The class that I happen to be observing uses many different strategies to get the students to understand the topic. The various teaching methods can range from individual work, one-on-one work, small group work, or whole class work. When explaining a topic, it is taught to the class as a whole first. During this time, the children are assessed through questioning. Almost every student gets the opportunity to answer a question, and this is a good way to make sure the students understand the topic as you are teaching it. There are a few children who may not get the topic right away, and those children usually get asked questions to make sure they are understanding the topic. Also, questions are used to keep students on task, so their minds do not wander off.
Usually after the class learns a topic, there is some sort of physical assessment the teacher can have to see whether their children understood the topic or not. This can be something like a work sheet or a small quiz. When students perform poorly on an assessment, they are pulled into an RTI gourp. RTI stands for Response to Intervention. RTI groups allow for either one-on-one or small group instruction from the teacher. I was able to work with an RTI group in my second visit to go over a math worksheet. The goal of these groups is to get students to understand every topic, so they will not be left behind. While this is going on, the other students work on whatever Mrs. Mescino gives them to do. This can be silent reading, writing in journals, or finishing assignments. RTI groups could be a great way for having children feel a sense of belonging. The book does a lot of talking about students accepting one another, but this can be an example of the teacher making a student feel wanted. It pulls the students aside and lets them know that you, as a teacher, want that child to succeed. If you are able to give the children the tools they need, they can feel more confident and hopefully succeed at a higher level.
So, teaching is done in whole class, small groups, or one-on-one. Pairing is also used with teaching. Each students desk is next to a partners, so everyone has at least one person to work with. This allows students to ask each other questions when needed.
I already spoke of some of the ways that the students can be assessed, but another way would be through their own writing. A laptop cart will be brought in, and each student takes one to their desk and can write their paper assignments. This can help Mrs. Mescino know what level their writing skills are at. Their are also online quizzes that the students can take, and their scores are kept for assessing.
I felt like this age group would be the best group to pick because the students would be a bit more mature. I learned that even though they act older, they can still get excited over small things. When I taught my lesson this past week, I brought in lights and batteries for the kids to work on in groups. I don't think I've ever seen people so excited to make a flashlight bulb light up in my life. When the kids do group work, no kid ever sits out looking for groups. People always take them into their group. I'm not sure exactly what Mrs. Mescino did to these children to get them to act that way, but in the classroom they seem to have respect for each other. Once again, this goes with a sense of belonging. When you have people who want to work or even talk to you, chances are it will make you want to go to school more often. Also, if you know the other students will respect your work, it may push you to do your personal best as well. If you try your hardest and know you won't get ridiculed for it, then chances are you will continue to try.
Overall, the students seem to like hands on activities. It keeps them engaged, and at the same time they are not just listening to a boring lecture. Like I said, when I brought in those lights, they all seemed excited. Also, they looked like they enjoyed being asked questions. They might just like to be acknowledged.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Journal 3, Domain 3
When deciding which teacher to observe at my cooperating school, I read over e-mails that two teachers gave me describing their classrooms, as well as their teaching experiences. My choice came down to a more experienced fifth grade teacher, and an experienced teacher who was teaching fourth grade for the first time ever. I opted to go with the fourth grade teacher particularly for the reason I am going to be discussing in the blog. I wanted to know more about what it is like to plan for what you have never taught before because if all goes according to plan, I will be teaching in the near future, and I will be planning for curriculum that I have never taught before.
In terms of planning for the day, Mrs. Mescino, who is my cooperating teacher by the way, understands how each of her days is planned out time wise. Every Wednesday that I have been there, the schedule is set up the same way in terms of what subject is taught at what time. On a few occasions, things have had to be changed because of school events, or just because more time was spent on a subject than planned. On days when I am there, the students start their day in art class. When they return from art class, they grab a snack and sit down at their seats. During this time, morning announcements are played over the TV. This gives the students a chance to get focused for learning. I feel like this works better than just having the children sit down in their seats and start learning immediately.
