From Sketch to Tech: Visual Thinking Meets Digital Creation

Outline

Intro & Framing
 • Share session purpose and objectives.
 • Quick demo of sketching as a thinking strategy.
 • Engage audience with a warm-up doodle prompt.

Sketching for Thinking
 • Manuel models sketching as a tool for brainstorming, problem-solving, and exploring ideas.
 • Audience participates in a guided sketching activity.
 • Peer-to-peer interaction: attendees share sketches in pairs to highlight different perspectives.

From Sketch to Digital
 • Transition to tech integration with Joe modeling how sketches can evolve into digital projects.
 • Attendees replicate the process on devices, using simple digital tools.
 • Participants discuss how this transition supports multiple learning styles and student voice.

Hands-On Design Challenge
 • Attendees create a mini-project: starting with a quick sketch, then transforming it into a digital creation.
 • Small group collaboration to brainstorm classroom applications.
 • Facilitators circulate to guide, support, and answer questions.

Reflection & Share-Out
 • Participants share their projects or ideas.
 • Wrap up with strategies for implementing visual thinking + digital creation in diverse classrooms.

Outcomes

After this session, participants will be able to:
 • Apply sketching as a visual thinking strategy to spark curiosity and student engagement.
 • Translate sketches into digital creations that align with learning goals.
 • Design activities that merge analog and digital tools to foster creativity and problem-solving.
 • Implement strategies that give students authentic ways to demonstrate understanding through both drawing and technology.

Supporting research

"The InterACTIVE Class: Creation in a World of AI" by Joe and Kristin Merrill, illustrated by Manuel Herrera (Elevate Books EDU - Jan. 2025). Link: https://amzn.to/40ngCqX

Doodle Revolution – Sunni Brown (2014). The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently. Penguin.
[Advocates for doodling and visual note-taking as tools for creativity and comprehension.]

Roam, D. (2008). The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. Portfolio.
[Demonstrates how drawing simplifies complex ideas and supports problem-solving.]

Kleon, A. (2012). Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. Workman.
[Encourages creativity through accessible, visual, and iterative processes—perfect for building confidence in drawing.]