Touch-screen Chromebooks have come a long way. Today, there is a wide range of drawing applications you can use to annotate, take notes, and record a lesson.

Here are my favorite tools for drawing, sketching, and doodling on your Chromebook.

This episode kicks off my 2022 “toolbox” series of episodes where I will be sharing my favorite classroom tools to help you prepare for the 2022-23 school year. 

Episode Sponsor: Penoval

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Related: This class is creating digital art with Chromebooks!

Annotations

• Gallery app – great for annotating images and PDFs (built in to every Chromebook)
• Chrome Canvas – great for annotating images and screenshots. (free)
• Kami – my recommendation for annotating PDFs (freemium)
• Paint Online – a Chrome extension that lets you write on any web page (even Google Slides).

Video Annotations

• Screencastify – a classic tool I have been using for years! (freemium)
• Screencast – the latest addition to your Chromebook (free)
• ScreenPal – a Chrome extension that lets you add videos to any text field (free)

Hand-written notes

• Google Keep – yep, it has handwriting as well! (free)
• Google Classroom – annotation is available when using the Android app on your Chromebook. (free)
• Cursive – a note-taking app exclusively for Chromebooks (free)
• Squid – a very popular Android application (freemium)

Just for fun

• Auto-draw – drawing for people who suck at drawing (free)
• Jamboard – collaborative brainstorming (free)
• Quickdraw – pictionary with Google (free)
• Sketchbook – an Android app that features professional-level tools for creating digital art (freemium)
• Flashcard Factory – create your own flashcards with Pear Deck (freemium)

Related post: Create sketchnotes with a Chromebook!

What drawing application did I miss?

There are dozens of great drawing applications, which one didn’t may my list! Send me a tweet (@jrsowash) or leave a comment on this post and share your favorite tool for annotating, taking notes, and creating digital art.