I feel like at fourth grade students are able to handle being able to sit and learn without breaks better than younger children. The students do get a chance to stretch and get ready in between subject changes. Some times students work on activities by themselves or with partners. When they complete this, they write in journals or real silently. This keeps them busy doing something productive at all times. If any student feels like they need a break, there are two hall passes in the classroom. The students simply grab the pass from the teachers desk, place it on their own desk, and leave the classroom. This pass is for bathroom use only though.
Recently, time has been spent on preparations for ISAT testing. Lesson planning must be adjusted to take time to review previous topics to refresh memory and check for common mistakes the students make. I spent time in my last visit working with students on a math review packet. At the same time, another group of students was with the teacher working on a different math concept. Because she knew that I was going to be in the classroom that day, she knew that we could split the class in two so hopefully students can get more one on one time if they needed help.
The children seem to know what is expected of them in terms of preparing to change subjects. Before a subject begins, they know what they will need in terms of materials like books or calculators. Mrs. Mescino will give them any other information they might need before they begin an activity. Most students are ready and prepared to begin when they have to. The same thing goes for ending a subject. The students will get prepared for the next activity when they need to. Like I said earlier, there is a schedule that is followed daily, and for the most part, the students understand that schedule. This is important because less time is being spent on getting ready, and more time can be spent doing something productive.
Each activity does have a purpose to it, and the students seem to understand what is being taught to them. I actually was able to be a part of a lesson plan that did not work as planned. Like I said, this is Mrs. Mescino's first year teaching fourth grade. We got a new lesson that the reading book actually provided. We took some time to discuss with the children words that can be used to make generalizations. We had to look through a story that the children recently read, and find key words like often, many, etc. This lesson plan was made for this story in particular, yet the story contained only three of the words listed. So, my group and I went over the words in the story, and I had to use the other words in examples to show the students how they can be used to make generalizations. The teacher also said that she only found three words in the story, so some times you just have to make the best out of what you got. This was also part of the reason I chose to observe this teacher. It is nice to see how people handle things when they don't go according to plan.
Lastly, individual students needs are met usually through writing. Each child is diverse in their own way, and writing is a great way of bringing out each child's differences. The students recently had to come up with a story as if they were detected. They had to take a rule that parents give them and make up a story about why parents really use that rule. This allowed for individual creativity. Many of the boys wrote about video games, while others wrote about watching TV, or doing homework, or eating healthy food. This allowed me to see what certain students thought about their parents rule, and it allowed them to express themselves as well.
I feel like planning is very important, which should be a no brainer to anyone. Mrs. Mescino does a great job of keeping the children engaged in what they are doing. When they are discussing a topic she tries to ask as many questions as possible. This helps to keep the children focused. The book also talked about active prior knowledge. Before some topics, the children get into groups and talk about what they already know about a certain topic. I feel like this helps in terms of getting the students ready to discuss with the class. Also with lesson planning, Mrs. Mescino is always assessing the children. This could be by simply asking them questions during the discussion, or by having them fill out worksheets. I have had to take a look at the sheets to figure out what children are struggling with, and I let her know what I feel they need help with. Being a first year fourth grade teacher, a lot of time needs to be spent assessing not only how the students are learning, but how your own lesson plans are turning out. This is her first year and things are bound to go wrong from time to time.
In terms of planning for the day, Mrs. Mescino, who is my cooperating teacher by the way, understands how each of her days is planned out time wise. Every Wednesday that I have been there, the schedule is set up the same way in terms of what subject is taught at what time. On a few occasions, things have had to be changed because of school events, or just because more time was spent on a subject than planned. On days when I am there, the students start their day in art class. When they return from art class, they grab a snack and sit down at their seats. During this time, morning announcements are played over the TV. This gives the students a chance to get focused for learning. I feel like this works better than just having the children sit down in their seats and start learning immediately.
I feel like at fourth grade students are able to handle being able to sit and learn without breaks better than younger children. The students do get a chance to stretch and get ready in between subject changes. Some times students work on activities by themselves or with partners. When they complete this, they write in journals or real silently. This keeps them busy doing something productive at all times. If any student feels like they need a break, there are two hall passes in the classroom. The students simply grab the pass from the teachers desk, place it on their own desk, and leave the classroom. This pass is for bathroom use only though.
