Engaging Every Student in Columbus City Schools with Piccles

The Situation

Meet Ali Wade, a talented graphic designer working in the communications department of Columbus City Schools. Ali was presented with a unique challenge: creating a magazine cover that featured contributions from every student in the district. Inspired by the idea of a doodled collage, she sought an innovative solution to gather artwork from a broad and diverse student base quickly and efficiently. This is where Piccles came into play, becoming an essential tool in bringing her vision to life.

The Challenge

Ali faced a dual challenge: a tight timeframe and the need to involve a large number of students in the creative process. She needed to ensure that all submissions maintained a consistent color scheme to achieve aesthetic coherence for the magazine cover. The project demanded a creative approach to design and an effective strategy for mass participation.

The Solution

Ali decided to leverage Piccles, a tool she had previously encountered at a conference. Recognizing its potential beyond its typical use-case, she adapted Piccles to meet the specific needs of her project:

• Color Control: Piccles enabled Ali to set specific color palettes that aligned with the school district’s colors, ensuring all doodles maintained visual consistency.

• Prompt Provision: By setting up creative prompts within Piccles, Ali could guide the students’ creativity to ensure their submissions met the thematic requirements of the project.

• Easy Distribution: Ali used Piccles’ link-sharing feature to easily distribute the drawing tool to teachers across the school, who then shared it with their students.

The Implementation

Ali began by setting up the project on Piccles, selecting appropriate colors, and crafting prompts designed to inspire the students. Once the setup was complete, she distributed the Piccles link to teachers via email. Students had a week to submit their doodles directly through Piccles.

As submissions poured in, Ali monitored the incoming artwork in real-time, ensuring everything aligned with her vision. Piccles’ intuitive interface made it easy for students of all ages to participate effectively, fostering a sense of community and shared creativity.

The Outcome

The result was nothing short of spectacular. The magazine cover, composed entirely of student artwork, was vibrant and meaningful, perfectly encapsulating the creativity and spirit of Columbus City Schools.

The front and back covers can be seen here:

*Front cover featuring student drawings

*Back cover featuring student drawings

Through this project, Ali not only achieved her goal but also demonstrated how technology like Piccles can be harnessed to foster creativity and collaboration on a large scale, even within a tight timeframe. This case study is a testament to the power of innovation and the potential of every student’s creative expression.

Ali Wade, Graphic Designer, Columbus City Schools