Drawing

  Figuring out the Drawing App: 

 I feel like such a newcomer to all of this Google Docs stuff, but it is really exciting and interesting. For me, learning to use draw came pretty easy.  I have used Pages a lot, along with Adobe Photoshop, too.  I can not say that I am amazing at it, but I did use both of those to create my prayer cards, newsletters, postcards, etc..., for when I was doing Mission work.  I rather have learned how to do it myself, then pay for someone to do it.  So, I am intrigued by this free Drawing app that comes with Google.  I especially like that you can use it within another document, for example, I could have used it in my letters to supporters to put incorporate an image I wanted to show them, etc...
  The link to the Drawing I did, can be found here: Japan Look.  I decided to think of a possible book cover for the book I'm writing ;)  I think this was an easy drawing, especially after I found the stock photo, and then could put it together more.  The Youtube videos were especially helpful, because it really mapped out all the tools there are to use with making a drawing.  I added a comment section, in case anyone wanted to comment on this.  But, I could not figure out how to start a chat, so I'm wondering if I did something wrong.

Exploring the Lesson Plan:

The Lesson Plan I chose, was for Elementary School.  My link to the Shapes page is: Shapes. I am not impressed with my skills, but I think my students would enjoy playing around with this :)  The teacher asked for students to do several things, including (taken from Lesson Plan):
1.     Make and manipulate various polygons

2.     Double click in the center of the shape to name it

3.     Share the drawing with the teacher for grading

I completed all of these tasks, and shared the link above. I think this lesson pace, would be great for elementary age.  I could see anywhere from First and up, using this plan to explore, build-on, and even create their own way of teaching this app.  I think it would be a great way to have older classes teach younger classes how to use this app, by letting them make the criteria the lower grades could meet.  In the lesson plan, the directions were clear, and obtainable.  It added a level of fun, by having the student create their own picture, but also education, by having the students label the shapes they used.  This was a great lesson overall.

Common Core State Standards

Graham had great things to say and explain in this chapter.  I took a lot of 'nuggets' from this chapter on how to not only use Drawing personally, but also use it in my classroom.  He really touched on some key uses for Drawing in the classroom:

1) Sharing files in drawing, really works on students collaborating together.  In Chapter 8 of the book, Graham says, "Collaborative drawings shared with students allow them to create the work together in real time..." (p. 130)  Students sharing, instead of publishing, leaves their work open for feedback, editing, and even more ideas on how to grow their work.  This would be used well in the CCSS of "Literarcy in History/ Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subject: Fourth Grad" (p. 132).

2) Teachers can use Drawings as an assessment tool.  This a creative way to see if the students are understanding their work, while allowing them to get feedback from even professionals in that field. (p. 133).  I could see using this as an assessment tool in any subject, really.  You could have students present a math problem, share their own written story, and even a slideshow about their daily life.

All of these tools in Drawing, can be used in amazing ways to integrate technology in the classroom, along with assessing the students efforts either personally or collaboratively.