Recently, time has been spent on preparations for ISAT testing. Lesson planning must be adjusted to take time to review previous topics to refresh memory and check for common mistakes the students make. I spent time in my last visit working with students on a math review packet. At the same time, another group of students was with the teacher working on a different math concept. Because she knew that I was going to be in the classroom that day, she knew that we could split the class in two so hopefully students can get more one on one time if they needed help.
The children seem to know what is expected of them in terms of preparing to change subjects. Before a subject begins, they know what they will need in terms of materials like books or calculators. Mrs. Mescino will give them any other information they might need before they begin an activity. Most students are ready and prepared to begin when they have to. The same thing goes for ending a subject. The students will get prepared for the next activity when they need to. Like I said earlier, there is a schedule that is followed daily, and for the most part, the students understand that schedule. This is important because less time is being spent on getting ready, and more time can be spent doing something productive.
Each activity does have a purpose to it, and the students seem to understand what is being taught to them. I actually was able to be a part of a lesson plan that did not work as planned. Like I said, this is Mrs. Mescino's first year teaching fourth grade. We got a new lesson that the reading book actually provided. We took some time to discuss with the children words that can be used to make generalizations. We had to look through a story that the children recently read, and find key words like often, many, etc. This lesson plan was made for this story in particular, yet the story contained only three of the words listed. So, my group and I went over the words in the story, and I had to use the other words in examples to show the students how they can be used to make generalizations. The teacher also said that she only found three words in the story, so some times you just have to make the best out of what you got. This was also part of the reason I chose to observe this teacher. It is nice to see how people handle things when they don't go according to plan.
Lastly, individual students needs are met usually through writing. Each child is diverse in their own way, and writing is a great way of bringing out each child's differences. The students recently had to come up with a story as if they were detected. They had to take a rule that parents give them and make up a story about why parents really use that rule. This allowed for individual creativity. Many of the boys wrote about video games, while others wrote about watching TV, or doing homework, or eating healthy food. This allowed me to see what certain students thought about their parents rule, and it allowed them to express themselves as well.
I feel like planning is very important, which should be a no brainer to anyone. Mrs. Mescino does a great job of keeping the children engaged in what they are doing. When they are discussing a topic she tries to ask as many questions as possible. This helps to keep the children focused. The book also talked about active prior knowledge. Before some topics, the children get into groups and talk about what they already know about a certain topic. I feel like this helps in terms of getting the students ready to discuss with the class. Also with lesson planning, Mrs. Mescino is always assessing the children. This could be by simply asking them questions during the discussion, or by having them fill out worksheets. I have had to take a look at the sheets to figure out what children are struggling with, and I let her know what I feel they need help with. Being a first year fourth grade teacher, a lot of time needs to be spent assessing not only how the students are learning, but how your own lesson plans are turning out. This is her first year and things are bound to go wrong from time to time.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Journal 2
What is the student body diversity and how is cultural diversity recognized in the school?
Diverse is not the best way to describe the student body at Lions Park Elementary. The area happens to be a white dominant area, and this can be seen within the school. Last time I looked at the numbers, roughly 85% of the school was white, while the next highest group was Asians at 7%. Also, district numbers showed that there were no teachers in the district that were Hispanic or African American. This is not something I thought of while growing up, but my schools happened to be the same way. Not once did I ever have an African American teacher, and I can only remember a small number of Hispanic teachers as well. I feel like it could be beneficial to the children if they had a teacher of a different race than their own.
Overall, I had not run into anything showing cultural diversity at the school. I don't want to say that they don't do anything to show this, but I have not seen anything at this point in my observations.
How are children involved in the classroom; how do they relate to one another?
The children tend to work well with each other in the classroom. Luckily, it does not look like any students leave out one another in activities. There are a few kids who can be considered loners, but if they work alone, it is usually their own choice. The teacher asks the students questions and gets them involved in discussions. This is important since I feel that active participation can help children learn. It is much more affective than being in front of the class and doing nothing but lecturing.
How are the needs of students with exceptionalities met in the classroom and at the school?
