I can definitely see the benefits of sketchnoting. It’s a simple way to take notes while connecting ideas with visuals, and I can understand how that could help students remember information more easily and keep things clear and concise.
That being said, sketchnoting just isn’t really for me. I’m not someone who enjoys doodling or drawing, and I don’t feel very confident in that area. For me, trying to add sketches actually makes it harder to focus on the notes themselves. It ends up feeling more distracting than helpful.
Even though it’s not my thing, I can still see it being useful for students. If I were to use it in my classroom, I’d introduce it as an option rather than something required. I think it’s important to let students figure out what works best for them, because I know there are definitely others like me who wouldn’t enjoy it.
Themes of the Course
Looking back at my sketchnote, it helped me highlight some of the main takeaways from the course. One of the biggest things that stood out to me was using film and video in the classroom. Resources like the National Film Board of Canada make it easy to bring engaging and meaningful content into lessons. I really like the idea of using film to make learning more interactive and inclusive.
Another big takeaway for me was learning about inclusive technology. Since one of my practicum classes will be in an inclusive education classroom, I can already see how helpful tools like text-to-speech and speech-to-text will be. These kinds of tools can make a huge difference for students and help make learning more accessible.
I also liked the idea of using computational thinking to break down more complex topics. I think this could be really useful in a social studies classroom, especially when students are working through bigger or more complicated ideas. It just makes things feel more manageable.
AI is probably the trickiest topic for me. I can see a lot of the benefits, but there are definitely some downsides too. I think the biggest challenge is figuring out how to use it in a positive, responsible way while also helping students build strong digital literacy skills. It’s something that’s going to keep evolving, so it feels important to keep learning about it as a teacher.