The Drawing Tool is a widget that can be enabled for students to use when responding to Constructed Response and Writing Prompt item types within Item Bank assessments. This tool can be used in place of, or in conjunction with, the normal text response widget. Images can also be uploaded as a background to the Drawing Tool, enabling students to add shapes, text, color, and/or free-draw lines to given charts and figures. This lesson explores the different features available within the Drawing Tool, and how each one functions.
Before You Begin
The Drawing Tool can be enabled for students to use within Online Testing for Constructed Response and Writing Prompt items. Before students can access this widget, it must be enabled within the item creation or item editing screen for a Constructed Response or Writing Prompt item, and added to an Item Bank assessment. To learn more about enabling the Drawing Tool while creating these item types, take a look at Item Bank - Item Types.
Note that the options for allowing only Text, only Drawing, or allowing both tools is available. The Drawing Tool may be offered as a blank canvas, or may appear with an uploaded background image. The Drawing Tool can also be configured to include pre-made images for students to use with the Stamp feature.
Drawing Tool in Online Testing
When viewing Constructed Response or Writing Prompt items with the Drawing Tool enabled, students are able to utilize the Drawing Tool directly from the test screen. The Drawing Tool can be expanded to a full screen window, or it can be moved and resized to allow students to view linked passages, question prompt text, and student-written content within the Text Tool, while also being able to view and alter the Drawing Tool canvas.
When viewing an item linked to a passage, the drawing tool will appear to the right of the passage and under the question prompt, similarly to the text editor. Students can interact directly with the drawing tool, or they can select the Resize and Drag Drawing Tool button to pop out the drawing tool window.
Once the Drawing Tool window has been popped out, students can use the corner handles to resize the canvas, and the 6-dot Drag icon to move the window around the screen. Select the Dock Drawing Tool button to return the Tool to its original position within the item.
The Drawing Tool can be formatted to appear with a pre-loaded background image for students to interact with. Pre-loaded images can also be configured to display under the Stamp tool, allowing students to quickly place predetermined images, without needing to draw each image from scratch. Stamp images can be particularly useful in allowing students to complete a pre-loaded diagram background image by placing the provided Stamp images in the correct locations.
The Drawing Tool can also be used in conjunction with the text response widget. When both widgets are enabled for an item, the item prompt will display at the top, followed by the text response widget, and then the Drawing Tool widget.
When administering assessments to students that utilize the drawing tool, note that any elements added to the canvas by the student will save as a flat image once the student navigates away from that item. This is to limit the amount of data that must be stored during assessment administration, and maintain loading speed and functionality while students are testing online. Students may return to the item with the drawing tool, and they will be able to view the changes they made, but they will no longer be able to alter each element individually. Further elements can be added on top of the existing content, or students can clear the canvas to start again from scratch.
Drawing Tool Features
The Drawing Tool offers many features for students to utilize while crafting drawn responses. View a summary of each of the features below to learn how each feature functions, and how they can be used in conjunction.
The Select tool allows students to select and alter any object on the canvas, including free-drawn objects, shapes, lines, and text. After choosing the Select tool, students can select an individual object to move or alter, or they can select multiple objects by holding down the Shift key and selecting each desired object, or selecting and dragging the cursor to highlight a box around the objects to select.
Once selected, objects will display with an outline box with handles for resizing and rotating. Selecting within the middle of an object outline will display a four-arrow cursor, allowing students to drag selected objects to another location on the canvas.
Further options for selected objects include Copy, Cut, Paste, Delete Selected, Send to Back, and Send to Front, allowing students to move objects between the background and foreground.
The Move Canvas tool displays a four-arrow cursor over the canvas, and allows students to select a point on the canvas and drag it to a new location. This repositions existing objects on the canvas, and can open further blank space for students to utilize.
The Draw tool allows students to free-draw on the canvas.
The Select Stroke Width option determines the width of the Draw tool lines, with the options for Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Bold, and Extra Bold.
The Select Stroke Color option determines the color of the Draw tool lines, offering a selection of preset colors and the Other option, which opens a custom color selection menu.
The Select Shape dropdown allows students to create Squares, Ellipses, Polygons, Lines, and Dashed Lines.
