In exploring the potential application of digital images to eLearning, I looked at a few different online program and applications. First, MobaPhoto, a freeware program for resizing images. The size of images (file size that is) is important to consider when posting to online spaces. Large images will take a lot of time to upload, and for users to download. If an online space contains a lot of large images, pages will take longer to load, and users may become frustrated and not persist with viewing it. Resizing image files does reduce their quality, however the reduction is not likely to be noticeable when posting within online spaces, such as websites, wikis or blogs.
I also had a look at Flickr and TagGalaxy, both sites to access one online repositories of digital images. I suspect this site will prove to be quite useful as I come to designing Learning Experiences, and the resoureces to support them. I liked the idea of TagGalaxy and showing related tags, and it was fun to watch as we travelled around that virtual 'galaxy'. However, I am mindful that the power to find images within Flickr and TagGalaxy is reliant on images being tagged appropriately.
Finally, I went to Picnik, a free online tool for image manipulation. I'm not usually one for image manipulation, apart from the occasional red eye reduction and converting to black and white. I prefer to leave images largley untouched, to be true to the subject. However, I can see a place in teaching (thinking specifically about my teaching context: lower primary) for using fun images in creating teaching resources. In addition, such fun images would probably be a nice addition to photo journalling of classroom activities.
Ok, so having had a look at digital images, I have some thoughts on their use in eLearning...
Reflections:
My learning: Image resizing is nothing new for me, since I do it often when emailing photos. I do admit though that posting images in online spaces is fairly new to me, and I should start resizing images for that purpose too! Flickr and TagGalaxy are new discoveries for me though, and I am pleased to now have another resource for images, apart from just what I can get through Microsoft Office Online. I have in the past used a few different programs for enhancing images, though I certainly don't tend to do it often. Picnik is however appealing in that it does not required download of a program, and can be done online, for free. I enjoy using images, and as a predominantly visual learner myself, I appreciate having them to support my own learning.
Potential applications in eLearning: In previous reflections, I have suggested there are a number of benefits to students using blogs and wikis, and there will no doubt come a point when they want to post images in these. However, it will be important to make them aware of some of the guidelines around using images, such as resizing, as well as the rules around using others' images. Images, whether learners' own or sourced from somewhere like Flickr, could have many applications in eLearning.
Example 1: Learners take a series of photos to document their day, from when they first get up to when they go to bed. They then generate a poster presentation of their day, and identify the differences and similarities between their own and others' activities.
Example 2: Learners collect images of the one thing (eg. famous person, building, street) from across time and organise these into a timeline, analyse the changes across time and hypothesise explanations for what lead to the changes, and create a representation of what they think it will look like twenty years from now.
Potential benefits for my learners: First, integrating images into learning experiences will those learners who benefit from some visual representation of information, and this will help cater for the diversity of learners in the classroom. Using images in eLearning also has the potential to lead to higher order thinking for learners. For example, the project described above looking at photos and changes in a thing over time would provide opportunities for learners to work within Organising, Evaluating and Creating stages of Bloom's Taxonomy.
Learners collect images of the one thing from across time and organise these into a timeline: Organising
Analyse the changes across time and hypothesise explanations for the changes: Evaluating
Create a representation of what they thing it will look like in 20 years: Creating
My learning: Image resizing is nothing new for me, since I do it often when emailing photos. I do admit though that posting images in online spaces is fairly new to me, and I should start resizing images for that purpose too! Flickr and TagGalaxy are new discoveries for me though, and I am pleased to now have another resource for images, apart from just what I can get through Microsoft Office Online. I have in the past used a few different programs for enhancing images, though I certainly don't tend to do it often. Picnik is however appealing in that it does not required download of a program, and can be done online, for free. I enjoy using images, and as a predominantly visual learner myself, I appreciate having them to support my own learning.
Potential applications in eLearning: In previous reflections, I have suggested there are a number of benefits to students using blogs and wikis, and there will no doubt come a point when they want to post images in these. However, it will be important to make them aware of some of the guidelines around using images, such as resizing, as well as the rules around using others' images. Images, whether learners' own or sourced from somewhere like Flickr, could have many applications in eLearning.
Example 1: Learners take a series of photos to document their day, from when they first get up to when they go to bed. They then generate a poster presentation of their day, and identify the differences and similarities between their own and others' activities.
Example 2: Learners collect images of the one thing (eg. famous person, building, street) from across time and organise these into a timeline, analyse the changes across time and hypothesise explanations for what lead to the changes, and create a representation of what they think it will look like twenty years from now.
Potential benefits for my learners: First, integrating images into learning experiences will those learners who benefit from some visual representation of information, and this will help cater for the diversity of learners in the classroom. Using images in eLearning also has the potential to lead to higher order thinking for learners. For example, the project described above looking at photos and changes in a thing over time would provide opportunities for learners to work within Organising, Evaluating and Creating stages of Bloom's Taxonomy.
Learners collect images of the one thing from across time and organise these into a timeline: Organising
Analyse the changes across time and hypothesise explanations for the changes: Evaluating
Create a representation of what they thing it will look like in 20 years: Creating
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