This three-workshop series, facilitated by Shawn McCusker, will answer all your technical and ethical questions about adding images to educational and outreach materials. We will focus the skills and knowledge we need to create and use images without using AI but we will discuss the use of AI images in the section about copyright and fair use.

Session 1: Practical Image Use for Education

Duration: 90 minutes

Focus: This session will introduce educators to creative and practical uses of images in education. It will cover ideas for classroom applications, selecting image formats, and performing basic edits to prepare images for various educational tools.

Topics Covered:

• Ideas for Using Images in Education: Brainstorm ways images can support learning, visual storytelling, student engagement, and project-based activities.

• Image Formats Overview: Differences between JPG, PNG, GIF, and SVG; selecting the right format for different needs.

• Basic Editing Techniques: Cropping, resizing, adjusting colors, and adding text overlays. 

• Including Images in Common Tools: How to insert and format images in Word, PowerPoint, and Google Slides.

• Hands-On Activity: Educators will work on inserting and editing images in a presentation, practicing size adjustments, cropping, and format selection.

Session 2: Navigating Image Copyright and Sourcing 

Duration: 90 minutes

Focus: This session will address the legal aspects of using images in educational settings, focusing on copyright, open-source images, and ethical sourcing, with particular attention to Canadian copyright laws.

Topics Covered:

• Copyright Basics (Canada): Overview of copyright law as it applies to images, including what educators need to know about using images in classroom materials.

• Open Source and Copyleft Images: Using Creative Commons and other open-source image repositories safely and ethically.

• Using Images in Canva: Understanding licensing and copyright limitations, especially for free accounts.

• Google Image Search by Copyright Permissions: How to filter images based on copyright and reuse permissions.

• Sample Consent Forms: This section includes guidelines for obtaining permission when using images of people and a review of sample consent forms.

• Hands-On Activity: Educators will practice finding and verifying copyright information for images and selecting the appropriate Creative Commons licenses.

Session 3: Optimizing Images for Digital Platforms and Understanding AI in Images

Duration: 90 minutes

Focus: The final session will focus on optimizing images for digital tools, covering dynamic sizing, compression, alt text, and how to handle AI-generated images responsibly.

Topics Covered:

• Dynamic Sizing and Image Compression: Adjusting image sizes for various platforms, focusing on Google Sites, and reducing file size without losing quality.

• Square Images, Transparency, and PNGs: When to use transparent images, creating square images for profile or icon uses, and the advantages of PNGs.

• Alt Text for Accessibility: Writing effective alt text for educational images, with a review of accessibility standards.

• AI Images in Education: Discuss when and how to responsibly use AI-generated images, recognize them, and reference practices. Adobe Express?

• Hands-On Activity: Participants will practice resizing, compressing, and adding alt text to images and work with Google Sites or other web tools to upload and format images for classroom pages or projects.