The Power of Google Drawings to Engage Students

Sorry that I've been gone so long. I don't have a real reason why I haven't shared anything on the blog for so long. I have quite a few posts started, but other stuff keeps distracting me from finishing any of them. Well, that ends today. I'm back and committed to blogging again. I hope you missed me at least a little bit?

Over the years I have become a huge fan of engaging students in visuals. I love to have students create and explore visuals. I believe we learn best when creating is part of the learning process. We need to design activities to get students creating before, during, and after engaging in a learning experience.

Visual Design Resources for Educators and Learners

I've used a variety of different tools and resources to engage students in visual design, but Google Drawings is one tool that I have mostly ignored. I was recently inspired by this post by Tony Vincent to dive a bit deeper into Google Drawings. Tony has started to create and share Shapegrams in Google Drawings. I highly recommend checking out the incredible Shapegrams Tony has shared. 

"Shapegrams are pictures that are designed to be recreated using shapes, lines, and colors. Replicating the pictures helps develop and practice visual observation, spacial awareness, logical reasoning, and critical thinking." - Tony Vincent 

We work with visuals quite a bit in my Environmental Science Classes. This presentation has some links to activities and ideas that my students and I have enjoyed, but I rarely used Google Drawings. Thanks to Tony, I decided to engage my students in some quick Google Drawing Drag and Drop Activities. My inial goals for these activities is to quickly engage students in discussions connected to essential vocabulary.  Here are my first two attempts.

Energy Flow in Ecosystems Activity

Classifying and Organizing Life on Planet Earth

I know these are nothing fancy, but I enjoyed putting them together and my students seem to enjoy the drag and drop as much if not more than they enjoy drawing/writing in Docs and Slides. 

What do you think? How do you use Google Drawings with your students?

Want to learn more about Visual Design and Google Drawings? Check out these additional resources. 

• Control Alt Achieve - Google Drawings
• Fantastic Learning Activities with Google Drawings
• 35 Creative Google Drawings Activites for Classes
• Creative Student Voice and Choice Challenges
• Inserting Videos in Google Drawings
• HyperDrawings: Creating Amazing Flipped & Blended Learning Activities for Math Class
• Shake Up Learning - Google Drawings

Get Creative with Google Drawings

Recommended Book of the Week - In Other Words: Quotes that Push Our Thinking

The best educators are not content to do the same old thing year after year. Innovative educators push their thinking by engaging in social media, exploring blogs, attending conferences, and exploring the newest generation of educational books.

We've created a Recommended Educational Book Site to organize and share some great books connected to teaching and learning.

As part of my Summer Break Professional Development Exploration, I will share a new book that I am reading this summer each Monday. I am hoping to engage in a new book each week until we head back to school in August.

Collection of #ISTE19 Tips an Tricks Created and Shared by My Awesome PLN

Hopefully, you've had a chance to explore some of the ISTE19 Tips and Tricks I've posted over the last month.

• ISTE 2019 - 10 Conference Tips for the Engaged Educator
• The #ISTE19 Experience - Exploring The Expo & Connecting with Exhibitors
• Tips and Recommendations to Help Plan Your #ISTE19 Schedule - Sessions, Playgrounds, & Posters

Now the really good stuff is here for me to share and for you to explore.
I've taken a deep dive into the #STE19 social media stream and found some great stuff to support anyone attending the conference. There are even a few nice resources to support anyone who can't be there in person. 

Recommended Book of the Week - DON'T Ditch That Tech: Differentiated Instruction in a Digital World

The best educators are not content to do the same old thing year after year. Innovative educators push their thinking by engaging in social media, exploring blogs, attending conferences, and exploring the newest generation of educational books.

We've created a Recommended Educational Book Site to organize and share some great books connected to teaching and learning.

As part of my Summer Break Professional Development Exploration, I will share a new book that I am reading this summer each Monday. I am hoping to engage in a new book each week until we head back to school in August.

Sans Forgetica - A Font To Remember?

Happy Almost Summer! 

I will continue blogging during the summer and I've been pretty busy posting this year. You can visit and catch up on some of my posts at any time. If you are at ISTE, Samri Teacher Camp, or the Southland Learning Conference this summer, I'd love a high five! 

I know I have a longer post in me about how our brains work and how this connects to teaching and learning, but it is the last day of school . . . . If you know what I mean? It's a busy day, so this is all I have for today.