Thing 7: Online Image Generators

Most of us don’t have the time or the artistic talent to create specialized graphics or logos for projects. Enter the Online Image Generator! These fun tools let you create many types of images – framed pictures, slide shows, comic-style captions, trading cards, calendars, and much more.

This exercise is all about FUN!

Why use this tool? Create trading cards of authors, scientists, historical figures, or even concepts you’re trying to teach or promote. Media specialists can support teachers by helping students create images around astronomy, algebraic equations, historical figures (“I’ll trade you two Ben Franklins for an Eleanor Roosevelt!”). Students and staff can create trading cards of themselves to help them get to know each other. Other possibilities include creating a calendar with an image related to what you’re promoting that month, or a mosaic with multiple images related to your books, videos, or other resources.

Use the images generators in summer reading programs, book clubs, training, and more. Librarians at Carleton College are using trading cards as a way to reach their students.

Graphics are a great way to convey information and can add some fun and creativity to your Web sites. Create customized images for your PowerPoint presentations, Web pages, and other projects. This is also an opportunity to think about copyright and licensing issues–some image generators use characters from popular TV shows (The Simpsons, South Park–is this legal or part of the Internet free-for-all?

The possibilities are endless! As is the time you can spend playing around with these sites—beware!

1. Play around with some of the image or text generators and find one that you like.
2. Create an image that illustrates your 23 Things @ NEFLIN activities.
3. Upload the image to your blog to share with others (be sure to include a link to the image generator itself so other participants can discover it too.) Adding the image you mocked up to your blog may be 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 co-worker for help.

Resources

• Big Huge Labs
• Image Chef
• Toon Doo
• The Generator Blog
• Letter James
• Also try searching for online generators, text generators or image generators!

Tag made by tiny tags found on the Generator Blog.

Blog Prompt

• Consider how you can use these tools in your library or media center.