I have not seen too much in terms of the school as a whole. I know that there are aides for children who need help. When I come into the classroom in the morning there is usually a child (I believe he has autism), and he is working one on one with an assistant. Within my classroom there are a few children that have need that need to be addressed. One student has ADD, and seems to lack motivation to do work (especially once she is out of school). One thing she likes to utilize on the computer is a program called Comic Life. You are able to take pictures and put them into a comic strip. If she does her homework and stays on task, she gets to spend time on the computers and use that program. Another student also has ADD. He mainly just needs to be reminded to stay on task, but is overall a bright child. There is a student with symptoms of autism, yet I don't believe he has been diagnosed. I believe I wrote in the last blog that he gets stressed out from time to time. He gets to go to the gym to vent a bit by doing push ups. Mentally though, he seems capable of doing all the tasks he is given. I believe gifted students have exceptionalities as well. There are two children who are placed in a higher math program, and they usually spend time in another classroom while the other students are doing math as well.
How do teachers and other school personnel work together?
I'm not sure I can fully answer this question. I get there a short time after class begins, and then I leave right before school ends. I am not sure if they go over anything before or after school. I know they have meetings for each grade. There was a big meeting for fourth grade teachers about two weeks ago. There are certain teachers that aide students, and they follow the same schedule every day. It is their job to work together so that a student is not taken out of class at a bad time. Usually there is a teacher who helps with group reading for certain students that comes in during the classrooms reading time. Like mentioned before, the gifted math students also split up during math time.
How does the teacher keep track of student progress?
One obvious way is that the teachers use grades. Whenever students do homework, they get it graded, and certain students have to spend time in small groups going over the problems. If a student spends a lot of time in these groups, it is obvious that they are having trouble with certain subjects. Another was is just through observations. When I go in to observe, the kids start off in art class. I spend about a half hour with the teacher and she will update me on the students and it is obvious that she knows a lot about each one and what they are capable of doing. Another thing that she does is talk to previous teachers about the students. She has told me how certain students improved based on what other teachers had told them. That also goes into the topic of how personnel and and teachers work together.
What extra duty tasks does the teacher perform?
Outside of meetings, I am not sure what her extra tasks are. I know that for the past week she was in charge of getting her students ready to host the school announcements every day, which seemed stressful. Otherwise, I am not sure what her extra tasks are.
Diverse is not the best way to describe the student body at Lions Park Elementary. The area happens to be a white dominant area, and this can be seen within the school. Last time I looked at the numbers, roughly 85% of the school was white, while the next highest group was Asians at 7%. Also, district numbers showed that there were no teachers in the district that were Hispanic or African American. This is not something I thought of while growing up, but my schools happened to be the same way. Not once did I ever have an African American teacher, and I can only remember a small number of Hispanic teachers as well. I feel like it could be beneficial to the children if they had a teacher of a different race than their own.
Overall, I had not run into anything showing cultural diversity at the school. I don't want to say that they don't do anything to show this, but I have not seen anything at this point in my observations.
How are children involved in the classroom; how do they relate to one another?
The children tend to work well with each other in the classroom. Luckily, it does not look like any students leave out one another in activities. There are a few kids who can be considered loners, but if they work alone, it is usually their own choice. The teacher asks the students questions and gets them involved in discussions. This is important since I feel that active participation can help children learn. It is much more affective than being in front of the class and doing nothing but lecturing.
How are the needs of students with exceptionalities met in the classroom and at the school?
I have not seen too much in terms of the school as a whole. I know that there are aides for children who need help. When I come into the classroom in the morning there is usually a child (I believe he has autism), and he is working one on one with an assistant. Within my classroom there are a few children that have need that need to be addressed. One student has ADD, and seems to lack motivation to do work (especially once she is out of school). One thing she likes to utilize on the computer is a program called Comic Life. You are able to take pictures and put them into a comic strip. If she does her homework and stays on task, she gets to spend time on the computers and use that program. Another student also has ADD. He mainly just needs to be reminded to stay on task, but is overall a bright child. There is a student with symptoms of autism, yet I don't believe he has been diagnosed. I believe I wrote in the last blog that he gets stressed out from time to time. He gets to go to the gym to vent a bit by doing push ups. Mentally though, he seems capable of doing all the tasks he is given. I believe gifted students have exceptionalities as well. There are two children who are placed in a higher math program, and they usually spend time in another classroom while the other students are doing math as well.
