Monday, January 21, 2013

Places to find images?

Math vs Society
I recently wrote a blog post about using Prezi to create Zoom Ins for the visible thinking routine. Below I discuss some resources which can be used to find images for image related visible thinking routines.

See-Think-Wonder and Zoom In

Are two Visible Thinking 'Routines for Introducing and Exploring Ideas' that have students observe and think deeply about images (or objects).

For explanations and details on all the Visible Thinking routines go to http://www.pz.harvard.edu/vt/visiblethinking_html_files/VisibleThinking1.html

Finding Appropriate Content for See-Think-Wonder and Zoom In

Find appropriate thought provoking content by searching in the following places.

Flickr
Flickr- you can find some really high quality thought provoking images on flickr. Flickr does not require you to sign up to search for images and you can find quality photos on any topic.

One example of this was bought to my attention by Richard Byrne writer of Free Technology For Teachers (The Best Education Blog out there!) in his blog post Bad Math in the Real World. Byrne identifies The Bad Maths Flickr Group (Check it out at http://www.flickr.com/groups/badmaths/) which has some fantastic images of Bad Math (majority of currency images in British Pounds) that could be used in the See- Think- Wonder routine to get students thinking about why the maths in these photos is dodgy.

Tumblr


Tumblr- photo blogs on anything and everything. Does not require sign up to search tumblr. Photo blogs with similar themes to the math mistakes are also available on tumblr. One example is Math vs Society. Tumblr is a little more hit and miss with the quality of images, when compared to Flickr, but if you find a blog with one photo that suits your needs it is likely that it will be a treasure trove jam packed full of goodies.

A tip for searching tumblr

The inbuilt search on the tumblr site is not the best so I find it very useful to search for tumblr blogs and images using google search. I simply add tumblr to my searches. For example if i am looking for photos of bushfires for our inquiry topic of natural disasters I search for 'bushfire tumblr.' The result gave me all the photos #bushfire of tumblr but also a few dedicated blogs. One was BushFires which is a goldmine of photos and resources.

Simple is often best

google image search and google video search - a basic well known simple way to find images and videos.

Daily image sources

Flipboard- a flip magazine with a wide range of content including photos from various media. Available as a website, iOS app, and android app.

theguardianEyewitness- Free option provides one photo per day that is relevant to news items or of general interest. Also available as a website, iPad app and android app.

Nat Geo Today- jam packed full of fantastic images from NatGeo. Available as a website and iOS app

What is your favourite place to find images? Please leave comments.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Can you spot the animal? Perfect images for See-Think-Wonder



I came across a series of camouflaged animal photos on Flipboard from Bored Panda and thought that they would be a great way to introduce the See, Think, Wonder visible thinking routine to my students. 

These images are a fantastic way to show the importance of careful observation. When I spent some time observing them they really made me wonder about how camouflage in nature works. I'm sure anyone would find them extremely interesting and thought provoking.

Views the series of images at

http://www.boredpanda.com/animal-camouflage-wolfe/

Zoom In Visible Thinking Routine using Prezi

 Prezi is the perfect tool to use when working with the Zoom In visible thinking routine in your classroom. 



 Brief outline of the Zoom In Routine

 Zoom In is a Visible Thinking routine which uses images (or objects) to introduce and explore ideas. 

A section of an image is displayed. Gradually other sections of the image are displayed until the whole picture of the image is revealed. Throughout the process students are encouraged to discuss what they observe, how they interpret the observation, what they wonder, and how their thinking has changed as the image is fully revealed. 

Check out Making Thinking Visible  to get a full details of this thinking routine. Go to Havard's Project Zero Visible Thinking Website to learn more about the routines.

How to use Prezi when working with the Zoom in Routine 

prezi.com is a presentation tool (like PowerPoint or KeyNote on steroids) which centers around zooming in and out of sections of the presentation to direct the audiences attention. 

It allows teachers to zoom in and out of images more precisely when working with the Zoom In routine. Students can focus on the small detail of an image before zooming out to take in the larger picture. You can even focus on separate smaller sections of the image individually before zooming out to take in the whole image.

Example

Take a look at a Prezi as a demonstration below and watch the video tutorial above to learn how to create similar prezis yourself.



Image from http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2011/08/25/financial-earthquakes-and-east-coast-tremblers/