Thing #9

This image was used using redkid.com http://www.redkid.net/generator/cubs/newsign.php?line1=We+are+not+as+cool&line2=as+Fenway%21&Go+Cubs=Go+Cubs If you're a baseball fan, it is obvious that I am a Red Sox fan ( there was not an  option to upload your own photo, otherwise I would have a photo of Fenway Park with "Yankee Cemetary" in a caption). Using generated images like these in presentations, handouts, PowerPoints, blogs, etc. are a great way to emphasize a point or enable students to remember important information. As an English teacher I could use an image of Hamlet on a study guide handout with his famous "To be, or not to be..." lines on a computer generated tshirt. The image would look out of place and using a sense of humor would help students to remember the joke but also answer correctly the question: Who spoke these famous lines? However, I think the best way to use web generated signs are as decoration in the classroom. "Turn in" boxes, bathroom passes, designated areas, and bulletin boards. While I understand the importance of generated images, I also know that students of all ages can get carried away with the "fun" part of a lesson and end up completely missing the educational reasons for an activity. I think that if in the end it does not enhance a lesson plan it should not be used.