Picasa



=Picasa= = = =Overview by Donna and Bethany= Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of photos you have on your computer and the amount of time it takes to organize them all? This is the solution for you! Combining the name of the painter Pablo Picasso, the Spanish phrase //mi casa//, and pic for pictures Google created a digital photo and video organizer called Picasa. Google's Picasa software allows you to organize, edit, and upload photos and videos quickly and in a way that is very easy to understand. This is an outstanding free software for use in the classroom! Teachers and students alike can create albums and videos by easily sorting through them and selecting the photos they would like to display for use in a project. You can download Picasa at http://picasa.google.com. Picasa Web Albums make sharing albums an easy public option. media type="youtube" key="rskC6c_5L1M" height="315" width="420"

=Ideas for Classroom Use=
 * **Customize** your classroom website header
 * **Make a collage** of school/classroom activities to spur excitement and spark discussion about the daily activities
 * **Highlight student work** by displaying it through Picasa
 * Students and teachers can **make posters** for a class project, adding text to the pictures
 * **Geotag pictures** for a social studies project
 * **Create an individualized school memories** album/video to give to students and/or parents at the end of the school year
 * Students can **create a web page** with photos
 * **Create timelines** with pictures
 * **Writing Prompt** – Choose a photo and use it as a writing prompt in the classroom or have the students take their own photo and write about it.
 * **Virtual Field Trip** – Students could take pictures and organize them into a slideshow to create their own field trip. Or they could explore pictures of other locations using the Flickr world map tool.
 * **Single picture analysis** – Have students search for photos, especially in the commons area and analyze them. Use the photos of others to look at concepts in art or science.