FREE Online Photo Editing Resources for Class

Here is the list of free online editing resources that my students found and presented to their classmates.
Check them out and find the one that works for you.
Online photo editing sites:
www.gimp.org
www.befunky.com
www.picmonkey.com
www.pixlr.com
www.lunapic.com
www.fotoflexer.com
www.fotor.com
www.ipiccy.com
www.phixr.com
www.ribbet.com
www.pizap.com

Drawing & Design Resource

I've recently started teaching a Foundations Drawing & Design course.  Since I've spent the past 6 years teaching mostly Digital Photography, Fibers, and AP Art I felt I needed to look for some solid resources to freshen up my old curriculum.  I've been pleasantly surprised by all the online resources available.  One in particular I really like is http://www.drawspace.com/ .  Brenda Hoddinott does a wonderful job of organizing and developing lessons for drawing students.   Check it out. 

Schoology-paperless artroom here we come!

I found a great online site for secure student group management  www.schoology.com . I looked at it over the summer, but have not had a chance to set up classes and groups till recently.  As I've mentioned before our district uses Moodle. I'm not overly impressed with the user friendliness and overall appearance of Moodle.  Apparently others feel the same way, because as a district we are starting to look at other options that might be out there...yeh!  The www.schoology.com site is far more user friendly and is set up similar to facebook so the students have no trouble navigating through it. You can link it to your Moodle site too if you want.  As a district with student email account difficulties the, to say the least, an invite code rather than email option is wonderful.  I can just give them a preset code and they can log in to their course or group.  There are separate codes for each section/group and you can change them as needed and/or remove students that you don't want in that group or section.  If you do have reliable student email accounts they can register with them as well. www.schoology.com has a gallery(albums) you can set up for students, which I love for online critiques!.  Also included are discussions, attendance, tests, links, apps, calendar of events, and the list goes on.  Oh, and did I mention it's FREE! I think I found a good fit for my students and I. I'll let you know how things go.

Give it a try if you haven't and let me know how it goes.  If you are using it or have in the past let me know what you think too.    www.schoology.com

Student Teacher-Guest Blog

I had the most wonderful semester with my student teacher-Laura. Whenever you have a student teacher come into your classroom it can be a bit unsettling to give up those classroom reins to someone else.  Well, this time there was no reason for worry!  Laura did a phenomenol job. She was dynamic in the classroom, organized (more than me most of the time), and just an all around great addition to our program. She ROCKS!!!!  So, that being said, I'd like to give Laura an opportunity to share with you one of her many success stories while student teaching with me here at BDHS.....

My time at BDHS included teaching Introductory Drawing and Painting, Introductory Fibers, and Beyond & Advanced Digital Photography.  Going in to the placement, I was confident that I could teach drawing, painting, and fibers, as these were all strengths of mine in my coursework and personal artwork.  My confidence was a bit wobbly, shall we say, as I prepared to teach digital photography.  Fortunately, I had recently taken a Digital Art class to update my Photoshop knowledge (hadn’t touched it in over a decade – eek!) and borrowed a quality digital camera to refine my photography skills.  Teaching this class turned out to be a great opportunity for me to grow as a teacher and artist. 

One particular project that was fun to see progress was a copyright-free photo contest for middle and high school students called Image Ideas.  The Ideas website is sponsored by the UW-Extension to “provide Wisconsin educators with teacher-reviewed, standards-aligned lessons, interactive tools, video, high-quality digital images, & other resources for use in curriculum development and classroom instruction.”   As I introduced this project to my students, I tried to impress upon them that they needed to do their homework and understand what their client – the Ideas website – wanted from them as photographers.   I required them to investigate the website to see what photos were already available and consider what types of subject matter teachers would be interested in using.

Silo by E. Dean                                              Contest Submission

Each student was to submit five photos with at least one having a Wisconsin-focused theme.  I encouraged them to revisit locations, refine images in Photoshop (without overdoing it), and revise their selections as they progressed toward the deadline.  This was a great opportunity for student growth as they attempted to take and select photographs that would not only be high quality, but highly useful for their client as well.  After we dropped the envelope of CDs in the mail, they eagerly awaited the results.  I think I got questions daily for at least a week! 

Columbus Restaurant by T. Simon              Contest Submission

The ImageIde@s team would be awarding only two firsts and two seconds in the high school category, so we knew the competition would be intense.  I was thrilled to open the webpage of contest results to find that we had a second place winner!  It was exciting to share with the class that Emily Gibson’s photo of jellyfish at the Shedd Aquarium had earned her a new iPod Nano.  It was great to see the smile on her face as this quiet, talented student got a round of applause from her classmates.



Jellies by E. Gibson                                                                                                   2nd Place Winner

This was one of many successful projects and satisfying moments this semester.  I thoroughly enjoyed teaching at BDHS and am amazed at what our students can accomplish.  I could not have asked for a better experience in student teaching!

