GAIN: Google Drawing

Google Drawing 

Initial Reaction
Through tinkering with Google Drawing for the first time, I created my own graphic organizer which could be used for personal use, educational use, or professional use (each of which help in areas of expressing an idea visually).  At first, I thought this app to be simplistic; however, the more I explored, the more visually interesting and complex the images became.  Through accessing the design features, my drawing went from ordinary to extraordinary.  Immediately, I began thinking about how an educator can utilize this tool within the educational setting.  Of course students can create drawings to supplement presentations, but so much more can be achieved through this app.  Student projects can be supplemented through accessing the design features to create a unique heading for the title.  Timelines and graphic organizers can assist in teaching historical concepts as well as thought processes (meeting visual learners).  One of the best features of this app is the ability to access it through existing Google apps, such as Sheets and Docs.  This is helpful for app users in order to add visual elements to rather bland documents.  Overall, this tool appeals to me since I tend to learn better with visual aids.

Elementary School:  Exploring Shapes
Upon reviewing a lesson plan geared for teaching shapes to elementary school students through Google Drawing, I appreciate the usefulness of utilizing this specific app for teaching shape attributes; however, Google Drawing may not be the most useful tool in teaching shapes.  Personally, I believe using hands-on manipulatives within the younger grades would be more effective in this particular lesson since they reach both visual AND tactile learners.  Although the lesson plan shows how Google Drawing can teach symmetry and attributes of shapes through utilizing the tools such as drawing and labeling the shapes, I believe this just isn't the most effective use for teaching shapes or using Google Drawing.  Rather, I would use Google Drawing as a supplement to the hands-on manipulatives in order to create a graphic image to organize shapes for an end of lesson assessment.

Google Drawing and CCSS
Although the Graham textbook for Google Apps and Common Core faintly mentions the connections between Google Drawing and CCSS (only five sentences), I can connect how Google Drawing can meet the objectives students must learn.  This specific app can support math and literature standards in particular through connecting ideas, integrating technology, and utilizing collaboration through Google Drawing.  In order to explore how this app can be used with the classroom which abides by Common Core, I reviewed particular 3rd grade standards through my own research.  The following standard will be referred to for explaining the process of utilizing Google Apps within a 3rd grade literature lesson:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

In order to meet the aforementioned standard, students can generate a character analysis through utilizing the graphic features provided by Google Apps.  Students can add images (created by themselves) in order to describe character traits and how particular character actions influence the story.  For example, if a 3rd grade classroom is reading Number the Stars, students can create a graphic poster on Google Drawing describing the character traits of Annemarie and how her character progresses throughout the novel in reaction to the historical situation (WWII).  The poster project allows students to express themselves creatively since this particular app allows for students to think outside of the box while meeting the standard for describing character traits.