What’s the Skitch?

Photo Credit: Imgflip

The tool that I chose to explore this week is Skitch. Skitch is a FREE user-friendly app from Evernote. This app lets users capture screens, upload images, draw, mark, annotate images and share whatever you create. I chose to teach myself how to use this tool because it looked like a fairly simple tool that I could use. In saying this, I also wanted it in order to help make my work more authentic and stand out. Turns out, it takes some time to learn how it works, and  I should not just throw around the word simple.

I first downloaded this tool from the app store and then I was ready to go. I played around with all of the fun things it has to offer, but knew that I needed some help in order to use it effectively. I found a very detailed video on Youtube that told me everything I needed to know! I will always be grateful for Youtube!

After watching this video I felt confident that I could navigate all of the things included in this app. I played around with different images, arrows, boxes, etc. until I felt ready to create my own Skitch video. I used my blog as the foundation, and showed a few things I have on my blog using Skitch. This is the final product that I created, and I know that in time, I will only get better.

How would I use Skitch in the Classroom?

The options for using this app in the classroom seem to be limitless. Students would be able to sketch their ideas, create diagrams, label things (ex. maps), make webs, show their thinking in different and new ways, and so many other things! It seems that students are able to understand how to use apps like this so quickly, however, I would recommend taking the time and going though this app step by step. Skitch Tic-Tac-Toe is one activity I found that can be used to introduce students to everything Skitch has to offer. Once students get the hang of this app, there are so many ways they can show their learning.

The only downfall I found when using this app is that it took a long time to load what I was doing at times. The scary colourful spinning ball appeared on my screen many times when I was working in Skitch, but with just a little bit of patience, it would go away. Besides this, I seen no other negatives for using this tool.

Overall, I loved using Skitch and think that it is going to be a great tool for myself and my students! Have any of you used Skitch before? What did you create?

Happy Sunday friends! 🙂

– Ms. S