The Digital Edge Project I choose to write about is one on digital photoessays. Anthony Cody is a middle school math, science and technology teacher. One of his classes is an all-female technology class called, “Techbridge,” named after the grant that funds it. The class gives female students an opportunity to learn technology without having to compete with males. Anthony Cody’s Techbridge class was given an assignment to create digital photoessays using digital cameras and PowerPoint. Anthony’s purpose in assigning this project was to show students that we can show our creativity through technology and it can help and enhance our ability to communicate with others. In the past, digital photography was one of the technology skills that his class really enjoyed so he thought that a digital photoessay was a great way of taking the skill to the next level. A digital photoessay brings together text and photographs on a particular theme. Through this project, students will learn how to use a digital camera by taking, downloading, cropping, and importing pictures, as well as students will learn how to use desktop publishing and presentation applications such as PowerPoint. In addition to learning how to use various technologies, the class will learn the narrative structure in a story using pictures, they will learn how to develop a theme, and they will learn how to develop their own voice and recognize their individuality while embracing that of their peers.
I really liked this project because it sounds like a lot of fun. It would be a project that I could see middle school students really enjoying and embracing. Students at that age can have a hard time relating to others and expressing themselves and I feel like this project really helps with that. I thought the whole idea was very creative! The project nicely combined technology and language arts. A class could easily write an essay but incorporating technology in this project really took it to the next level and enhanced it.
Shelby, this sounds like a really neat lesson that you picked! We had to do something like this in high school and I really enjoyed it. It was a fun way of presenting information about ourselves. I agree with you, this idea is very creative! I think that making a power point allows students to express things that they would not have been able to do in just a paper; things like color and pictures. Just by classmates seeing what colors people chose for their slides teaches them something about that individual-colors they like. I think this is a great lesson and a wonderful resource for integrating language arts and technology.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thank you for writing about what a digital photo essay is (before reading this, I didn’t know). I really like how you reflected on this project; you were thinking about the age group this lesson is aimed at and how this particular project would enhance positive peer relationships. I think it is awesome that this teacher took something that his students were all passionate about and went deeper into it by challenging the students more and using photography to develop stories and to create and be expressive. I also like how this project encourages students to use technology in new ways while it strengthens students’ ability to expand on narrative structure (through the use of pictures). I think this could be a challenging task yet fun and exciting. I believe that students completing this project would be given the opportunity to be very creative and personal. The students would not only show their true voice, they would learn more about their peers. This is great!
ReplyDeleteShelby,
ReplyDeleteI read this article too, and thought it was an awesome project! It's crazy how many things we can use technology for. He not only incorporated telling a story from a picture students took, but he also took it to the next level and had them learn how to use other programs.
I have a sister who is an amazing photographer, but not an A+ student. But when she discovered photography she used it to help her succeed in more ways then she ever thought possible. She wasn't really sure about going to college, but when she found out she could go to an art school for her photography, she jumped right on it. I know there are many people who may not be great writers, or they may be horrible at math but what they might be good at is something through art or technology. When we give students another option for showing their strengths, we can really find out how amazing they truely are.
<3
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteI loved the lesson plan you chose. What an interesting idea! The whole concept of having a female-only class is fascinating and I think especially in middle school, this could create an atmosphere of safety for young girls. In addition to that, the idea of forming a classroom to teach middle school students how to use digital cameras is very exciting. As a photography-fanatic myself, I know I would have loved to take this class in middle school. This type of project could give students practical and enjoyable knowledge to carry out into life. In addition, this project could lead some students to a future career. That is very exciting!
Shelb,
ReplyDeleteThis lesson sounds great! Like Carley, I have to say thank you for telling me what a digital photo essay is because I had never heard of this before. I think it's great that this teacher is working with a class of all female students to encourage their confidence in their technological skills. I know if I had been given this opportunity at a younger age I would have taken it immediately. I think this lesson sounds simple and fun because it incorporates not only necessary computer skills but skills that can be taken elsewhere and on to more advanced projects. This is definitely something that could also be adapted to other grades as well.
Hello Shelby.
ReplyDeleteI too liked the lesson you chose. It sounds very interesting and challenging, too. At first when I read, "photo essay," I was thinking almost of a photo book with only pictures, but when I read about how it incorporates both pictures and words, I felt that this would be a great project. I can really see middle school students, especially this particular class of girls, getting into the project and putting a lot of effort into taking and collecting the right photos for their topic. I can see a lot of creative opportunities this project provides for the students too especially if they're able to choose their topic. Having the photo element not only teaches the students about camera technology, it encourages them to have an artist's eye in their community as they take pictures. I imagine that most of their topics used pictures from outside of their everyday environments.
I like this idea a lot and I think it would be equally effective in a class with boys as well, or even older students.
This sounds like a very interesting video and topic that you found! It sounds like a really fun project that students could get into. It is also nice that the teacher lessened the competition between the females and males. I would love to see how this turned out and see how much the students learned from it. I feel that this assignment could work for a variety of classes. It could be used for science, English or many others as long as the topic is focused for the students and they understand what they are doing. Good topic!
ReplyDelete