Let’s face it. Drawing on the iPad sucks. I know there are some great videos out there of iPad artwork but that’s not reality for us mere mortals.
My students have begged me to stop using ShowMe and use a text writing app like Pages instead because my handwriting on an iPad is quite illegible. It’s like a 5 year old learning to write his name. To make my writing more legible I write big. So big that I can only fit a maximum of maybe 20 words on one page. I’m quite prone to losing things, so using a stylus to help me is not an option.
So instead I’ve been trying my hand at this new app Paper this week. What is great about drawing apps like Paper, Brushes and Autodesk Sketchbook is that the they are sensitive to how hard and how fast you press on your iPad. This causes some great pencil like effect that makes your writing much easier to read.
Also, design matters to me. I think about what type an colours I use in my keynote presentations and I expect the same freedom in drawing and whiteboard apps. I’m tired of having to subject my students to the same ugly primary colours.
Below is an example of a simple grammar explanation that I would use these apps for in class. I hope you will agree that the first one looks better.
