GIMP Photo Editing and Graphic Design Lessons for High School and Middle School

I posted some links to my GIMP tutorials recently.  Here are the assignment PDFs that I gave the students.  These, along with the tutorials linked to below, provide a nice introduction to the program.  It was a great improvement over how we started last year.

The assignments might have different names, but these are the topics 

• Introduction
• Drawing with the Selection Tools
• Layers and Text
• Filters and Effects
• Combining Images
• Final Project - Comic Strip

All of the tutorials for these lessons can be found in this post.

GIMP Tutorials - Lessons for photo editing in high school and middle school

I have been very busy in and out of the classroom so far this new school year.  My favorite part has been the time I've spent with Digital Media courses at our high school and middle school.  Somehow they managed to schedule both classes at the same time of the day!  Since I can't physically be at both of them I have been using video tutorials as one way to assist the classroom teacher and instruct the students.

First, here are the related lessons.

Below you'll find the tutorials for GIMP, a free image editing program.  I hope these could be useful to anyone who might be "flipping" a tech course or possibly for an online course.

Update 10/4/2013:  I posted the most popular tutorials on YouTube and have them in this Playlist now.

• Introduction to GIMP - Brief explanation of what the program is like, how to navigate the multiple windows and how to open files
• Saving files in GIMP - Some of this is specific to our network, but I talk about saving as jpeg.
• Paint Brush and Clone Tools - I explain how to use the Paint Brush as a line tool and how to erase parts of pictures using the Clone Tool.
• Drawing with the Selection Tools - GIMP doesn't have a tool to draw shapes, for example, but this shows how it can be used to accomplish the same thing.
• Using Layers in GIMP - This is probably the best feature of GIMP and the one students have the hardest time with. 
• Using the Text Tool in GIMP - Text in GIMP is pretty easy, but students need to understand Layers first.
• Combining Images in GIMP - This shows how to take parts of one image and paste it into another for simple special effects.
• Neon Logo Tutorial - My version of a popular logo effect that I learned from a couple YouTube tutorials

And here's a quick talk about learning software in general.  I address the difference between learning the software and learning how to learn new software.

New Math Game for ActivInspire - Factor Duel

I am trying something new with this fun math class presentation game for ActivInspire.  I made the game using Stencyl and embedded the Flash file in the flipchart.  The flash version is below too.

Also, be sure to check out my Quadratic Formula Video!

You can download the flipchart from here on Promethean Planet.

It was created with interactive whiteboards in mind, but two people can compete at one computer if they pass the mouse back and forth.  You can find it on the Stencyl Arcade here.

If you're just interested in seeing the Flash file, it's here:  Factor Duel

It is based on the game Juniper Green.  I actually never played that one with my students, but I was introduced to it early in my career by another teacher who claimed it was very popular in his classes.  I always wanted to create a more lively computer version that checked the students' moves.  I think this one accomplishes that well, but I noticed it can be sluggish on older systems.

In the way of credits, I created all the graphics, music and the game logic.  Some sounds were built from files I found at FreeSound.org.

http://www.freesound.org/people/Benboncan/sounds/66951/
http://www.freesound.org/people/scarfield/sounds/52004/
http://www.freesound.org/people/Mr%20Sensible/sounds/15000/
http://www.freesound.org/people/Mr%20Sensible/sounds/14742/

Inspiration - Kevin Honyecutt's tradigital approach to education

I was at an ed-tech conference in Detroit, Michigan, in March, 2011 when I aimlessly drifted into one packed session.  The speaker completely blew me away.  After spending the previous day in a series of workshops and presentations about technology and teaching, this guy reminded me that we are touching lives.  I left recharged, thinking about what I could accomplish back in my district.

The speaker was Kevin Honeycutt, a former art teacher who now travels across the country speaking to teachers about things like a "tradigital" approach to education and sharing his theories "unburdened by research".

This year I caught him again at MACUL in Grand Rapids.  I sat through three of his presentations and found him just as inspiring.  I was really happy to find out he would be addressing our school district just before school started this fall.

Kevin has a way of reminding teachers why they got into the job in the first place.  Since he can tell of the lives he has touched, he makes it feel possible that we can reach even the most difficult kids.  He uses tech tools in ways that enhance talents and unleashes imagination.  Most of my work on this blog that talks about creativity and passion stems from that first time I heard him speak in 2011.  My appreciation for his work has only increased since then.

Through stories and demonstrations (including his digital jams with GarageBand and his electric guitar) he kept the auditorium engaged for two and a half hours.  Since that afternoon I have had several teachers asking to try new things this year with the resources we have available.  Many told me it was the best tech PD we have had.  I'm looking forward to sustaining the momentum that he created.

If you're unfamiliar with his excellent work, check out his website.  He has a ton of resources there.  Here is his channel on YouTube.

Classroom Creativity Game - Why Did the Chicken...?

As I posted a few days ago, here's a computer version of the creativity game Why Did the Chicken...?, originally designed as a party game by Kory Heath.

The format of this game is similar to many of the classroom creativity games I have featured on this site.  This one just lets everyone play on the computer.  It could be a fun warm-up or wrap-up exercise after one of the flipchart games based on that system.

Check out the page and please share the link with other teachers.

http://bit.ly/wdtcgame

If you like it, let me know and I'll put a few other of the creativity games into this format.

And while I'm at it, here's a reminder about my Mythology Edition of Why Did the Chicken...? in flipchart format.  It's been my most popular classroom activity this summer from Promethean Planet.