TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 19, 2019

Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive

 

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Remove Background - Kaleido

Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Remove the background from any photo automatically in five seconds with this nifty and easy to use site. Upload an image from your computer or enter the URL of an ...more
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Remove the background from any photo automatically in five seconds with this nifty and easy to use site. Upload an image from your computer or enter the URL of an image that includes people and Remove Background uses AI technology to remove the entire background leaving just the people. When finished, download the JPG file to your computer to use as wished.

In the Classroom

Bookmark this site for many classroom uses. Combine your downloaded image with others using a variety of tools including Google Slides. Choose a background image of a city being studied, a different time, or in a far-away setting like the moon, then place your student image on top. Resize the image to fit the scene. Include this image as a starter for class projects. Use images on top of book covers for book talks, create images for story characters and heroes, or use for weather reports. The ideas for using this tool are only limited by your imagination and that of your students. Use your new images to modify or refine classroom technology use by creating a Google Drawings, reviewed here. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.
 

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Free Image Resources - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites 0  Comments
This curated list of resources provides free image tools. As educators, it is important for us to set good examples of digital citizenship. Image usage is a perfect time to ...more
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This curated list of resources provides free image tools. As educators, it is important for us to set good examples of digital citizenship. Image usage is a perfect time to discuss the important topics of copyright, Creative Commons, and more. Use your discussions related to copyright and Creative Commons to fuel the discussion about digital citizenship. Read the classroom use suggestions for additional ideas about how to implement these tools in your classroom.

In the Classroom

Use these tools to help students to understand digital citizenship, copyright, Creative Commons, and more. Find tools for students to use to locate "safe" images to use for projects and even within your own lessons.

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Free Online Photo Editor - Zygomatic

Grades
K to 12
0 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Quickly enhance or edit images using the Free Online Photo Editor, no registration required. Upload your image or use the URL for any online image. Use the site's drop-down boxes ...more
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Quickly enhance or edit images using the Free Online Photo Editor, no registration required. Upload your image or use the URL for any online image. Use the site's drop-down boxes to add text and borders, enhance images, and include filters and effects. When finished, choose "File" from the menu bar to view choices for saving to your computer or sharing through online social media sites. Be sure to follow Creative Commons procedures for using and sharing images.
This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Before sharing with students, you may want to share this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector and show students how to avoid the advertising on the site and how to save images correctly. Use this tool anytime that photos need to be edited for use on class blogs, wikis, or in presentation tools. In primary grades, this tool could be useful for teachers to use to edit pictures from a field trip, science experiments, and more. Share the editing process with younger students using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Edit together! Encourage older students to use this tool on images for projects or presentations. Use this tool in photography or art classes. Use the editor to edit pictures to fit styles of pictures when doing historical reports or to set a mood. Use text options for the photos themselves to tell the stories. Have students annotate or label Creative Commons online images of cells, structures of an animal, and much more.
 

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Kapwing - Eric Lu and Julia Enthoven

Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites 0  Comments
  
Kapwing is an online video and photo editor for creating and sharing short videos for personal and online use. Use Kapwing directly from the website without downloads or passwords....more
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Kapwing is an online video and photo editor for creating and sharing short videos for personal and online use. Use Kapwing directly from the website without downloads or passwords. Among the many available features this site offers are tools for adding text, including filters, change images to video, and much more. Begin by choosing a tool from the drop-down box at the top of the homepage. Upload media from your computer using the provided boxes and choose from options to personalize content as you wish. When complete, save to your computer or create an account with Kapwing to store videos and photos.

In the Classroom

Use Kapwing even with young students to add text to any image, create collages, and edit video. Ask students to create a collage with two pictures demonstrating the before and after of a science experiment. Add text to images to create captions when sharing class projects. Ask students to use Kapwing to create short videos, then include them with other images and videos as part of a multimedia project or digital portfolio. Seesaw, reviewed here, is an easy to use tool for creating digital portfolios for younger students. Possibly use about.me, reviewed here, for middle and high school students

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PhotoCollage - Zygomatic

Grades
K to 12
0 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Easily create and share photo collages with this tool, no registration required. Add or drag images from your computer onto the workspace. Move and size pictures as you wish or ...more
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Easily create and share photo collages with this tool, no registration required. Add or drag images from your computer onto the workspace. Move and size pictures as you wish or use the Auto Collage feature to place images, or select from templates to arrange automatically. Other features include a collage drop-down box to set your background using colors, gradients, your pictures, or images from PhotoCollage's library or Unsplash, reviewed here. When finished, choose from several different formats to save your collage or share directly to social media sites using links provided.

