Did you hear the news lase February about Polaroid no longer making film for their cameras? Although I never had a Polaroid, I thought they were pretty cool when I was younger and I would imagine there were a bunch of classroom uses for the instant results of the Polaroid. Now, we can still have instant photos, with digital cameras. We have four digital still cameras available for check out and they are rarely used. I’m not sure if it is because teachers are not aware that they are there or because they aren’t sure what to do with them. Many students today also have cell phones with cameras. Therein lies the inspiration for today’s Friday Five: Digital Cameras in the Classroom.
How could one use digital cameras in the classroom? Below are ten ideas, at least one for every subject area, and two links to additional ideas. We can post pictures on our wikis, blogs, school website, in our classrooms, via PowerPoints or slide shows as students come in, options for sharing are endless!
How can digital cameras fit into our classes?
- Take pictures of students conducting lab experiments.
- Have students take pictures of geometric patterns/angles/lines in the school or out in the world.
- “Real” Vocabulary: students act our vocabulary words or draw images to explain them, then take pictures of them for the collection. These could be incorporated into a review, exam, or learning activity.
- Digital scrapbook for field trips
- Take pictures of students correctly executing positions for a game, sport or exercise.
- Take pictures of your students cooking.
- Have students act out two versions of safe/unsafe activities for food safety, lab safety, etc. (obviously without actually doing the unsafe activity). Use to demonstrate expectations.
- Capture images for students to use in their projects/in your lessons (teachers and/or students could take these images, put them in a digital library with Picasa to share with as many as desired. Example here.)
- Have students act out scenes of literature, digitally illustrate readings, poetry, drama, historic event, etc.
- Take interesting pictures and use as writing prompts
Here are two links for additional ideas to use digital cameras in the classroom. (Link 1, Link 2)
Check out a digital camera (for our school, that means going to the technology office webpage to online requests) and see how it can engage your students in new ways!
Happy Friday and happy snapping!
No Time to Sleep 