Painting a Picture With Autodraw

Hello, and welcome to this Tech-Integrated Strategy tutorial. Whether you’re teaching online or in a face-to-face setting, learning in the modern classroom often benefits from the digital mediation of educational activities. In this resource, you’ll learn how to implement the Painting a Picture instructional strategy using the Autodraw tech tool. Students can use these tools together to create visual representations of their learning without being concerned with their drawing ability. All of the content can be downloaded and shared digitally. Painting a Picture is located on the K20 LEARN site under the Instructional Strategies tab. This strategy empowers students to illustrate their conclusions about or understandings of a topic or concept. Autodraw is a web app that uses AI to create digital clipart content. You can find the Autodraw card on the K20 LEARN site under the Tech Tools tab. In the how-to section, you’ll receive hands-on instructions explaining how to facilitate a Painting a Picture activity using Autodraw.

1. Navigate to autodraw.com and select Start Drawing.

2. Select the AutoDraw tool to draw the image you want to create.

3. Locate the image choices at the top of the screen. Scroll through the image choices until you find one that resembles your drawing. Select it.

4. Use the toolbar on the side to edit your image. You can add text to your drawing, change the color, or add shapes. 

5. Continue editing your image until you are satisfied with your digital creation.

6. Select the three horizontal lines in the upper-left corner.

7. Select Download. The digital content is now downloaded on your device as a PNG.

8. Or to get a shareable link, select Share.

9. Select Copy Link. This will let you copy and paste the live link anywhere.

To facilitate the Painting a Picture activity, instruct students to navigate to autodraw.com. Students are not required to login to the site. Share with students the concept you want them to draw. You may choose to have them illustrate a concept from a lesson, a setting or theme from a story, or an illustration that depicts their feelings about their learning. Direct students to draw a picture then use the Autodraw tool to select a clipart image of their choice. After students have finished their drawings, they can download them as PNG files or obtain links to share their creations. You can have them upload these files or links to your LMS and share the drawings with the whole class, if you choose. These drawings can stimulate conversation or students can offer feedback to each other.

In a science classroom, you could have students use this tool to create models of science concepts such as photosynthesis, chemical reactions, or changing seasons. In an English Language Arts classroom, you could have students recreate a scene described in literature. In a social studies classroom, you could have students illustrate historical and cultural events or create their own propaganda. In a math classroom, you could have students make shapes or create equations using images.