Online Etch A Sketch (online resource)

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January 2, 2008 by Paul Hamilton

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Christmas evokes all sorts of marvelous childhood memories for me. One of them is the Etch A Sketch toy with which we could make weird and wonderful designs. I’ve been meaning to write a post about the online version for a long time, and another Christmas has prompted me to act on that intention.

Online Etch A Sketch is a faithful digital replication of its namesake. It looks and behaves very much like the original toy. Instead of turning knobs, the “artist” uses an arrow key, or combination of arrow keys, to “draw” in a desired direction. Hitting or holding down the ‘U’ key helpfully undoes the unintended. When you want to start over, you click the ‘C’ key, to shake the Etch A Sketch and clear everything away.

The online version of Etch A Sketch is definitely Web 2.0. You are encouraged to save and share your artwork. There are literally thousands of artists who have added their work to the gallery. Some of it is quite striking. It is, of course, easy to email your creations to someone else who would enjoy seeing them.

Since Online Etch A Sketch is operated with keyboard commands, it can be used by individuals who are unable to operate a mouse. This is a big advantage for children (of all ages) with disabilities. Speaking of children of all ages, I must confess that I spent considerable time test driving Online Etch A Sketch. It took me more time than I care to admit to complete “My Lines” which I’ve shown below.

Posted in Art, Content and Curriculum, Free Resources, Online Resources, Web 2.0 | Tagged digital art, Online Etch A Sketch | 2 Comments

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2 Responses to “Online Etch A Sketch (online resource)”

on 23 Jan 2008 at 8:59 pm1 Samuel

I like this as an easy to set up switch accessible art activity. With either an Intellikeys and four arrows, or a few switches set up creatively, you instantly have something cool.
on 01 Aug 2008 at 11:14 am2 Myoats (online resource) | Free Resources from the Net for (Special) Education

[...] has only included posts about Mutapic and Pencil. These join pre-series posts on Viscosity, Online Etch A Sketch, The Art Zone, etc. The internet offers a rich variety of tools and formats for creating and [...]