Episode #25 - Chrome Canvas

 SHOW NOTES:

Chrome Canvas: https://canvas.apps.chrome/ 

Additional Services for Google Workspace Administrators: https://support.google.com/a/answer/181865?hl=en#zippy=%2Cturn-services-on-or-off-for-users 

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TRANSCRIPT:  (full transcript link)

Hello and welcome to episode number twenty-five of the one-five. I am your podcast hostess - Tricia Louis - the self-designated tech goddess and I will be coming to you weekly in this audio podcast format with great edtech tools, tips, and tricks.

In this week’s episode, I will be talking about Chrome Canvas. Chrome canvas is a simple way for you to use drawing tools on your chrome device or in your chrome browser. 

Before I start talking about Chrome Canvas, I want to provide a disclaimer that in order for this product to work in your institution's google environment, your Google Administrator must enable it, as it is not part of the core workspace apps. Please have your google administrator consult the support article in the show notes about adding additional services to your Google Workspace. If you have your own private google account, you can certainly demo this app for yourself or your school administrators so that they can authorize its use in your institution account.

In order to use Chrome Canvas, simply goto canvas.apps.chrome on your chromebook or in google chrome on your mac or PC and sign in to your google account - that way your drawings are auto-saved and they will sync across your devices.

Once you are signed in, you will notice that the interface is very simple for Chrome Canvas. You can start from a blank page with the “new drawing button” or start with an image in the background with the “new from image button”. Once you have made your choice, you will enter the drawing space.

Across the top you will notice the home icon - that is where all your drawings are located. Then you have undo and redo buttons. Then the most interesting button for a barebones drawing app like this is the ability to use layers! The more menu (three vertical dots in the upper right) allows you to download an image or share your drawing with a variety of sharing options. Along the left hand side, you will see your drawing tools. You can choose from the color palette or refine your color choice by using hex codes. You can also change the size and opacity of your drawing tool with the icon that looks like a pencil that is tipped on a triangle. Then you have a pencil, pen, marker, chalk and an eraser for your core drawing tools. And that is pretty much it. It is a very simple interface and sometimes that is better because you don’t get bogged down in so many choices. 

Now this tool works best on a touch-enabled chromebook or if you have a wacom or other drawing tablet attached to your mac or PC. You can even use this in the chrome browser of your ipad or iphone. Drawing with a regular trackpad or mouse is kind of difficult, but did you know that if you hold down the lower left corner of a trackpad with your non-dominant hand, you can use a stylus with your dominant hand and draw with it. So the trackpad becomes a mini drawing tablet - like a wacom tablet!

One thing I must point out is that Chrome Canvas is NOT a collaborative drawing tool like other google apps - if you are looking for something like that, I would recommend google jamboard for classroom use.

Overall, Chrome Canvas is a fun way to be able to draw on a chrome device or in your chrome browser…I encourage you to give it a try!

Do you want to learn more about edtech in your learning environment? Check out my website - tricialouis.com. There you can explore my resources, subscribe to my weekly email newsletter, and contact me. And if you like this podcast, consider supporting it by going to buymeacoffee.com/talouis and pledging your contribution to the one-five.

Keep in mind the information shared on this podcast may take additional clearances from your tech department to work properly in your district, school, or classroom. I have vetted all of the information shared on this podcast and it is available and/or correct on the date the podcast is originally published. But, remember that services, sites, or products can change or become unavailable without a lot of notice. 

Thanks for listening and join me next week for another episode of the one five!