Fun to use as an addition to your regular lesson.

I use Skitch a lot personally to annotate photos. With some teacher support, I think Skitch could be used with younger students as well. I could imagine taking photos during a nature walk and then annotating them with information and observations. I could also imagine using Skitch as a teacher for data collection and observations. If you see something cool happening, snap a photo, type a note, and save it for the student's portfolio. I think that the possibilities for educational application and student creativity are nearly endless with this app.

I think the thing that made this project different is that the students had to "locate" the simple and complex machines in their own environment. It was interesting to watch them process as they considered the best places to look. It seemed to have transformed the subject into one of inquiry, rather than "spoon-fed" information. The lesson empowered students and the app helped to create an analyzing and identifying environment.

Skitch is an essential app on our iPads. Its singular focus makes it a quick, easy to use choice for annotation. Other apps do more but Skitch's simple approach makes it easy for users of all levels at our elementary school. If you are looking for more then Explain Everything or another app may be the better choice, but they may also have a higher learning curve.