Google Picasa

I have been experimenting with Google Picasa this morning. It is a free program that Google offers as a way to edit, compile, and share photos. I easily downloaded the program onto my computer and I was eager to try it out. At first I found the program frustrating because I went in with guns blazing, not noticing that "deleting" a picture or folder from Picasa was actually sending the pictures and folders to my recycling bin. I quickly noticed the problem and realized I wanted to choose to "Remove" the files from Picasa instead.

As you can see above, I used the program to create a collage of pictures from a recent field trip. The program is simple to use and I think it could be very useful in an educational setting. Students can easily share a photo and add it to a blog. It could be a fabulous tool to use in a creative writing class to spark imagination. The applications of this program seem bountiful and I would recommend teaching colleagues to think about using in their classes.

To use this software, students would have to have a background in uploading digital photos. Though the program makes it simple, students would definitely need to have experience with uploading and/or importing photos from a camera, SD card, etc. Picasa makes it easy to share pictures and creations. You can easily email photos or automatically upload a photo to www.blogger.com. Pictures can also be exported or sent to be printed. You even have the option to buy prints. I thought that was awesome.

Students can easily collaborate using this program. Students can easily edit photos and share them in the multiple ways. Students would need very little explanation on how to edit and how to share the photos. The only thing students would need is a place to share or email to. For example, I might ask students to create a blog first and allow other students to follow, comment on, and have access to the blogs. Otherwise emails could be exchanged. And of course, a Google account could also be easily used. The possibilities are endless and I would highly recommend it.