages of creation. We will illustrate how we wrestled with these same questions during our most recent course revision in 2022, and will share how it led us to create five new cartoons that demystify the college writing process. The handout will include the following sections:
Identifying a Place and Space for Your Cartoon:
What content are my students currently struggling with the most?
What questions do students consistently ask via email, and is there an opportunity for a cartoon video here?
What part of my course seems the most heavy, serious, or dull?
Are there parts of my course where a block of text could be condensed or eliminated by incorporating a cartoon video?
Clarifying the Purpose of Your Cartoon
What is the specific goal of this cartoon?
What specific skill do I want students to master and/or what concept do I want students to learn after watching this cartoon?
How does this video fit into the larger context of the module or course?
How do I want students to feel during or after viewing this cartoon?
Exploring the Possibilities for Your Cartoon
What are two different ways I could present this topic/concept as a story?
What type of characters, icons, graphics, and/music help me tell this story and/or achieve my goals for this cartoon?
If I want to make my cartoon dream a reality, what are my next steps?
By the end of this presentation, we hope participants will be excited by the opportunities animation provides. In addition, we hope participants feel empowered. As instructors, we possess the intimate knowledge of both our subject matter and our students, so we know the best ways to build the most effective cartoons for our courses. We can generate our own cartoon content, and we don't have to rely exclusively on our instructional designers. We don’t have to be as skilled as Walt Disney, but we do have to be willing to play!
Finally, we hope to stimulate a discussion that extends beyond the session and leads us to consider the various ways that cartoons can reshape what we do every day. Maybe we don’t need more words, more emails, more announcements, more assignments, or more screencast tutorials. Instead, we may need a new character, a playful presentation of ideas, and a fresh perspective. In an increasingly complex world, inviting students into light-hearted lands that are simple and substantive is more than an attempt to increase student engagement or promote escapism. Rather, it is an invitation to recapture innocence, stimulate imaginations, and allow learning to happen when it happens best: when we are confident, relaxed, safe, and delighted.