Hi everyone,
The image I have used was taken from my brother’s Facebook site. I simply uploaded the picture of my sister in law and him into my Picnik account and used a polaroid, sticker and text effect to get this awesome image.
Picnik is great it allows the editor to create unique and meaningful images using a variety of great effects. There are multiple options to choose from and a small fee will occur if you wish to upgrade to receive more effects.
You can crop and resize images for PowerPoint presentations, or other documents, apply a variety of colour effects (black and white, sepia, 1960’s vintage), post stickers and other interesting items to your image (Picnik, 2009). Once you have completed your image you can either save it to your computer, email to a friend, print, or import to one of the other popular websites mentioned earlier.
I must note Picnik is not a site that you can store your work, it is simply derived for the manipulation of images therefore follow the options listed and save your images to other web sites such as your Flickr account.
How can Picnik be incorporated into the classroom?
Easy, Picnik is a fun, easy to navigate learning tool that students of all ages can use. It can be a tool to promote knowledge skills by editing and enhancing class web pages, blogs, wiki’s, PowerPoint presentations, brochures, photo stories, greeting cards for loved ones, creating a school year book, business cards and much more.
Incorporating Picnik within the curriculum aligns with the learning design and resources aspect within Oliver‘s framework as the learning manager can effectively design learning experiences to enhance students skills to capture and edit digital images for meaningful authentic tasks such as projects on a particular topic (e.g. rainforest's, Australian landscapes, Australian native animals). The students are utilising their own images and enhancing them using the Picnik software to apply special effects to support information within the assignment making unique and individual pieces of work, much more effective then children visiting a search engine such as Google and coping and pasting images. Using this software allows students work to be authentic and meaningful.
I really enjoy using this e-learning tool, I find it a great resource and is very effective in the classroom. Give it a go!
Until next time,
References:
AusInfo. (2003). The Learning Design Construct. Retrieved August 14, 2009, from Learning Design: http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm
Picnik. (2009). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved August 14, 2009, from Picnik: http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/faq
Hi Katrina. You have provided some great ideas on how Picnik could be incorporated into the classroom. You mentioned in a previous blog that you were in a prep class, as i havent worked much with the younger years what is your thoughts on using these sorts of technologies with this age?
ReplyDeleteHi Ben,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I have used Picnik within Plan and Play time for my class to create printable fun images of their construction plans. This is simply done by uploading images of the students and carefully assisting them to have a try at placing stickers, or images on the photos. It can be difficult as we have limited resources, so we have computer lists where students who are interested in playing the computer put their name on a chart in a sequential order (they do this very well). This indicates to staff members whose turn it is to use the computer and whose name never appears on the list. Students can also create as I have suggested within the blog personalised greeting cards using Picnik again this obviously must be supervised and guided by a learning manager or teacher’s aide. I hope you enjoy discovering these wonderful learning tools and how to implement them in your classroom.
Cheers,
Katrina.
Hi Katrina,
ReplyDeleteThe idea about the personalised greeting cards is fantastic. It involves the students introduces them into technology at a young age.
Lozzie