lsThe GNU Image Manipulation Program (or GIMP) is a program that helps users make and edit digital images. Whether users are creating pictures from scratch or doing a little touch up work on a photograph, the GIMP makes such work significantly easier to accomplish. Why use the GIMP? For starters, it's free. Anyone--educator, student, or parent--who wants to use the program can can download, install, and start using it immediately. Secondly, it works on a variety of computer platforms--Macintosh, PC, and Linux. Third, this free program can do many of the things Photoshop (a pricey commercial application) does. Finally, it facilitates the integration of technology into curricular activities, preparing learners and instructors for life in the digital economy.

In order to make the best use of the GIMP, potential PC users should...

• install the GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment before installing and starting the GIMP
• download and read the GIMP User Manual.
• get a better understanding of the concepts of transparency and layers
• explore a number of GIMP forums and tutorials

For this training session, we'll focus on using the GIMP to allow us to create images with multiple layers. Being able to construct images with multiple layers gives us enormous creative freedom. To understand why this is so liberating to aspiring digital graphic designers, consider the scenario described below.

Let' s say that we want to help our students understand the concept of individuality. To do this we decide to use a visual resource to supplement oral and text definitions of the term. We're well aware that, even though students hear words, read them, and write them down, our pupils may need additional opportunities to learn what they are all about. Toward that end, we decide to create a poster to display in our classroom that will reinforce the idea of being an individual, standing apart from the crowd. We need an image that'll make this concept a little less abstract for our learners.

We decide to find an image that exemplifies conformity--say a field of flowers--and "remix" the picture so that it creates a visual definition of individuality. Knowing that prudent educators make use of copyright free images, we make our way to the Open Photo Project where we usually search for and download images. After a few minutes of searching we come across an image of daffodils that we're sure we can use.


We read the license concerning use of the image and discover that we're free to to copy, distribute, remix, and transmit the work. Excellent! We download the image to our computer. Next, we use the GIMP to alter the original image, making one of the daffodils blue. We do this by using the GIMP to make a graphic that is composed of two layers.

The first layer--the top layer--of our image is a photograph of the daffodils with one of the flowers cut out, leaving a hole in our picture. It looks something like this:


The second layer--the bottom layer--of our combined image is an intact photograph of the daffodils. Thanks to the magic of the GIMP we colorize this layer, making it completely blue. It looks something like this:


In essence, we place one picture atop the other. The top layer has a "hole" in it allowing us to see the layer below it. Placing both images together, we have a totally new image.
We go from having the original image...


to having our new, two layered, "remixed" image...


After remixing the picture, we drop by a nifty web site called Motivator, where we turn our layered image into a motivational poster type of graphic. Afterwards, we have this...


This kind of image manipulation, being able to take a picture and add layers of varying details and effects to it, makes the GIMP an extremely useful tool for educators who are serious about doing what it takes to help students learn. Even more exciting is the prospect of teaching pupils how to use this resource. Imagine learners who crank up the GIMP in order to create a graphic that represents an idea that has been explored in class. As stated before, this program is free and works on multiple computer platforms. Students can take the GIMP home and use it on their own computers. The GIMP is definitely worth learning how to use.