Use of Online Image Generators in The Classroom

I can see many uses for different types of online image generators in the classroom. Seeing as there are so many different types of image generators available that do so many different things the possibilities are almost limitless. The main thing that I can think of off the top of my head immediately is making posters for the classroom. The ability to make completely individualized and unique posters for your classroom can make your room a more inviting place for your students and if you use images of your students in the posters that gives them a sense of ownership in the classroom and gives them more of a sense of belonging. You could also use the image generators for projects for the students, giving them the opportunity to create a professional looking and original product that they would not have been able to create otherwise.

Determination

EE
Originally uploaded by Abbey Riordan

Even when EE fell off his bike and hit his head he didn't let that stop him.

A Really Old Picture Of Me

me
Originally uploaded by Abbey Riordan

This is a really old picture of me with crazy purple hair!

Use of Flickr Mashups or Similar Tools

I think that tools like Flickr mashups could be very useful in a classroom. For me specifically I am going to be a special education teacher working with students with emotional or behavioral disorders, many times these types of students have trouble expressing themselves. Through using tools like Flickr mashups the students could create collages and other projects to express themselves and they could explore different ways to express what they are feeling and thinking more freely. These kinds of tools could also be used to create posters and bulletin boards for the classroom. 

Use Of Flickr In The Classroom

If I was going to use Flickr in my classroom the main thing that I would use it for would be to share what was going on in the classroom with the parents. The main thing that I would be concerned with would be privacy, I would make sure that all the albums that I was posting were private and that I had permission from all of the students parents before posting any pictures of them in any albums. I think that it would be a very good way for parents to be able to see what their children are doing during the school day I would just want to be very sure that the album was private so that only the parents and myself and the students could access it. 

Week 2 - Social Networking

I use multiple social networking tools on the internet for a variety of reasons. I use different social network tools for different reasons. I primarily use facebook and myspace. I use myspace to keep in touch with friends from various times in my life, most of my friends on myspace do not have a facebook account, I also use myspace for blogging. I use facebook more to keep in touch with people that I have met through school or through school related topics. I also use facebook to communicate with people about school related issues. I have also used facebook for class projects by setting up groups to coordinate a large class project because it was more efficient than using email. 

I think that social networking tools can be useful in education. I think that they can be helpful in communicating with classmates, students and teachers outside of the classroom. I also think that they can be useful to help organize group projects or class projects so that people don't have to worry about emailing everybody because they can simply address the entire group at once with a posting to the group on the networking site. I think that the use of social networking tools in education is probably most appropriate for middle or high school students and that it needs to be monitored closely to make sure that the tool is being used appropriately.

This is the first blog posting for IM 422. Not much to post about. I hope that this class will help me learn to best utilize technology in my classroom.