Journal+Entry+5

I think that the most important thing to remember when using digital imagery and digital video is that they have two different purposes in the classroom; students can use them in the course of their learning, or you can use them in the course of teaching. When using them with students, especially students in the younger grades, I think it's better to keep the assignments very simple and primarily optional. For example, I might give students a background picture of Tennessee and have them add three people to the picture from the state, but they could make a poster instead if they preferred. Or students might be able to make a video for a group presentation with little to no editing.

For digital video, you can expose students to things they might not otherwise get to see. For example, our group is going to go around Nashville and take pictures of the different landforms. If you're teaching in some of the inner city schools in Nashville, some students may not get to go and see the lake very often and this provides them the opportunity to see that.

You could also use video to do science experiments that take longer and you don't have time for in class; you could time lapse an ice cube melting or do all sorts of experiments that may take a long time to set up and then you can condense into a short video to show.

This technology, unlike what we've done previously, is not something that students will necessarily need to be proficient at, but it is good for them to practice if there's time and you incorporate other curriculum, but its great as on optional tool and as a tool you can use for students.

The end.

Christina's Page