BP2_SimpleDiagrams

I was having a bit of a hard time at first, finding tools that fit my environment. 

I teach college students, but my class has a certain structure, that at this point, I can't really alter. 

I liked the idea of collaborative softwares, but they didn't really fit the structure and format of my class. Students work on their own pace, practicing problems, so not everyone is on the same topic at the same time. 

So I looked, and looked, and had ideas bouncing around my head, but nothing really stuck. Nothing REALLY seemed to meet my needs. 

And then I stumble(d)upon (harhar. Web 2.0 joke. Getit?) Simple Diagrams. 

www.simplediagrams.com Home page

It's simple, but immensely useful. The interface is very easy to use and intuitive. You can move the toolbar around (which is a feature I appreciate) and change the background. (I like the blackboard look personally). 

It's quite an elegant little application I think. 

For free, you download the small application onto your Mac or PC. 

With it, you can make diagrams with lines, symbols, text, and free hand drawing. 

It's not expensive or a huge download which is nice. It would be good for teachers that want to convey hand written diagrams, images or text, but can't afford the fancy e-whiteboards. 

It's also a great for mind mapping, which we've been doing in this program.  Not only is it good for us in the program and as educators, but I can see this as being useful in teaching our students how to mind map. 

I think I'm going to use it for my CBR mind map 

I already played with it for this a little. 

For me, since i use my laptop in the classroom, I like that it allows me to basically have a portable whiteboard. Much of my time is spent one-on-one with students who have questions. 

With this, I can take my laptop over to a student with a question and diagram things I would do in pen and paper. 

So why not use pen and paper? What is the advantage of using the program?

Well, for one, paper is wasteful. We're all trying to be greener, right?  More applicable though, for me, my classroom is highly tech oriented. ALL of my students have school issued laptops, and they use these to do their work in my lab. So I know my students always have their computers. What they don't always have is paper and pencil for scratch work.  I am forever prodding my students to bring and USE paper and pen to do side work. Many of them try to do the problems and math in their head, and when one is tackling a 20 step problem, that doesn't always work well. 

Either from pride, or because they didn't bring it, my students don't write down their thought processes often enough. 

With this, ALL of my students have access to "digital paper". They can draw, type and diagram their processes, and because it's digital and not "analog" they may be more enthusiastic about using this over paper and pen. 

So not only can *I* show them stuff, they can make their own diagrams, and if they are helping each other, show each other their own. 

Another feature I like is that you can save diagrams (with the paid version, which is only $25).

I often find myself repeating certain topics and explanations frequently. With this, if I create a diagram to explain something that works particularly well, I can save it and use it for reference if another student asks about the same problem. 

We have a set of problems in particular that seem to plague my students. The concept is the "Rate x Time = Distance" equation, but the problems are word problems that require different approaches. No problem is exactly the same, and since they aren't using the exact approach every time, my students get stuck. 

This is one of the cases where I encourage them to make diagrams.  I often show them how I use diagrams for the first, and then have them do the second problem on their own.

Now I can save that diagram, and show other students who may have questions on teh same type of problem.

If I feel I need to, I can hook my laptop up to the projector, and project my diagram to show the entire section. We can create diagrams together, and see the results. 

I can definitely see myself using this program in my classroom. It's smaller and less complicated than the smart boards, and every student can use one easily. I'm already coming up with ideas and proposals to start using this with my students. 

What are your thoughts on this program? How would you use it?