How do teachers and other school personnel work together?
I'm not sure I can fully answer this question. I get there a short time after class begins, and then I leave right before school ends. I am not sure if they go over anything before or after school. I know they have meetings for each grade. There was a big meeting for fourth grade teachers about two weeks ago. There are certain teachers that aide students, and they follow the same schedule every day. It is their job to work together so that a student is not taken out of class at a bad time. Usually there is a teacher who helps with group reading for certain students that comes in during the classrooms reading time. Like mentioned before, the gifted math students also split up during math time.
How does the teacher keep track of student progress?
One obvious way is that the teachers use grades. Whenever students do homework, they get it graded, and certain students have to spend time in small groups going over the problems. If a student spends a lot of time in these groups, it is obvious that they are having trouble with certain subjects. Another was is just through observations. When I go in to observe, the kids start off in art class. I spend about a half hour with the teacher and she will update me on the students and it is obvious that she knows a lot about each one and what they are capable of doing. Another thing that she does is talk to previous teachers about the students. She has told me how certain students improved based on what other teachers had told them. That also goes into the topic of how personnel and and teachers work together.
What extra duty tasks does the teacher perform?
Outside of meetings, I am not sure what her extra tasks are. I know that for the past week she was in charge of getting her students ready to host the school announcements every day, which seemed stressful. Otherwise, I am not sure what her extra tasks are.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Journal 1, Domain 1 - Teaching and the Environment
My following observations have taken place at Lions Park Elementary School in Mount Prospect in a 4th grade classroom. Before beginning I'd like to write a brief little statement about my experience so far. I spent the past four years planning on becoming a Secondary Education teacher, but here I am today going down a completely different track. My comfort zone would have been to observe in a middle school, but I decided to observe in an elementary school instead. I have been having a good time so far, and I hope that experience continues throughout the rest of my observations. But, here is what I've observed about the classroom:
In terms of organization, the desks are set up in a mix between small group and the classic row seating. What I mean by that is that the desks in the room are arranged in rows (or columns I suppose) like you'd see in many standard classrooms, usually at higher levels like high school. But within these rows are multiple desks. Each student has someone else they are sitting next to in the classroom. This allows for interaction between students, yet it is still in a way teacher-oriented as well. When students do assignments throughout the day, they can ask the person next to them for help without having the raise their voice. This helps keep the classroom at a reasonable noise level. It is also easy for the students to turn around and ask the people behind them (or in front of them) for help. The teachers desk is off in a corner, and does not take up much room that could be used to the students advantage. There is a table with four chairs around it where individual groups are taken from time to time when they have to work on something if they fall behind or need help. Overall, the children seem to know where everything is in the classroom and everything runs smoothly.
Most of the work done by the students is done at their own desk. The only exception is when they have to do group work. The room actually used to be the teachers lounge but was converted into a classroom. This leaves less room for extra tables. Some group work is done while sitting at desks with their partner, or can be done while sitting on the floor. Like I stated earlier, this seems to work for the children, but the setup of the room is partially teacher-oriented as well.
The room is filled with pictures and projects that the students have created. The teachers desk is covered with pictures that her students have drawn for her. This can show that she is proud of what the students create not only for school but for her as well. Not all projects can be hung up, but at the same time the teacher hates to waste projects that students have put a lot of effort into. When the kids do group projects, all the kids in the class get to bid for the project so that it does not go to waste. Each student can bid up to thirty minutes of their recess time to claim the project. This is much like an auction. When a student bids their time, they stay in and read or work on homework. So there is a sense of pride in the students and their work.
When it comes to resources, the classroom seems to have all the basic things needed to teach. I have seen a bunch of bins on the side, but forgot to take a closer look at them. I believe that is where the students keep materials like markers, crayons, etc.. This keeps their desk storage from getting cluttered, and helps to keep the kids organized. They know exactly where to go when they need to get supplies.
The students all seem to know what to do when they transition from one activity to another. On the right side of the whiteboard is a schedule for the day, with times given. This makes each student aware of what they are expected to do at certain times. When students are working on certain assignments individually, the teacher writes options for what they can do with their time if they finish early. They can read silently, write in journals, etc.. This helps to make sure no one gets off task.
