The tools were fun! It doesn't seem like you need a Flickr account to use most of them... I just uploaded existing images from my hard drive straight to the Big Huge Labs web site and went from there. I really wanted to make a montage, but I didn't have the patience to upload that many pictures right now. I successfully made a jigsaw puzzle and even considered ordering one as a gift for my puzzle-loving mother-in-law... until I saw that they charge $40 for a 252 piece puzzle. Yowser!
What I did complete instead is a new header for this blog (see above) with the tool at Big Huge Labs. I used the picture I took for the Thing 5 assignment. The only problem was the header text was not legible in front of the photo (no matter what color I changed it to) so I had to tweak the picture a bit in my favorite photo editing application, Paint Shop Pro. I cropped out the funky edges and added a text box with white background that had my blog title. Voila! I like it much better!
There were lots of new terms for me in this assignment: API's, mashups... I am so glad I am taking this course!
Further thoughts on Flickr: I like it as a tool for research, enjoy its fun extras, and can see how some enjoy the community. I really like the map feature - what a fabulous resource when you're planning a vacation! But when it comes to storing, organizing, and sharing my images I still prefer Ofoto. I'm not comfortable with the public share feature of Flickr (although I know it can be set to private). There are so many tools that make it easy to enhance digital photos and turn them into amazing projects - and it seems like you can use them with or without a Flickr account. I noticed that Big Huge Labs has tabs for Photobucket users as well, which I've used for years. I'd say I will use Flickr more as a result of this class, but probably won't be transferring my own pix to their site.
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2 comments:
Hi Staci
Love the banner for your blog. Nice job. Big Huge Labs is a really fun place to play and I have to admit I can spend way too much time there...... Especially when I am avoiding dusting or cooking :-)
I also have to admit that while Flickr is fun to play with, I don't see myself using it with any regularity although my Niece is bugging me to get some pictures shared with her and this would be a good way.
Check out the Teacher Tube videos on Flickr Storm....that has some great implications for teachers.
Ann
Leave it to you, Staci to come up with something so creative! When I was first creating my blog I looked through the templates that were available and then looked through other people's and loved the one you created. I kept looking for it in the templates but couldn't find it and I was disappointed. As I read through your blog I now know that you created it using one of the Web 2.0 tools! The very reason to take this course!! I hope to go back to some of these tools and do a little more exploring after I have completed the course and "Big Huge Labs" is one I certainly want to try. Anyway, I love your header and I'm not surprised at all that you created it!
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