PICA-PICASA -Take 3

Click on picture to enlarge

So, I went ahead and fiddled with more editing tricks. This time I used Picnik's trial version (again). I learned something quite important (to me, at least) about photo-editing software and that is: I now prefer to use Picasa over Picnik and iPhoto. I think I just need to update my iPhoto software to the most recent one but that costs and Picasa is free. I use a mac and the last time I had tried to use Picasa, it was not available to download on mac's.

Well, the editing that I did with this picture was to crop it using the rule of thirds. Then I clicked on the autofix button to have the software automatically do it for me. Then I lessened the exposure and increased the saturation to give more color to the face. All that brought me to the final product on the right side.

PHOTO EDITING (Take 2)

This time I decided to give Picnik a try.  To further edit your pictures in Picasa, you are given the option to use Picnik so I went ahead and used it.  Here I used a picture that was taken on the first day of summer school.  I took the original picture and did the following:

1. Cropped the picture - I zoomed more on the face and using the "rule of thirds", I placed my subject along the intersecting lines on the right-hand side.
2. Autofix - Next I clicked on the "autofix" button to have Picnik sense and fix the colors on my picture.
3. Brighten - I brightened the picture 18 notches.
4. Saturation - After brightening, I adjusted the saturation so that it was at 25 to give the picture an antiqued or "vintage" coloring.
5. Temperature - I also upped the temperature to give the picture a cooler feel.
6. Extras - the free version of Picnik lets you add quite a few fun features to your pictures for free.  I used the "museum mat" feature to put the frame around the picture and also a "Before & After" feature that automatically places the original picture next to the edited one with the added captions of "Before" and "After." 

Click on the picture to get a closer look at it.

Messing with Photo Editing

I'm a "mac/apple" kind of girl and even though I do have that Picasa account, I prefer using iphoto to edit my pictures.  I usually don't edit my digital pictures unless I have a really good reason too some of that being, wanting to put particular pictures up on my wall, or cropping someone I don't like out of a picture (*evil smile*).

BEFORE

AFTER

This picture was taken on Christmas Day 2010 when we were hit by a huge snow-storm in the Kansas City area.  So, to pass the time as we waited for the turkey to roast, my husband shoveled snow while the kids played (yes, I was not involved in any of it - only the picture-taking part).

I made a few SLIGHT changes to the original picture to get to my final version.  The first thing I did was up the exposure so that the background and sky wouldn't appear so dark and cloudy.  Then, I upped the contrast as well so that the colors would stand out against the white background.  To also help in that area, I saturated the picture a little more and then sharpened it to make all the rough edges more smooth looking.  All this was done in iphoto of course and then uploaded to this site where it automatically shows up on my Picasa account.

Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills: Kansas Technology Rich Classroom

Gosh!  Maybe I shouldn't have left Kansas... Did I really have to leave Kansas to find out what I could be missing out on?  But, I know I would choose Hawaii over Kansas any day so on a positive note - at least I am getting a better and better picture of what my ideal classroom would be like through these youtube videos.

TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

If this video does not motivate you to be on-top of your game when it comes to technology and using it to assist with instruction in your classroom, I don't know what will.  As I was watching this video in my EDU 305 class, I got a pretty huge reality check.  If there is anything that I have noticed as I teach lessons for my different content classes, it is that I hardly or NEVER use some form of technology in my lesson plan.  As I would reflect on my lessons, I realized that and would note the need to improve in that area and most of the time, I didn't actually put that much-needed improvement into action.

And then there I was, sitting in the classroom and watching this video and feeling almost overwhelmed at how much I would lose the students in my classroom if I don't make the effort to use technology to assist with my lessons.  What a huge responsibility a teacher has to give their students the best education they can get that will allow them to survive in today's rapidly changing world!

I admit, I thought that taking this class would be a waste of time because I knew "everything" about technology.  And boy was I wrong!  I may know a bit about technology but I am way behind in comparison to what most 2nd graders know today.  If I am to make learning meaningful and effective, I will have to relate to my students in the "connectivity world" of technology and computers.  Today, I can honestly say that I am very glad to be taking this class especially for that "aha!" moment I was able to have concerning my lack of technology or computer use in my previous lesson planning.

BLOGGING IN EDUCATION

me, blogging furiously perhaps?

Do you blog?...  'Cause I do... " I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that phrase over the last two years.  If you are like I was two years ago, you have probably heard the word "blog" being tossed around in conversations, news casts, articles and quite possibly, everywhere you turn.  And even then, you don't really know where that word popped up from or why everyone makes such a big fuss over it, or why you should have one (or three) of your own.  It seems pretty hip (especially is you are a Mormon mom) so you go along with pretending to know what a blog is.  So what exactly is a blog, you might ask? The word "blog" is derived from the contraction of the term "web log" and what it basically is, is an online diary or journal where people post entries regularly with a specific theme or purpose explaining and describing their experiences or feelings about that theme. 

So here I sit, blogging on my new "Got Technology?" blog where I, as an aspiring teacher, aim higher than the normal molly-mormon-mommy blog to talk about how I can use this wonderful tool of technology to assist with instruction in my future classroom.  After all, if it isn't keeping up with all the other moms, it's going to be keeping up with the technologically-savvy students who I will have the responsibility of teaching.  It's about time I join the web 2.0 world!

PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF STUDENT-DRIVEN BLOGS IN CONTRAST TO A TEACHER-CREATED WEBSITE. 

Student driven blogs can become an effective teaching tool in a classroom.  Blogs allow students to reflect on in-class lectures or topics that were discussed.  A student may not have voiced their opinion or thoughts in class but in a blog, the student can clearly reflect on what they could have said and articulate it in a class blog. A student-driven blog can be filled with personality as students respond to topics, discussions or comments in their own "style." It could be used for editing purposes, but sometimes knowing that your comments or entries will be edited can inhibit writing in anyone.

Teacher-created websites are a good way for teachers to drive the conversation that happens on the website.  The teacher can assign topics that students can discuss and comment on.  It also can give students a heads-up on what topics will be discussed in a future class and it also lets the students see the topic, think about the topic, think about what to write about that topic, and then actually put it onto the website.  Having a teacher-driven website allows the teacher to create rules and set guidelines and formats for how a blog should be used or kept. 

WHAT ARE THE CHILD-PROTECTION, COPYRIGHT, AND SOCIAL ISSUES THAT ARE INVOLVED?

A lot of times, students do not think about protecting their privacy and public persona.We've all heard of people who've lost possible job opportunities because of their facebook or myspace profile.  Information that is put on the web is being put out for the whole world to see or read and that could have both positive and negative implications.  As a teacher, and one who will be using blogs in my classroom, I will be sure to discuss with my students ways that they could protect their identity.  

Copyrights and the web is a very complicated area.  In googling the phrase "copyright and the internet" I came across this quote: "The Internet has been characterized as the largest threat to copyright since its inception. The Internet is awash in information, a lot of it with varying degrees of copyright protection. Copyrighted works on the Net include new s stories, software, novels, screenplays, graphics, pictures, Usenet messages and even email. In fact, the frightening reality is that almost everything on the Net is protected by copyright law. That can pose problems for the hapless surfer." ("The Copyright Web site" http://www.benedict.com/)

Just like making sure you don't plagiarize when writing a paper, it is important that information and other media used in a blog gives the proper credit to the source.  We would all hate for our work to be used on websites without giving us the credit that we deserve.

And so to end this first entry in my newblogging adventure on a humorous note, I leave you with something to ponder - could this be the true definition of blogging?

from Despair Inc.