In the Classroom

Use this tool to create pages of class memories for the end of the year and create yearbook type effects easily. Since you can create and customize the shapes, this would be a great tool to represent a theme for any story, novel, or unit of study. Extend technology use in your classroom and use your collages by including them on class pages created using a site like Carrd, reviewed here, or transform classroom technology use with a multimedia presentation created using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. When learning about the features of states or countries, create a collage then use Odyssey, reviewed here, to create a virtual field trip with your pictures.
 

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Bing Images - Microsoft

Grades
K to 12
0 Favorites 0  Comments
Take advantage of Bing's robust image search features to find images for any occasion. Similar to other search engines, Bing offers a search bar to locate images using keywords. What...more
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Take advantage of Bing's robust image search features to find images for any occasion. Similar to other search engines, Bing offers a search bar to locate images using keywords. What makes Bing different is some of the additional options provided on the home page. Bing provides different images in categories like popular people, feed topics, animals, nature, backgrounds and more. Choose the info link to learn about the featured image or scroll through to find stunning images from previous days. Other features on this page share images to currently trending news stories.

In the Classroom

Bookmark Bing images to use when searching for images to use in newsletters, your class website, research projects, and more. Choose an interesting image from one of Bing's categories to use for writing prompts. Then, extend students' learning by asking them to create a simple one-page website using a free webpage maker like Carrd, reviewed here, to share their creative writing projects. Create a Microsoft account and log in to save images. Add your saved images to collections to organize and share content with others. Use images to create animated videos using a video tool like Typito, reviewed here. Typito offers drag and drop features for uploading your images and video, text, music, and templates.

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Stockio - stockio.com

Grades
K to 12
0 Favorites 0  Comments
  
Stockio provides thousands of free images, vector files, icons, fonts, and videos for personal and commercial use without attribution. Use the search bar and the drop-down box to search...more
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Stockio provides thousands of free images, vector files, icons, fonts, and videos for personal and commercial use without attribution. Use the search bar and the drop-down box to search by name and type of file. Registration isn't required; however, it allows you to save favorites and track downloaded files. As with all image sites, use caution when using with younger students. It is always suggested to preview your search results.
This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Before using, share this site with students on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector and demonstrate how to save files. Ads by images can be deceiving and lead to other download sites, not to the download of your requested file.

Use Stockio in the classroom any time images are needed for projects, even if the project is not put on a website for others to see. Even though the site says "no attribution required," it is a good idea to have students acknowledge, or as the site says "appreciate," the origin of the image; this will help to get them into the habit of citing their sources. Student groups can use Stockio to find the best image to use for a project collectively. Challenge students to create personalized images (with text) using PicFont, reviewed here. Teachers can collect images for use on their interactive whiteboard for sorting activities (monocots and dicots, producers and consumers, etc.). Use images as a writing prompt or in poetry collections. Art teachers can find images for students to use as references or in photo-montages (with attribution or "appreciation" as they say on the site). For an easy online photo editor and montage maker, try using Pixlr, reviewed here. Elementary teachers can use images from this site as part of student-run interactive whiteboard activities, such as labeling parts of plants. Speech and language or ESL/ELL teachers can find images to use in vocabulary development activities. World language teachers can find cultural photos to use in oral exercises.

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JuxtaposeJS - Knight Lab

Grades
5 to 12
0 Favorites 0  Comments
Compare and contrast two images with JuxtaposeJS photo slider, no registration required. Begin with links to your two images, JuxtaposeJS recommends using two pictures of the same size....more
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Compare and contrast two images with JuxtaposeJS photo slider, no registration required. Begin with links to your two images, JuxtaposeJS recommends using two pictures of the same size. Add labels and photo credits and choose from personalization options. Once uploaded, use the slider bar to adjust the viewing portions of the two images. Embed your finished image using the code provided after publication.

In the Classroom

Use JuxtaposeJS to highlight then and now images of any location or building. Compare current cities to images taken many years ago. Compare and contrast pictures of major war battles to how they look in the present. Highlight changes in photographs over time. Compare and contrast changes in plants or animals. It may take some practice getting images to align properly; however, it is worth the time to create the visual presentation provided by this tool. Upload finished images to your class or student's websites. If you don't have a website, try a simple web page creator like Carrd, reviewed here.

