Using Strip Design With Science

I've been experimenting with ways to use the app, Strip Designer. My students love it because they can add speech or thought bubbles, visual sound effects, and because they can easily format how they want their layout to be. For example, they can add or delete cells from templates, detach cells and overlap them, and add interesting frames designs with different color motifs.

After teaching my students about all of the effects and formats they can create, I wanted to decide upon a meaningful way to showcase their knowledge. Then it hit me. Each student has conducted at least two experiments in front of the class this year, but the only evidence of this was photographs I had taken and a grade that I had given.

Now it was time to have fun! I wanted students to create a product that gave information about their experiment using as little words as possible so that anyone who looked at it would understand what hypothesis they were testing. I started by showing them five different ways that I had taken the same information, but displayed it differently. Here are a few of my examples:

Then I had students each create three ways to display their information. This took about two days. When students were finished, I asked them to set up their iPads for a "gallery walk." Students were able to go from desk to desk and look at each other's Strip Designs and give feedback to each other. Finally, they made finishing touches and shared their creations with me as a pdf. It was a huge success! I printed all of the designs and put them on a bulletin board for Open House. 

Here are a few student examples:

My next challenge is to use it in ELA and Math. I'm already thinking that we could use it for word study, grammar, and to solve steps in a math problem. The possibilities are endless!