How to Use Unsplash to Find Images for Your Lessons
Unsplash is a great place to find high-quality images that you can use in your teaching materials. Photographers from around the world share their work on the site, and many of the images can be downloaded and used for free under the Unsplash license. You should always check the current license and any restrictions for how you plan to use an image, but Unsplash makes finding usable images much easier than simply grabbing pictures from a Google search.
There really isn't much to learn because the site is very simple. For example, I needed an image of tea for an activity. I searched for tea, looked through the results until I found an image that worked for my lesson, and downloaded it to my computer.
The basic process is:
- Go to Unsplash. Use the search box to look for the type of image you need.
- Browse the images. Look for a photo that fits your topic and the shape you need, such as horizontal, vertical, or square.
- Check the image. Make sure it works for your lesson and review any applicable usage restrictions.
- Download the image. Save the image to your computer.
- Use it in your lesson. Add it to a worksheet, presentation, website, video, or other teaching material.
What's especially useful is that one good image can become the starting point for lots of different content. In my example, I'm going to combine the Unsplash image with an audio recording and turn the two into a simple video with captions. You don't necessarily need complicated video footage to make a video lesson. Sometimes all you need is a good image and an audio file.
That's really it. Unsplash has a huge collection of professional-looking images, and it only takes a few minutes to find something you can use. If you regularly create worksheets, slides, websites, or videos for your students, it's definitely a site worth knowing about.
