FUN WITH BUBBLR

Bubblr is a project done by Pimpampum.net. It is a tool used to create comic strips using photos from Flickr. One could either use the public images found in Flickr or images from one's own account in Flickr. Speech bubbles can also be added to the images to create dialogues or thoughts. Bubblr can be used for presentation as well as a teaching tool in class.

Let's try it out!!! http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/

1. Firstly, type in the tag and hit GO.
2. Then, wait for the images to load. Choose the one that you like and drag it to the main window.
3. You can also add on the speech or thought bubbles from the bottom of the page.
4. Lastly, hit the PUBLISH button!!! You can then put a tittle for the strip and press DONE. It will be then saved automatically. If you would like to have a copy of the strip, you can send it to your email using the "send to" feature at the bottom of the page.

Here is an example of a completed comic strip created using Bubblr with the theme of "Malaysia 2012".

How to Integrate Bubblr in ELT Classroom?

In order to make your ELT classes more interesting, you can start the lesson with Bubblr. Bubblr can be used as a brainstorming activity for an essay writing task. For instance, the essay topic given to the students is "Festival". During the pre-writing stage, a teacher could use the comic strip that has been prepared earlier using Bubblr to brainstorm the students. The comic strip could be made up of images of various festivals that are celebrated around the world. This could allow the students to visualise the scenes and subsequently activate their schemata. Students would also be more attentive in class since technology has been used instead of the traditional method of teaching. 

Another way of integrating Bubblr in an ELT classroom is to allow the students to use it. How? Firstly, teacher could introduce Bubblr to the students. Then, divide the students into groups of four and allow them to familiarize themselves with the tool by creating a comic strip. After some time, students should be encouraged to present their individual work with Bubblr. The teacher could  then monitor the students' use of language from the dialogue and thoughts created on the strip. Moreover, the sense of ownership created from their production will also allow the students to be proud of their own work and thus have more interest in learning a language.   

Advantages:

• It is engaging as it includes real life pictures.
• Students will be able to visualise the scenes.
• A sense of ownership can be created.
• It is absolutely FREE.
• We do not break copyright.
• It develops students' creativity in learning. 
• It is user-friendly. One does not have to set-up an account to use it.

Limitations:

•  Sometimes the captions or descriptions of the presentation sent to our email do not fully appeared as how it has been prepared.
• The words in the dialogue box cannot be seen clearly once it has been embedded into a blog.    
• It is a one-way-interaction-task. No one can comment on the  presentation. 
• Finding a right picture may take a long time when the tag does  not match the keywords of the images posted in Flickr.
• The width of the dialogue box cannot be adjusted. 
• Some pictures with very big size are difficult to be deleted once it has been dragged onto the strip.