Is it ironic that I am suggesting the use of technology here to add a “personal touch” to your course materials? It certainly seems odd to me, but it just makes sense. We use so much technology to create the materials we use, but we often limit ourselves to interesting photos, clip-art, and different fonts to make it ‘ours’. Well, if you have the new app Paper, from FiftyThree Inc, then technology has brought you full circle. What makes this app so useful is that you are able to share images with an alpha channel. This means that the background becomes transparent, so you are able to overlay your image over other things.
I have been using Paper recently to save sketches, text, and charts to add to my course materials. I have used it on my course websites, Keynote presentations, and classroom handouts. It is simply a great way to make your materials more personal.
Check out this short Youtube video to see how I added a self-portrait and some text to a Keynote presentation.