(This is a cross post from a guest blogpost for Alice Keeler.)

Sketchnoting, or visual note-taking, has so many benefits for students. Many studies have proven that images are considerably more effective than words when it comes to memory retention, comprehension and motivation. There are psychological benefits as well, because sketchnoting has a calming effect similar to meditation and listening to soothing music. Sketchnoting also allows students to see the bigger picture in the concepts they are studying, to make connections in their learning, and to display their learning process.

Before you begin sketchnoting in class, however, it is extremely important that you set up a doodling culture so that your students understand that IT’S OKAY TO DOODLE!

This is very counterintuitive for most teachers who feel that in order for the student to truly absorb the material being taught, they have to be looking at the teacher. This is a mindset that is very difficult to get over for teachers and for students, but with consistent reminders that it’s okay, sketchnoting will soon become a natural and normal part of your daily class routine.

Here are 5 good tips to create a sketchnoting or doodling culture in your classroom:

1. Remind your students over and over again that it’s okay to sketchnote in class as a form of note-taking, planning, processing information, and keeping engaged in class.
2. Provide paper/pen/pencils/notebooks/digital devices for sketchnoting.
3. Model sketchnoting yourself by doodling with the students and displaying your sketchnotes.
4. Spend 5 minutes a day with your students to focus on building their visual vocabulary. Visit the #SKETCHNOTEFEVER resource page for 21 free video lessons.
5. Encourage your students to share their sketchnotes. Create a space in your classroom/class website to allow students to do this. Celebrate their amazing progress as the school year goes on!

For more tips and tricks for getting started with sketchnoting in the classroom, check out my new book, “How to Sketchnote: A Step-by-Step Manual for Teachers and Students”.Happy sketchnoting!

XXOO Sylvia

At the beginning of the week when the #SKETCHNOTEFEVER lessons were coming to an end, I challenged participants to create video montages of all 21 lessons that they completed. I loved the variety of mediums they used. Check it out!

1. Jennifer Leban (@mrsleban)

Twitter video

2. Alexis Snider (alexissnider15)

Adobe Spark Video

3. Anette LeFave (@mrslefave)

Smilebox video

4. Sarah Fromhold (@sew1080)

YouTube

5. Tiffany Eliot (@kindertechtiff)

Instagram video

6. Amber Grohs (@amber_grohs)

Twitter video

7. Merri Lea De Witt (@dewit_teachn)

Book Creator

8. Mandi Tolen (@mandiTolenEDU)

Twitter video

9. Kimberley Kidd (@MrsKKidd)

Twitter video (Part 1)

Twitter video (Part 2)

10. Kimberly Cantrell (@mskcantrell96)

Twitter video

11. Katie Cahill (@kcahill79)

Twitter video

12. Margaret Sisler (@techymargaret)

(All 21 lessons on one image, made with a @lenovo yoga laptop/tablet,  windows 10 and http://getleonardo.com )

13. Traci Stubenrauch (@tpstube)

YouTube video

14. Courtney Adams (@cadamslpms)

Apple Clips

15. James Allen (@TLJamesA)

Twitter video

16. Kristi Daws (@kristi_daws)

Twitter video

17. Abbey Thomas (@mrstechpig)

Twitter video

18. Juli Chang (@juli_sassy2ndgr)

Apple Clips

19. Monica Roveri (@monica_roveri)

Twitter video

All participants received a certificate of achievement for completing all 21 lessons:

Thank you to everyone who participated in this challenge. If I didn’t see your entry, or forgot to include it above, please DM me on Twitter (or email me) and I will add yours right away! Also please contact me if you completed all 21 lessons so that I can send you a certificate.

And the winner of the draw to win a copy of “How to Sketchnote” is….

A very special shout out to Lisa Stevens, from the U.K., who wrote a blogpost  and was a very enthusiastic #SKETCHNOTEFEVER participant, having completed all 21 lessons as well!

A reminder to all readers that even though the #SKETCHNOTEFEVER campaign is officially over, I do hope that everyone will continue to post their sketchnotes using the hashtag so that we can celebrate everyone’s creations.

