Thing 2: Photo Fun

Thing 2:  Photo Fun

This "thing" was lots of fun and very informative.  I tried many of the tools that were advised from this module.  I am very appreciative to have learned about Pixabay and Photopin and to have explored the Creative Commons Website.  I am always encouraging my students to use images in an ethical manner by using Google Advanced Image Search and images from our subscription online tools and giving credit for the images.  It will be great now to have other tools for the students to utilize to find images that they can use for their school projects.

I am also very grateful for the information regarding Creative Commons Licensing and the Copyright-Friendly Toolkit from Joyce Valenza.  The toolkit information regarding fair use, public domain, creative commons, and lists of image sources will be invaluable to me as I work with students. I will definitely be using this with my upper level students.  She always has such great resources for librarians!

I already use Shutterfly in my library and Shutterfly and Picasa at home.  One project in which I use Shutterfly is for our Lois Ehlert author/illustrator study in second grade.  After reading many Lois Ehlert books and her biography, the students create their own collage illustrations using found natural materials and everyday materials from school and home.  They choose a piece of paper to put on the table as their background, then they choose objects to place on the paper as a collage.  When they are done, I stand over their illustration and take a photo from above.  The students then write a caption to go with their illustration.  When all is finished we use Shutterfly to make a photo book of their Lois Ehlert inspired illustrations.

For a new tool, I made a magazine cover from Big Huge Labs.  This was a lot of fun.  I am going to try to attach it to this blog, but I'm not sure if I know how.  Right after I used this tool, I told one of the high school English teachers.  For one of the novels that she reads with her class, she does a research project about the 1930s.  This year she decided to have the students do the project in magazine format, including a magazine cover.  This tool will fit perfectly with this project and will allow me to emphasize how to ethically find an image for the magazine cover and demonstrate some of the sources mentioned above.  I did notice that there was a template for a whole magazine.  I think that I will try that next.

Thanks Polly, for all the tools listed in this "thing."  What a valuable resource!

A couple of questions:  My school blocks Pixabay and Photopin. Do you think there is a good reason for this?  Also, am I supposed to be following other Cool Toolers blog posts and if yes, how do I do this?

Thanks again!

Karen Fronhofer