Desktop Graphics using Paint

For fun, I made a graphic depicting the reaction of ammonia and hydrochloric acid. The reaction yields ammonium and chlorine and is a popular weak-base strong-acid titration. So using the Paint software on my computer, I drew this diagram.

I used Paint because I had the software already on my computer and because it was similar to one of the first software programs I ever used back when my family purchased an Apple 2e. I have not played with Paint since then so it was fun to see how much I remember from 25 years ago. Not much has changed, as far as I remember, but it took some time to get use to the program again. Why is the fill with color button right next to the eraser button? I repeatedly filled with color when I was trying to erase. So frustrating!

Paint defaults to save as a .bmp file which what I did. It can also save as a .jpb, .gif, .tif, and .png. The file I made is 817 KB. That seems pretty large. When I double click on the file, it automatically opens in Microsoft Office Picture Manager. If I want to alter the file, I need to open Paint and then retrieve the file.

I can see how beneficial desktop graphics can be to me as a chemistry teacher. It has always been a struggle to illustrate chemical equations using traditional software programs. Does anyone else know how to made the 2 in H2O smaller? I can do it in a word document but not in this blog.

So instead when using Paint, I can better illustrate simple and more complex chemical equations. If the software is available in the school, this would make a great assignment for students to illustrate the chemical process they are experiencing in the laboratory. Students get the chance to demonstrate fluency in this technological system. I was able to transfer current knowledge
(reaction of an acid and an base) to this new technology (Microsoft Paint). Both teacher and student can model this digital-age learning (NETS-T #3).

I also need to try out some other desktop graphic software. Since my computer is a dinosaur with Windows XP, I am sure there are other more advanced programs that I could try. There may even be one that is more chemistry friendly.

P.S. After the virus incident from the snipping software, I now have a new laptop with Windows 7. This will give me the chance to try some of these more advance programs as I design and develop even more digital-age learning experiences (NETS-T #2).