Tools to Explore in 2017

Time to explore new options for note taking.  Lots of people on Twitter are into Sketchnoting #SylSketch A-Sketch-A-Day #5/100 "Life" http://bit.ly/SylBook #edtechteam #edtech #edchat #sketchnoting

I have noticed many of the sketches appear to be done on an ipad or even by hand.  So I was intrigues when I came across a could-based tool on sketching that seems to work with Google Drive and allows for free-hand drawing as well.  I plan to explore, Sketchboard sketchboard.io it actually looks like a sketch, as if someone drew it by hand. This makes it feel like you’re working on paper, but better, because it’s all saved in the cloud. Sketchboard has a lot of the same features and functionality as other mind mapping tools: Users can collaborate on the same sketch, you can add unlimited items to a map, and individual parts can be moved around at will. But the items can take all kinds of shapes: squares, circles, computer screens, people; you have over 50 icons to choose from.

If your idea can’t be represented with one of the icons from the Sketchboard library, you can just switch to the freehand tool and draw it yourself. This makes your map a whole lot more visual, so your ideas become even clearer.

There also appears to be integration between Sketchboarding and Slack, a team messaging platform for team communication. Messaging takes place on Slack through channels, which are like separate chat rooms for different conversations. A channel can be public or private, making it flexible for all kinds of communication needs. And it’s more than just messaging: Users can also attach files and hold side discussions about these files within the larger conversation.

I plan on testing out with a few teachers over the next few weeks.