Travis True is the Curriculum & Technology Coordinator for USD 501 Topeka Public Schools in Topeka, Kansas. Prior to his current position, Travis was a Middle School computer lab teacher for 13 years. He received his degree in Elementary Education from Sterling College and his Masters in Instructional Design & Technology from Emporia State University. Travis works with teachers to help them successfully and seamlessly integrate technology into their lesson and everyday work life. Travis is Google Certified Educator Level 1 & Level 2, Google for Education Certified Trainer, Certified Promethean Trainer, Apple Learning Specialist, and a PearDeck Pearbassador. He is also on the Board of Directors for Mid-America Association for Computers in Education (MACE) the ISTE affiliate for Kansas
Google Drawings is a free, web-based diagramming software developed by Google. It allows users to collaborate and work together in real time to create flowcharts, organisational charts, website wireframes, mind maps, concept maps, and other types of diagrams. Google Drawings is also available as a Chrome app that works offline, available from the Chrome Web Store. Google Drawings is hosted within Google Drive and all files created with the application are by default saved to Google Drive. It was originally introduced on April 12, 2010 as Google Docs drawings, a tool for making drawings in Google Docs.
Google Drawings allows multiple users to open and edit drawings simultaneously in real time. It contains a subset of the features in Google Slides but with different templates. Users can insert images from the local hard drive or from the Web, as well as shapes, arrows, scribbles and text. Google Drawings has set of flow-chart symbols and other shapes that can be dragged and dropped into place. Users can move, resize and rotate objects, and use polylines and line connectors. It also allows for the editing of images, including cropping, applying masks and adding borders. Other features include laying out drawings precisely with alignment guides, snapping to grid, and auto-distribution. Drawings can be inserted into other Google documents, spreadsheets, or presentations. They can also be published online as images or downloaded in standard formats such as JPEG, SVG, PNG, or PDF.
Cropping Image to non-rectangular shape.
You can easily change the size of a Google Drawing banner to any size you want. This feature makes it very simple to create custom images you can publish online. You can customize banners for tools like Google Classroom, Google Forms and Canvas. You can also create custom images for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Recommended sizes for common custom images
Google Classroom - 800px X 200px
Google Forms - 800px X 200px
Canvas headers - 1000px X 200px
Twitter profile picture - 400px X 400px
Twitter profile header - 1500px X 500px
 Facebook cover photo - 828px X 315px
Facebook profile photo - 360px X 360px
Instagram posts - 1080px X 1080px
Infographics are a different way for students to present information. What makes Infographics a better learning tool than traditional presentations is students must use critical thinking and communication skills to display their information in a way that is concise and make sense to the person viewing the infographic.
HyperDocs are a way to package lesson information in a more engaging way. Using the Google Drawing tool built into Google Docs you can create interactive activities that are embedded right in the Google Doc!
HyperDrawings is a HyperDoc on a Google Drawing canvas. The benefit of setting up your HyperDoc in Drawing is students can show work on the canvas.