Digital photography in the school.

Photographs encapsulate memories of a lifetime that one will forever treasure. However there is an art to photography that each must consider for it is not an inherited talent at least for me. I enjoy photography and sometimes wonder why this was not my profession. Despite this I still love my teaching career. In primary school we never had the opportunity to use cameras because back then photography in teaching students was non-existent. Today our children have enormous opportunities awaiting them to explore.

I have used digital photography in my Standard Five class in 2008-2009. I documented school activities, school festivals and school field trips in hopes of using it on a multimedia projector for their graduation in 2009. However this was not achieved because I was on sick leave at the time so I missed their graduation. This year though one of my fellow teachers did present a beautiful multimedia presentation on the graduates and I think that parents were most impressed. He also permitted students to bring in their digital cameras to take pictures of our teaching staff, ancillary staff, their friends and the school landscape so that they could create their very own school year book.

This was rather interesting because they were able to print and distribute it. By doing such a creative activity, students unleashed their hidden talents. For example they designed posters to inform teachers about a PHOTO DAY. That was the day when the members of staff had their photos taken by these students. I must say that I do intend to do these activities as well with my new Standard Five students after the 2011 exams. My plan hopefully will be for them to photograph and document their journey in Standard Five. The photographs from this activity can then be used by them to create a digital story.

The World of E-books

Electronic books, yet another super interactive way to teach reading and even writing to our students. I just wished that I was in school to implement this now and see the joys and enthusiasm from my second year class. They absolutely love computer time and I can see them having immense fun and learning in a session using e-books. E-books break the monotony of holding a book in your hand and flipping pages to read. It is just so fresh that children will surely not stop reading. E-books are like a mini-movie with words in it to tell the story and we all know how much our children love a television screen.

My plan although I am not in school is to create an E-book with my son. He is the only one that I know will truly benefit from such technology at this time. An e-book on numbers or the alphabet are simple ones to construct with him. He will definitely enjoy adding sounds and looking for pictures in the creation of this e-book. I can also see e-books being used as a format for a project instead of the traditional types of projects.

E-books can certainly be used with the de-motivated struggling reader. E-books present interactive learning so reading is fun and not a difficult task. Oldfather (1995) as cited in Tompkins (2010) stated that students were highly motivated when they had opportunities for self-expression as part of the literacy activities. When de-motivated readers are given the opportunity to create an e-book they will surely give their all into accomplishing this task since it is an opportunity for them to voice their opinions. I am certain that this is a valuable teaching and assessment tool that will promote reading and writing for our children. This is yet another simple ICT tool that makes learning enjoyable.