The Select Stroke Width option determines the width of the shape's border lines, with the options for Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Bold, and Extra Bold.
The Select Stroke Color option determines the color of the border lines, and the Select Fill Color option determines the color within the shape's borders. Both of these options offer a selection of preset colors and the Other option, which opens a custom color selection menu.
The Square tool allows students to create squares and rectangles. After selecting the Square tool, students select where on the canvas to place the first vertex of the Square, drag the cursor to the desired placement of the opposite corner, and release to complete the shape.
The Ellipse tool allows students to create circles and ovals. After selecting the Ellipse tool, students select where on the canvas to begin placing the edge of the shape, drag the cursor to the desired placement of the opposite side of the circle or oval, determining width and height, and release to complete the shape.
The Polygon tool allows students to create free-form polygon shapes with straight edges. After selecting the Polygon tool, students select where on the canvas to place the first vertex of the shape, and each successive selection within the canvas plots further vertices. The shape creation is completed upon re-selecting the initial vertex.
The Line and Dashed Line tools allow students to draw straight lines. After selecting the Line or Dashed Line tool, students select where on the canvas to place one end of the line, and then select where on the canvas to place the desired end-point.
The Select Stroke Color option determines the color of these lines.
The Text tool allows students to place textboxes on the canvas to type within, commonly used to add explanation and labeling to drawn features.
After selecting the Text tool, students can select the desired location on the canvas to place a textbox, which automatically resizes as text is entered. The textbox border disappears once the student deselects the textbox. Double-select any written text to reenter the textbox and type edits.
Text formatting options include adding Bolding and Italics, and changing the font and font size. The Select Stroke Color option determines the color of the typed text.
The Stamp tool allows students to view Categories of pre-loaded images configured by the item creator, select a desired image, and place the image as a Stamp onto the canvas.
After placing a Stamp image, students can alter the image in the same manner as any other element, with the ability to move, resize, move forward and backward, and delete the image. Stamps can be reused and placed as many times as desired.
Stamp images are particularly useful when students need to quickly place elements onto the Drawing Tool canvas without having to draw the images from scratch.
The Select Stroke Width tool allows students to chose what size of lines will be drawn when using the Draw and Shape tools. Available options include Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Bold, and Extra Bold.
The Select Stroke Color tool allows students to chose what color of lines will be drawn when using the Draw and Shape tools, and the color of typed text when using the Text tool.
The Select Stroke Color tool opens to a selection of preset colors and the Other option, which opens a custom color selection menu. The custom color selection menu offers color spectrum and saturation selectors, an eyedropper tool, and text fields for RGB, HSL, and Hex codes.
The Select Fill Color tool allows students to chose what color will fill in drawn shapes when using the Shape tools.
The Select Fill Color tool opens to a selection of preset colors and the Other option, which opens a custom color selection menu. The custom color selection menu offers color spectrum and saturation selectors, an eyedropper tool, and text fields for RGB, HSL, and Hex codes.
The Delete Selected tool allows students to delete the currently selected objects. Objects on the canvas can be selected using the Select tool, and subsequently deleted using the Delete Selected tool.
The Clear Canvas tool allows students to delete all objects, and start fresh on a cleared canvas.
After selecting Clear Canvas, a popup window will appear, confirming if the canvas should be cleared. Students can select OK to continue with the canvas clear, or Cancel to keep the canvas.
The Copy, Cut, and Paste tools allow students to Cut and Copy selected objects, and Paste them back onto the canvas. Canvas objects can be selected using the Select tool, and can then be Cut or Copied, and then Pasted to a new location on the canvas.
The Send to Back and Send to Front options allow students to move selected objects forward or backward in relation to other objects on the canvas. Canvas objects can be selected using the Select tool, and then moved to the foreground or background using Send to Back or Send to Front.
The zoom tools allow students to Zoom In on the canvas, Zoom Out from the canvas, and Reset Zoom to the original canvas size.
The Undo and Redo options allow students to Undo actions that were just taken, and then to Redo actions that were just undone.
The Toggle Grid option allows students to apply a grid to the canvas, which can aid in drawing or placing objects with regular spacing, and completing math or geographical equations and figures.
Next Steps
To learn more about the tools available to students while they test online, take a look at the other articles in the Online Tools section.