World Sketchnote Week will take place from January 12-16, 2026. This online event is organized by Ashton Rodenheiser and her Sketchnote School and offers a huge number of interesting lectures and workshops over five days. Tuesday and Wednesday are dedicated to sketchnoting in schools, and Ashton asked me if I could give a lecture on the use of sketchnotes in the classroom. The idea of giving a presentation—in English—and in front of potentially a large audience was immediately incredibly tempting and at the same time quite daunting…. Nevertheless, I immediately agreed because it’s just great to talk about the two things I’m most involved with: sketchnoting and teaching.
After a period of procrastination (“It’s not until the new year…”) and non-committal brainstorming, I finally got down to work on the presentation in December. I applied a principle that had already proven itself at the sketchnote workshop in Linz—hand-drawn slides. It feels more natural to talk about sketchnotes when what I’m talking about is also drawn. And it gives me confidence to have my own drawings in front of me and let my drawn alter ego guide me through the content. Collecting examples was also an exciting process. I even found some drawings that I had completely forgotten about, and looking at them together, I realized how my practice has changed over time and how my style has evolved.
The very first test presentation was much too long and still too unclear in terms of focus. It needed a lot of trimming, sharpening, and deepening, and the incredibly detailed and competent feedback from my friend Mia Palmer helped me a lot. In a second round, the feedback from my friends Lai Chee and Brad Did helped me once again to further sharpen the focus and leave out a few things (which is always the hardest part). Now I just hope that the live presentation on January 13 will go well. In any case, it will be an interesting experience, and the preparation has already been very beneficial.
To be continued… 😉
Looking back, I can say that the presentation was a real success. Despite the late hour (9:30-10:30 p.m.) after a busy school day and the unfamiliar language, I managed quite well and the presentation was very well received thanks to its simplicity. One viewer wrote in the comments on the recording, “I LOVE your sketches—they are so clean, precise, and well organized. Looking at them feels like my brain is getting a big hug.” 😊 And It was amazing to see so many sketchnotes from my presentation, and it’s a really unusual feeling to be on the other side and be sketched. 🥰
The presentation is also available here to read and view: