My students need five digital cameras and a photo printer to help complete hands-on collaborative photo projects in order to demonstrate an understanding of photography basics.
I get the opportunity to inspire creativity by teaching Digital Communications. A unit in this course requires the students to learn the process of photography; including basics of the camera, techniques, and editing. I take the course even further by challenging the students to build an ePortfolio.
My students are 10th-12th grade students eager to learn new technology and concepts.
My student enrollment includes Caucasian, Hispanic and the Karen people of Burma. My course allows the students to participate in project based learning that excites and challenges them to learn about software applications, equipment, and web-tools. The projects include blogging, pod-casts, webpage design, videography, and photography. My students also learn how to communicate with others and take on various leadership roles through the hands-on projects.
My Project
My students need five digital cameras and a photo printer to help complete hands-on collaborative photo projects in order to demonstrate an understanding of photography basics. I teach in a rural high-poverty area. In order to complete many of the projects, the students are sharing equipment that my school has purchased. However, I do not have enough digital cameras. I would love to have one per student but I only have five. Thus, I have to divide the class into groups of five and the students have to take turns sharing the equipment. This prolongs the project and requires that some students are not engaged because they must wait their turn to use the camera. The students use the cameras to complete projects that include the following: understanding angles, subject framing, subject matter, lighting, backgrounds, and the use and absence of color. The students also learn that the process of getting emotion from their photography is important. By the end of the unit, they become photo journalists in a sense.
Donations to this project will improve my classroom by giving my students the opportunity to learn a new skill that could inspire them to pursue a future in photography.
It will also provide more ways to challenge my students and keep them engaged. My job is not only to teach technology skills but inspire the students to use these skills to spark an interest that may lead to future endeavors.
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