Tablet Talk

.So, You Have A Bunch Of Digital Pictures.

Now What?

Step One: Take Lots Of Pictures

Don’t limit yourself to field trips and programs! Keep a digital camera and rechargeable batteries on hand for day to day activities and you won’t regret it.  Consider taking a head shot of each student the first day of school and watch how they grow and change over time.  Close ups of one and two children are great for slide shows and don’t forget to catch them working, reading and playing!

If you don’t have a ’second’ digital camera to dedicate to your class, you might be surprised how inexpensive they have become.  Check for refurbished and open box buys athttp://newegg.com or buy yourself a very nice one for home and repurpose your current one for school!

Step Two: Import and Organize

Download a free program called Picasa 3.  Once you have Picasa downloaded and installed it will look for the images already on your computer and help you to build folders in order to keep your collection of picures labeled and organized.  One of the banner ads for Picasa billed it as ‘the software that should have come with your digital camera’ and I agree with this statement.

Step Three: Picasa Basics

Get to know the Picasa program.  With a little time invested, you will be able to crop photos, improve the quality of them and add text to them.  With a little more practice you’ll be making professional looking collages and even short slide shows with this program.  Here is one exceptional overview, and I am sure there are others as well. Learning Picasa is something I am able to help you with.

Step Four: Online Photo Sharing

(Be sure you have a photo release and principal permission!)
There are several high quality online photo sharing services available (Flickr, PhotoBucket etc). Why would you want to share images of the class?  Consider it one more  way to get the parents involved in the class activities or a venue to show the great things you are doing in school.

I recommend Google’s Picasa Web for several reasons. First of all, it integrates with Picasa 3 for easy uploads and downloads.  Secondly, once you create a free Google account you can use the same name and password for other cool services such as blogger, gmail, google docs and more. Finally, it is the service I use so if you ever need a hand with the service I will be able to help you that much more.

Step Five: Embellish Your Photos

You can add text and make edits to your pictures using Picasa 3,  but let’s talk about having some real fun.  Let’s talk about putting pictures on a three dimensional cube, placing students’ faces on sumo wrestlers and in frames at art galleries.
Use these embellished photos on your class website or blog, in a newsletter or as a story starter for creative writing.
I come across these types of sites  and add them to my blog, but here is a starter list of places to do fun things to your pictures:

http://www.photofunia.com

http://www.picnik.com/
http://pho.to/
http://www.dumpr.net/
http://www.imagechef.com/
http://repper.studioludens.com/
http://www.sumopaint.com
/web/

http://www.pizap.com/

http://www.tuxpi.com/

http://www.shapecollage.com/

http://bighugelabs.com

There are more, and as I find them I will blog about them, but this will get you started.

Step Six: Display Them!

1. Print them and place on bulletin board
2. Create a slideshow with Picasa or PhotoStory
3. Use for desktop or screensaver
4. Digital picture frame, rotate through your favorites
5. Project and use for Story Starter or writing prompt
6. Class Newsletter
7. Class Blog or Website
8. End of the year program
9. Email to parents

Write to me and let me know what else you do with the pictures of your students!

I’m Here To Help!

If I am your ETT please let me know if you need a hand with any of these items! I will be glad to help you get the most out of your digital pictures. Enjoy!