thing13

=Thing #13 - Online Image Generators=

**Introduction**
Generators? No, we're not talking about those gas powered back-up things. The generators we're talking about allow you to easily manipulate image and graphics to create fun images like these:



Flickr also offers programs called "mashups" that allow you to make custom images from your Flickr photos. For this Thing, we want you to have fun and play around with these fun tools.

**Discovery Exercise:**
If you did the stretch activity on Thing #9, some of this Thing might look familiar! If you didn't, you get another chance to learn how to create custom images that match up perfectly with your needs.

First of all, we need to talk about "mashups".

[|Wikipedia] offers a great [|article] that explains mashups. Basically they are hybrid web applications that take features from one application (like Flickr) and mash it up with another (like Google Maps). In this example, you get [|Mappr](http://mappr.com).

Like many web 2.0 sites, Flickr has encouraged other people to build their own online applications using images found on the site. Through the use of APIs (application programming interfaces), many people have created third party tools and mashups that use Flickr images.

1. Choose a couple of the Flickr mashups below and make a custom image or two:
 * Mappr - allows you to take Flickr images and paste them on a map
 * Flickr Color Pickr - lets you find public photos in Flickr that match a specific color.
 * [|Mosaic Maker] – create a photo mosaic from photos found on Flickr.
 * [|Trading Card Maker] - make a trading card from any digital photo
 * [|Spell with Flickr] - see Thing #9 for an example
 * More mashups, web apps , and [|Flickr tools].

2. Another way to create your own images is by using an online image generator. Use one (or more) of the image or text generators listed below and create a custom image.

Comic Strip Generator [|Custom Sign Generator] [|Image Chef] [|__Happy Face Generator__] There are literally hundreds of text and image generators out there. To find others, try a Google search for online generators, text generators or image generators or visit the [|Generator Blog] which lists new text and image generators almost daily.

3. Be sure that you save all of your creations to your computer.

4. Add at least one of your creations to your blog. Often adding the image you mocked up to your blog is as simple as copying and pasting code that the page provides. If not, you may just need to right click on the image and then save it to your hard drive before using Blogger’s image button to add it to your post.

If you’re having difficulty getting your image added to a post in your blog, ask a colleague for help. In looking at several of your blogs, it’s easy to see that we have lots of people in the district who have figured out how easy it is to add images to their blogs.

**Learning Activity:**
1. Play around with the image generators and Flickr mashups listed above. 2. Create several different types of images and save them to your computer. 3. Post some of your creations to your blog and describe your process for creating them.


 * Note**: Be sure to include a link to the image generator(s) you used, so other participants can discover it too.

4. Write a reflective post about custom image generators. Be sure to include how you might use these in your classroom, library or in your personal life. Label the post Thing #13.

Take some time and have fun with this activity. (And remember to be tasteful too!)