Technology Article #2: Mapping Our World

On the class website I found a link to a website called "Mapping Our World". This is a great geography activity for studying different types of maps. This website uses three different lessons to introduce different types of maps to students. The website for this activity is: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/mapping_our_world/mapping_our_world/l/home/index.htm

Lesson 1: In this lesson, students see different views of the globe (Asia, Europe/Africa, Australasia, and North America). Students can tilt the globe to see how many continents can be seen from different angles for each view of the world. The students can also flatten the globes to see the different maps.

Lesson 2: Students learn the difference between the Mercator and Peters maps. This activity allows students to hear positive and negative aspects of both maps. Students even get to vote on which map they think is most accurate! This lesson also provides map statistics. Students can merge different maps to compare the sizes of continents using different map views. Students listen to characters from around the world who want to travel to different countries, then they choose which map would work best for each person.

Lesson 3: Students place country flags on maps using different views of the world. They can also compare land sizes (how many times will some countries fit into others) based on the Mercator and Peters projections. It also has an activity for students to look at a number of different maps and pirates ask five yes or no questions about each map. After all five questions have been answers, another pirate who is on the plank uses the students' answers to determine the type of map. If all five questions are answered correctly, the pirate is fine. However, if any question is answered wrong, then the pirate must "walk the plank".

This is definitely a great educational website. I would highly recommend this activity to any elementary geography teacher!

Technology Article #1: LunaPic Online Photo Editor

While I was researching tools to become an "expert" on, I came across an absolutely INCREDIBLE photo editing tool. The Google search engine found the website http://www.lunapic.com/editor/. The website is a great resource for editing photos and slideshows, and creating collages. Perhaps one of the best aspects about this tool is that there are ample tutorials and it is 100% user-friendly.

The most difficult process this tool requires is uploading a photo (which is fast and easy). Once the photo is uploaded to the page, all the user has to do is click on any effects or animations they would like to add. It is also easy to undo any changes.

When it comes to photo editing, this website can not only do the basic tasks such as changing the size and color (sepia and black and white) of pictures, but it also provides users with a choice of over 31 photo effects, at least 28 animations, and the addition of a border. Some of the effects include: color or black and white pencil sketch, implode/explode, blend two images, coloring book, and many more options. Some of the animations include: the Andy Warhol effect, sparkle, glitterize, floating hearts, scanning, snowfall, zoom in/out, and numerous other fantastic animations.

Here is an example of what I created using the LunaPic Online Photo Editor:

After experimenting with this website, I have decided that I would be very interested in using this tool to edit more photos in the future. I feel very comfortable with using it and I believe it provides quality editing techniques. This tool would also be a great resource for my future class to use for art projects. The students would love it!