The Coronavirus pandemic has forced many schools to offer courses online, creating unique challenges for teachers. For educators moving their courses online, Squid can be a powerful tool. Even if you missed our free Squid Premium licenses through July 2020, you can still sign up for a free trial and bulk discounts of Squid Premium licenses for schools.
Many courses that rely heavily on handwriting can be challenging to bring online. Squid can help bridge that gap through digital handwriting. Below are some ways to easily incorporate handwriting into online presentations and coursework using Squid on affordable pen-based Chromebook and Android devices.
Designed to be intuitive, Squid keeps the focus on learning with an easy-to-use interface and familiar paper backgrounds.
What can teachers do with Squid?
Write on a virtual whiteboard in a live or recorded video
Present and annotate on slides or worksheets
Grade assignments
Markup and comment on papers
Take handwritten notes
Sign documents
What can students do with Squid?
Take handwritten notes
Complete homework (especially helpful for subjects like math and science)
Write on PDF worksheets
Anything else that you can do with traditional pen & paper
Digital handwritten presentations with Squid
Squid can be combined with the screen sharing capability of many video conferencing solutions to present a virtual whiteboard, annotate on slides, and markup PDF worksheets.
Dr. David Janzen (co-founder of Steadfast Innovation and Professor of Software Engineering) recorded this rough video using Squid & Zoom for his faculty colleagues at Cal Poly.
Why Squid & video conferencing on a Chromebook?
Chromebooks are low-cost, secure, and easy to maintain.
Squid and Chromebooks with active pens are as close to digital pen and paper as you can get.
Squid is the leading handwriting app on Chromebooks and Android, is an Editors’ Choice in Google Play, and is one of six apps selected by Google in the Creativity Bundle for Chromebooks.
Several great video conferencing solutions are free or readily accessible to educators, such as Zoom, Google Hangouts Meet, and Skype. Check with your institution for what licenses are available to you.
Why Squid in EDU?
Handwriting notes can improve recall rates, exam performance, and conceptual understanding.
Save money and the environment by using less paper and pens.
Teachers can grade papers without touching them.
Both the student and the instructor keep a copy of graded work.
Students can electronically “hand-in” traditionally handwritten work, such as math and science coursework.
How do I get Squid Premium?
Individuals: purchase through Google Play within Squid (get 6-months free with the purchase of a new Chromebook for a limited time)
Bulk licenses for schools: contact us for a free trial and bulk discounts
Bundle with a new Chromebook (contact your reseller)
Additional Resources
Looking for the best Chromebook to use with Squid? Check out this list.
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