Nick's AP Studio Art Blog

At the beginning of the year, I experimented with other mediums like drawing and layering. Although I had some mild successes with my experimentation, at the end of the year I chose to come back to photography. After being inspired by various street and candid photographers I took my camera and went out to Madison and downtown Beaver Dam to capture the urban scenes that dot the country. My breadth was a collection of random street scenes that played with different geometries and positioning. My quality showed off my special attention to color in a photo. Finally, my concentration was about the geometry of urban scenes. I showcased the different lines and textures that work collectively to build the marvel that is the American city. Together my AP portfolio works as a grandiose collective of different patterns and themes, to magnificently pay homage to the American urban scene. Here is a snippet of my AP concentration write-up:

The geometry of urban landscapes is all around us, but the inhabitants of these cities take the awe-inspiring lines and shapes for granted. I took it upon myself to document the art of urban biomes with my camera. The lost treasure of the American city is the alleyways. These rustic lanes are overwhelmed with metropolitan detail work that uses parallel and perpendicular lines to give the city motion. The vivid oranges and browns of rust on the iron metalwork make brilliant contrast with the faded colors of the backsides of antique domiciles. Powers of metropolitan landscapes come through in the repetition of simple patterns that create ominous cityscapes. The delicate angles and busy structures move me to more simple scenes. Textures of the omnipresent walls and walkways become the main attraction against the monochromatic backgrounds, outlining the elegance of these urban mystiques...

I'm hoping to pursue photography as a hobby in the future. I find taking pictures very enjoyable and I believe I have a good eye. Though I am not going to pursue a career in art, I am glad that I had the opportunity to take AP Art Studio, because It has definitely helped me learn and grow as a young artist.

Emily N's AP Studio Art Blog

It's been a long year in AP Studio Art. It was all worth the worries, all the things that we've had to do and all the projects. This has been one of the best classes that I've had it was well worth taking. It's made me a stronger photographer adn I've learned a lot of new things along the way through this journey. My pictures all have a story behind htem. I love taking pictures of old things outside. I never thought you could capture such good pictures from just the simple little things you find laying around. Something that was fun was finding things I liked and that I wanted to take pictures of. I found that I love weird angles and that my images come out better that way that thats my way of expressing myself in them. I also found out that I have to take pictures alone, I cant have anyone around.  I like the old rustic things and barn wood and the color that it is. All my photos have to do with things that are around me everyday and things that I see all the time. I'd like to keep photography in my life after high school. Maybe as a side job or as a full time job, you never know.

Kaley's AP Studio Art Blog

This year has been crazy for me. Between juggling 3 jobs, 4 AP classes and a boyfriend, the one thing that has kept me sane through these past 9 months has been my artwork. Photography has taught me a great deal about life. I see things better through a camera and I feel so accomplished after reviewing my work at the end. I started off with just taking pictures of anything and everything I could find. Macro photography was a big hit for me. Everything just seems so much more interesting up close or when you can't see the big picture. When I was asked to do some family pictures for a friend, my confidence in my work sky rocketed. I went from nervousness to excitement within an hour! I had never taken a lot of people pictures, but they had faith in me so I knew it would be okay. Since that family shoot, I've done quite a few other family portraits as well as portraits for seniors, weddings, babies, and couples. I learn something new every time I pick up my camera. I enjoy telling stories with my work and showing things as they progress. I hope to continue learning more as I venture through college. My goal is to major in Digital Design and minor in Photography. Who would have thought?! I can't wait to see where my future takes me.

Abigail's AP Studio Art Blog

AP Studio Art has really made me look at my own work and discover my own style. My work has really grown this school year alone. The central theme of my work has been an intense use of lines, color, shape, and surreal imagery. Initially, I incorporated other people's works into my own by relying on images and outside resources. I gradually spun off of that and began to use my own imagination in my work by using unique lines. I like to stretch reality to the greatest degree, but leave a touch of what is real. I can be very random and in the moment when I paint; I see something and become inspired. Painting and drawing is a way for me to relax; I play my music and am free to be myself and get lost in my own world. Just because I am graduating this year does not mean I am saying goodbye to art. I plan on continuing to create art for the rest of my life, it's my hobby and is a part of me. My future plans include taking my general education either at a tech college or online, then transfering to a four-year college. AP Studio Art has given me confidence to make art a part of my future plans. I would like to pursue either art therapy or art education working specifically with children. I am thankful to have had this opportunity, thank you! =D

Kelsey's AP Studio Art Blog

This year has been, if nothing else, a learning experience to me.  I have learned that whether I liked it or not, procrastination and messing around was NOT the way to go, heck, it wasn't even an option!  You get behind so fast, it's hard to blink because you have to play catch up.  But from the start, I wanted my pictures to touch people, and they HAD to be sharp.  Working on my portfolio throughout the year, I learned how to better myself and my photography.  My macros were always my strong point, and they're my favourite way to make an image really pop!  I also learned how each photo captured a unique story that can be shared throughout the years.  People tell me a picture is worth a thousand words... they also tell me "A penny for your thoughts!"  But in all honesty, these thoughts and memories are priceless, and the love, laughter, tears shed, and days spent doing "absolutely nothing" can't be marked with a price tag either.  The sentimentality of each photograph and the subjects in them are an indescribable thing, much like keeping an old stuffed animal or a baby blanket until the very day you die.  Which is why my concentration was simply titled, "Sentimentality".  Taking something you have a personal attachment to, and making it into the work you do every day is what this year was about for me, and it is what I hope to make my future about as well.                                                                                 I plan to take classes in photography this year, and I hope to make a lasting career out of it, whether it is starting my own photography business, or getting hired at a (hopefully) well known magazine label or advertising company that needs photographers for nature, fashion, or just pictures to fill a void.  Although I am not too experienced with taking photos of live subjects, I hope to make that more and more prodominant in the future, and I hope to take some senior pictures and family photoshoots.  My hopes for the future are high, and though sometimes my goals seem unreachable and unrealistic, with enough hard work and determination, I have learned that anything is truly possible.