Technology Medley

Did you know that you can edit your digital photos online? Here are brief descriptions of 3 sites which allow you to upload photos, make changes as you wish, and then save the revised photos wherever you choose. Each of these sites provide sample pictures to allow you to explore their features before uploading your own image. The pictures below were created using these samples.

Picnik

The first and probably the most well known site is Picnik. Most of the features on this site are completely free. After you upload an image, you can crop, edit, adjust colors, resize, etc. Then click on the create tab and add snow, frames, text, and shapes.

Once you are happy with your picture, click Save and Share. You may either save the picture back onto your computer, or you can send it to one of many photo sharing sites on the internet.

FlauntR

FlauntR is a fairly new entity on the web, and it is just amazing! Click on one of the styleR or editR buttons, log in as a guest, and start playing! The editR features are fairly typical, including cropping, resizing, redeye removal, etc. Also in the editR window, there is an effects tab with numerous effects such as colorizing, neon embossing, and a pencil sketch.

Then, as if that is not enough, click on the styleR button at the top of the main window. The choices that you have at this point can be overwhelming. You will need to make friends with the history button, because at this point, that is the only way you can undo previous selections. Be sure to check out the compositions and frames!

The textR button allows you to add text along with numerous shapes and clipart. You can save your images to your computer or to an album that is stored on the site. You can also upload them to several photo sharing sites.

FotoFlexer

Another new online editor that offers numerous creative options and is very user friendly is FotoFlexer. Along with the typical editing features such as resizing and cropping, FotoFlexer offers several special effects such as colorizing and popart choices. There is also a distort option that is fun to experiment with if you would like to create a more artistic version of your photograph.

Like the other sites, you can save your edited images to online storage sites, save them to your computer, or email them to a friend.

All three of these sites provide holiday specific options. For example, right now they are all featuring hearts for Valentine’s Day. So, go explore these cool photo editors, and have fun!

Occasionally, someone asks me where to find photographs that can be used for classroom projects or web sites.

Pics4Learning

My favorite site for classroom use is Pics4 Learning. Images on this site have been contributed by teachers and students specifically for use in education, so it is a safe site for students to use when searching for images for projects.

Flickr

Flickr.com is probably one of the most popular photo sharing sites on the Internet, but it should NOT be used by students because, unfortunately, there are folks who upload inappropriate images. That being said, if you go Flickr and search for Creative Commons, you will find millions of pictures that have been licensed to share. Read the license agreements on the right side of the page. Click on the “See More” links to go to a search page, then enter your desired topic. If you find a picture you want to use, right click on it and select Save Picture As. Be sure to follow the licensing requirements, such as giving the photographer credit someplace in your project.

Please let me know if you need help with projects using pictures from either of these sites.

If you would prefer to have a simple slideshow without the bells and whistles, then I would recommend trying out Kodak’s site. Once again, you set up a free account and upload pictures. Then you will have the ability to view your pictures as a slideshow. This site does not provide the open sharing capabilities of the others, so in order to share, you will need to send an email to those who would be interested in your pictures.

Some others that you might want to check out are:

DropShots 

MyPhotoAlbum

SmugMug
This site costs $39.95 per year and is ad free. It has some cool themes and other nice features. Would you use it? We can use software money to pay for a subscription, but you need to let me know if you’d be interested in that. I don’t want to pay for something that will never be used. So, if you’d like for us to purchase a subscription for SmugMug, either leave a comment to this post or send me an email.

Rock You is another fun photo sharing site, but I’d like to remind you once again…please don’t send your students directly to the site. You will need to set up a free account and then upload pictures from your computer. After setting up your slideshow, you can share the address with your students, post the link on your website, or embed the slideshow in your blog. It’s much easier than it sounds, and I’ll be glad to help!

When you enter the Rock You web site, if you find the music annoying, there is a “turn off” button just above the intro slideshow. After you upload your photos to the site, you can select from a wide variety of transitions, colors, themes, and even music to add to your show. Even if you don’t plan to use it any time soon, you should at least so there and play around a bit. I promise that your creative juices will be flowing in no time!

Here’s an example:

There are numerous photo sharing websites that are free and simple. Just do a search for “photo sharing” and you’ll see what I mean. Let me say first though that you should not send your students directly to these sites. If you decide to upload pictures to them and create a slideshow, you can give the students the link directly to your slideshow.

Bubbleshare is probably the most widely mentioned photo sharing site used in elementary schools. The first thing you’ll need to do is set up a free account. Then you just log in, create a new album, browse for your pictures, and make your album Private so your pictures won’t show up for someone just exploring the internet. After you create your slideshow, you’ll have the option to record audio for each slide, add text bubbles, and insert cute clipart. When you’re finished, you can either choose the Email Album link on the side to send the link to your contacts. Or, better yet, click the Blog Album link, copy the code that appears, and add it to your class web site. It will be embedded right in your web page…Very cool! I’ll help you get this set up if you’re interested. Katie Crotts uses Bubbleshare to share her class pictures. In fact, she was the first person I knew of who used this site! Visit the photo gallery on her class site for some great examples of sharing pictures with Bubbleshare.

You can also embed the slideshow into a blog. It will look something like this:

You have taken lots of wonderful digital pictures of your students and plan to take more as the year progresses. What can you do with those pictures other than print them? (Remember, printing photographs can take 4 times as much toner as printing words, and we just don’t have the budgets to continue buying toner as often as we might like to.)

So, how can you share those pictures with your students and their families if you don’t print them out? One of the easiest ways to share photos is by creating a slideshow in either MaxShow or PowerPoint and simply inserting a picture on each slide. If you’re feeling a bit more creative, put more than one picture on a slide, rotate pictures, add text, add clipart, and just have fun! You could also let your students each create their own slide and then combine them all into one slideshow. If you’d like to give that a try, I’ll be more than happy to help you out.

A slideshow for PTA Back to School Night is a great way for parents to “meet” your class. You could have the show running on your computer(s) as they are entering the classroom, or project it using your TV or LCD projector if you have one in your room.

There are several photo sharing sites on the internet that I’ll tell you more about in my next post. Let me know when you’re ready to create that PowerPoint from all of your great pictures!