Editing in Picasa

 

Here is an untouched photo of some of the family at Disneyland this past June.

I did just a little cropping here to bring the photo more in harmony with the rule of thirds.  You can see that there is less “sky space” and that the “bottom” part of the picture now takes up about 2/3 of the space.  I also applied auto contrast.

This photo I edited in Picasa using Picnik.  They have graph lines that make it very easy to compose your photo using the rules of thirds. Here you see that the cropped image puts Tori’s face at the top 1/3 intersection line (right side) which is where the human eye travels first.  Also the flowers in the foreground add visual interest.  I also adjusted the exposure to warm the colors in Tori’s face.

Technology in the Classroom

My experience with technology in the classroom is pretty much limited to what I have experienced at BYU Hawaii.  I’d have to say that my favorite “application” is Blackboard.  I love that I can find assignments, materials, grades and notifications for all my classes in one place. (Theoretically.  Unfortunately, not all of my teachers use Blackboard)  I can certainly see the power that a similar type of program would have in the elementary school.

I also have been exposed to power point presentations in some of my classes.  I can see the benefit of power point presentations because they add visual interest and help note takers outline better, BUT in some of my classes they have seemed like a crutch, and a poor excuse for real teaching.  So, I have learned that anything overused becomes boring.  I believe that I will use power point presentations in my classroom, but I will try to use it to enhance my teaching and not to take the place of it, or to become my primary accommodation.

I am intrigued with the idea of using the iPod in a classroom setting. Kids love iPods and how wonderful it would be to help them use the device for academic purposes!  I also see the benefit of the iPod as the classroom music and audio book source. How much more wonderful will be the day when an iPad is standard issue for students!

I hope that I have classroom computers available in my classroom.  I am amazed every time I am at Laie Elementary how many questions the students ask that could easily be elaborated upon if they had in class internet access.  I can see it as a definite tool for taking GT students beyond the basic assignment, but also as a potential perk for helping reluctant learners find enthusiasm for a topic within the topic.

Blogging in Education

Web 2.0 is a catchphrase that describes the latest changes to the web. Web 1.0 was basically static; search for information, and information you received. The information was most often provided by an “expert” in the field. Web 2.0 is dynamic. It is interactive. It has given us all a voice. No longer do we just read the news, we comment on the news. Now the consensus of the people is the expert source we look to for information. When we want to know the basics of any given topic, Wikipedia is often the source of first choice. When we want to purchase a product, we search reviews. Web 2.0 has many applications (many for free) with this interactive component and our students are familiar and comfortable with many of them. The wise teacher will use their student’s expertise in this area to enhance their educational experience.

A blog is one of the tools that Web 2.0 has made available to us. A blog is a site that you create. It is a place that you can share a wide variety of information, photos, and video. You generate the content and so can focus on a particular subject (like this blog) or make it more general, even something like a diary. Thanks to Web 2.0, others can comment on your blog and it can become a source of conversation and shared ideas. Teachers can create a classroom blog to share the latest happenings in their class, homework assignments, upcoming events, or anything else they’d like to share

But even more than just a place to share information, a blog has pedagogical potential as well. Because students are comfortable with and excited about technology it can be much more enjoyable to respond to questions generated on a blog. Or, what if every student had their own Blog and it became their learning notebook for the year? This avenue of expression lends itself well to all learning levels. More advances students can research and link information at their level of learning. Students who struggle academically can respond at their level or maybe even choose to respond in a video format. Student driven blogs open a door to community learning as students and teachers can view and comment on the blogs.

Is your head in the cloud?

If it isn't, it should be. And then again, it just might be and you are not even aware of it! That was my position until I started this class! Simply stated "the cloud" is what we think of as the internet today. It is the "place" where we store uploaded photos, create blogs, network with facebook, and watch and create you tube videos. It is like having the power of a supercomputer on our little lap top, and even better, we are not little lap top dependent! We can access the things we have stored in the cloud from any computer with internet access! (image)