Collecting Images

Where can you find appropriate images to enhance the materials you design for use in your classroom? Most teachers rely exclusively on the clip art that is provided with a specific computer program. For example, if you have Microsoft Office, the clipart collection in Word is a nice beginning for your documents. But it may not have exactly what you want. Microsoft makes it very easy to use the internet to access their digital library of images, right from within the program. A great tool for designing graphic organizers is Inspiration and its elementary partner, Kidspiration, both of which have symbol palettes which include many subject related images. Many teachers also use the program Print Shop which contains its own collection of clipart to use within the program. Another program in wide use, especially at the elementary level, is the Student Writing Center. The various versions of Kid Pix can provide you with age appropriate images as well. Unfortunately, some of these programs use proprietary formats so you may not be able to use an image from one program in a document you are creating in another. There are so many choices, and increasing your skills with each of these will assure you success in finding just the right image to convey the meaning you have in mind! Clip Art Collections Within Applications If a software application you are using has a built-in clipart library, it is generally easy to use. Check on the menu bar for an option that will allow you to insert pictures, images, or graphics. Then check to see if it has a built in library of images from which to choose. Older versions of Microsoft Office provide users with the clipart collection on CD which may be installed on the hard drive, or accessed from the CD itself. Newer versions, including Office XP and Office 2003 actually link to the clipart library at Microsoft and provide access to a much larger collection for the end user. Clip Art collections Stored on Digital Media (Floppy, CD, Zip, USB/Flash, Smart Card, Memory Stick) Any graphic file that is a separate image document can be stored on a variety of media types. You can purchase clipart Collections, such as clipart & More, or ClipArt4Teachers which come on several CD's. These images can be accessed from within you software application, or can be copied to other media, such as a USB/Flash drive or floppy disk for accessibility. Photographs Stored on Digital Media It is also possible to purchase collections of photographs which are sold with very specific copyright information. Often these images are useful for explaining complete\x concepts to students and may be used in this manner. But the publishers restrict their use in published works or on Internet sites. It is very important that you read the copyright agreement which accompanies these images. Of course photographs stored on your camera's memory card can also be used in your desktop publishing products. Capturing Images From the Internet The Internet has millions of images that are available for your sue, but once again attention to copyright information must be emphasized. Always check a web site to determine its policies on copying the images found within its site. Some sites actually use techniques that prevent you from copying their images. When you do find a n image that has no copyright restriction, simply right-click on the image itself and drag down to "Save Image As...or Save Picture As... Remember to record the site location so you can cite the source properly. Using Digital Cameras and Scanners Many instructional activities lend themselves to images that you will create using a digital camera or scanner. For example, to design a handout with instructions for a science experiment, you can document each step with your camera, and then create a handout for students to follow. Scanners allow you to make electronic files from student work so that these may be included in other documents. Designing Original Images If you can't locate a specific image using any of the above resources, you can always try to draw or paint your own. The basic Paint tools found in Microsoft Paint are included in all other paint programs. Paint programs work primarily in a single plane, so it is difficult to correct mistakes unless you "undo" immediately. Draw programs such as Photoshop work with layers so that every object you create is in its own plane. This allows you to overlap objects, reorder them, and create interesting designs without losing your original drawings. The Draw tools in Microsoft Word allow you to produce some rather sophisticated drawings without having to purchase additional software.