Picnik

Picnik is a useful website that allows you to upload and edit photos. Creating an account is easy and absolutely free, however by upgrading to Picnik Premium there is access to a greater number of editing options. Particularly useful are editing options that allow photos to be cropped, resized and reduction of red eye.

This web application would be a great tool to introduce students to as they would be able to edit photos and pictures for assignments and take greater pride in the presentation of their work. Photos and pictures can be used in student blogs, wikis and hard copy assignments.

Learning managers (teachers) can also use Picnik to edit photos of class projects and activities. In science students are always excited about performing experiments and constructing models, learning managers may decide to photograph and edit pictures of students actively participating in class as evidence for parents and reflection for students. Pictures of an experiment set up or constructed model is very useful for students to add into their written assessment pieces like a laboratory report or logbook. As some pictures are usually very large, Picnik enables cropping and resizing to produce a smaller picture file making it easier to send, download and use.

This application is one that would be very useful for creating a more asthetically pleasing learning environment for the visual learners. Encouraging students to use the application themselves will inspire them to become more creative and involved in producing quality work. As Picnik is so easy to use, all learning managers could be using this application in any subject area.