Category: Uncategorized

For Sandbox #2, I had the chance to play with image tools from a few websites offering free editing tools. I also had the opportunity to browse through images from several image websites. 

My first image, I pulled from Pixabay. Just starting out on this exploration of tools seemed a bit daunting, so I reminded myself that all journeys start with the first step, like a hike. So, I chose an image of a mountain trail with the purpose of adding the words “One step at a time” to the picture. I used Tuxpi to play with the colors, sizing and light, and then I attempted to add text. It wasn’t easy to get the text the size, font, color, and position that I wanted, but then I found the motivational poster feature. That was exactly what I was looking for. I could see students using these tools to illustrate character traits with these posters. They could be character traits for students to aspire to or character traits from literature.

Antranias (2016, April 28). Path-Forest-Hike-Nature-Trail-1356948 [digital image]. Pixabay. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/photos/path-forest-hike-nature-trail-1356948. CCZero

Laszlo (2021, October 12). Matterhorn Photos opLzTgtXQkk [digital image]. Unsplash. Retrieved from https://unsplash.com/photos/opLzTgtXQkk. CCZero

This next image was pulled from Unsplash, which was easy to use as well. I then edited it with Pixlr.   I found Pixlr to be not as intuitive with manipulating the image- color/contrast, but the text was easier to work with. For this image, I used the cropping tool and text, but didn’t apply the changes to the color that I experimented with. Students could create their own bookmarks reflecting their goals or reading preferences using the images and tools like I did here.

Kuszpro (2014, August 5). Macaw-bird-animal-parrot-410144 [digital image]. Pixabay. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/photos/macaw-bird-animal-parrot-410144/. CCZero

Image from Photos for Class- 

This image was pulled from Photos for Class. This is a site where you can find images run through Flickr and Pixabay’s SafeSearch and filters to be child friendly and licensed by Creative Commons for public use. This would allow older kids to be able to search for their own images. I used PiZap to play with the image in such a way that I would expect a second grader to explore. I changed the saturation and contrast, added a border, and added a shout. I used the dropper tool to match the text to a flower from the border. I played with filters, but found that they were not needed with the changes I had made to the colors of the image. I also added graphics, but deleted them when I found the borders. One nice thing about Photos for Class is that the image downloaded with the citation information in a black box on the bottom of the image automatically. This is surely convenient for kids, but takes away from the lesson of taking responsibility for crediting the creator of the image. Also, this automatic citation is not fool-proof, as it was covered when I added the border. 

Both Photos for Class and PiZap could be used for students to create presentations of research. For example, this image could be the first slide in a slideshow about macaws.

This word cloud was created in Wordart to serve as an introduction to me. Of the five types of word cloud generators, I found Wordart to be the easiest to use and the one that produced the best product for my needs. I liked that it offered fun shapes as well as the ability to choose color, font, and the way the words were laid out on the shape. It seemed to be the most intuitive to me, with ABCya!’s word cloud generator as very easy to use.

Word clouds allow children to show what they know in a creative way, with a pleasing final product. They have all sorts of fun applications in the classroom and in libraries. Students can research a topic and then create a list of words that are important to the understanding of it to enter in the word cloud generator. If the generator has a shape selector, as Wordart does, students can present their words in a shape that represents accurately and expresses their understanding of the topic. Older students may enjoy putting a passage of their writing into Monkey Learn or Word it Out, while elementary aged students could more easily use Wordart. The generator on ABCya! would work well for the youngest students, as the changes to the final product are immediate and require very few mouse clicks for success. Answer garden could be used by an older group of students. They could be given a question to research, and then each student submits an answer with 20 or less characters, preferably. The answers could then be displayed to show the result of research and the understanding of a group of kids.