Peer Review

Kleki

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 28, 2020 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

Kleki is a free web-app for painting and editing. It features different brushes, layers, and filters. Kleki includes editing tools that enable the user to add contrast, hue, curves, and perspective, as well as to rotate, transform, flip, and resize images. The tool allows the user to either create images, or to "play with" photos. A variety of input devices can be used to create images (pen, touch, mouse, and trackpad). There are videos and tutorials available, as well as links to free art tutorials and resources. Images can be saved, uploaded/imported, and stored in a browser.

It is also available as a Chrome app.

Type of Material:

Development Tool

Recommended Uses:

Kleki could be used for in-class demonstrations, homework assignments, individual efforts, and peer reviews of in-progress work.

Technical Requirements:

Internet connection

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Create images using electronic tools
Modify created images using a varity of tools
Modify photos using a variety of tools

Kleki provides basic digital drawing and painting tools that will be found in almost every digital art program.

Target Student Population:

High School, College General Ed, College Lower Division, College Upper Division, Graduate School, Professional

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

It appears that this tool could be used with even beginner skills in drawing and modifying images.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

Users can draw, sketch, and paint. Users start from a blank canvas and use tools for brushes, layers, and editing, plus they can import an image. There are several tutorials, keyboard shortcuts and just click the question mark icon in the upper right corner.

Concerns:

Links to free art resources and tutorials are included. Be sure to scroll down on the first link to find illustrations.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Kleki is a solid, introductory, digital drawing and paint program. Because it is free and can be found online or as Chrome app, it makes it an ideal choice for teachers who want to introduce their students to digitally drawing or painting. There are tools for brushes, layers, and editing. Images can be imported which means there could be many types of art education lessons created beyond just drawing and painting on the digital canvas.

Lesson ideas might include: introduction to digital art tools, pixel art making, creating simple drawings or comics, or 2D game design.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The Kleki interface is organized and easy to navigate. Kleki will probably work best with a Wacom tablet and stylus, but users can certainly go a long way with a mouse or trackpad. The supporting information and tutorials allows users to begin using the tools immediately. Created work can be saved directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, Flickr, Box, Evernote, or the user's local device. There is no automatic save feature, but for a free program this is common. There is a changelog that shows almost all of Kleki's updates over time. The site is well maintained and current.

Concerns:

Overall design quality is uncertain
The tool appears to require more playing with tools to develop skill than instruction in techniques
Info is available on the updates that have been implemented since it as released in December 2010. It appears that they have added and revised features, as well as fixing issues with the tool.

Other Issues and Comments:: The video tutorials varied in length from 3-11.5 minutes without verbal or written instructions. It also seemed striking that the tutorials all had fewer than 90 hits in Youtube. This seems like a strikingly small number across a 10 year period, unless users just watched them within the tool and they were not included in the number of hits.
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