Computers are used on a daily basis whenever I am in the classroom. The school has a cart that contains about thirty macbooks for the students to use. Each child is assigned a number for which laptop to use. They go to many different educational websites to practice certain subjects, and even practice for standardized tests. Whenever there is a writing assignment, they write all their drafts on the computer. Each student gets their own login information so their work gets saved to their account. A television can be connected to a computer so the students can watch the schools daily announcements. Each class gets a chance to do the announcements for one week. They read news, reminders, and make jokes for their announcements. This week was my classrooms week to do the announcements, so all the students were excited to watch themselves. There are also four macbooks that stay in the classroom permanently. The school seems to focus a lot on the use of technology.
Overall from observing I have learned that there are many different ways to effectively set up the classroom. I had to step into another fourth grade classroom for a few moments and their classroom was much different. The room was larger, and it had a Smart Board. The desks were grouped into groups of 4. In the end though, all the students in both classes were learning at equal paces. And the last thing is that you have to be proud of what your students are achieving. Hang their stuff on the wall and show them that you are proud. They will respect you more for noticing, and it might encourage them to try their hardest and be proud of what they make.
In terms of organization, the desks are set up in a mix between small group and the classic row seating. What I mean by that is that the desks in the room are arranged in rows (or columns I suppose) like you'd see in many standard classrooms, usually at higher levels like high school. But within these rows are multiple desks. Each student has someone else they are sitting next to in the classroom. This allows for interaction between students, yet it is still in a way teacher-oriented as well. When students do assignments throughout the day, they can ask the person next to them for help without having the raise their voice. This helps keep the classroom at a reasonable noise level. It is also easy for the students to turn around and ask the people behind them (or in front of them) for help. The teachers desk is off in a corner, and does not take up much room that could be used to the students advantage. There is a table with four chairs around it where individual groups are taken from time to time when they have to work on something if they fall behind or need help. Overall, the children seem to know where everything is in the classroom and everything runs smoothly.
Most of the work done by the students is done at their own desk. The only exception is when they have to do group work. The room actually used to be the teachers lounge but was converted into a classroom. This leaves less room for extra tables. Some group work is done while sitting at desks with their partner, or can be done while sitting on the floor. Like I stated earlier, this seems to work for the children, but the setup of the room is partially teacher-oriented as well.
The room is filled with pictures and projects that the students have created. The teachers desk is covered with pictures that her students have drawn for her. This can show that she is proud of what the students create not only for school but for her as well. Not all projects can be hung up, but at the same time the teacher hates to waste projects that students have put a lot of effort into. When the kids do group projects, all the kids in the class get to bid for the project so that it does not go to waste. Each student can bid up to thirty minutes of their recess time to claim the project. This is much like an auction. When a student bids their time, they stay in and read or work on homework. So there is a sense of pride in the students and their work.
When it comes to resources, the classroom seems to have all the basic things needed to teach. I have seen a bunch of bins on the side, but forgot to take a closer look at them. I believe that is where the students keep materials like markers, crayons, etc.. This keeps their desk storage from getting cluttered, and helps to keep the kids organized. They know exactly where to go when they need to get supplies.
The students all seem to know what to do when they transition from one activity to another. On the right side of the whiteboard is a schedule for the day, with times given. This makes each student aware of what they are expected to do at certain times. When students are working on certain assignments individually, the teacher writes options for what they can do with their time if they finish early. They can read silently, write in journals, etc.. This helps to make sure no one gets off task.
Computers are used on a daily basis whenever I am in the classroom. The school has a cart that contains about thirty macbooks for the students to use. Each child is assigned a number for which laptop to use. They go to many different educational websites to practice certain subjects, and even practice for standardized tests. Whenever there is a writing assignment, they write all their drafts on the computer. Each student gets their own login information so their work gets saved to their account. A television can be connected to a computer so the students can watch the schools daily announcements. Each class gets a chance to do the announcements for one week. They read news, reminders, and make jokes for their announcements. This week was my classrooms week to do the announcements, so all the students were excited to watch themselves. There are also four macbooks that stay in the classroom permanently. The school seems to focus a lot on the use of technology.
