Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts

Monday, December 18, 2017

Dream Big Dreams




Dream Big Dreams: Photographs from Barack Obama's Inspiring and Historic Presidency
by Pete Souza
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2017

Inspirational is the best word for this book.

The introduction explains the job of Official White House Photographer. The table of contents say as much as the photos and their captions about our 44th President:
Be Kind and Respectful
Work Hard
Make Time for Family
Show Compassion
Have Fun
Dream Big Dreams
Would that we all lived lives that could be outlined with those topics.


Thursday, May 28, 2015

Photos Framed



Photos Framed: A Fresh Look at the World's Most Memorable Photographs
by Ruth Thomson
Candlewick Press, 2014
review copy provided by the publisher
"When photography began, it was an elaborate, expensive, time-consuming, elite activity, using heavy, cumbersome equipment. Today, taking photographs can be instant, cheap, and accessible to anyone. Despite the enormous changes in photographic equipment and technology since the nineteenth century, the purposes of photography have remained essentially the same, whether immortalizing, exploring, documenting, revealing, or showing us what we can't see with the naked eye." -- from the introduction of Photos Framed
It's amazing, isn't it, that in less than 200 years, photography has become a universal art form? Children can take photographs before they have learned to hold a crayon. I think I can confidently say that every student in my class has taken a photograph. And because of that, I can't wait to share this book with them and dig into the history of photography and the art of photography.

Photos Framed is divided into four sections: Portrait photography, Nature photography, Photography as art, and Documentary photography. Each of the sections features examples from the 18th through the 21st Centuries. And each of the photographs is explored in the same ways: there is a section of text describing and discussing the photograph, a section that tells about the photographer, three questions ("Photo thoughts") for the reader/viewer to consider, a sidebar ("Blow Up") that features one tiny bit of the photo and a question to consider, and another sidebar ("Zoom In") that helps the viewer to consider the photo as a whole. Finally, there is a quote from the photographer that accompanies the photo.

I'm thrilled to see that there are multiple copies of this book available in our metro library system. I am imagining a whole-class study of this book in the first weeks of school which would lay the groundwork for students to build a photographic/visual portfolio alongside their digital portfolio/notebook (folder in their Google drive) and their pencil/paper writer's note/sketchbook.

Writing that last convoluted sentence made me realize that there just about isn't such a thing as a plain and simple Writer's Notebook anymore. All of these digital and non-digital spaces need to be developed to provide students with opportunities to capture and hold creations of all kinds at all stages of the process.  Maybe it really is time to stop calling it Writers' Workshop and call it Composing Workshop.

Hmm...the wheels are turning...


Monday, December 31, 2012

December Mosaic and 2012 Photo Projects

Flickr photoset is here if you'd like to see the photos full-sized.

At the beginning of the month, our temperatures were still in the 50s. Almost like the flipping of a switch on Winter Solstice, the temperatures dropped and the snow came. Fun vegetable shots this month -- "Bright Veggies" in my Buddha Bowl at Northstar, a grinning spud spotted at Kroger, and fresh Brussel Sprouts from the Winter Worthington Farmers Market before they were roasted for Christmas dinner.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

Back in January, I gave myself a new focus for my photos:
I'm going to collect photos of numbers and letters (actual and representations). By the end of the year, I'll be able to make my own Alpha-Numeric picture book through the iPhoto store!
I collected about half of the alphabet and all of the numbers 1-13 except 9 and 10. I also discovered that our local Cord Camera is the way to go for all kinds of photography projects: support a local business and don't pay exorbitant shipping fees!




Sunday, September 26, 2010

Photo Sharing in the Elementary School: Is It Worth the Time and Energy?

(I am taking a Web 2.0 course through the University of Alberta's Teacher-Librarianship program. This week's assignment was to examine Flickr and other photo sharing sites and explore possibilities for our students. This post is cross-posted on this blog as well as the blog I created for the course called Web Tools for Schools.)
Photo by Brittney Bush on Flickr


I think many of us in the elementary school are overwhelmed by all that is possible with technology. We want our students to have great opportunities but we don't want to use technology for technology's sake. So, we have to be picky about the tools we commit to. With so much else to do in the elementary classroom, is Photo sharing worth the time for teachers and students? What are the benefits to our students?

I have always understood the importance of images and the need to have a "photo library" of sorts for kids. But until exploring Flickr this week, it merely seemed like one more thing--one more huge thing to add to my list of things to figure out.

I could never understand the reasons a Flickr account might be important for elementary students. Most of my work this week has been in trying determine the benefits of Flickr for elementary school. I went into the week wondering if Flickr is really a tool that is worthwhile for elementary students. With so many other tools available, is it really important that our students have access to photo sharing tools such as Flickr?


One article that impacted my thinking was “The Promise of Social Networks” by Derek E. Baird on Tech and Learning. In it, he says, "Today’s students have grown up surrounded by the digital world, and as a result they have developed new ways of understanding, learning and processing information. As new types of social media are developed, teachers will need to find new and innovative ways to harness the power of these technologies to enhance their curriculum, and support differing learning styles. Flickr holds great potential as part of a multi-faceted approach that blends learning theory and social technologies in the curriculum."

