Have you ever wanted to make your own custom images to use as teaching tools in your classroom? Have your students ever asked you how they could use a graphic to enhance a presentation or related project?
As long as I have used social media, I have seen unique images and graphics used to make a point on the internet and I have thought that these graphics were made by someone who has an advanced grasp of different image altering software. After perusing an article on EducationWorld, I think that I may have stumbled upon some of the secrets to the internet. The article is all about image generators that are available on the internet for completely free use.
After testing out all of the four different image generators listed, my personal favorite is the Image Chef. Off of the top of my head, I can think of so many different uses for the Image Chef image generators in the classroom.
First, I can envision myself using Image Chef to make eye-catching, interesting, and developmentally appropriate anchor charts and signs around my classroom. Instead of using the pre-printed signs seen so frequently in so many classrooms, I could customize my own graphics to meet the needs of my classroom and save some money by printing them on my own. In addition, I could use Image Chef to create images to add to different paper-based activities to create buzz, add pizzazz, and personalize these frequently mundane looking resources. Custom graphics would make my printed assignments and resources stand out to students and other teachers. Finally, when teaching an appropriate age range, I could refer my students to Image Chef, with my supervision and guidance, to generate their own images to use in their own assignments. I say with confidence that my very creative and talented fifth graders would absolutely love using Image Chef when working on different projects.
The other free, internet-based image generators in the EducationWorld article could also be utilized in the classroom, however, I feel that Image Chef would be the most relevant to elementary aged students. I am very excited to have learned about Image Chef through EducationWorld and I look forward to creating unique and personalized images to use in my own classroom.
I stumbled upon Image Chef as well and realized that I was so captivated by the images that I ended up spending about 30 minutes playing around with it! I think that Image Chef is something that would be a fantastic tool in the classroom! I think that the candy hearts are very fitting for Valentine’s Day. I also really enjoyed the beach scene.
ReplyDeleteOn that same article, there was the site called Big Huge Labs that I also found to be a great resource for teachers. In your blog post for this week, you mentioned that, “Instead of using the pre-printed signs seen so frequently in so many classrooms, I could customize my own graphics to meet the needs of my classroom and save some money by printing them on my own”. This site can also provide that for you as well!
I know that Image Chef would engage students of any age level. It is entertaining and creating and could really be incorporated into a lesson to further expand the students’ learning!
This has been a very informative blog post for me. I often times thought the same things when I saw custome made signs. I had no idea that it was as easy as this. This could be a great tool for teachers of any level in the classroom. It would really add a nice touch to any student project. I look forward to getting a chance to spend some time on Image Chef to see what its all about as well as think up ways in which I could use it in the classroom. Thanks for your post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone in saying that Image Chef is a great tool for teachers. I usually make my posters for lessons in PowerPoint because it was all I knew how to do. You are extremely limited to the image use and creativity that is implemented in a PowerPoint poster. Because an average printer prints on 8.5x11in. paper (unless you know how to adjust paper size and have that paper available!) it can become frustrating to tape together your poster pieces. Image Chef allows you to be creative in your posters and can be student-friendly. I can definitely see students wanting to create their own posters for projects on Image Chef. Thanks for sharing with us!
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