article review

Our article was Using Digital Images to Engage Young Learners by Judy VanScoter. It was an interesting article with a lot of useful ideas for digital cameras and microscopes. The article encourages camera use to have students look closely at the world and investigate it from a different angle. Photographs offer a new perspective and is taking the text out of its usual context. I really liked the idea about making class books. Each student can create a page with an illustration and a sentence or short paragraph and then an electronic slide show can be made. I am excited to use this idea next year. Another literacy idea was to make an ABC book where each child is assigned a letter and takes a photo to illustrate that letter. Students can also use the cameras to record steps in a big project.
One great way teachers can use digital cameras is to document students work so that the originals can be sent home. The pictures can then be put in a student portfolio. The pictures can also be sent to parents through email so that they can see what their child is doing during the day. I think I would be excited to check my email and see a picture my child drew while I was at work. This allows children and parents to connect on a different level.

An important note made in this article is that technology is not a teacher. It should not replace interactions with responsible adults. I am in charge of my school's yearbook and next year I am going to dedicate a section to student photos. I am going to allow a few students in each grade to have my camera for a while and let them take pictures. They can then choose the one they want to be published.
Overall if you are looking for a way to enhance your lessons, using a digital camera is a great idea.