We were in the lab today. Some students are moving along in creating their images for their Scrabble Tile project. They are using Photoshop well. Others are struggling. Photoshop is a monster program and can be difficult to learn in short bursts. The students’ class time is 53 minutes. By the time the computers get up and going we have 50 minutes to work. It can be difficult for the students to get focused and involved when learning Photoshop and working on their projects—before you know it the period is over.

Ms. Burns and I have decided to integrate Google Draw. This is a simple drawing program that also allows image integration. Students can use their own images, draw shapes, use color, and place text. They can quickly create a well designed tile image for their project. We will start using Google Draw tomorrow and next week. Some students will remain using Photoshop, others will switch to Google Draw. This should be helpful in moving all the students to successful identity image creation.

After finding some good resources on the web for Google Draw tutorials, I have selected the following for the students to use. The first are instructions by Google Training; the second is by Educational Technology and Mobile Learning—a team of dedicated teachers located in Canada that allows their material to be used under the Creative Commons License; and the third is by an art educator Mr. Codilla and is a YouTube video.

Google Logo and Google Draw

Photoshop Logo