Thing 43: Google Drawings

This was...fun! I loved learning Google Drawings and students would, too. This is truly one of those engaging activities in which one gets 'into the flow' and time just flies. (I can easily envision the students' collective groans when they are told that time is up.)

As Alice Keeler states in her video, one obvious use for this tool is for student projects. At our school, tri-fold or poster boards are generally the de facto format for projects, and we have Student Showcase of Learning Nights when parents can come in and see students' projects displayed throughout the school. One big benefit to creating digital projects is that they can be shared with families who are unable to attend a school event. They are also 'portable' and much less cumbersome than physical projects.

After losing myself for an inordinate amount of time in Google Drawings, I finally ended up with my own graphic version of the water cycle.

I had trouble with gifs. My intent was to have the waves moving, but was unable to master that on this attempt.

I found Google Drawings to be very similar to SmartNotebook in term of creating files.

One bonus piece of learning: png! I now know how to search for images that don't come with their own backgrounds.

Next up: I will try magnetic poetry, and have students create their own poems. April is National Poetry Month and this would be a fun project.