Golden Bytes

I had a great week this past week working with my students and six Canon A460 digital cameras. We spent a day and a half looking at Kodak’s 10 Tips for Great Pictures. The next day I let them loose with the cameras. The first group went outside, but it was too sunny by then. So we were in the cafeteria for the next two classes. By afternoon it had clouded over and my three fifth grade classes were able to go outside and take some great shots! I wish I could share them with you but I don’t have parent permission (yet!). I sat after-school and sorted out about 10 photos I though were outstanding and sent them to Walgreens for 8×10 ptints. The next day I had them sitting on the center table in cheap document frames.

The most incredible part about this experience was the last day processing. As a class we sat around the LCD projector and discussed every students photo that they had taken the day before. The conversations we had about camera angles, lighting, flash, being a camera director blew me away. I was worried that I had spent to much time yaking at them about the 10 tips, but they really got it! I was really glad I had taken the extra effort to print some of the photos. It added an authentic feel to the class and generated excitement. I am l already thinking about possibilities of a showing at our local art gallery, and perhaps even a fund raiser for more cameras!

(as a teacher tip, I suggest showing all of the photos as a slideshow very quickly to get all the giggles out, then go back and really discuss, think of it as giving time to play with new math manipulatives before you ask them to use them.)