Do you remember Polaroids and the suspense of having to wait for photos to develop? Fortunately today we no longer have to "shake it like a Polaroid picture" because of the development of the digital camera. The digital camera is much quicker and more efficient, not to mention less taxing on the wrist. Until recently cameras were considered an unlikely tool for classroom use, but digital cameras are easy, fun to use, and offer teachers nearly unlimited opportunities to engage students and to incorporate technology into the curriculum.Although cameras have the highest students engagement at the elementary school level, they can still be included at the middle and high school levels. Teachers can use cameras to document projects and different class events, whether it be field trips or parties. Students can use cameras to take pictures to add to reports and document projects among many other things. By having students include their own pictures in their reports they can better understand what primary sources are and why they are important.
Here are some of the ideas for how cameras could be used in a social studies classroom:
- History Scrapbooks: Students would use digital cameras to document experiences that they go on whether it be a field trip, family vacation, or even around their own town. Students take pictures of items, places, or even people that are of some type of historical significance. The students would have to include the location that they saw the thing and give a brief description of why it is or why they think it is significant and include it in their scrapbook.
- Historical Experience Board: Have students bring in pictures that they have taken and add them to the Historical Experience Board in the classroom. On this board will also be a map of the country and of Virginia so students can put a pin on the map where they took the picture.
Although using digital cameras in the classroom is an exciting activity, it is important that teachers should keep in mind the potential difficulties. Some things to remember are that when letting students use digital cameras are that they need to be monitored to ensure that the photos are appropriate for school, privacy needs to be stressed, and the risk of damage to the equipment is high.
Ultimately, cameras offer endless possibilities for classroom use because photos can almost instantaneously be added to the computer, printed off, and shared. Students love taking photos as well as being in them, so why not take advantage of an interest that our students already have!
Learn more about how you can use digital cameras in your classroom HERE.
Say cheese!
I found your blog post extremely interesting. I am a "shutter-bug", and photography is one of my favorite hobbies! I think teachers could also benefit from using digital cameras in the classroom. It's an easy way to document student work (or record student work samples). It's nice to have memories of your classes, and the yearbook staff would probably appreciate candid shots, too!
ReplyDeleteIn one of my graduate level courses, the text book had a chapter about using photography to promote cultural diversity with a "photo journal". Students took pictures of their homes, and places and things that were important to them. Pictures are also a great way to start writing prompts. Another thought: "publishing" student photographs could be a great motivator in the classroom, too!
I had never really considered how to use digital cameras in the classroom aside from the more obvious method of documenting school trips. I think the best part of digital imaging is that a single picture can be given to each member of the class at no cost to the student or the teacher. The image can also be manipulated or altered, which also opens up a new range of possibilities. The comment above mine mentions how photos can serve as writing prompts. I LOVE this idea. As a future educator of English (that broad discipline that includes the study of literature and composition), the idea of using a photograph to prompt writing can be a way to help students understand abstract concepts as well as prompt descriptive writing. I could see using a single photo for the entire class and then depending on their readiness level, assign groups to talk about the same photo in a unique way - i.e. one group would focus on the descriptive properties while another group might focus on a narrative that involves whatever object is in the photo. Using original photos also helps teachers avoid any copyright issues they might face through using an image they found online.
ReplyDeleteDue to the Graduate School's Inquiry project, I have become more aware of the use of photography (and videography) in the classroom. I value this tool and have seen it to be very beneficial. One example that I would like to share just happened the other day. The students set up a "Winter Wonderland Village" full of electricity/circuits and moving parts that all tied together. I walked around and took pictures of each student's village building. Within that same day was about to upload all of the pictures and make a brief slideshow for the students to watch at the end of the day. During the picture slideshow, all of the students were engaged. Afterwards, we had a great discussion on the project & the students were able to debrief and reflect on their learning. Sometimes it is difficult for students to understand their strengths and weaknesses unless they are able to visually see it. Digital photography allows for this concrete representation that so many young people need. I think digital photography is great! Thank you for posting about such a helpful resource!
ReplyDeleteI love all of these ideas both in your posting and in the comments! The schools I attended were hardly this creative, but I believe I would have greatly benefited from this technology in the classroom. I actually opted to use a digital camera in my Trigonometry class in high school. I developed the project with camera usage because I thought it could make learning math a little more fun--which it did. I took pictures of "real-world" triangles and calculated different equations to go alongside the pictures. The camera gave me a critical eye for math's real-world application (something a lot of students struggle with). As a future English teacher, I think I'd use digital cameras in grammar exercises. Students could be assigned a part of speech and then go take pictures of examples and explain why they photographed the objects they did.
ReplyDeleteDigital cameras would be awesome to use in the classroom! I would love to have one provided by the school that my students could use. Kids love taking pictures. I like the idea of taking pictures of places around the school and creating a map. Taking pictures of various stations, activities and parts of the day for the class schedule would help students visually know what's coming next. The idea of having them take pictures of themselves, their families, or important items/parts of their lives. This way they could share about their lives in a medium that speaks louder than just through words. What a fun technological way to engage children in the classroom.
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