VirtualGiff.com: S is for Sketchnoting

NaBloWriMo Day 19

This letter should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. I began my Sketchnoting journey in August 2016. I was reading a book and wanted to really capture and remember the ideas. I had heard a lot about sketchnoting and thought it might just be my answer. I tried it...and my first attempt was nothing to write home about.

But it did make me realise that I remembered more when I sketched. The next opportunity presented itself at a staff meeting when we were doing learning around Truth and Reconciliation. Normally at meetings, I do a lot of multitasking. I knew, given the importance of the topic, I needed to have a singular focus. So I sketched again. That night I went home and left my sketchnote on the kitchen table. When my husband came home, we engaged in a conversation about the staff meeting and the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. This would have never had happened if I had taken traditional notes. It was this moment that I really saw the power of sketchnoting.

Sketchnoting has since become my go to for taking notes. You can check out my Flikr account to see them all.

Enough about me...let's talk about what sketchnoting is and why should you do it. Check out this video:

The benefits are countless. To name a few, sketchnoting:

Helps with retention (study have shown adding visuals increases retention up to 65%)
Increases comprehension data
Helps one to concentrate (form of mneunomic)
Stimulates neurological pathways
Activates all four learning modalities
Is an anchoring task (keep us from losing focus on boring tasks)
Is relaxing!

So now I expect many readers are saying they love the look but they "are not artist". I'll leave this here for you:

It is all about that growth mindset! Try it. Give Doodle a Day or Sketch 50 a try. Carve out 10 minutes a day to exercise your creativity muscles - they need exercise like any other muscle.

Want some resources?

All in One Jackpot Resources!! (Research articles, collections, How & Why, Tools, Videos)

Kathy Schrock's Guide to Sketchnoting in the Classroom

Karen Bosch's Sketchnoting Tools & Resources

Inspiration for layouts and drawings