Gimp vs. Photoshop
I attended another technology committee meeting this morning where multiple teachers asked questions regarding the availability of having Photoshop in their classrooms. Why? Why do teachers who want to resize their photos and remove redeye think they need Photoshop to accomplish this?
I like open source software. So many people overlook this option when buying software for their computers. Gimp Shop (an image editor) is FREE and works great. It has so much Photoshop functionality built-in.
I was reading this post about GIMP vs. Photoshop and think the author makes a lot of valid points.
The vast majority of the people that pirate Photoshop do not need it.
The people who legitimately use Photoshop use a fraction of its
capabilities. Honestly, unless you’re putting out a print publication,
you really don’t need Photoshop. You can just as easily use the Gimp to
float text over a Dragonball-Z picture to post as your image signature
in a web forum as you can with Photoshop, which is what most people end
up using their pirated copy for anyway. Oh, and to create bloated,
image-heavy web layouts that slow down an already overworked internet
connection. What great reasons to pirate a grand worth of software!
I’ll help out… :)
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Podcasting
You may have noticed the new, “Listen to this podcast” link below each post. Courtesy of Talkr, my *dedicated* readers can now listen to all of my blog posts on their computer, MP3 player, or PDA.
Blogs for Learning
Thought this might be of interest to our Williamson Pilot group. It has case studies, tutorials, and other web 2.0 info.
“The goal of Blogs for Learning is to provide information and resources
as to the technical, legal, and pedagogical aspects of blogging in the
classroom.”
Can teachers do it alone?
I just read a post from Harry Tuttle’s blog about teachers and their dependency on technology staff is schools.
Have
teachers embedded technology-infused learning activities into their
curriculum so that they are self-sustaining and even constantly
improving? Or is technology use dependent on people outside the
classroom?
Education with Technology: Dependent or Self-Sustaining Technology-Infused Learning
It made me think about the blogging/web 2.0 transition Williamson is trying to make. I have met with each of the teachers and showed them how to login to their blogs and post. I have even shown a few how to utilize RSS and other web 2.0 tools. Once I leave their rooms or they leave my office, what happens? Will they need to contact me for more help? Are they ready to “run” on their own? I worry that pushing technology too fast can mean more work for the technology professionals and more headaches for the faculty attempting to use them. What’s your take?
The Class of Web 2.0
An article at solution watch says:
I often found, and many teachers have noted this as well, that the students would publish to their school blogs even when not instructed to. Students really enjoy reaching out to the world and they are so motivated by it that they want to write even more. They would describe how there day was, what they learned in class, or even things they learned or read on the news that day. It’s amazing.
I’ve noticed the same thing. Why are kids so motivated to post to a blog? They are reading, writing, internalizing, posting, thinking, reacting. Why does the internet make this so much easier? Or doesn’t it?
The ‘Net’ Generation
This morning, I read an article about the next generation of students in schools, the ”net generation.” Dan Farber writes:
During a session at the Web 2.0 Summit, author and consultant Don Tapscott shared results from a research project on the Net generation, the first humans to grow up digitally. An estimated 80 million people in the U.S. alone are coming into the workplace and marketplace with a far different set of experiences and skill than previous generations. “Kids are lapping their parents on the info track,” Tapscott said.
We, as educators, are certainly aware of this change. Part of our pilot program with BOCES and Will Richardson is to examine the shift educators must make to meet the demands and ideals of this new student. We need to understand how this generation thinks, how they act, and what they like. According to the same article:
The Net Generation also wants the freedom to schedule. In the survey, 42 percent of those survey watch TV asynchronously, time-shifted viewing.
Relationships and collaboration are part of the Net generation psyche. Hence, the rise of social networks, or ‘n-fluence’ networks, in which the Net generation influences each other and other generations.
Does this mean online classes would be more appealing to the net generation? What do you think?
Blogging Regulation
It’s done! We finally have a bloging regulation at Williamson! Attached you will find the file for your perusal. Let me know your thoughts and comments.
WCS Blogging Regulation
