Create Graffiti Style Text Images

At a recent EdCamp I attended, a student-led session highlighted the idea that the best way to engage learners was for educators to interact with students at their level.  Many ideas and strategies on how to achieve this were exchanged, but the one idea that struck me was that the on-line tools we so proudly use for our classroom activities may not be as engaging as we think!  In order to fully connect with students, it is important to use web tools that fit the interests of the students before us.  In other words, a specific web tool may be engaging to one class but not another.  Clearly, teachers must take this into account and have a Web 2.0 toolkit that includes a diverse set of resources that fits the needs of a wide range of students.  

The De-tech-tive 4 Teachers - Graffiti Style

As a result of this latest revelation, I have begun revisiting some web tools that I had earlier dismissed.  One of these tools is The Graffiti Creator.  The Graffiti Creator allows users to create a graffiti-style name or logo within minutes.  There are many options to choose from including various font styles and artistic features that will add life to your creation.

How to Get Started:

Below is a Graffiti Creator screen-cast tutorial that will assist you in creating your first graffiti-style image:



Sample Activities:

1.  Class Website or Blog - jazz up your classroom on-line space with a graffiti-style message or title.

2.  Student E-portfolios - students can include a graffiti-style name bar to introduce their e-portfolio.

3.  Presentations - insert a graffiti image into any on-line or print based visual.  

NOTE: For on-line insertions, users may need to use 'PrtSc' on their computer keyboard to generate the image.  Once generated, a cropping tool will be needed to crop the excess portions of the image to isolate the graffiti text.  

A special thank you to Dave Guymon (@DaveGuymon) for first introducing me to this web tool.

There is a lot of potential with The Graffiti Creator.  Please feel free to explore the possibilities with your students today!  Click here to get started.

This post originally appeared on The De-tech-tive 4 Teachers.