Tech Thursday: Remove photo backgrounds

Remove distracting backgrounds for avatar-ready photos.

This is a fun tool for creating photos that remove distracting background elements. Some instructors have taken to using bitmojis as avatars in online environments, and this is an alternative that uses an actual picture of yourself. It’s very simple to upload any picture to remove.bg, where the background is automatically detected and removed. You can then edit the picture, and add a custom background.

Here’s what a side-by-side of the original image of Vice President Kamala Harris and President Obama compared to a new version with a blurred background:

Original photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters, published in Business Insider

Past Tech Thursdays

• “Make a copy” function in Google Drive

• Providing audio feedback

• Canvas “What-if” grades

• Working in shared Google docs

• Managing references

• Custom URLs & QR codes

• Text Expanders

• Interactive quizzing

• Screen share in Zoom

• Mailbird email program

• Using screenshots

• Voice-to-text options

• Wheel of Names (random name generator)

• Collaborating in Google Slides