Social Networking – Page 9

Photoshop Now Available Online for FREE

I’m glad to see Adobe venture into the online realm. There are many, many ways that teachers and students could use this FREE resource. Photoshop Express is a decent first attempt, but I hope that they will put more resources into it and make it the leader in online image applications.

Photoshop Express, the long-awaited free online image editor from Photoshop maker Adobe, [was] released as a public beta [today]. Unlike Adobe’s more powerful image editing tools for the desktop, Photoshop Express is aimed not at the professional photographer, but at the casual snapshot fan looking to polish up images before sharing them online at sites like Photobucket, Facebook and Flickr.

Photoshop Express, which will compete with other free image editors like Picnik and FotoFlexer, is tailored toward the casual user with easy-to-use, one-click editing tools….The service also integrates with a number of photo-sharing websites, enabling you to push and pull photos from Facebook, Photobucket and Picasa, though not, at least for now, Flickr. Adobe tells Wired.com that support for Flickr in the works, but won’t be available during the initial beta testing phase.

Photoshop Express offers two gigabytes of online storage space and requires Flash Player 9. The interface should be familiar to anyone who’s used Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and offers tools like cropping, red eye correction, sharpening, touchup and more, including a set of advanced effects for changing colors, distorting images and converting photos to black and white.

All editing is non-destructive, meaning you can add and remove changes on a whim using the checkboxes beside each tool, which allow you to easily turn edits and effects on and off.

Read the entire Wired.com review.

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSpO4iFPF88

Resources

Photoshop Express – Getting Started

The Geo-Images Project

Using Digital Images in Teaching and Learning

Teaching with Digital Content: Lesson Plans

More on Twitter

I received a comment last night on my post, Twitter in Education, that I found interesting. It was from a doctoral student in our program and she was recounting her recent entree into twitter. It is honest and highlights both the excitement and difficulty in becoming comfortable with this networking technology. I liked it so much that I asked her permission to make it a post.

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GUEST BLOGER
Kristy Conger

In the last 24 hours I have become totally sold on Twitter. I signed up a while back but never really got into using Twitter. The only person who followed me was my friend Mary who sits less than four feet away from me all day at work. Needless to say, all we had to do was look over at one another to see what was going on : ) Then I came across and article that talked about using Twitter in the classroom. The name @newmediajim was mentioned as being someone really neat to follow. Turns out he works for NBC news and covers the president, the White House, etc. His posts to Twitter were really neat to follow. So, I added him and began following his adventures. OK…so here’s where the cool part comes in. He sent me a direct message after seeing what I had written about trying out Twitter again but not knowing if I would be successful at keeping up and posting updates. He encouraged me to post updates, and we started a conversation from there. I’m actually communicating directly with someone who is part of the White House press detail for NBC. He also just sent out a Twitter link the other day for a live web interview that he was doing with Sir Bob Geldof. One of his friends received the link via Twitter and began to watch the video. While watching this live interview, he sent a question via Twitter for Jim to ask while conducting the interview. Sir Bob Geldof was more than happy to respond to the question and addressed the person by name who sent it via Twitter. Now that is Web 2.0 technology at its finest!

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I know that Twitter is a hot topic with many of this blog’s readers and I wanted to share a few more related resources.

I Use the Web Differently Now…Do You?

Twitter in Education

Twitter – A Teaching and Learning Tool

On 130+ Comments

Baby Got Follow-Back

Tweet Less? Blog More?

Perfect Use of Vlogging

This is the most natural use of vlogging that I have seen, yet. Take a look at what folks are doing with online video. I stumbled across this while trying to install a video/audio commenting plugin for my new and improved blog. I was blown away by the idea and excited for those that clearly are enjoying a medium that is a perfect communication tool for them. I will be sharing these ideas with all the teachers in my classes.

Oscar shares his book review of Deaf in America.

Celebrating his 1 year vlogging anniversary, Oscar compares and contrasts himself today with a year ago.

This is an assistive technology that is likely to grow in use. I am glad that I am now aware of this use and some of its possibilities.You can view Oscar’s blog here.

Twitter in Education

If you’ve spent much time in the blogosphere in the last six months you have likely heard about Twitter. I have mentally been writing this post for about ten days. I want to provide my critical review and share the pros and cons as I see them. I realized that many people have already covered the bulk of this information and I just found it unnecessary for me to fully cover this topic with my own original post. Therefore, here are a few BIG points that I briefly want to make followed by valuable resources to further pursue this topic.

There is value in the networking and real-time interaction that you can get using Twitter. Many educators and academics find this to be an effective strategy for dealing with the isolation that can come from working in the classroom or office. Imagine encountering technical difficulties during your lesson and having a means of receiving assistance within minutes. Consider the ability to receive assistance from others during a teachable moment in which you don’t know the answer to a student’s inquiry. Individuals like @nlowell, @sbrandt, and @room214 have provided me with much needed real-time assistance.
I admit that it is possible for Twitter to be used in non-productive ways. I do not care about the weather, meal plans, funny cat stories, or work schedule of individuals that I do not know (in real life or virtually), but I solve this issue by simply dropping them from my follow list. On the flip side, I don’t mind if individuals that I know/ respect do this. Hearing @mguhlin share about events at work or @berniedodge describe the weather in San Diego helps me know them a bit more and adds an additional layer of community within my online network.
The message to take away is that your experience with Twitter will be what you make it. You should customize and use it on an ongoing basis to meet your specific needs and interests.
Join my Twitter network by using the link in the Navigation menu to the right.

Resources

Here is a great introduction to Twittering.

This video provides a full overview for setting up and using Twitter.

Using Twitter with Learners

Twitted, Tweets and Young Learners

Twits Are (Not?) for Kids

Twitter – Meaningful or Trivial – Up to the Writer

Tips for Using Twitter in the Classroom

Plan, Tweet, Teach, Tweet, Learn, Smile

Twitter for Academics

Will Twittering Catch on with Teachers?

Cell Phones as Learning Tools

Have you ever seen cell phones used in the classroom? Have you ever considered using cell phones in the classroom? If you keep an open mind you’ll find that there are some potential benefits in integrating cell phones with teaching and learning. “This video highlights the work of Carla Dolman and Gord Taylor and the grade 8 and 9 students of Craik School.”

Certainly there are things that must be considered when using cell phones in the classroom, but the effective use of math manipulatives also takes careful consideration and preparation. I’m just throwing the idea out there for discussion.