Comic4Welfare – An Interactive Comic-Based E-Learning Platform for Animal Welfare Education

Abstract

Traditional methods in agricultural and animal welfare education often fail to convey ethical complexity or engage learners meaningfully. To address this, the project Tierschutz erleben introduces Comic4Welfare - a digital learning platform that combines gamified storytelling, interactive comics, and a unique comic-creation tool, the Comic Automaton, to support engaging and effective learning in animal welfare. By combining factual knowledge with emotionally resonant scenarios, the platform promotes empathy, critical thinking, and learner engagement. It guides users from structured reading modules through decision-based comic tasks to the creation of their own comics, fostering experiential, constructivist learning. Developed through iterative, user-centered design and tested in workshops with students, Comic4Welfare has shown strong potential to enhance usability and educational impact. The Comic Automaton empowers learners to visually narrate and reflect on their understanding, bridging affective and cognitive domains. This approach centers on the concept of “learning through creation,” making complex content more accessible and personally relevant.