Cool Tool Review #1

The tool I chose for this week was Loupe collage. It is a website/application that you can make picture collages into just about any shape. You can make and download a collage picture, make a card for any occasion, or play a game of "where's waldo" with different picture collages. It's quite an interesting application/website that I would have never thought to look for let alone use. To make a collage you have to upload pictures or use preloaded pictures from the website itself. Then you pick the shape or word that you wish to use for the pictures to form, then you name your collage. For example I used pictures of my family and friends and named it family love and made it into a heart. The more pictures you use, the better the shape will come out. It can also make am actual collage with your images by just adding the pictures that you want in the collage so it's a good way to create an easy collage for someone "like teachers" that are always busy. You are able to download whatever works you create and then print them off or do what you would like with the collage, however, it isn't as good if you don't upgrade to the pro version for which you have to pay.

I would use this tool in the classroom to create collages of each students name or make the name of the class or class number out of all of the pictures throughout the year of the students in the class. I would also use this tool for sight words or pictures for matching and play a where's waldo game with it. I would start by making words on a piece of paper and having a student pick a word or sentence from a pile or jar and then have them find that word or sentence in the collage that I pre-make for that days lesson. I would use this tool in the classroom because it's an easy way for students to get involved and allow them to be the teacher for a moment.

The students could use this in the classroom and out because it's something that can be downloaded to apple products or just used on the computer as a website. It could easily be turned into an assignment for homework where each student had to put pictures together and come up with their own collage to show to their classmates as a presentation piece for a get to know you activity. Parents might have to help with this unless the class had full access to computers to use one on one at least a few times a week. the challenge is that students would have to know how to use the website and have basic computer skills where you can upload or download files and pictures. This would be a lot easier for older students in grades 3 and up without help or supervision. It is not something you can supervise easily in a computer lab unless the teacher can see every screen at once. Also there is no way to block anything from being uploaded, so if students wanted they could do something inappropriate to try to be funny. As a teacher I can only hope that it wouldn't happen.

http://www.getloupe.com/ is the website you need and from there you can download the application or just start your loupe.