Saturday 1 August 2009

Picnik

Hello again,

After my last post, I discovered the pictures on Flickr can actually be edited using Picnik (I am definitely still learning!). Here is the link to Picnik. This is another free site to join and use. This enables users to link both accounts and publish photos for others to view. Photos can be linked from social networking sites and also uploaded from a computer. In this program, the user can crop, resize, rename, change colours and use many other editing functions (Picnik, 2009). For additional editing options, a small fee is payable per year.

Above is a photo that I linked from Flickr to Picnik. It is a photo of my dog, which I have cropped so that the wall that was on the right of the picture is not included. Although there are many photo editing programs in the marketplace such as Adobe Photoshop, they have costs involved and take time to develop knowledge and skills to use effectively. This site is simple and easy to use and can be shared with a variety of people, depending on privacy settings.

In my last post, the example of implementation in the classroom was of students creating a brochure, which aligned to Oliver’s Learning Theory (AusInfo, 2003). Picnik would be able to assist students in the second part of this theory, which is the resources phase. Students can edit their photos for their brochure, by cropping or changing colours to make them more effective. Having the ability to link from the Flickr account allows the Learning Manager to place photos in this account that will specifically assist the students when they are choosing photos to edit. This aligns to the third section of the Learning Theory, whereby the Learning Manager scaffolds the learning experience (AusInfo, 2003). The use of this site also has links across other Key Learning Areas such as Arts and ICT.

I am definitely exploring and creating a long list of websites and programs for my repertoire. It is essential to ensure that these programs are used to provide authentic learning experiences for students that engage them in higher order thinking.

Melissa.

References

AusInfo. (2003). The Learning Design Construct. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from Learning Design: http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

Picnik. (2009). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Picnik: http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/faq

No comments:

Post a Comment