I have heard about many schools and libraries with Flickr accounts but they seem to be mostly for public relations purposes. Much of what I read about Flickr and libraries tended to talk about how Flickr could raise awareness and communication about your library or classroom . Although I see this as one possible use of Flickr, I think for it to be worth the time, it must have an impact on student learning.

Our students are using photos constantly. As I watch over their shoulders, they have somehow learned to take photos from wherever they would like. Because most image searches are blocked in schools, our young students are teaching themselves to pull photos from websites without regard for copyright or citation. Many of our students have no idea that there are photo-sharing sites available that provide great photos with a Creative Commons license. Many have no idea that what they are doing is not right. In my reading, I found that this is not so uncommon. In her article, "Teaching Students About Creative Commons and Appropriate Use of Images", Kathy McGeady states, "Little do many people know, you can’t just use any images off the internet in your blog posts. Not only is this ethically incorrect but you could leave yourself open to copyright infringement.”

My youngest daughter is a perfect example of this. She is in 5th grade and blogged quite a bit this summer. She has a blog called FUN THINGS TO MAKE and I was alarmed to realize how she had taught herself to take photos and put them right into her blog. I quickly showed her how Flickr worked and taught her to do an advanced search looking for Creative Commons photos. This box in the advanced search allows for searching of only photos licensed by Creative Commons.



I also showed her where to find the information on who took the photo. After the initial whining about having to do something that didn't sound fun (she had already found her photos after all) she realized how many great photos she could find on Flickr. After seeing how easy it was and how many great images were available, she went on to use photos from Flickr to create a birthday invitation and other projects. Now she would like her own Flickr account.

Teaching about Creative Commons is only one way I can see Flickr being used in school. If a school or classroom has a Flickr account, students can begin to build a photo library of the school year. Photosharing safety could be addressed in a very authentic way as students determine which photos from the field trip should be put into the Flickr account. With a Flickr account, students can learn about tagging items for future use and for sharing purposes. They can learn about citing sources and about licensing their own photos. I can see Flickr as a very easy way to teach so many of the skills we want our students to have when working with all kinds of media. And if we teach them early, our students will be able to use these skills for life.

Another thing makes Flickr or other photo sharing tools worthwhile for elementary schools is the global piece and the ways in which Flickr allows for global collaboration. Giving students ways to see and participate in projects like THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN 21 COUNTRIES WALKING IN STOP-MOTION- a project done by photo sharing site Blipfoto

As an elementary librarian, it seems critical that our students have access to photo sharing tools such as Flickr. So much of the work that they are doing relies on images and having access to a photo sharing site can help students learn to use these in an ethical, responsible, and safe way.

My vision for a Flickr account in the school library is a basic one. Since our students are young (grades K-5), I think that teacher management of the library account is important. I hope to set up an account so that we can:

-add photos from classroom, school and other events. When a group goes on a field trip, we can determine as a class which photos get downloaded and how to tag them. After we finish a science experiment, children can choose to include photos. For school events such as assemblies and art shows, a team of students can choose photos to be placed on the Flickr account. We can create sets and collections when appropriate. Over time, I see the library of photos building quickly so that students have a huge variety of photos to use in projects--photos that connect directly to the curriculum they are studying. Adding photos will also provide a great opportunity to help students understand district guidelines of not posting student faces online.

-learn about Creative Commons licensing. By adding photos to our Flickr library and learning to use the Advanced search options on Flickr, students will begin to understand the ethical responsibilities of using and posting images.

-tag photos and learn about tagging and organizing. This will be an important skill students can learn from participating in a Flickr account.

-have conversations around responsible posting of images of others can be taught as groups of students work with teachers to determine which photos from events to post. Determining which photos are acceptable for public sharing and how to stay within our school's guidelines and agreement will help students' see their own responsibility with their work.

There are definitely things to be aware of if using Flickr. First of all, it is a self-monitored site so there is the potential that an inappropriate photo will be found once in a while. Flickr is blocked in many schools, as are many image sharing sites, and although Flickr is listed in many articles as one of the most child-friendly photosharing (http://photography.families.com/blog/best-places-for-photo-sharing-on-the-internet) sites, there are other options for educators. One such option is SMUGMUG. These other sites provide some different options but the Creative Commons tools are not as easy to navigate or as global as in Flickr. Flickr is a tool that is easy for young children to navigate and learn with.

I now see the benefits of a Flickr account for elementary schools and libraries. I think it is imperative that our students have access to safe ways to contribute and use images in this way. I agree with Will Richardson when he says, "Personally, I think Flickr is one of the best sites on the Web. It's true social software where the contributors interact and share and learn from each other in creative and interesting ways. And for that reason, it's educational potential is huge." (Blogs, Wikis , Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, p. 102) I think the possibilities for teaching are endless and a school library account would be a great scaffold for our youngest students. By understanding the issues and concerns about images on the web and also seeing the possibilities for student learning, I am convinced that Flickr and other photo-sharing sites are not just one more thing to learn. Instead photo sharing sites like Flickr can support our students as they learn incredibly as they learn about creating and using visual images.