Pic Collage: Management Tips

I know I tend to use and abuse Pic Collage, but when you have an app this versatile, it is hard not to do so. many teachers within my schools use this tool, but I want to add an element that I think will make it even more useful. 

If you create an account and log all the student devices into that account, the student work will automatically distribute to your iPad. That also has some disadvantages, because it will also go to all the students' iPads. The later issue can be resolved with proper expectations being set and procedures firmly established. 

1. Make sure all students are clear that they are not to edit another student work. I often use the comparison of a younger brother or sister coloring all over a piece of artwork they have created. How irritating that is tends to hit home with students.
2. Make sure you establish that this is a great opportunity. By having access to every students' works so quickly, the teacher will greatly benefit because of the ease of use. The students also benefit because they can view the quality work that their classmates are producing. The share-ability is something to celebrate. 
3. Along with the share-ability, expectations need to be established that there is a mutual respect for the works displayed. Everyone will produce their best work. Everyone will celebrate the abilities each student possesses. 

These are the tips I have in regards to establishing a positive Pic Collage climate. If you have any other suggestions, please share them by making a comment below this post. 

Here is the video with instructions on how to sign students into one account and where to find the pieces created by students:

Along with this subject, I created a document that demonstrates how to turn off the social buttons as well as the pictures from the web. There are lots of opportunities for ease of access with the pictures from the web. However, I've had several occurrences where this caused much grief for teachers. I've contacted Pic Collage about their filtering and also the use of copyrighted pictures. I did not receive much response as to it being much of an issue. I ultimately want to keep our youngsters safe, and know teachers agree.

One way to resolve this issue is to just provide the pictures through email or create a shared folder through Google Drive or Skydrive. This will require more work on the teacher's part, but if the access to web photos creates concern for you as an educator, there are other solutions. Please let me know if I can help you with this process. 

If you would like instructions on how to turn off "photos from web," you can click here.