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Teacher Review for Sketchbook Express

Sketchbook Express offers students creative freedom on an intuitive and professional-grade platform.

Michelle N.
 Classroom teacher
Lebanon Senior High School
Lebanon, United States
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My Subjects English Language Arts, Arts
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My Rating
Learning Scores
Engagement
Pedagogy
Support
My Students Liked It Yes
My Students Learned Yes
I Would Recommend It Yes
Setup Time Less than 5 minutes
Great for Creation
Further application
Individual
Practice
Teacher-led lessons
Great with Advanced learners
ELL
General
Low literacy
Special needs
How I Use It
Whether using Sketchbook Express as a creative space or a simple whiteboard, the usability and price (FREE!) is worth the download. At the secondary level, I have used Sketchbook in my Humanities classes when we apply what we have learned about Impressionist art. In the past, we have created our own Impressionist-styled works using paint, but in a non-art environment, the assignment was a burden. Since going one-to-one with iPad minis, and the development of Sketchbook Express, we now create these works in a fun, mess-free environment. Although it takes a bit of time for students to get the feel of the tools, everyone has the ability to create something. The best thing about using Sketchbook Express is that students can edit their work and share it to their Facebook accounts, or send it to the photo library. The only drawback is that high school students will spend hours looking at the art featured on the deviantART tab if you don't redirect them!
My Take
Like anything AutoDesk produces (like AutoCad & Inventor to name two), Sketchbook Express is a high-quality app that works intuitively and offers the features budding artists need to create work digitally. This free-version of Sketchbook is pared down from the $4.99, paid version, but is still a very capable creative space. Whether students use the app to free draw or alter photos, there are many tools available that will help them to create their vision. Overall the design platform is easy to use, through icons or through on-screen gesturing (swiping), and does a good job of taking users through a multi-lingual tutorial before the first use. The Sketchbook Express app also partners with deviantART -- which is a great resource for students to view and share art, but may contain inappropriate images for elementary or middle school students. Overall, Sketchbook Express is a free, polished app that should be downloaded.
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