A few weeks ago, I shared a post about putting Drawings in Google Docs that are assigned in Google Classroom. After seeing some of the reactions, I realized that some educators either weren’t aware of the powers of Google Drawings or had never thought of using them in assignments with Google Classroom. I was all “whaaaaat!?” So, now I’m here to dial it back a notch… Let’s talk about assigning Google Drawings (not Drawings in Docs, just Drawings) in Google Classroom. First up: an animated GIF for your viewing pleasure; and then: a quick step-by-step of how to use Drawings in Classroom.
- In Google Drive, click New > More > Drawings.
- Put in any instructions, images or backgrounds that you’d like to start your students out with (or leave it blank!). Note: some educators like to put their instructions in the margins outside of the drawing space. That works too!
- In Google Classroom, add an assignment, click the Drive button and select your Drawing.
- Be sure to set it to “Make a Copy for Each Student.”
- Students can open it from their Classwork screen.
- Students edit & submit like they normally would do with a Doc.
- Open the file and assess it with a process similar to how you would with a Doc!
Disclaimer: Some people will surely respond to this post and say “I think it’s better to do this with Slides than with Drawings.” And you know what? They’re right. They’re right because it’s what works best for them–and their students–and that is fantastic. Slides & Drawings have almost identical drawing capabilities, so it’s really just personal preference. It’s about the pedagogy, not the tool! The main benefit of using Slides is that, if each student has a slide, then they can see each other’s work/explanations/representations. The main benefits of using Drawings are slightly more robust drawing tools, a bit more of a blank slate/less limited feeling and slightly better image quality when exporting creations as images.