Overall from observing I have learned that there are many different ways to effectively set up the classroom. I had to step into another fourth grade classroom for a few moments and their classroom was much different. The room was larger, and it had a Smart Board. The desks were grouped into groups of 4. In the end though, all the students in both classes were learning at equal paces. And the last thing is that you have to be proud of what your students are achieving. Hang their stuff on the wall and show them that you are proud. They will respect you more for noticing, and it might encourage them to try their hardest and be proud of what they make.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Photo Editing Tools...
I recently took a look at some free image editing software to see which ones seemed the most helpful. The first piece of software I ran into was Irfanview. This program is not a very difficult program to use, but this is because there are not a lot of features. The program must also be downloaded and installed onto you computer. What this program does is pretty basic. It allows you to convert picture files to different formats. What it also allows you to do is add a small amount of effects to your image as well. I found this program helpful because it could do tasks that were important, but it was very easy to use.
Another program that seemed to do a good job for being a free is PhotoScape. This program is more advanced than Irfanview, yet it is still simple to use. First off, it has things that can adjust the looks of your picture. You can edit the contrast, levels, and it even has an option to edit the curves as well. You have the ability to crop. You can also add text to your pictures which is a plus. Lastly, you can use the program to get rid of red eye since this program features a red eye tool. This program must be downloaded as well.
Probably one of my favorite ones that I looked at was paint.net. It really has a wide variety of things you can do for a free program. The most impressive thing that I saw was the the program contained a layers tool. I find this useful because I use photoshop a lot. I often use many layers when i work with different images. This gives you a lot more flexibility for what you can do with your pictures. The program has a good amount of effects, which is always good. I rarely use any premade effects, even on photoshop, but it is always good to have those options. It also gives you a history panel like photoshop, so you can go back into the history of what you've done to the image and maybe back up a few steps if you made a mistake. Overall it is a good program, and a great deal for the price.
The links to these programs can be found on the panel to the right under the title Free Image Editing...
Another program that seemed to do a good job for being a free is PhotoScape. This program is more advanced than Irfanview, yet it is still simple to use. First off, it has things that can adjust the looks of your picture. You can edit the contrast, levels, and it even has an option to edit the curves as well. You have the ability to crop. You can also add text to your pictures which is a plus. Lastly, you can use the program to get rid of red eye since this program features a red eye tool. This program must be downloaded as well.
Probably one of my favorite ones that I looked at was paint.net. It really has a wide variety of things you can do for a free program. The most impressive thing that I saw was the the program contained a layers tool. I find this useful because I use photoshop a lot. I often use many layers when i work with different images. This gives you a lot more flexibility for what you can do with your pictures. The program has a good amount of effects, which is always good. I rarely use any premade effects, even on photoshop, but it is always good to have those options. It also gives you a history panel like photoshop, so you can go back into the history of what you've done to the image and maybe back up a few steps if you made a mistake. Overall it is a good program, and a great deal for the price.
The links to these programs can be found on the panel to the right under the title Free Image Editing...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Just took blogging off my bucket list...
Hi guys and gals. I'm not really in the zone right now, so I have no clue what to write. Nothing has really happened today, so I got nothing interesting to say. If you guys really care to know, I woke up at 8am today, and proceeded to get ready for class. I went outside and got to my car. I then remembered that I forgot my notebook, so I had to walk back inside. I left my ipod in my car, so my hands nearly froze off while I tried to change songs in my car. I have a habit of driving with my left hand and just keeping the ipod in my right hand, so my hand got really cold. I enjoyed looking at my breathes in my car because it was so cold out. I spent 10 minutes in my car before I figured out that I didn't turn on the heat in my car. I was wondering why my toes were so cold. I have awful shoes for the winter. I was cold walking through the parking lot. Maybe I'll decide to wear a winter coat some time, but I guess I prefer to freeze. The elevator was on the first floor when I walked in so I didn't have to wait for it. I got into class and sat down, did some listening. Tim spun around 15 times in a chair in 17 seconds. We made a blog.
Cheers,
Andrew
Cheers,
Andrew
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