Tuesday Teacher Tips Sept 24 - Photo editing & innerbody.com

These were tips I sent out to my faculty today.  I've really been having fun making photo-fliers that put into emails and print out for bulletin boards, so I thought I'd spotlight how I do that today. 

Creating Fun Signs Using Photos

You can create fun and engaging signs or handouts for your classroom using photos that you edit and add text to.

The process is very simple, all you need is a photo and a photo editing software like Picasa, which can be downloaded for free [here].

Example photo edited in Picasa

When you choose a photo to edit, you will want to make sure that it is either one you have taken yourself, or one that is available to use, share and modify under something like a Creative Commons license.  Good places to look for photos that you can use is MorgueFile, a free photo archive (click [here]), or Flickr Commons, which includes photos shared from many of the world’s public photography archives (click [here]).  Before you download, be sure to double check the copyright, and remember to give credit to the source.

To edit your photo, open it in your photo editing software, and begin to play around with filters and color schemes.  For Picasa, you will find those editing options on the left of the screen.  Click through the three tabs that have paint brushes. 

Picasa editing tools are located on the left

Once you are happy with your image modifications, you will be able to add text.  Most of your basic photo editing programs will allow you to add text.  In Picasa, from the tab with the wrench, choose the text option and click anywhere in your photo to begin adding text.  You can easily change the angle, color, and size of the text by using the tools on the side of your screen, and by clicking and dragging your text on the photo.

When you are finished, save your photo, then embed it in a document to print,  or in email, or on a web page to share online.

Need more Info?

Check out this 5 minute video about Picasa [here]

Or, for a quick directions from Techusers for adding text click [here]

Innerbody.com— an interactive way to learn about the human body

 

Innerbody.com is a great resource for showing students different body systems.  Choose between systems like the skeletal system, muscular system and cardiovascular system. 

Under each system you can choose between views of a male or female, and you can change from a front to back view.

From the menu on the left, you can choose different areas within the system, and it will give you a close up view, with a description of the parts on the right side of the picture.

Example from the lower torso view

 of the cardiovascular system.

This is an excellent way to show students how the different systems of the human body look, however be warned, the male and female views are anatomically correct, so you may want to have the system you would like to share already pulled up on the screen, and be sure to preview the systems first.

To check out the site for yourself click [here].

Note: You will need to make sure you are viewing the site on an up-to-date browser to see all of the features, and may be prompted to update different programs. I viewed it in Firefox with no problem.