Photos for Class (Clever Prototypes) is a free, browser-based search engine for creative commons licensed images. The search service identifies images from several services (e.g., Flickr, Library of Congress). A nice feature of the service is that images downloaded are marked to include the photographer, license agreement and a direct link (see bottom of second image).
Here is another Google search feature that was new to me (credit to Daniel Russell for the tip). You can determine the latitude and longitude for a location of interest by search for locationname coordinates. I find the ability to geotag images of personal and educational benefit so this feature caught my attention. I have a very nice camera that takes great photos, but does not record coordinates. A cell phone will often collect such data and I commonly combine phone and camera photos for this reason.
Here is a demonstration for the location Sandia Peak (the search would be Sandia Peak coordinates).
The search results:
Here is a photo at the top of the peak captured with my phone (the exif data are provided). The data are difficult to read, but are very similar.
I see this is a post production tool useful in some situations for “mapping” digital camera photos.
The issue of whether the iPad is a meaningful production device is important to many educators. The issue comes up when making the decision whether to invest school money in traditional computers or iPads (and similar devices). Traditional computers, laptops or netbooks, are versatile and the capacity to write and create multimedia as a learning experience is obviously available. The touch interface of the iPad and an operating system that works a little differently when it comes to storing and integrating media elements is unfamiliar to those of us who have a more traditional background and may have originally seemed a barrier to content production.
Apple and those who develop apps are obviously attempting to move users toward a different way of doing things. iPhoto on the iPad, a new offering, is different from iPhoto on a computer and may serve different purposes. For example, one of the cameras I use takes images that are large and it would not be practical to store thousands of these images on an iPad. I use my desktop machine to store images and upload many to Flickr. I can download images from Flickr to the iPad to take advantage of the interesting ways you can edit images using iPhoto for the iPad. I am also exploring the potential of iPhoto (on the iPad) as a way to produce content – what Apple calls “journals” in this case.
I must say that creating an iPhoto journal reminds me of the old iWeb which I thought was a useful produce/service for those who wanted a web site that looked more sophisticated than the time and background of many would allow. iPhoto Journal is obviously more image oriented because it is tied into iPhoto, but it offers the user widgets that pull in things like maps, date, and text boxes to a “collage”-like display. I can see teachers working with their students to create a journal as a final project product.
Screen capture from iPad
Here is a link to a sample product I created available via iCloud. I must say that I struggled some to arrange the objects to position them exactly where I wanted and I do not have the experience to know why. I was working on my iPad 2 and it is very possible this would work more smoothly on the new iPad. it is also possible that iPhoto for the iPad is a 1.0 product and refinements will come. In my opinion, Apple has a mixed history developing such products (e.g., iWeb and mobile me). However, the company is going to have focus in this area or be more accepting of opening up to those more focused on cloud services.
Here is a CNET review for a second take.
We got into the book publishing game by being rejected. Our original idea was to repurpose topical coloring books as digital files and provide them to teachers/students with some project ideas. Houghton-Mifflin liked our focus on technology projects for the classroom and offered us a book deal for a more general product.
I still think the thematic clipart idea was great.
We came to this idea from developing and distributing a clipart collection for North Dakota Game and Fish. I just happened to think of this clipart collection again today. You can still reach the site and download the clipart. We received funding from ND Game and Fish to develop this clipart in 1992 and placed the images on our server in 2001. We originally distributed the images on disk. Images for reptiles, birds, mammals and fish are available.
These are gif files (remember the time frame here) but it should be easy to download (right click on the images) and use a “paint” program of some type of convert to jpg files. The files could be transfered to an iPad and used a wide variety of ways. These files are intended for noncommercial use only (I guess I need to say that).
My brother Dan is visiting and he brought some new pictures captured with a game camera taken on the farm where I grew up. I find this technology fascinating. The camera switches from visible light to infrared depending on the time of day (Game Scouting Camera).
I bought Cindy a Coolpix P6000 for Mother’s Day. Some husbands get pressured into giving diamonds by those horrid television ads, but I give a present that shows I really care. Just wait – this is so cool – you will see.
So, because it will eventually be her camera, I decided the first pictures should be of her. I caught her in her favorite location watching television while reading blogs.
Now, I load the pictures into my Mac within the most recent version of iPhoto. Looks like Cindy so far. BUT, I click on the small “i” (information) that appears on the thumbnail, the picture flips over AND
I know that Cindy and the couch are located in my house (easier to see when full size).
I think Cindy will have a great time with this camera and she will be very surprised on Mother’s Day. Don’t worry, she seldom reads this blog and she is used to me running around doing strange tech things. She won’t suspect a thing.
Oh – the camera is GPS enabled if I was not making myself clear. Now all my mountain pictures will not only be beautiful, I will actually know which mountain (approximately) I am looking at. I mean which mountain she is looking at.
What a great tool – map images very precisely to a map.
I see the time is wrong – I got too excited and started learning before I read the instructions.
My brother Dan is an engineer, but he has a unique hobby. He develops wildlife habitats. The “riparian” is a seventeen-acre plot developed on a farm Dan and a couple of my relatives own in Iowa. Dan hunts there some, but mostly just enjoys the challenge of restoring the habitat and watching wildlife.
His new toy is a “trail camera“. This is a fairly inexpensive digital camera that is triggered by movement. You set up the simple camera in an area (a trail I suppose) where you expect wildlife to be. After some time passes, you come back and see what images you have collected.
Dan sent me a few pictures a couple of weeks ago (a partial frame with a deer and some geese on the beaver pond you see above), but this new image is really pretty cool. There must be some educational applications here. What about the reality of not being able to take frequent field trips. What if a class could position a camera (via a teacher or a student with access) and then explore what they might find?
I have had this debate with teachers, sometimes biology teachers, from time to time about technology. I often do not immediately reveal some of my personal interests. The teachers often assume that my use of technology involves siting in front of my computer and exploring virtual worlds. I ask about their last field trip and what they and their students did afterwards. Virtual worlds are actually not my thing – I like being there. I tell them after my trips I continue to explore what I saw.
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