Free images to use in the Classroom

I prefer to make resources for my learners using photos rather than clipart, however these can be hard to come by for free or low cost. I did happen to stumble across the site freeimages.com today while looking for a new background image for this blog. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see how many free images there were. 

First sign up and you will receive a confirmation email. Once registration is finished, you can search for the subject of photograph you are looking for. 

You will then be taken to the search results page. You can choose to look through them all or click the Free Files tab. There's also Advance Settings on the left to filter results: Order, By Photographer, Date Uploaded etc.

Once you have clicked the image you will see all the details and the photographer. You can then choose the size to download.

It's brilliant! 

Using table top space

I have limited space to display work on my walls. I have 2 pin up boards and am not allowed to hang anything directly on the walls. I also have plain white laminate tables, which do not really match the rest of our studio and so I solved both problems. 

I bought the clear plastic from Lincraft but you can find it in many places. The plastic has flattened out over time, however you could lay them out in the sun to or use a hair dryer on a low setting to smooth it out.

The students have responded well and asked for their work or photos to be displayed on the tables. They do get dirty still and some students may get creative with the scissors around the edges but I am still happy with the decision.