Image Basics

Getting Images
Many different types of images and graphics exist on the Internet. You can look at space images from NASA, civil war photos from the Library of Congress, or maps from the US Census Bureau. You'll also see losts of "icons" as you cruise the Internet. These are the buttons, arrows and bars that people use to spruce up their web pages.

There are areas with which you should be familiar if you are going to use images off of the Internet. The first is technical (file types) and the second is copyright issues. Image files that are on the Internet might be digitized art, such as photographs or paintings, or might be computer generated art, such as a picture that a student draws in a paint program. In any case, the image file must be saved as a certain type of file called a "file format." The most popular graphic file formats are .gif, .pict, .tiff, .pic, and .jpg. Although any of these formats can be viewed on a macintosh or windows computer, you must have a "viewer," a piece of software which is designed to display graphic images, or a software package which can handle graphic files (these include SuperPaint, KidPix, Photoshop, Hyperstudio, Linkway, Pagemaker, and even many word processing programs).

Images which you "grab" off of the Internet can be printed out or used in a software program as part of student work or curriculum materials. The images can also be used on world wide web pages.

However, images from the Internet should not be reproduced (either on paper or in computer memory) unless you have received permission or know that the images are not copyrighted. If it is not clear whether a specific image is public-domain or copyrighted, ask. Often you can find this information or an e-mail contact address on an associated web page or in an index file on an FTP site. Even though you might think Disney wouldn't care if your students used a picture of Mickey from their web site -- they do care and you are in copyright violation if you use it without permission.

The good news is that there are many public-domain image files on the Internet, including much of the material provided by the U.S. Government and its agencies.

To download an image using a web browser, point to the image and hold down the mouse button (for Mac users) or click the right mouse button (for PC users). A menu of available options will appear. If the web site allows it you'll be able to save the image file by choosing the option for saving an image. In Netscape, choose "Save this Image," in Microsoft's Internet Explorer, choose, "Save Picture As."

Once you've downloaded the file to your computer you can view it with your web browser by choosing File, Open File, and selecting the filename.

Printing Images
Color printers available for less than $500 allow you to print images you find on the net to use. Images can be printed on any printer though quality will depend on the printer. Remember, not all images available on the net are public domain though, so you need to familiarize yourself with applicable copyright laws and ask permission if needed.

Sample Images
Many image archive sites are easily found using any www searching system, such as Alta Vista or Yahoo (see Lesson 2). Below are some interesting sample sites.

Weather Images
Color image of a hurricane and a tornado:
http://covis.atmos.uiuc.edu/guide/clouds/storms/gifs/

Listing of weather resource sites:
http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sercc/education.html

Space Images
Color images of Saturn
http://www.nasm.edu/ceps/RPIF/IMG/SATURN/

Color image of earth taken from Space Shuttle (GC2.gif is the Grand Canyon)
http://www.nasm.edu/ceps/RPIF/SSP/

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
http://www.nasm.si.edu/

Maps
The Weather Channel Weather Maps
US Census Bureau

Activity:
1. Download an image from one of the above sites and print it out.