Xournal is another cool technology tool
that I've been using in my class sessions lately. There may be other
similar programs out there for Windows or Mac, but my
reduced-functionality laptop is running Ubuntu (a Linux OS), and this
program is free (Linux Link,
Windows link,
no Mac link)
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| The icon |
Basically, Xournal is a digital piece
of paper that you can write on. You can change the page background to
give it lines, grid lines, or make it blank. It has a tool bar that
allows you type text, draw shapes, draw lines, move things, select
items, change colors, etc.
It looks a lot like your basic
Paint/Drawing program. In fact, the only real benefit of using this
program over something like Paint is the one that I like the most:
all of the pieces in the document retain their integrity and you can
move them after the fact (even if they are layered). It's great for demonstrating good
note-taking skills in class or for recording emergent language. I
take notes and project it from my laptop while my students are
talking, and then when I get home, I clean it up, convert if to a PDF
and mail it out.
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| screen shot of a fake diagram I made :) |
Pros:
- Using this program and projecting it frees the students from worrying about taking notes so that they can actually participate in the conversation
- It helps the visual learners understand what is being said because it is written down
- I also find that it is good for making corrections salient without embarrassing the student
- I think it might work with well tablet, but I'm not sure
- You can also use the program to edit and annotate PDFs - nice for personal research or modeling research/reading skills
Cons:
- It's pretty basic
- It has your basic type, line, and color functions, but not much else
- It can be a little glitch-y at times.
More reading:
- Wikipedia article
- The website of math teacher who allegedly uses it (French language, but you can still see the screen shots). I say 'allegedly' because her PDFs look WAY better than mine ;)
- A blog entry about using it to develop diagrams
Have you used any other similar programs? How were the features? Recommendations, anyone?
