Thing 3: Photo Fun (Option 1)

One of the most difficult things for me as a teacher, and also as a graduate student, has been finding pictures that I am actually allowed to use without fear of breaking a copyright law. For this tool, I wanted to explore one of the websites with copyright free images so that I could provide it as a tool to students, and for myself. In the article by Kathleen Morris, she makes it very clear that using Google Images is not actually a good option for finding pictures, as most of them are copyright protected. However, it is usually the quickest way to find pictures, and it is often the most familiar to students. I admit to having a hard time trying to not use Google Images because it is so convenient, and also very exact. When I search a topic for pictures, it usually gives literal images before any abstract images pertaining to my search. In the past when I have tried to use the Advance Search option in Google to use copyright free images, I grew very frustrated because the images did not always or literally match my search. And when working with English language learners, I often need a literal example of an English word. If students do not know what a lion is, then I want to help them understand by showing a picture of just a lion, rather than a picture of multiple African animals that was taken by a professional photographer. Aside from my grieving the use of Google Images, I was not aware that “Even if you cite the source of the image, you are not allowed to use images that are protected by copyright” (Kathleen Morris, 2018). I truly thought that if you cite whatever you use, that it is perfectly fine to take. Additionally, I did not know that everything published online is protected by copyright by default, which Kathleen Morris also states in her definition of copyright when compared to creative commons. I am actually working on my doctorate right now, and was fully unaware of either of these facts, and I feel ashamed. I also now feel a duty to teach my students about this, which is why I wanted to explore a website that allowed me to search copyright free images. I chose to use Unsplash. I really liked how easy it was to use, as the search bars appeared like Google, with the ability to use a small search bar at the top of the screen, or a larger search bar in the middle of the screen. I loved that I could freely search, without needing to login or create any sort of account, and although other websites indicated that I needed to be 13+ years old, I was never asked on the site. Downloading was also as simple as the click of a bottom when hovering the cursor over the desired picture. I decided to search with the term “learning” and found some more typical or literal pictures of students on laptop computers, or piles of books which would indicate learning, but I purposely picked a more abstract picture for this assignment of a hand holding a compass in front of a forest. I think that learning can be an abstract concept, and I realized that I could use some of these more abstract pictures, even with my English language learners to promote discussion. Maybe not always showing them an exact literal image (not that there truly would be one for “learning” since that is different for every individual) of a concept could produce more discussion and dialogue. This could help students improve their language, and their understanding because it would occur in a more exploratory way than in me telling them something and essentially asking them to memorize it. One thing that I am now implementing in my classroom is the use of free writing time to begin class, and I am using pictures to do that. I show students a picture that is slightly abstract and ask them to write about it. They can write about what they see, what they think, what they feel, what they understand, or what they want to know. I started this in my lessons just a few weeks ago, and was using Google Images, but now I will use Unsplash, as I am quite impressed with the pictures that are available. I also feel much better about using these pictures since I am sure that I am not breaking any laws, and I am being ethical about retrieving them.