Happy sketchnoting!

Sylvia

As the 3 week launch campaign of “How to Sketchnote: A Step-by-Step Manual for Teachers and Students” draws to a close, I am still incredulous at the level of participation of teachers, students, and families from all around the world!

People were tweeting and posting on Instagram and Facebook every day. Here are just a few examples:

@sylviaduckworth The kinder-kiddos may be a few days behind on the daily Sketchnoting challenge, but they are LOVING this new way of working! #SKETCHNOTEFEVER #nlsbucks pic.twitter.com/BgdeRa04Bn

— Mrs. M (@MrsM_NL) November 2, 2018

#SKETCHNOTEFEVER @sylviaduckworth Never tried animated #sketchnote… I’m in love!!Thank you, @MistyKluesner @PacadaVision! Possibilities are endless!! pic.twitter.com/yBMQSlUgIH

— Juli Chang (@juli_sassy2ndgr) November 6, 2018

Catching up on #sketchnoteFever prompts with my Ss. #enrichment #gslearning #visualLiteracy

Are ur Ss participating? #Studentsketchnotes @sylviaduckworth #halloweenicons #banners #containers #frames #arrows #bullets #dividers #faces#femaleHairstyles #malehairstyles pic.twitter.com/KX1wnhPICp

— Valeria Rodriguez (@Valeriasketches) November 7, 2018

#SKETCHNOTEFEVER has hit hard in 2B! Practicing our sketching so we can use visual thinking to better learn and communicate while we find solutions to our playground problems! #codylearns @sylviaduckworth @manuelherrera33 @HopewellLibrary pic.twitter.com/ImA9UwCrxC

— Larissa E Bailey (@MrsB2ndGrade) November 8, 2018

We’ve got #SKETCHNOTEFEVER filling our sketchnote toolbox thanks to @sylviaduckworth tutorials! #appsmashing @FiftyThree @Seesaw @Flipgrid can’t wait to share our sketch notes with our Flipgrid around the World #gridpals pic.twitter.com/zBUHRzEmpC

— Jenna Stack (@mrsstack205) October 30, 2018

#Sketchnotefever. Student work since the beginning. Thanks @sylviaduckworth pic.twitter.com/B0Tp1oQoGp

— Kelley Johnson (@kelley_kjohnson) November 8, 2018

Catching up on #SKETCHNOTEFEVER since we’re doing one each day we have class! pic.twitter.com/XbnQmo6YOT

— Laura Wheeler (@wheeler_laura) November 8, 2018

Congratulations to three #SKETCHNOTEFEVER participants who won a copy of my book after a random draw:

Week 1: Ashley Sonkin

Week 2: Merri Lea DeWit

Week 3: Manuel Herrera

We have ONE MORE DRAW: Create a video or montage of ALL 21 #SKETCHNOTEFEVER lessons that you completed for another chance to win a copy of my book! The winner of this bonus draw will be picked on Friday, Nov. 16, so make sure to submit your videos/montages before then on social media with the hashtag #SKETCHNOTEFEVER!

After what seems like an excruciatingly long wait,  my book will finally be released tomorrow (Nov. 13) and it is my sincerest hope that the #SKETCHNOTEFEVER community will continue to post their #sketchnoting journey, with or without the  #SKETCHNOTEFEVER lessons! To continue the learning, please consider purchasing my book which has tons of lesson ideas and scaffolded activities to introduce sketchnoting, as well as access to a members-only databank of close to 300 sketchnoting icons.

If you haven’t ordered the book yet, it’s not too late to take advantage of the early order bonuses which will still be available until Nov. 20:

PURCHASE BONUS OPTIONS 

1. Order the book before or on November 13 and you will receive 3 bonus posters plus a special VIP invitation to a live 1 hour webinar with me.
2. Buy the book November 13 – 20 and you will receive the 3 bonus posters.
3. Buy 20 or more copies and you will receive the three bonus posters above, PLUS a private 30 minute webinar with me.

Once you have purchased the book, please email me at sduckworth100@gmail.com to provide your proof of purchase and to receive the bonus features.

Happy sketchnoting!