Thing 5 - Photo Mashup Fun

You have probably thought of a ton of useful ideas for pictures in your classroom...  so let's just add another layer why don't we? In the past few years, hundred's of websites and web applications have popped up which allow you to manipulate digital images into objects that you could certainly use in your teaching and learning.  Most of these sites can be categorized at 'mashups'*

* Mashup Note: Wikipedia offers some great articles that explain mashups.


First, take a trip over to Big Huge Labs!  Play around with creating fun ID badges, a billboard, Trading Card Maker. or something else from the gallery.    Remember that you can always download your new creations to your computer, and then upload them to your Picasa Web Album.

Watch this video on how to get your pictures uploaded and downloaded.  If you would like text directions, you can read the help section from Blogger here.

Once you have your new creations uploaded to your Picasa Web Album, you can then start to incorporate them into your blog...  but we'll get to that in the next thing.

Here's a few more photo mashup's to play with:
Spell with Flickr - create a cool banner just like the 23 Things one you see at the top of the blog. 
Generator Blog - HUGE list of photo mashup generators. Look down the left side for the list.
Custom Sign Generator - This site is a bit of a mess to look at, but still has some neat mashup generators.
Image Chef - Another site with endless possibilities.

Task:

Create a blog post about one of the mashup's that intrigues you and upload your new picture mashup into your blog. Describe how you might use the photo mashup you uploaded in your life, job, teaching or learning. Describe other uses for mashup's in your work.

Curriculum Connections:
Idea #1: Image generators: Show how to make an interesting image to use as interesting story starters. For example: using the star image on Hollywood Boulevard, a teacher or student could add the name of a character, a famous person, or any name. The students could make up a story about how that person got his/her very own star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

Idea #2: Use a comic strip generator to make cartoon directions - students and fellow educators might follow THOSE directions!!

Idea #3: Generate an image for your classroom door, newsletter, or bulletin board.

[Note: Please remember to include THING# in your heading posts.]