Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Add A Pop Of Color Effect - Week 7


Black & white photos with a pop of color are artistic and a great way to draw attention to a focus point. These mini works of art can be created in just minutes. And with by using your phone or tablet, these color effect photos are easier than ever to create. Although there are several different apps available to do create a pop of color effect, one that works very well is called Selective Color Effect. This is an iOS app and can be used on both iPhone and iPad.

Some of the app’s main features:
  • Splash grayscale or any other color on your photo.
  • Multi touch zoom in/out and move.
  • Configurable brush size and splash opacity.
  • Magnifying glass for precise editing.
  • Crop & resize images.
  • Save photos inside the app for future editing.
One great feature is being able to save photos inside the app. All the photos you edit in the app are saved in case you need to go back and edit in the future. And unlike other color effect apps, this app allows you to recolor for free. Which means if you have, let's say, a flower in your photo that is originally yellow and you want to make it purple, you can!

Here’s how the app works.
  • Install the Selective Color Effect app and then open it. 
  • Click Library so the app can find the photos on your device. 
  • The first time you click Library, you’ll see a message: “Color Effect” Would Like to Access Your Photos > Select OK.
  • Once you select and add your photo, it converts to grayscale removing all color.
  • From the bottom menu, select either Color or Recolor to add a pop of color effect.
  • Use the Pan & Zoom tool from the bottom menu to have precise brush strokes. 
  • When you make a mistake, simply click the left undo arrow. 
  • Once you're finished with your creation, click Save. You can add your new color effect photo to your camera roll or share it via various social media sites.
Adding a pop of color effect to your photo to highlight and focus on the most important parts of it has never been so fun! The possibilities are endless.

Note: Because this is a free app, you will see some ads. The good news is the ads are not animated and do not interfere while you’re working on your creation. 

Some web-based options for adding color effect to your photos:

Monday, March 13, 2017

Awesome Tips & Tricks For Google Slides - Week 6

Google Slides is a powerful presentation tool that is easy to use and great for collaboration. There are some features Google Slides has that can take your creations to the next level. Once you tap into some of these features, the possibilities are endless as to what you can make. Here are six awesome tips & tricks to try!
  1. Custom sized slides - By default, Google Slides are set to "Widescreen 16:9" dimensions. There are times you may want to resize your slides depending on the need.You may want to import your Google Slides into Nearpod so you'll want to set them to "Standard 4:3".
    You may want to create a flyer or newsletter for print. For this you can customize the page setup to be 8 ½ X 11. 
    Change the page size to 8 1/2 to 11 to create print-size creations.
    It's simple to change the slide size. Click File > Page Setup and select from the following options:
    Default is Widescreen 16:9 | Sizes: Standard, Widescreen 16:9 & 16:10 Custom) Custom allows you to choose the length & width
  2. Transparency trick - An easy way to make text stand out and your slides have a clean modern look is to create a transparent shape on top of an image. First, add your image to a slide.
    Then, add any shape. Click the shape, select the Fill color paint bucket, and select CUSTOM.
    Slide down the far-right bar to make your shape transparent. 
    Right-click the shape and select Edit Text to add text to your shape.
  3. Masking images (change image shape) - To give your images a different look and effect, you can easily crop them into different shapes with Google Slides. 
    Click the image on your slide > click the down arrow next to the CROP icon > select the shape.

  4. Download your slides as image files - A simple, but useful feature of Google Slides is the download as image option. Since it's so easy to format items in Google Slides, this can be a quick and easy way to create an image you can add to other documents, use for social media, websites, etc. The only downside is that you're limited to downloading one slide at a time. Once you're ready, go to the slide in your presentation that you want to save as an image.
    Click File > Download As > choose from JPEG image or PNG image. 
  5. Auto-advance slides - There are times you may want your slides to advance automatically. To make your slides advance automatically, select File > Publish to the Web. You will choose how many seconds you want your slides to appear and then click Publish. You’ll now have a new link that will be used for presenting your auto-advanced Google Slide presentation.

  6. Theme options - Google Slides has a nice selection of themes for presentations. If you're not finding what you want though, you can find different themes using a site called Slide Carnival. This site has different themes with categories such as:
    Formal, Inspirational, Creative, Simple, Elegant, Playful, etc. 
    Once you find a theme you like, simply click the button under the preview and description that says “USE AS GOOGLE SLIDES THEME” and your new theme will open up in your Google Drive. Once the theme opens in Google Drive, click File > Make A Copy and you can now edit the slides as needed.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Easy Ways To Rotate And Flip Your Videos - Week 5


Have you ever taken a video with your phone that you thought was taken correctly, only to find later it was rotated upside down or in some other direction? Luckily there are different options to help rotate and flip your video.

Using your iPhone or iPad

Video Rotate & Flip app for iOS

  • This FREE app is easy to use and can be installed on your iPhone or iPad. 
  • After you rotate or flip your video, the app will not leave a watermark on your newly saved video. 
  • Another bonus is that there is no time limit. Your video can be short or long in length of time. 
  • Your video will export as MPEG-4 (default) or QuickTime 




Select the video from your photo library, you'll have an option to crop (if needed). On the bottom, you will see icons to Rotate: counterclockwise or clockwise & Flip: vertically & horizontally.
Once your video has been rotated and flipped, click Export on the top-right corner. You can then select "Save Video" and your new video will be saved back into your iPhone or iPad Photo Library. You could also select to save it into your Google Drive.

Using Your Desktop, Laptop, or Chromebook

iMovie - iMovie software must be installed on a Mac desktop or laptop. Import your video (called "media" in iMovie). Your video will be located in "My Media". Click on the video clip you want to rotate. On the top-right you will see a crop icon.

Click the crop icon and then on the top-right you will see rotate left and right icons. These will allow you to rotate your video.

WeVideo - WeVideo is web-based and can be used on Mac, PC, desktop, laptop, and Chrombook. You can sign-up and login with your Google account or register using an email address. WeVideo has a free and paid "premium" version. Import your video (called "media" in WeVideo). Once your video is imported into My Media, drag the video into your Timeline or Storyboard. Click your video clip and you will see a pencil which allows you to edit. Click the pencil. ** Exported video in WeVideo will have a WeVideo watermark and bumper unless you are using the Premium or paid version.

Under Transform, you will see Rotation (Left or Right) & Flip (Horizontal or Vertical).

- - - - -

To help prevent your videos from being rotated in the wrong direction, notice where your timer is when taking video. If you're taking a video and the timer is on the bottom of your screen, your video will be upside down. The timer should be located on the top of your screen.