Tools/Resources for Visual Note-taking
I thought I would take a moment to jot down my approach to sketchnoting/visual note-taking - there are many people who have thought/written a lot about this and I’ve certainly been inspired by some amazing note takers (ahem, Giulia Forsythe). I’ve been doing it for the past 3 years in an effort to get more out of webinars, conferences and reading that I was doing. I was feeling frustrated about jotting down notes in a notebook or Google Docs or Evernote and never returning to them.
I like to alternate between doing it digitally and old school with markers and paper.
Here are some of the tools that I love . . .
Digital
I’ve always used Paper by Fifty Three - I use this on my iPad with a mini Adonit. I export the photo files and share them on Twitter and on my blog. To be honest - it’s the only tool I’ve ever used and I’m so happy with it, I’ve never tried anything else.
Lightning Talks at Digital Pedagogy Lab
Digital Sketchnote from #EBLIP9
Analog
Sometimes, I prefer just good old markers and a sketchpad. I use a larger sketchpad with a hardcover to make it easier when I don’t have a table. I use a variety of markers including:
Sharpies
Tombow dual brush markers
Paper Mate flair markers
Prismacolor markers.
I usually either scan these or take a photo. I’m a big fan of the CamScanner app - I’m usually too lazy to go over to the proper scanner or I’m doing it on the fly at a conference. This allows me to quickly sharpen the image and increase the contrast. This makes for a more crisp and bold image.
Affordable course content and open educational resources webinar
Analog Sketchnote from Personal Productivity Webinar
More Resources
I’m always looking for inspiration - so I’m always adding to my Sketchnotes Pinterest board to get ideas for layout, icons, and fonts.
I also own Mike Rohde’s The Sketchnote Handbook: the illustrated guide to visual note taking.
I also think that Kathy Schrock has collected some great resources.
You can find my sketchnotes on my blog: becomingblended.tumblr.com (here!). I use these for quick, personal reflection regularly and I can honestly say that this has changed how I process information at conferences, webinars and more. My visual notes are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
I love chatting about sketchnoting - if you would like to talk about this more, feel free to connect! I’m very interested in opportunities to bring sketchnoting into the classroom and beyond.













