iGeneration - 21st Century Education (Pedagogy & Digital Innovation)

Researchers have been able to discern that comics help to create a positive attitude and increase motivation (Engler, Hoskin & Payne, 2008; Kilickaya & Krajka, 2012). Apple and Kikuchi (2007) have also shown that computer based material that allow students to have control over content can result in benefits such as being student centered, motivating, increasing self reliance and autonomy, and allowing for real world tasks. Pixton was launched in 2008 and redesigned in 2010 as a Web 2.0 site. This allowed users to create, interact, collaborate and share content online with each other through social media dialogues. Users are creators of user-generated content in a virtual community. Pixton is a way for students to engage in the world of comics and to express themselves through creating and sharing their own comics. It provides a powerful visual writing tool through the use of any web browser, making it easily accessible for all learners. Through the use of Pixton, critical skills such as being able to convey an idea concisely, telling a story in a logical sequence, and collaborating with others are developed in a multimodal setting.