Discover tips, tools, and strategies for using Google in education. Explore resources to enhance teaching, learning, and productivity.
As I’ve discussed in other blog posts, I was not gifted with an artist’s abilities (to say the least!), and I have always been very sad about that. I have no eye for color and couldn’t draw a recognizable figure if my life depended on it. And yet, I am very cognizant of what art and graphics can add to our lives and work. I am drawn by the beauty and magic of a simple drawing or a magnificent painting. But I can’t partake in that world, or at least, I couldn’t. Now, however, Google has once again come to my rescue with their new program Auto Draw.
How Does Auto Draw Work?
Auto Draw does exactly what its name says. Start any drawing free hand and the artificial intelligence (AI) in the program will figure out what it is supposed to be and complete the drawing for you, making sure it looks good. And because it’s a web app, Auto Draw works on any device with internet access.
Here’s my first drawing. Can you tell what it’s supposed to be? (My feelings won’t be hurt if you can’t. I really am that bad!)
After I was done drawing, Auto Draw tried to guess what I was attempting to depict. It struggled between a snowflake (good guess, but not quite) and the Sun 
(correct). Its choices for me to select from were presented across the top of the screen. I simply clicked on the sun icon and here is what I was given as Google corrected my poor work into something more recognizable.
So What?
The tool will let you completely free hand draw, if you wish. And it has the standard selection of fill colors, draw colors, shapes, and text boxes that you would find in any other drawing or paint program. It saves the drawing as a PNG file, and it includes a very simple tutorial (not that you really need one for this).
I guess what I like best about it is that I am no longer limited by my lack of artistic ability. Instead of always having to search for and use someone else’s graphic in my work, I can now draw my own (with a little help from the AI). And that is incredibly empowering, and not just for adults. What might your students be able to draw? How fast can they illustrate a story using Auto Draw and their writing? What will sketching teach them about including just the main points of a design? How proud will they feel that they wrote and illustrated their latest work?
Give Auto Draw a spin and tell me what you think about it. And be sure to let your students try it, too!
The purpose of this certification is to help educators build foundational skills in using their Chromebook as an effective learning tool in the classroom. As you go through the course, you will also be introduced to several of the Google Suite of tools to promote collaboration and critical thinking, and you will be provided opportunities to apply it to your content area or grade level. The capstone project for this certification is a lesson plan implementing some of the learned skills and tools within the grade level and content area of your choice.
The purpose of this certification is to help educators build foundational skills in using the iPad as an effective learning tool in the classroom. As you go through this course, you’ll learn how best to use the features of the iPad to differentiate and support student learning. The capstone project for this certification is a lesson plan implementing some of the learned skills, features, and apps within a grade level and content area of your choice.
tools. Some of the creative projects include If/Then Adventures, which are reminiscent of the Choose Your Own Adventure print stories many of us grew up seeing on bookshelves. The If/Then Adventures video provides great examples that highlight coding connections. They also emphasize real-life connections to apps many of us may be familiar with, such as the 
Relying on activities that feature communication, collaboration, and research, students are able to work on projects and create together. This collaboration provides rich opportunities for joint and independent communication and research. What’s more, students are able to earn badges for activities they engage in.
Follow these steps to create your own audio recording. Note that there are various tools available, including 
