Classroom Graphics Done Right

If putting together worksheets and study guides stretch your artistic abilities and knowledge of computer graphics to the limit, SmartDraw 2008 has a new approach. With a slew of pre-made documents and a huge library of ready-to-use art elements, it’s easy to produce everything from flyers and forms to timelines and tables.

The program takes about 5 minutes to install on a PC and occupies 3GB of disk space, most of which is SmartDraw’s extensive collection of documents and art. Begin by picking what type of graphic you want to create from the menu or start from scratch with a blank screen. There’re two dozen categories of samples, each of which has four or five different examples to work from.

While it’s well organized, the program offers such an embarrassment of riches that it can be overwhelming to use. My advice is to just nose around and try using several elements because you can always undo any change.

All you do is pick what component you want to add – or import any image – place it on the screen and adjust its size. Later you can add text to it in a variety of fonts, colors and sizes. I really like the program’s color-coordinated themes, which make it seem like I’m not color-blind. 

There are worksheets for cell biology, phases of the moon and the periodic table, and the program is great of creating info graphics where bar or pie charts are augmented with images. With what was included in the package, I was able to put together a certificate for a classroom spelling bee in about 5 minutes, complete with a tasteful border, the teacher’s scanned signature and blue ribbon emblem.

The best part is that everything you create can be distributed electronically, printed on paper or incorporated into a variety of other documents. Anything can be exported in a variety of formats, including Acrobat, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint and a Web-ready .xml file. For those who have trouble getting started, the 264 page guide might seem intimidating but it shows the ins and outs of SmartDraw.

Recently, the Malaysian Ministry of Education purchased 24,000 copies of the program for use in the country’s schools to help teachers create thoughtful math and science lessons in English. If SmartDraw’s $197 price tag is a bit steep for everyone to use it, an entire institution can license it for $3,000 a year. A free trial is available for those who like to try before they buy.

A
SmartDraw 2008
$197

+ Excellent way to create all sorts of classroom graphics
+ Includes hundreds of prebuilt examples
+ Deep library of art elements
+ Color-coordinated themes

- Almost too much to work with at times
- Expensive