Digital Cameras in the 21st Century Classroom

Using the digital camera in the elementary classroom has its uses in many different avenues, rather than just for use as integrating technology. Digital cameras can be used for communicating to parents, making lessons exciting, keeping track of class projects, and a variety of other ways. Because students enjoy viewing themselves through a camera lens, projected on a screen, or online, digital cameras are great tools to make the 21st century classroom a fun environment for learning.
Below is a list of ten of my favorite ways to use the digital camera in an elementary classroom:
1. Learning about Colors - As you are studying colors, have the students walk around the classroom, school or outside taking pictures of the color that you are studying. These pictures may be inserted into a PowerPoint Booklet, called for example, "Things That Are Blue". If you don't want many slides, insert more than one picture on the slide. The students may include their voice and tell you what the name of the picture. (http://www.hardin.k12.ky.us/res_techn/TEC/digitalcamera/primary.htm)
2. A Book About Me - I use my digital camera to take pictures of my first and second grade special needs students to use in books. First we decide what we want to write, then we take pictures of the children. With lower level children using the digital camera and making their own books is very exciting, for some it is a key difference in learning to read. They love to read books about themselves, especially with their own photos. (http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/lon/lonlinks/digicam/teacher/home.html)
3. Learning about the Senses - 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. (http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml)
4. Nouns - Make a Proper Noun--Common Noun publication. The students are to find a picture of something that is a common noun and then find its companion, the proper noun. Place the pictures side by side and label each. This could also be done with nouns or verbs. Make a slide presentation of VERBS in ACTION or NOUNS HANGING AROUND SCHOOL. (http://www.hardin.k12.ky.us/res_techn/TEC/digitalcamera/primary.htm)/
5. Draw Youself - 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. (http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml)
6. Geometric Shape Walk - 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. (http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml)
7. Symbols in My Town - Would be interesting to create a SYMBOLS publication: stop sign, handicap, flag, American eagle, Ladies(Men)Restroom, etc. How many symbols do we have in our school; our neighborhood, community?(http://www.hardin.k12.ky.us/res_techn/TEC/digitalcamera/primary.htm)
8. Portraiture - This was part of a series of portraiture projects. With this particular project, students: 1. used digital cameras to take their pictures 2. brought these pictures into a graphics program where they could manipulate the layout, color, special effects. etc. 3. scanned in or took digital shots of other pictures, poems, objects of meaning to them 4. imported these symbols into their portraits and layered their image with items of meaning to create a collage effect. 5. final products were then uploaded to the Cyberfaces web site at http://www.cyberfaces.org/ 6. final products were also printed on a color banner and placed into a slide show to display at open house, parent-teacher nights, etc. 7. students were then asked to write brief essays about their creation process, explaining their use of color, objects, words, etc. for interpretation.
This could very well evolve into part of an interdisciplinary unit.(http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/lon/lonlinks/digicam/teacher/home.html)
9. When I Grow Up - Photograph students dressed up as what they want to be when they grow up and use the pictures to illustrate career reports. (http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml)
10. Class Reminders - Take pictures of class procedures and display them in the classroom as a reminder. (http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml)