Photo Project apps are used for creating collages (with labels or information) and annotating pictures. The products of these apps are perfect for "layering" into other apps to create a more complex final product. For example: students might make a PicCollage and use that as a background graphic for a Thinglink project or insert multiple Visual Poet images into the 30Hands app to record narration and create a video.
Some examples in the classroom might be:
- Math - Create a collage of shapes, patterns, or geometric terms with short captions to explain. Create a visual dictionary of math vocabulary.
- Science - Create a collage of images with short captions from an experiment. Create a visual dictionary of science vocabulary.
- SS - Create a collage with short captions for events in history or about a famous person.
- ELA - Create visual poetry. Create collages to describe the setting, characters, events, etc. in a story.
- Other - Create collages to be used as illustrations for projects created in other apps like Pages, Keynote, iMovie, etc. Create infographics about a topic.
My Favorite Photo Project Apps
There are so many good options and each have a slightly different product so I can't possibly pick just one! Here are some of my favorites.
PicCollage - http://gcisdtraining.wikispaces.com/App-PicCollage
With PicCollage, students create photo collages with multiple pictures and text. Photos can be added from the camera or photo library. (NOTE: It is not recommended to let students explore the gallery or import pictures directly from the web.) PicCollage also has built in frames for organizing your images.
Visual Poet - http://gcisdtraining.wikispaces.com/App-Visual+Poet
Visual Poet is similar to PicCollage except that it has just one frame with 3 photo spots (like the picture on the app icon). Strips of text can be added to each picture. It's great for creating a graphic to be used in a larger presentation.
Skitch is used mainly for annotating over a single picture. Students might take a picture of a science experiment and label what was happening or they might take pictures of geometric shapes in the real world and label the parts. Skitch also has built in maps and, if your students are using Evernote, any PDF in the linked Evernote account can be opened and annotated in Skitch.
PhotoCard Lite is a great app for creating postcards. One image can be inserted on the front side (or you could use a saved PicCollage if you want more than one image) and students write the message on the back. Check out my blog post from May to learn more: http://goo.gl/1P7ND1
What’s your favorite photo project app and why? Leave us a comment!