Google's Drawing application was a simple learn for me. I have worked with Adobe Illustrator for years now and this application gives the basic functions of software like Adobe Illustrator. The biggest thing about this kind of software is its ability to work in vector graphics. To make a long explanation short, vector graphics allow pieces of an image or the whole image itself to be increased or decreased in size without losing its visual quality. While this is a wonderful concept it is often times a difficult one to learn. You must switch your artistic creativity from brush or pencil strokes to lines, angles, and curves. Not only must that change but you also have to begin to think in layers of a drawing. These few but tricky concepts makes the learning curve for a program such as Google Drawing a little higher than others. I had not used the program before this assignment and the name of it was a little misleading. I was hoping that it was a little more like Adobe Photoshop rather than Illustrator. Both are amazing in their own rights but Photoshop acts and draws like you would on a piece of paper.
Because of this learning curve, I feel as if it is not a good tool for students to use artistically but in a manner of teachers using it to explain it is a wonderful tool. The tutorial I had for the middle ages was based on the Tangram Square. I feel as if this is a perfect example of what Google Drawing should be used for. Because of the easy ability to move the shapes around and create their own images students can work together and create their own stories like the YouTube video provided. It allows the students to be creative with images in the same concept as they would with blocks. While it is a digital representation of something that can be done also with paper it does allow students to interact with technology and a program that they may not even know existed. This program I can see being used mainly for math classes because of its ability to deal so easily with shapes. There are a number of different lesson plans and tutorials on things to do with Google Drawing but this was a good introduction to the program.
The Common Core State Standards are easily woven into this program by the need for students to create and present with images as well as understand properties of different geometry shapes. These Google Drawings can be used along with Google's Presentation or Document software to help with the presentations and writing elements of the CCSS and, just like all of the other Google software, it can be shared and worked on collaboratively with others. While it is an image program, that is definitely needed in the Google Suite, it is the bare bones edition of what can be used and has a strong learning curve for almost anybody since it is not like pencil on paper. A decent program to learn on.
Well done.
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