Many are already familiar with programs like Photoshop, which is as extensive as it is expensive (around $200), but there are other sites out there that can provide a number of tools to aid users in creating and manipulating their visual content. One site is found at https://www.canva.com. Canva is an online tool that allows the user to choose from an extensive gallery for background images, clipart, and font in addition to receiving downloads of user created work that can be used to create millions of designs for illustrations, headers, footers, even favicons for websites and publishable content. Many of the images on Canva are free to use; some are copyrighted and require a small fee for use if the work is to be published. Another site, found at https://pixlr.com/, is similar to Canva but doesn't have as big a gallery or selection of images to be used. Users can upload their own photographs or art and use the editing tools to change the appearance of their images before saving the file in a number of different formats. Plixr is free for use.
As far as using these tools in the classroom, teacher and students can benefit from both programs when creating and adding quality visuals to match the content being addressed. For teachers like myself, programs like these can be used to improve the appearance of their classroom website or other learning sites to be used by their students. Students can use image editing tools to add annotations, compliment their text with accompanying photographs and diagrams, whether they be self made or found online. This can be very useful for students that are writing reports, sharing research, even making their own web pages.
I was able to use Canva to download a picture of my school, attach text, and save the file to be inserted as a header on my own blog. Here is a screenshot even though it can be see at the top of this page:
You can find the location for Canva here and the website for Pixlr here, but there are many other sites that offer similar tools with use of your Internet search engine.
Teachers will want to familiarize themselves with image editing software if they wish to practice what they're teaching students regarding the importance of presentation in their work. These days, it isn't enough to simply share the information; we have to find ways to make it interesting, relevant, and able to connect to the outside world as well as other ideas and concepts in the classroom. Good visuals help us do all of these things.
(Click on the link above for descriptions of the following standards this tool can address.)
Creativity and innovation (a, b)
Communication and collaboration (a, b, c, d)
Research and information fluency (a, b, c)
Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making (a, b, c, d)
Digital citizenship (a, b)
Technology operations and concepts (a, b, c, d)
(Click on the link above for descriptions of the following standards this tool can address.)
Facilitate and Inspire student learning
and creativity (a, d)
Design and develop digital age learning
experiences and assessments (a, b, c, d)
Model digital age work and learning (a, b, d)
Promote and model digital citizenship
and responsibility (a, b, c)
Engage in professional growth and
leadership (a, d)
Sources:
Standards for Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2015, from
http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-teachers
ISTE Standards for Students. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2015, from
http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-students
Pixlr. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from https://pixlr.com/
Amazingly simple graphic design. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2015,
from https://www.canva.com
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