Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts

Friday, January 22, 2010

Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students

Have you ever tried to email a picture to someone or upload one to a webpage, only to find out it’s too big? The size does not refer to the physical dimensions of the picture or file, but to how much memory it takes up, measured (usually) in megabytes (MB). Large image files are great if you will be printing an 8 x 10 copy of the picture, but for email or online use a smaller size (lower resolution) will be better. Fortunately there are several ways to reduce the size of an image. On a Mac, you can reduce image size in either Preview or iPhoto. On your teacher computer you can use Microsoft Office Picture Manager (right click on a picture and choose “Open with…”). There are also many free online services that will allow you to upload pictures and resize them. Try out Picnik or one of the others on this list. If you need help using any of these tools to reduce the size of your images, just let me know. (http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/welcome ;  http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/30-free-online-multimedia-photo-audio-video-editors/ )

Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology

Text2Mind Map is an easy-to-use online tool that allows you to type  an outline on a topic and with the click of a button, turn it into a concept map. Once created, you have options such as moving items on the map and changing colors and sizes. When you’re finished you can download a copy of your map as a jpeg file. This could be a quick and easy way to capture a word web or other concept map in class. This is a map I made quickly of the schools in the district. (http://www.text2mindmap.com/)

Fact ~ Just a bit of information

Today marks the end of the first semester…the halfway point of the school year. Looking ahead, are there any projects coming up in this next semester that you’d like to approach in a new way? There are lots of choices of technology tools that can give your students a new way to find information or to show what they’ve learned. While I do spend most of my time at the elementary level, I’m always happy to work with middle and high school teachers and students as well. Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have a question, need some help, or would like an extra pair of hands in the room while you’re using technology with your students.

Happy Halfway!

Anne