Draw or write on student work

This article is for teachers.

On a mobile device, you can use Classroom’s drawing and writing tools to add feedback directly onto student work. You can underline words, highlight text, draw shapes, and leave notes on Google Docs files, Adobe^® PDF^®, and Microsoft^® Office^® documents.

Drawing and writing tools are only available in the Classroom mobile app for Android and Apple^® iOS^®.

How to write notes

1. Tap Classroom .
2. Tap the classthe assignment.
3. Tap Student Work.
4. Tap the student's nametheir attachment.
5. Tap Edit .

6. Make any notes or drawings. For details, go to Use the drawing and writing tools below.
7. To save your notes, in the top-right corner, tap MoreSave.
   Note: When you save your changes, a new file with your notes attaches to the student’s assignment.

   If you don’t want to save your changes, tap Back Discard.

8. (Optional) To open the student's work in Google Drive, tap the new fileNew tab .

How notes are saved

If the original file was a	It saves as a
Google Docs file	Separate PDF
Office file	Separate PDF
JPG or PNG image file	Edited file that replaces original
PDF	Edited file that replaces original

Use the drawing and writing tools

Choose a tool

You can find all tools at the bottom of the app screen.

Tool	Use it to
Select	Select a new note to resize or move it.
Erase	Erase a note.
Write	Write or draw lines with a pen. You can change the width of lines with speed.
Mark	Write or draw lines of even width with a marker.
Highlight	Highlight text or images.
Add text	Add a text note.

Change a tool's color or size

The write, mark, and highlight tools are available in different sizes and colors. 

1. To see the color and size options, double tap Write , Mark , or Highlight .

2. To show additional colors, tap the Up arrow .

   
   To hide the options, swipe down.

Add a text note

1. Tap Add text .
2. On the student's work, drag your finger to create a text field.
3. Enter your message.
   • To make the text larger, pinch 2 fingers apart.
   • To make the text smaller, pinch 2 fingers together.
   • To resize the text box, tap a corner and drag it.

Erase a mark

1. Tap Erase .

2. To erase a mark, tap it. 
3. (Optional) To delete all marks on the page, double tap Erase Clear page.

Resize or move a note or image

You can resize or move a new note or image.

1. Add a text note or image.
2. Tap Select  and tap the note or image.
3. Pinch 2 fingers together or apart on the note or image to resize it.
4. Drag the note or image to move it.

Zoom in or out on a note

• To zoom in, pinch 2 fingers apart on the note.
• To zoom out, pinch 2 fingers together on the note.
• To pan over the drawing, drag 2 fingers across the screen.

Undo or redo actions

• To undo the previous action, tap Undo . You can use it repeatedly to undo consecutive actions.

• To redo an action, tap Redo . You can use it repeatedly to redo consecutive actions.

Related articles

• Grade and return an assignment
• Grade and return question answers