For this week, I found a website that is much more user-friendly than the first article I posted. It explains how the camera works.
One of my blogger group members stated that the digital camera is a necessary piece of technology in school libraries. I feel that is should be required in all school libraries. Here is the website: How Stuff Works
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/digital-camera.htm
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3 comments:
Janine,
I too believe that digital cameras have a place in the school library media center. They can be utilized to display photos of students next to book reviews they have written, students reading poetry during yearly events such as National Poetry Month, cultural events, etc. Also, most digital cameras have a video component which can also be uploaded to a school computer. Students can visit the library to view and listen to their peers make brief recommendations of books they have enjoyed reading.
With the price of digital cameras at an all-time low, this is certainly a must for any school library.
I have used the digital camera in my school this year only once. It is suppose to be school property and unfortunately it is guarded like the kings property.
My students enjoyed seeing themselves in pictures and the parents enjoyed viewing their child in activities more. It is a great olive branch to parents. We are always crying we need their help and support, so we have to find activities that supports those beliefs.
I have seen the camera used for several activities, family tree activities, before and after projects, speeches, science projects and etc..
I agree, it is a great tool to have.
Janine,
Here is an excerpt from a very interesting article on the use of digital cameras in education. I remember reading this some time ago and thought you might be interested in it now that you are exploring that technology.
To be honest, I always felt a bit uncomfortable using things like digital cameras with the students because I was afraid they would damage it in some way. However, since the students are so tech-savvy, they really enjoy it and really make every effort to be careful with the cameras (at least the high school students that I work with). Every year I see the seniors around the school taking pictures of various activities and events for their yearbook, and I am always glad to see how seriously they take the job.
Anyway, the complete article about digital cameras can be found at
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml. Below is an excerpt of the article by Linda Starr.
TWO DOZEN DIGITAL CAMERA ACTIVITIES
The best way to get started using digital cameras, according to Nansen, is to "Just jump in. Take pictures of each student in the room and put them on the bulletin board or use them in a computer presentation. The worst thing that can happen is that you'll make mistakes and waste a little time -- but that is part of learning too."
Why not "jump in" today by trying one of these two dozen activities for using digital cameras in the classroom!
Photograph students dressed up as what they want to be when they grow up and use the pictures to illustrate career reports.
Take lots of pictures while on a class field trip. Have students write a caption for each picture, post the photos and captions to a Web site to create a virtual field trip.
Photograph “a day in the life of your classroom" for parent Open House. Create a slide show to run as parents tour your classroom.
Store a photograph with each student's electronic portfolio.
Assign pairs of students to walk through the school to find such examples of geometric shapes as circles, triangles, parallel lines, obtuse angles, and so on. Label each photo and create a geometry book.
Photograph community landmarks and have students create a brochure about your community.
For younger students, take pictures of easily recognizable signs in your community and assemble the photos into an "I Can Read" book.
Use photographs to illustrate the process for complicated projects or for science experiments.
Write a class novel and illustrate it with live-action photos of your students.
Take pictures of class procedures and display them in the classroom as a reminder.
Create a seating chart with photographs for substitutes.
Take pictures of each child’s eyes, nose, feet, or mouth only. Have children try to match each student to his or her body part.
Make picture frames for a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift. Glue each photo into a decorated jar lid and glue a magnet to the back.
Document the growth of classroom plants or animals with daily or weekly photos.
Take photos of school staff performing their duties. Write a caption for each photo and create a Community Workers book.
Snap a black-and-white headshot of each student, size it to ¼ page, and place a box frame around it. Place a blank box the same size as the framed picture beside it. Have students draw ½-inch to 1-inch gridlines in pencil in both boxes and label the gridlines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on in each direction. Then have students try to duplicate their pictures by drawing only what they see in each grid.
Take a photograph of each student at the beginning and end of the school year. Have students complete Venn diagrams of themselves, showing how they have -- and haven’t -- changed during the year.
Compile a set of file cards naming such abstract concepts or emotions as freedom, love, hate, honor, joy, sorrow, patriotism, responsibility, and respect. Have students select a card at random and take a photograph illustrating that concept.
Have each student choose a letter and find an object that begins with that letter. Take a picture of the child with the object and use the pictures to create a class alphabet chart.
Arrange students into groups and assign each group one of the five senses. Have each group photograph the appropriate sensory organ and then have them take pictures of objects that organ might best perceive.
Take pictures to illustrate such science concepts as food chain, biodiversity, biome, and so on.
Have students go on a photographic scavenger hunt, taking pictures of the objects they find rather than retrieving the objects themselves.
Take pictures of plants or animals in your community and use them to create a field guide of local wildlife.
”We're just beginning to realize the potential of what digital photography can do for us," Lori Miller, technology instructor at Wacona Elementary School in Waycross, Georgia, told Education World last week. "Embrace it and share your ideas with others who might be hesitant. Brainstorm with students and fellow teachers. Try some of the ideas you come up with, write down what works and what doesn't work, and then, brainstorm again. The more you learn, the more you'll want to learn about digital photography."
Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
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