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picjumbo - Viktor Hanacek

Grades
K to 12
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Find thousands of free images and stock photos for use with digital media at picjumbo. Preview and download images free of charge. Browse through categories or use the keyword search...more
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Find thousands of free images and stock photos for use with digital media at picjumbo. Preview and download images free of charge. Browse through categories or use the keyword search to view available images. Be aware: this site may have some topics not appropriate for the classroom. We suggest previewing images before allowing students to search independently.
This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this site to search for photos for presentations, projects, or research. Take advantage of this opportunity to discuss proper use and sharing of online images and information. For ENL/ESL students or speech/language, use the pictures for them to create their own visual dictionary. World language teachers can also challenge students to use images to illustrate vocabulary or accompany writing. Use photos for writing prompts or even to create descriptive sentences. Have one student describe the picture as another sketches the image. Now compare the described image to the real image.

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Canva for Education - Canva.com

Grades
K to 12
9 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Canva presents a simple way to design almost anything with drag and drop technology. Create custom timelines, posters, business cards, infographics, presentations, badges, flyers, charts...more
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Canva presents a simple way to design almost anything with drag and drop technology. Create custom timelines, posters, business cards, infographics, presentations, badges, flyers, charts and graphs, and more using a custom layout or a blank page. Begin by choosing the type of design you want to create. Choose pre-made templates or design your own. Upload images from your computer or your Facebook account. Change your background, add text, and personalize as desired. When complete, choose link and publish to save and download your creation as an image or PDF file or copy the link to share via URL. For creating charts and graphs go to the Features tab. There are iOS & Android apps (free) available for this tool. Canva has recently made the desktop application available for Windows as well as Mac OS. Note: you must register (with email and password) before you can access this site.
This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This site is perfect for enhancing, modifying, or transforming classroom technology in the classroom depending on the requirements of the assignments. Create a slideshow, invitations, or photo collages for any classroom presentation. Share what you created on your website or blog for students to review or for students who were absent. Deliver blended or flipped lessons using Canva Edu by adding links to videos, assessment information, and other learning activities. In the younger grades, teachers would be the ones creating the project. However, older students could easily create their own Canva presentations. Have students use this online tool as they would any presentation tool or image enhancing site. Use this site for research projects about famous people from the past and present. Have cooperative learning groups create presentations about science or math topics. Have students create presentations to "introduce" themselves to the class during the first week of school. Link or embed the introduction presentations on your class wiki or website and have others guess who they are. Use this tool with your 1:1 art class for students to practice design principles and techniques. Create 2 to 5 circle Venn Diagrams. Share student projects with parents and others via URL. Be sure to demonstrate HOW to use this tool on your interactive whiteboard or projector.

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Pixabay - Pixabay

Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites 1  Comments
This is a wonderful site for finding quality images to use in projects. Use these images for either personal or professional projects. Registration is not necessary to download them....more
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This is a wonderful site for finding quality images to use in projects. Use these images for either personal or professional projects. Registration is not necessary to download them. All images are copyright free. Search images by name (or category - photos, video, illustrations and vector) and filter by orientation (landscape or portrait) and image type (photo, clipart, video, or vector.) Be sure to use the filters at the top. Right click to download. Use good search terms to find the best pictures possible. You must know where to save images on your computer. Be sure to give credit to the person who took the picture and show their name wherever the image is used. Consider adding images to this site to increase the number of options and expand the ideas of Creative Commons. Adding images does require you to join the site (email required).

In the Classroom

Use in the classroom any time images are needed for projects, even if the project is not put on a website for others to see. Be sure students are aware that any time another person's image is used, they must give full credit for it, even if that owner cannot see it. Student groups can use Pixabay to collectively find the best image to use for a project. Enhance classroom technology use by challenging students to create personalized images (with text) using PicFont, reviewed here. Teachers can collect images for use on their interactive whiteboard for sorting activities (monocots and dicots, producers and consumers, etc). Use images as writing prompts or in poetry collections. Art teachers can find images for students to use as references or in photo montages (with credit). Elementary teachers can use images from this site as part of student-run interactive whiteboard activities, such as labeling parts of plants. Speech and language or ENL/ESL teachers can find images to use in vocabulary development activities. World language teachers can find cultural photos to use in oral exercises.

Comments

A legal (yet, illegal in every sense) extortion letter from Getty Images ignited my need to find another source of genuinely free images online. Hence, ended up finding this awesome free source of truly free images online i.e. pixabay.com. I fear all the time that such a great source could easily be bought (gobbled up) by greedy and infamous businesses i.e. Getty and we will have to find some other source for genuinely free images. Until that happens, let's all enjoy the free ride. pin, , Grades: 0 - 12

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