Tech Walk

Have you ever heard of a Tech Walk? We often read about the components of a 21st Century classroom and creativity is one of the main ideas mentioned. How do we teach and support creativity? What does it look like in the school or classroom setting? This week I had the pleasure of seeing one strategy to support creativity in action. I was working in Mrs. Griffith's classroom helping to create habitat projects using Google Drawing when she stopped her kids and said to take a 3-5 minute Tech Walk.  The kids then stopped creating their Drawings and moved around the room looking at each others creations. They were able to quickly see each others work, gather ideas, ask questions, be reflective of their own work and take back new ideas to include in their project. It was an easy, quick, non-tech technique to support the creative process in her classroom and it was extremely effective. Nicely done Mrs. Griffith and her students!

Why haven't you tried Google Drawing yet?

Google Drawing gets no respect. First, it is not listed as one of the first applications available in Drive. Users need to click the New button in Drive and More to find it.  Second, we tend to think of Docs and Slides as the go to productivity and presentation tools. I believe this comes from the years of working in Microsoft and making the transition from Word and PowerPoint. Third, users do not realize the tools available in Drawing. It does so much more than simply provide users with rudimentary drawing tools.

From Google Support: A list of things users can do with Drawing.

1. Edit drawings online in real time with others and invite people to view your edits in real time.
2. Chat with others who are editing your drawing, from within the drawings editor.
3. Publish drawings online to the world as images, or download them in PDF, JPG or PNG formats.
4. Insert text, shapes, arrows, scribbles, and images from your hard drive or from the Web to enhance a diagram or painting.
5. Lay out drawings precisely with alignment guides, snap to grid, and auto distribution.
6. Insert drawings into other Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides using the web clipboard.

Here are a few examples users can use in their classroom.

1. Use Drawing as a digital whiteboard.  Create the Drawing, share it with your students and use it to create a Sticky Note board, a graphic organizer, a timeline, or whatever you and your students can think of.
2. Use Drawing to annotate a screenshot.  Capture a web page or diagram from the web, insert it in Drawing and use the text, shapes and arrow tools to annotate the captured photo. 
3. Create hyperlinks on a photo or diagram.  Insert the diagram or create a drawing. Using the Polyline or Shape tool, draw a shape around the area where you want the hyperlink. Insert the link to the webpage you want to add. Change the shape color and line color to transparent. You have now created an invisible hyperlink for students to click on to find more information. Even better, your students can create hyperlinks to connect web sites and additional Drawings to present their work on a topic.

There are an endless number of ideas that can be created in Drawing. I hope you find Drawing to be as cool as I do and it becomes a valuable tool in your classroom.