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Using Digital Cameras for Multidimensional Learning

This article, written by Viola Supon, was very informative. Digital cameras should be used with a vision for instruction, curriculum, assessment, and reflection. There were three main ideas in the article.

The first point is the impact of digital cameras in schools today. They are considered the hottest technology trend right now. Most students are visual learners, so we should be tapping into that learning style through the use of digital cameras. We, as teachers, should change our teaching methods to use digital imagery to develop higher level thinking processes in our students.

The second point is to use digital cameras effectively in the classroom. Make sure you have permission to photograph the students, align with the curriculum and assessments, take appropriate images, and establish ground rules for higher grades.

The last point was to use the camera for more than visual images. The pictures can be used to impact both writing and math skills, can provide ownership to the work, can clarify concepts, and can be used by the students for self-reflection.

my goals

One of my goals for this class is to be more technology savvy than my girls. They have been wroking with power point since they were in the third grade. THey have already taught me how to work with Excel adn also Publisher. For an eighth grade project, they worked with partners and made videos using Movie Maker. Of course, they like to remind me that I can't find any song on Itunes or Limewire to listen to on the computer.
Another goal is to learn to use photo shop so I can take and edit pictures from my house.

Born into Brothels

I was impressed with the movie, Born into Brothels, that we watched last night. The most impressive pictures to me were the ones taken by Avijit. He took the most basic ideas and captured the images. My favorite was the picture of the sand pouring out of the bucket while they were at the beach. It was interesting to me to watch how these children handled the adversity they were facing everyday. They didn't think of themselves as poor and underprivileged. They seemed to be normal children who you would see in any walk of life. They did at times come act like the adults and show more responsibility than the parents and grandparents.
I would like for Brooke and Blythe to watch the movie so they see how good their lives actually are. The movie will hopefully show them that rich is relevant to the situation and lifestyle.