This looks like a lot of fun .. gonna give it a try ….

MAKE BELIEFS COMIX! Online Educational Comic Generator for Kids of All Ages

Posted for Bill Zimmerman at wmz@aol.com

Dear Reader,

I want to share with you news of my newest educational
project and also ask for your help to make it succeed.

A year ago I launched a new web site
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com where children and
adults can create their own comic strips. They can
select from 15 fun characters with different moods –
happy, sad, angry, worried – and write words for blank
talk and thought balloons to make their characters
talk and think. There also are story ideas and prompts
to help users create graphic stories.

This site can be used by educators to teach language,
reading and writing skills, and also for students in
English-as-a- Second-Language programs to facilitate
self-expression and storytelling, as well as computer
literacy. It is now being used in 160 countries by
educators. Some educational therapists use it with
deaf and autistic people to help them understand
concepts and communicate. Parents and children can
create stories together, print them to create comic
books or email them to friends and family. Others will
find the site a resource to be creative, calm down and
have fun.

Because so many Spanish-speaking users asked us for
the ability to write their cartoons in Spanish as well
as in English, we recently upgraded the site to accept
words written in Spanish, including appropriate accent
marks. This can be a useful tool for someone who is
learning Spanish as well as someone whose first
language is Spanish. This feature has also been
expanded to other other languages, such as French,
Italian and German.

I am hoping that you will share
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com with your colleagues,
teachers, students or readers of your publications and
resource lists. The site is free with no advertising.
Any help you might offer in getting word out about
this project is very appreciated. If you can suggest
other people or groups whom I might contact to make
them aware of the site please send me their names,
email addresses or phone numbers. Any list-servs I
might join?
Relevant Internet resource sharing groups would be
helpful, too. It takes a community to build a useful
resource like this one.

As one who learned to read with comic books, I know
that creating comic strips can help people tap into
their creativity and practice their language and
storytelling skills. The site is free and stems from
my lifelong mission to create resources that help
people find their voice and express themselves. The
concept for makebeliefscomix.com is derived from my
earlier books, Make Beliefs and Make Beliefs for Kids
of All Ages (which can be found on my other web site:
http://www.billztreasurechest.com ).
A Make Beliefs interactive feature appeared for 13
years on my syndicated Student Briefing Page for
Newsday, and in National Geographic’s World Magazine.

I hope you like http://www.makebeliefscomix.com and
will use it in your work and personal life.

Your feedback is welcome and very helpful.

With thanks and every good wish,

Bill Zimmerman
Author and journalist
Online Educational Comics Launched to Encourage
Writing, Reading and Storytelling in English, Spanish,
French, Italian, German
wmz@aol.com