A pilot program for Access English Microscholarship teachers and students with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs
AEGlobalComics Website | Flipgrid | YouTube
The AE Comics Virtual Exchange Program: A 360-degree professional development experience
The AE Global Comics Virtual Exchange (#AEComicsVX) is a pilot program to develop a teacher training community of practice for English Access Microscholarship teachers worldwide in how to design and implement educational projects that use comics to teach American culture, English, and media literacy.
A vibrant community of practice
Inside this virtual exchange, there is an ongoing dialogue between the participants, instructional designers, and experts in the field of comics and education. Rather than a traditional online course where participants receive instruction, complete assignments, and then receive credit, this community of practice aims to grow relationships between the participants in the service of helping students all over the world.
Personalized Professional Development
The instructional designers work directly with the teachers, where they learn about comic books as teaching materials: how to select, use, and create comic books in their classes, and how comics can be used in their teaching practice. Then, the teachers and their students create classroom comic books, incorporating what they learned in the experience, and share their comics with a global audience. If the teachers have face-to-face classes, they are encouraged to use the materials and lessons with their Access students as well.
Micro-Exchange Experiences
An important component of the virtual exchange experience is classroom connections. The facilitators organize multiple micro-exchanges between teachers and students from different countries where classes work together on developing materials and projects, and meeting other teachers and students from around the world in small virtual rooms of up to 12 participants.
Publishable Products
Throughout the 10 weeks, participants create comics about themselves, their communities, and superheroes who solve problems. All coursework for this experience leads to a final project, which is a comic book story about a community issue of importance, with a superhero (designed by the participant), solving the problem. The final projects will be assembled into an anthology to share with the world.
Program Components
Throughout the entire experience and beyond, the community of practice is a one-stop-shop for teachers and students to learn and create comics using English. The virtual exchange, as a pilot model, has two cohorts: one in spring and one in fall. The Access Teachers Comics Institute is a short-term, asynchronous weekly online experience where participants are led by the instructional designers and will complete four tasks over a four-week period about using comics in the classroom. It is open to all Access teachers, not just those selected for the two pilot cohorts.
Tech Tools: Learn by Doing
Participants learn how to use many tech tools during the 10-week experience. They used Slack to communicate with each other daily, Zoom for weekly "office hour" meetings, Whereby for micro-exchanges between teachers and students, Pixton for creating digital comics, Flipgrid for sharing their experiences, and Padlet for their weekly coursework. Most of these tools are new to participants, but by the end of the experience, they are adept at using the tools and then are able to train other teachers and students as well.
Coursework
Participants learn how to use comics for the EFL classroom through 10 weeks of professional development.
- Week 1: Get to Know Comics
- Week 2: Why Make Comics?
- Week 3: The Power of Storytelling
- Week 4: Collaborative Story Creation
- Weeks 5 & 6: Telling Your Own Story
- Weeks 7, 8 & 9: Superheroes
- Week 10: Reflection and action plan
Mentor Leadership
Seven new mentors are joining the #AEComicsVX team for the Winter 2021 cohort.
Several graduates from the Spring 2020 cohort were selected to lead "Pods" for the Fall 2020 cohort to work across 12 time zones.
Current Events
Past Events
Fall 2020 Participant Locations
AE Global Comics Spring Cohort- Inaugural Class
On Tuesday, June 30th, the pilot cohort of AE Global Comics Virtual Exchange Program held the first graduation on Zoom. 25 teachers, their students, and RELO offices celebrated the accomplishments of our English Access Microscholarship teacher and student participants.
Access Teachers Comics Institute
The Access Teachers Comics Institute will was held July 13th to August 7th. This was a one-month experience open to all English Access Microscholarship Teachers where they read, watched, shared, and connected with teachers worldwide using the recently published text Panels and Perspectives: Creating Comics in the EFL Classroom. Participants learned and mastered new edtech tools, discovered new strategies for teaching critical thinking and literacy, and created community with fellow educators.
Facilitators
Jacqueline Gardy, Program Manager, Office of English Language Programs @jacquiegardy
Dan Ryder, Online Learning Facilitator, Consultant, Office of English Language Programs @WickedDecent
Dr. Jennifer Williams, Lead Experience Designer, Consultant, Office of English Language Programs @JenWilliamsEdu
Katie McClintic, Online Learning Facilitator, Consultant, Office of English Language Programs
Dr. Gena Rhoades, Online Learning Facilitator, Consultant, Office of English Language Programs @GenaUSA
Tim Smyth, Online Learning Facilitator, Consultant, Office of English Language Programs @historycomics
Bob Nguyen, Online Learning Facilitator, Consultant, Office of English Language Programs @bobunguyen
Panels and Perspectives: Creating Comics in the EFL Classroom
Interested in learning more about how to use comics in the EFL classroom? Download Panels and Perspectives and find other comics resources today: http://bit.ly/EFLComics
The AE Global Comics Virtual Exchange Program is a pilot for the Office of English Language Programs. Discover resources and more on our flagship website: https://americanenglish.state.gov/
Credits:
Comic Art by Josh Alves; Avatars made with PixtonEDU