Picasa


 * Google's Picasa is a downloadable. Please use Picasa on the Macs in the Computer Lab (not on the Mac laptops). The latest version is on the lab Macs and they have the speed to operate the latest version of Picasa to its optimum capability.**

In order to have the broadest impact possible, we have to set aside the iPads for this lesson. Neither Picnic or Picasa operate on the iPad. Feel free to investigate the Camera and Photo Booth apps on the iPad, as well as some of the photo editing apps. However, knowing about Picnic and Picasa still is a bit wider in scope for this year, at least.

To begin working with images you need a source of images. For use in your classroom (use outside your classroom would carry at least ethical, if not legal liabilities) you can use images you find with a Google Image Search. I will quickly demonstrate the construction of an advanced image search in class.

Basic editing of images can readily be accomplished quickly and easily using a cloud based service, __ [|http://www.picnik.com] __. Please start this segment with a quick visit there. There are tabs and commands for the capabilities of the site when used in the free mode.

For organizing images, and a more elaborate suite of editing tools, Picasa is recommended, as it is cross platform and freely provided by Google. (Apple's iPhoto comes with new Macs but it is not cross platform and upgrades must be purchased as a part of the iLife package.)

The Handling Photos handout below (as an attachment to this page) provides an orientation initial Picasa window and to the organization tools Picasa provides. The Fixing Common Photo Problems handout (also an attachment below) covers a more extensive array of editing tools. And, yes, there is a more details collection of tutorials for Picasa at Atomic Learning, __ [] __. This particular tutorial is for the PC 3.5 version of Picasa, while I have Mac 3.6 on my computer, so it may not match perfectly what you see on your screen, but the substance should be sufficiently similar enough to be useful to you.

**Performance Record** Find a medium-sized image using Google's Image search that you can crop. Upload it into Picnik, crop it, and both to your comment on the discussion group CPED 5300 under the topic Picasa - Picnik (a "before and after"). Your cropped image should be a jpeg, regardless of the format of the initial image. (Since jpg is the default format, be sure to see where image formatting can be changed.) Under most circumstances, jpg probably will prove to be most useful because of its compression strategies and usefulness on the web.

And, after using Picasa, comment (with some detail) on what you find to be two of Picasa's most useful attributes.


 * Lesson Plans**

The following aren't lesson plans, exactly, but they do discuss ways one might use Picasa (and digital photography) as a teacher.

100 Ways to Use Digital Cameras - __ [] __

Digital Photography in the K-5 Classroom ([|digital_photography_in_the_classroom_87517_87690.ppt])

101 Simple //Digital Photo// Activities & Projects for //K//-//5// Students ([|Handout_GaETC_1to100_Tips_Tricks.doc])

Adobe Digital School Collection: Teacher Resources - __ [] __ - There are lesson plans here, but you will need to register (free) to see them. The lesson plan downloads are far more extensive than the brief plans you see directly on the site.

Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling - __ [|http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu] __