Thing #3: Working With Digital Photos

Photo editing has been simplified so much through online programs and apps.  I am an extremely amateur photographer and have spent extensive time using Lightroom, and have had some experience with Photoshop.  Today I experimented with several different photo editing programs that I might want to use with students and teachers. 

First, I want to start with the end in mind.  In this case, what goal am I trying to accomplish through the use of a photo editor?  As the school year has begun, many teachers have approached me about editing and printing photos of their new students for hallway displays and team building activities.  Teachers often need to crop, adjust coloring due to lighting in their rooms or hallways, and print in a variety of sizes to accommodate different uses.  As they progress in curriculum, photo editing may be necessary as teachers create visuals to enhance the learning experience of their students.  For students, photo editors may be used as students add images to writing assignments or annotate images to help justify a scientific hypothesis or explain a math equation.  The fact is, images can be used to both present information, as well as, to demonstrate understanding of a particular concept. 

I am an avid Lightroom user, and have found it to fully meet my personal needs.  Unfortunately, due to cost and accessibility, this is not a feasible option in the classroom setting.  Therefore, I am forced to explore web-based or desktop app alternatives.  I explored PicMonkey, Pixlr, and Fotoflexer.

I started with a desktop version of PicMonkey and was completely satisfied with my product.  I was easily able to adjust size, brightness, and create a collage.  There were numerous font options, even with the free trial, to add a text enhancement to my photo.  The program was extremely easy to navigate and the image produced was exactly what I had pictured in my mind.

Next I tried Pixlr (desktop).  The full version had significant capabilities, almost identical to Photoshop.  It and efficient, well thought out program, but it is a lot to learn for a novice.  The abilities of the program were probably the best I saw in all the programs I reviewed.  Unfortunately, the program was tedious and time consuming.  Although students might enjoy this program for specific purposes, on the whole, I’m not certain that I could offer my students or teachers enough time to effectively utilize it to create a meaningful project.

Finally, I experimented with Fotoflexer.  This platform for this program was much simpler than the others.  It had many features, but did not feel nearly as sophisticated as the other sites tested.  It’s simple, has many options for editing and enhancing photos, but I couldn’t find anything truly special or distinctive to make this program stand out more than another. 

Of all of the programs used, PicMonkey was my favorite.  It had easy to use features that are perfect for accommodating education goals.  Students would be able to take pictures, edit them, and annotate to demonstrate mastery of skills.  It had enough features to allow for student creativity, but not so many that students would lose focus of the learning objective.  Unfortunately, PicMonkey requires a fee, preventing it from being a viable option for my classrooms.