Digital+Images

1. I learned that digital imaging can be used in many ways in the classroom. Also, there are many things to look for when deciding what camera to buy. Megapixels are not as important as people make them out to be unless you plan to blow pictures up to poster size. They only determine how much a camera can take, they do not make the quality of picture better. [|Choosing a Digital Camera for Your Classroom]



2. The camera I would choose for my classroom would have optical zoom not digital zoom. Optical zoom actually zooms in and out. The lens actually gets closer or further from the subject. Digital zoom uses technology to figure out what would be there if it zoomed in. Quality is not very good when using digital zoom because the camera does not actually zoom in. Also, I would make sure to get a camera with video capabilities so I could make videos as well. I would look for at least 640x480 and 30 frames per second. Finally, I would choose either a Canon or a Nikon. These are both good brands. I have used a Canon and have never had any problems with it. My sister-in-law uses a Nikon and loves it.

3. Students are using digital cameras for many things in the classroom. They use them to take class pictures, take pictures to attach to class updates that are e-mailed to parents, and to make class books.

Ten ideas I would use in my curriculum are: 1. I would use pictures as a prompt for a writing assignment. I could have them write a description of the picture or I could have them write a story that relates to the picture. 2. I would have them take a scavenger hunt through the school. They would have a list of things to find that related to what I was teaching. If we were learning about geometry, they could take picture of shapes and angles. 3. We could make personalized name tags with their pictures on them. 4. I could take pictures of each member of the class and they could write an "All about me" page. Then we could put their pictures with them. 5. We could use the camera to take pictures of field trips. That way we could talk about it when we got back. 6. I could use the camera to observe weather over a period of time. We could take pictures of different types of weather and compare them. 7. I could use the camera to take pictures of steps of a complicated process. Either a project they are doing or just a homework assignment that may be difficult. 8. The students could use the camera to take pictures to go along with their projects. 9. I would take pictures of the class doing various things and use them to send parents updates about what we are doing in class. 10. I would have the students use the camera to show how things grow over time. We could have a plant or something in class and take pictures of it every day or week to show its growth over time.