Picasa

This week we learned about Picasa. We had a scavenger hunt that took us around campus to take pictures. We will then use Picasa to change the pictures and make a PowerPoint.

I think this will be a helpful took. Picasa seems like a good way to manipulate photos and make them look the way you want them to. It also seems like a fairly easy program to use. I can tell that this tool will be helpful in my current job when I need to put together a slide show for graduation. It will also be helpful in my personal life as I put together pictures of events or travels. I'm not sure how I will be able to use this in other areas but, perhaps as I get used to the program more, I'll find different ways to use it. I feel like this is going to be the kind of program that will be fun to just play around with.

As I've been writing, I've been trying to come up with ways that I can use this in my future classroom. I think it could be beneficial to have slideshows of pictures of different events or eras. I'm not sure how often I will do this but I'll have to try and see how the kids respond. It may make a bigger impact on the students because it utilizes pictures and provides visual components to the lesson. I want to provide different learning styles a way to enjoy my class and I think Picassa will definitely appeal to many students. I can also have students use the programs themselves to create a project especially when we get into the 21st Century where there are many pictures to be found. Or perhaps they can do a project that tells the history of their own lives and they can use their own pictures. I'm really happy that all of these programs are free downloads because I'll be able to share it with others and I'm much more likely to use them.