Workshop Overview

Encourage literacy, learning and sharing with digital photography! Create quality, personalized curricula with and for your students. In this lively, supportive workshop, choose a curriculum goal, then snap, import and modify photos to create a project – early learning materials, journals, trading cards, how-to guides, reports, flyers, newsletters, social stories and more. Explore applications that integrate with iPhoto, including Comic Life, Skitch, PhotoBooth, iWork Pages, Keynote and web-based tools. Experimenting is encouraged, mistakes are opportunities, and collaboration is key. (Your own camera, batteries, cables, card reader, and even your own creations, are welcome but not required.)

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll develop digital publishing activities to address specific curricular goals for your students...

Explore...

• Digital camera handling
• Basic & advanced camera features
• Strategies for using cameras with kids
• iPhoto, Comic Life & Skitch basics & tricks
• Classroom-tested curriculum projects
• Printing, publishing & exporting
• Your own questions and interests
  

Create...

• Shoot a "Portrait Relay" to learn camera basics
• Plan a curriculum project
• Head out to shoot photos
• Use photos in an Album & Slide Show
• Create an advanced project using iPhoto, Comic Life, Skitch, iWork or web-based photo programs
• Work cooperatively to share skills & practice class management strategies

Visual Learning and Literacy

According to Brian Stonehill, visual literacy means the skills & learning needed to view visual and audiovisual materials skeptically, critically and knowledgeably. Explore the following sites to learn about visual literacy in depth, find activities to support visual learning and understand ways to use digital photography to support visual learning.

Explore our Visual Learning and Literacy Links

Digital Camera Need-to-Know's

All students (and adults) should learn the following skills to use cameras effectively

• Hold camera steady without covering lens, flash or sensors
  
• Turn camera On / Off
• Snap photo
• Turn Flash On / Off
• Zoom In / Out
• Use Macro for close-ups
• Press shutter half-way to set focus & light; press all the way to shoot
• Insert/remove batteries & memory card
  
• Move photos to computer with a cable or card reader

Buying Cameras for School Use

• Look for easy-to-use cameras – sturdy hinges, well-labeled controls, etc.
• Ask for a teacher discount!
• Compare cameras at www.dpreview.com/ or reviews.cnet.com/
• Budget for a case, strap, memory card(s) & extra battery pack for each camera.
• Buy cameras that can share accessories (cards, batteries, docks, etc.)

Photo Shooting Tips

• Always wear the strap!
• Bring extra memory cards & batteries
• Review photos on the camera & re-shoot!
• Explore “mistakes” to learn about “good” vs. “bad” shots (head cut off, shaky, finger on the lens, tilted, too dark, etc.)

Digital Tools

Visit our links to software products and online tools that you and your students can use for organizing, editing and creating with your photos.
Bonus: Many of the online tools are free to use!

Digital Photography Projects for Learning

Browse our project ideas for digital photography, or check out our sample activities for inspiration, or browse the web (below) to see what others are doing.

Digital Photo Wiki

Add your ideas, questions, projects, discoveries and resources to our collaborative wiki - a web site we can all edit together.

Digital Photo Downloads

Other Projects

Visit our Stop Motion Animation wiki and our Student Publishing Wiki to learn more about how our students are using digital photography tools and more.