Digital Image Manipulation

Development of Technological Product:

            For my technology product I decided to use PicMonkey. As I mentioned earlier it is user friendly and does not require a software download. One of the features I really liked is that you can upload pictures and images from your picture folder and organize them into premade templates or create your own. The editing part of this environment is very easy to use as well. I don’t have time to go in and learn each step but the nature of PicMonkey is very intuitive. It is set up like the photo editing apps that are available for cell phones and I know students will be able to easily use the tools. Since I will have all the English language learners the use of images and text is also very important. I plan to use this to make quick connections with terms, places, and definitions in world geography so that they can understand and be part of the lessons. I will also use it as a scaffolding tool to little by little have them use more text and less images when presenting review information. This tool can also be integrated as a graded portion of a class discussion, project and even exit ticket in which students can find images that answer questions and then use a text box to make the connections.  This is the image that I created:

Reflection:

            As I am going through this course I am enjoying the use of new technology tools and the ability to look at each one as a teacher and as a teacher. Everything I have made so far is done in an extension of what I will be presenting to my students in the coming weeks. I used this as a method to introduce rules to my class. I did not want a lot of rules to be rambling selections of, ”thou shat nots.” Instead I am trying to build a positive environment in which the students can do and be their best. I talked at length my campus coordinator about this and she agrees and encouraged my trajectory in this matter. For this reason I created a (hopefully) fun and engaging pictures that I will put up on the projector. Many rules will be in the ABC format that will include: A- Attentive listening. I will explain what that looks like and model for my students. Then will discuss what talking and communication looks like and when it is and isn’t appropriate. B will be on time. This means they will have to be seated at their desk on time, turn in work on time, etc. We will then discuss the school wide tardy rules as well. Finally the letter C will stand for be prepared. This means having all supplies including their tablets and charges. Again we will model what this looks like and I will talk to them about my pencil renting policy that will give them a chance to borrow a pencil for 25 cents. We will also discuss cell phone use at this time and list the consequences for not following the class plan.  Overall I think that positive reinforcement is always more effective and modeling paired with discussion clears up any confusion. I will print this out and hang it on the class board and refer to it as much as needed until it is integrated in our daily routines.

Analysis of Technological Development Environment

            Within this Technology Implementation assignment, the focus is upon digital image design, development and manipulation. I decided to look at these environment in a different manner because I already use some of these environments and wanted to look into some that were student friendly. The following is a short listing of each of the environments provided for this unit:

Actively Use and thus decided not to use them at this time:

      AdobePhotoshop Express: http://www.photoshop.com/products/photoshopexpress

·         paint.net: http://www.getpaint.net/index.html

·         PaintTool SAI:http://painttool-sai.en.softonic.com/
http://painttool-sai.en.softonic.com/download

·         CorelDRAW Graphics Suite free trial: http://www.coreldraw.com/us/free-trials/
http://coreldraw-graphics-suite.en.softonic.com/

·         - I really like Photoshop and the other environments on this list but they require memory space and downloads. This would not be something I would use for my students since they are limited on their tablets and they generally don’t have permission to download software.

       Will not use in the future:

      GIMP:http://www.gimp.org/

·         Pixia: http://pixia.en.softonic.com/

·         Seashore
http://seashore.sourceforge.net/The_Seashore_Project/About.html

·         PhotoPlus: http://www.serif.com/free-photo-editing-software/

·         -These environments looked very easy to use but I decided against them because they have to be downloaded. Again, this is not beneficial since my students are not allowed to use them on their tablets. I want to practice and use tools that they can also implement in class.

      

      Will be using these in the future:

      Ribbett: http://www.ribbet.com/photo-editor-like-picnik

·         -I really liked this platform. It does not require a download and students can upload pictures/images directly from their tablets without registering for the product. After they complete their collages and other work they can save it as a jpeg and share it on social media and email. They have some fun features and choices as well.

·        Technology Environment Used: I decided to use PicMonkey: http://www.picmonkey.com/ because it was very user friendly and didn’t require any downloads or any extra links and software.  The only down side is that it has advertisements on the page. I hope that since the student network does not allow for adds they most likely be blocked.