For this week's creation tools I decided I would try out Canva, which I had never used before and Pixlr, which I have used a couple times before. I have used Sumo Paint and PicMonkey, so I wanted to explore some different tools. I found Canva pretty easy to use, the quick tutorial was helpful. This one starts with asking to pick from a template of designs, so I chose to make a presentation slide for an upcoming workshop. Overall it was pretty straightforward to use, but what I didn't realize was that some of the features I had chosen cost money, so when I went to save it wanted me to purchased the image. I wasn't about to purchase it, so my work around for this was to take a screenshot of my work.
Next I used Pixlr, which I have used a couple times before. I like this tool, because it is similar to PhotoShop Elements, a program I have used in the past with my art teacher and integrating technology. I like the basic tools it provides, it give you much more control over your photo manipulation than PixMonkey.
I think these types of creation tools are wonderful to use in school. It gives students the ability to share their ideas, imaginations, and understanding through a combination of original artwork, text, and images. Using these types of technologies supports a variety of learning styles, encourages creativity, thinking, and communication skills. It gives students a sense of pride in their work and fosters determination to achieve and share.
There are lots of ways students could use digital art in school. Some things I've been thinking about are create anti-bullying posters, take pictures of themselves and manipulated them, add text to photos takes on field trips. They could make themselves into a superhero by replacing their face with the superhero's face, or create logo parodies to support our Be A Star Program. This can all then be shared out through their blogs, webpages, and other social medias we use.
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