Perhaps you have seen a few YouTube videos of people doodling to explain things or maybe you have a presence on Twitter and you have seen people posting their sketchnotes.

Even if you haven't seen this latest craze of sketchnoting, it is simply illustrating your words, thoughts, or ideas in a visual way. It can be with different fonts or simple stick figures.

You don't have to be an artist to get into sketchnoting. You simply need an open mind and a willingness to learn to become a sketchnote master. Sketchnoting is about ideas NOT art!

Sketchnoting can be impactful for our students for a variety of reasons.

1. It helps our students stay focused on what is being learned or the idea being expressed. In order to create a visual you have to process and think about what you are hearing, reading, or thinking.

2. It helps with retention. By sketchnoting you are pulling on multiple learning modalities. The more learning styles you can engage your percentage of retention increases.

3. Promotes creativity in our students. It pushes students to use both sides of their brain and think beyond just the words on a page.

Pick up some paper and writing utensils and go for it. You can also harness the power of you iPad and Apple Pencil. There are numerous YouTube videos that can teach you how to get started and things to think about as you sketchnote. Below are some apps to help you begin.

• Paper 53

• Inkboard

• Inkflow

• Adobe Photoshop Sketch

• Keynote (drawing features and more)

• Sketches School