Manipulating Images Using PIXLR

To create my first digitally manipulated image I went to the website pixlr.com and created a free account.  After watching a few instructional videos, I used the Pixlr X photo editor to manipulate an image that I envisioned using at the start of a nutrition unit to help engage the students interest in the topic.

In order to create this image, I took two pictures of myself with different facial expressions.  In the first image I smiled in order to show happiness and that I was feeling good.  In the second image I was frowning and holding my stomach to show that I didn't feel well.  After uploading these pictures to Pixlr, I then removed the backgrounds of the images, added stock photos of different foods (some healthy and some not) and added accompanying text to further clarify what the pictures were meant to show.

The Virginia SOL that my image was created to address is Physical Education SOL "3.5 The student will describe energy balance.  b) Identify one food per group to create a healthy meal that meets USDA guidelines," (VDOE, 2015).  To introduce the lesson on the food groups and eating healthy in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, I thought it would be fun for my students to see a couple of digitally manipulated images of their teacher.  I wanted to provide a visual of how the foods that I ate can affect both my mood and energy levels.

I believe that using this image would help visual learners especially, to be more engaged in the lesson and understand the main concepts that would be covered going forward.  By using the digitally manipulated image in this way I believe that it would wall under "augmentation" on the SAMR model.  I say this because the technology acts as a direct substitute, along with functional improvement to the lesson.

After working with Pixlr, I found that it was mostly intuitive to be able to make the edits to the pictures that I wanted to.  However, I did notice that in the short period of time that I was working I got much better at navigating between the different functions.  I really look forward to continuing to use Pixlr so that I will be more adept at manipulating images by the time I have a classroom of my own.

References:

Gomes, A. (n.d.) De Coracao. Retrieved from https://allecgomes.com/produto/de_coracao

Joyful (n.d.) Cookies on Plate.  Unsplash. Retrieved from https://unsplash.com/@joyfulcaptures

Mockup Graphics (n.d.) Banana.  Unsplash.  Retrieved from https://unsplash.com/s/photos/banana

Mu, M. (n.d.) Green Broccoli. Unsplash. Retrieved from https://unsplash.com/@picoftasty

Thomas, M. (n.d.) Cupcake with White Icing on Top.  Unsplash.  Retrieved from https://unsplash.com/@merittthomas

Virginia Department of Education. (2015) Physical Education Standards of Learning for Virginia Department of Education (3rd Grade).  Retrieved from https://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/physical_education/index.shtml

Warren, S. (2021) Frowning Face [Photograph].

Warren, S. (2021) Smiling Face [Photograph].