Go[ogle] Ahead - Blow My Mind

My Media Class this year in both 6th and 8th grades is working through many of the Google Apps available to our school this year because of our new Google Apps for Education (GAfE) account. I recently opened the students' eyes to Google Drawings. I had them use the functions along the toolbar to create mindmaps related to a topic they had worked through in another class this semester. Some focused on English, some on Math, some even created a mindmap on a P.E. topic.

I love the background and the colors on this mindmap.

With this mindmap, I was simply impressed with the detail.

Once students shared their mindmaps with me, I thought I'd take it up a notch: I gave them about a period and a half of class (2 days worth) to wow me with their Google Drawing skills that they had gained through exploration with the mindmaps. Of course they wanted more direction, so I told them that they had a rule...but only one rule:

They needed to blow my mind.

I told them it was merely for extra credit consideration, and I wasn't going to help them. They had to earn it on their own. I wouldn't walk over to their computer and give any toolbar tips because I didn't even want to see it until they were finished. I allowed them to collaborate as much as necessary and to give pointers to each other. Some students were quiet as they set to work; some were loud and had to be hushed. All were engaged.

I don't think I had ever let the students loose in this fashion before, and I've been teaching this age group for almost 16 years. I'm finding out more and more, though, that more freedom is exactly what students need for real creativity. Give them a bit of instruction, and then set them free to make something cool and useful.

Not all their Google Drawings were great. Some merely scribbled. But all were required (and they knew this from the beginning) that they would present their drawing to the class, making sure to answer three questions:  
     1) What is it?
     2) What's my favorite part?
     3) Why do I deserve extra credit for my creation?

Yes, one student presented his drawing exactly this way:
     1) This is a car.
     2) I like the car driving.
     3) I deserve extra credit because of the car driving.

...not much extra credit consideration there.

But most students were excited to get up in front of their peers (and their teacher) and show off the fun things they discovered in their explorations. They took risks. They really blew my mind.

And it's fitting to show you a few of their creations that surprised even them. My students would love to hear what you think of their creations in the comments. Enjoy!

Marika thought that the Google drawing wasn't so easy compared to other things she's tried,
but she could have fooled me!

It took a while for Bree to place all the windows in the cityscape.
but she did it, and I love the silhouette.

Andre blew my mind because of his originality...
and his message about how God can work through any situation.

You could tell Josh was having fun.
I especially like the attention to detail with the headset.

Sabrina was very humble about her drawing,
but I think this could show up on Google's search page someday.
I just love the color scheme!