Let's get Digital, DIGITAL! 12/1/2011



Today's topic for current and future educators is...you guessed it (from the title) something DIGITAL!!
The notion was recently posed to use cameras in the classroom for personal and academic learning. Personally, I think using a digital photography in the classroom is a great idea for many reasons. The images can serve multiple purposes. For instance: images can be used in the class newsletter for parents, projects, student of the week, and virtual field trips. One of my favorite assignments posted online is the self-esteem project.
Summary of instructions: Each student will make a bookmark for one classmate. Students will use the camera to take pictures, in the classroom, of the student who will receive the bookmark. Teacher will assign every student a classmate to make a bookmark for. (This will work with an odd or even number of students. I do not plan on pairing the students. Example: Amber will make a bookmark for Katie, Katie will make a bookmark for Douglas, and Douglas will make a bookmark for Amber or another classmate.) Pictures will then be import into an image storing and editing program for students to create a bookmark for their classmate. My suggestion is to use http://www.picnik.com/, because you do not have to create an account to upload and edit photographs. There are also many features to make the project fun; including stamps/stickers, caption, coloring, touch-up, and framing options. Each bookmark will include the receiver student's name, picture and a compliment from the creator student. A template should be made prior to assigning students to minimize the time it takes to build a bookmark. 
This assignment is a great way to build social development skills as well as incorporate technology into the learning process. I would the self-esteem project as an end of the semester and/or school year activity.
The activity above has been altered for my students. The original, along with several other good idas, can be found at http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~toh/image/DigitalCameraUses.htm.
Happy Cropping!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Trip 1: Day Trip to Jirisan

Image
Be autiful view at Jirisan HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Life in SK is busy and interesting. I have visited so many beautiful places that take my breath away and find me thanking God for the blessing of sight and the spirit of fearlessness.  Last November I attended my first teacher's trip with the 40 faculty members and the administrators. We traveled two hours to Jirisan or Jiri Mountain, one of the largest mountains in South Korea, that spans four provinces. On the way there we played a few games. The best one, to me, was the toilet paper race. My side of the bus lost. Lol It was a bonding moment I will treasure as long as I can remember it. We ate lunch near Jirisan and dinner together once we returned to Daejeon. At the lunch I felt moved to thank everyone for their welcoming and kindness. I got emotional - because we were drinking - and told them they were my family now and that the meal was a replacement for the Thanksgiving I would miss in the states. Many people expressed embarra...
Read more

Open-Class

Image
Yesterday, one of my coteachers and I attended an open-class at an elementary school in 20 minute walking distance of our school. I enjoyed the experience, for many reasons. I chose to attend, because this is a public school with 999 elementary students*. The open-class was a general 40 minute English class for 28 students in E-4 (4th grade);  there were 15 girls and 13 boys. On average the elementary students in this school experience instruction, 80% English and 20% Korean. Approximately 90% of the class was taught in English. Open-class, as I understand it, is a scheduled class where parents, faculty, administrators and academic guests are welcome to sit in the back of a classroom and observe the teaching, students, materials, lesson/s, etc. The invitation was provided about two weeks in advance. Usually a survey is completed afterward. For about 45 minutes post class the observers sat with the teacher and administration to discuss the strengths and weak...
Read more

WebQuests

Hola! Today's topic for educators are WebQuests (WQs).  What are WQs, you say? Before today, I had never heard of WQs.   A WQ is an inquiry-oriented lesson format that incorporates all parts of Bloom's Taxonomy.  Much of or all gathered information that learners work with is from the Internet.  The model was introduced to the world by a professor at the San Diego State University, who was assisted by a member of the Educational Technology staff at the San Diego Unified School District, and members of the Teach the Teachers Consortium.  [The names of these individuals are purposely absent, because there may be a WQ created for you to find their names on your own dear reader.] The announcement was released in February of 1995.  Where have I been?! There are many benefits to using WQs.  Here's a list of supportive reasons: - to encourage high-level thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) from students - to motivate and engage learners ...
Read more