This week I created my first sketchnote style video. I have seen examples of them before and always found them to be very engaging and thought-provoking. I wondered how to create them, but never had the time to pursue the answer to this question.
At first, the task was very intimidating. I was not sure where to begin or what program to use to create my video. I decided to use Powtoon. I have noticed that a number of my students will use Powtoon to complete video creation assignments, but again, due to a lack of time to try everything out, I never used it. It took me a little bit to figure out how to navigate Powtoon, but once I did my sketchnote came together fairly easy. I found it very fascinating to be able to go back and rewatch my brainstorming and thought processes.
My district’s focus is on their Portrait of a Graduate Initiative, which develops and strengthens the 4C skills of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication in our students. One of the ways to help foster these skills is by teaching our students how to make their thinking visible. This skill is more important now than ever as we are constantly shifting between face-to-face and remote learning. Using sketchnotes could allow students to create visual representations of their thinking that they could share with teachers and peers. By taking time to make close observations and see that there are other possible configurations of squares within the figure, “the one you notice later, can turn out to be a window of opportunity that others have yet to be seen” (Berger, 2014, p. 87). Through the creation of sketchnotes, students would have the ability to more closely observe their thinking and in turn expand on it.
References:
Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
Bridges, M. (2020, November 20). Questioning all possibilities. [Video]. Powtoon. https://www.powtoon.com/s/cK5FHNXc0tx/1/m.
Forsythe, G. (2011, April 13). 21st Century Learner. [Image]. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/9ypbFU.