Pic Monkey – Such Fun!

I’ve been doing some work with digital photo editing tools lately. I’ve always wanted to be a pro at photoshop, but have never made the time (nor earmarked the $$ for the investment!). My colleague Gabby and myself came across a website called Pic Monkey which is a) free to use with options to upgrade for some premium features and b) easy to use! You can do a fair bit with what is available with the free version. I’ve included some of my initial tests to this post. There are many things you can adjust including the warmth of the photo, fades, colour adjusting, red eye removal, fades, frames and themes to name a few. Not only do I see a straightforward way to edit photos for a Holiday Letter to send to family and friends, but I can use this app in the classroom for lessons in Art, and to adjust photos for lesson plans.

Here is the original photo:

pic monkey original photo

I’m a huge fan of coffee.

This is the first attempt at fun editing:

picmonkeyphoto1

Fun!

And the second:

picmonkey2

Such sparkles!

It’s a fun website to play with. Looking forward to implementing some fun photos into lesson plans and e-content in the classroom!

This is a first…

My first blog post. Ever! It feels a little like a one sided conversation. I am catching myself pausing at appropriate times to wait for responses or feedback. Eventually, I’m sure this format will become more familiar.

I find myself reflecting on a great deal more than educational philosophies and instructional techniques these days. Often I think about the road that has brought me here: to this new path of pursuing an entirely different degree that will lead to a new career!

I wanted to be a musician since I can remember. Many global economic circumstances have led me to brainstorm different ways that I can make up a career, still including my musical pursuits, but needing something else. This has forced me to look beyond “what I want to be when I grow up” but think about how I want to be when I grown up. What impact do I want to make on the world? How can I most effectively make that impact and still feel as challenged and fulfilled as I did when pursuing music full time? Many hours of brainstorming, reflecting, and a few tears led me to my pursuit of education. I am lucky in that I am still able to be a classical musician and pursue that love while I explore my new path. I am also lucky I live in an area of the world where education is valued and available to us. It is and will continue to be challenging but, as I have been told many times along the way, nothing that is worth doing is going to be easy.

Bring it on! 🙂