Doodle Buddy is a free APP for drawing. It is a fun APP for kids to play with outside of school for games like tic tac toe and hangman, as well as drawing. It can also be utilized in the classroom to demonstrate learning.

On a recent visit to North Broward Preparatory School, an Apple Distinguished School, I saw this APP in action in a Kindergarten class. Students had been doing research on an animal from Australia. Students were using their iPads and Doodle Buddy to draw a picture of the animals and their natural habitat. The detail and information in the pictures was phenomenal.

 

Here is your simple How To:

1. Open the APP
2. Choose the drawing tool of your choice by clicking on the chalk on the bottom tool bar. Select the type of drawing tool and the color. Draw your picture.
3. Select the stamp tool to add the stamps of your choice. 
4. Touch the shapes to add black and white images.
5. Touch the T to add text to your picture.
6. Touch the tic tac toe board to select a background. You can choose from the backgrounds given, select a photo from your device, or take a photo for the background.

If you need to erase, click the chalk tool and locate the eraser. To start over, click the back arrow.To clear it and begin again, click the trash can or shake the iPad to clear it.

To share the Doodle, click the wrench in the right hand corner. There are multiple options for sharing. There is also a help page located in the wrench section.

For classroom use…

Reading: have students draw what they think the author is wanting people to learn

Math: illustrate math problems, especially helpful with word problems, graphing

Science: design a roller coaster or lego project before building

Spelling: practice words, writing, typing, illustrating, hangman

Writing: planning out their writing

Social Studies: timelines

Judaics: Parsha illustrations

Hebrew/foreign language: writing, illustrating, and conjugating verbs, matching words to pictures

For more ideas visit these reviews

https://appsfortheclassroom.wikispaces.com/g.+Doodle+Buddy+Examples

http://blog.wssd.k12.pa.us/ipads/tag/doodle-buddy/

A video tutorial:

 

So what did you do this weekend? I made a coding bulletin board! Here is what I made…feel free to steal and use!

I used index cards to make the actions, cues, and obstacles. The, I used construction paper to make characters and rewards. On Word I created a grid to draw the game board. Students can either create the code and have others draw the board, or draw a board and have others create the code. We will start with this pre-made board and move to a more open board.

I saw a lesson where a teacher had the actions and codes from Scratch, Jr or Daisy the Dinosaur printed out and used those to introduce the coding unit. And of course when I tried to find it again…no where could I locate it…so it led to this creation.

The boards I pre-made include one with a cat, mouse, dog, and cheese. Kids can decide the mission and set the code for their choice. There is also a pre-made board with a “Pac-Man” type game.

 

My first and second graders are playing The Foos, Daisy the Dinosaur, and BeeBot to introduce coding. This board will come in to play with that unit and as a fun time for all students who come in to the media center for class and for free time fun!

So how can you use CODING in the classroom if you aren’t a Tech teacher? So glad you asked!

With Scratch, Jr you can create stories using code. You can add background, actions, characters, and more. Imagine having students create the illustrations first, then write the story. If you are studying countries, create a story about the country using a coding program. You can use it just like you would a poster activity, but instead it integrates technology and coding! Fun, educational, and 21st century skills!