Using Digital Cameras in the Classroom Delightfully Digital! Using Digital Cameras in the Classroom Presented by: Shawndra T. Johnson, Instructional Technology Specialist Central Alabama Regional Education Inservice Center Voice: 334.229.4161 Website: www.technologyinmotion.state.al.us/asu

Today’s Agenda Digital Cameras… Things to Consider What Do Those Things Mean? Picture Taking Tips Play with the cameras Scavenger Hunt

Choosing a Digital Camera Who will use the camera? (child, adolescent, adult) What is your price range? What resolution do you require? What on-board (camera) image storage capacity do you require? Do you need manual override features, a fully automatic camera or a combination of these both? What is the battery capacity? Are battery chargers available for your camera? How sturdy is the camera? What features do you consider essential? (i.e.: self-timer, optical zoom, red-eye flash, movie mode) If you are doing your own print work, how fully featured is the editing software that comes with the camera? Is the camera compatible with your operating system? What is the warranty on the camera?

Digital Cameras Things to Consider… Resolution Pixel – small squares Megapixel – 1 million pixels Pixelization

What is Resolution? Simply put, resolution is how you define the sharpness of your digital image. Resolution is often defined as how many pixels per inch (ppi) your image has in both its height and width. Low End Midrange High End                                    pixels at 640 X 480 or higher pixels at 1600 X 1200 pixels at 2048 X 1536 or higher Resolution examples:

What are pixels? Pixels are the building blocks of digital images. Every digital picture is made up of thousands of pixels. The number of pixels in each image affects the quality of the picture resolution. For example, a low-end camera might have 307,200 pixels in one picture. A high-end picture might have more than 5,000,000 pixels in a picture.

640 x 480 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels high. This is a fairly low resolution that works well with email and Web postings. Pictures will print best if they are not bigger than 3” x 5” high. crisp 3" x 5" photo prints

1600 x 1200 1600 pixels wide and 1200 pixels high. This can generally achieved with at least a 2 megapixel camera crisp 5" x 7" photo prints

2048 x 1536 2048 pixels wide and 1536 pixels tall. This can generally be achieved with at least a 3 megapixel camera. crisp 8" x 10" photo prints

Photographic Print (300DPI) Megapixels Resolution Medium Print (150 DPI) Photographic Print (300DPI) 1.3 1280x1024 8.5 x 6.8 4.3 x 3.4 2 1600x1200 10.7 x 8.00 5.3 x 4.0 3 2048x1536 13.6 x 10.2 6.8 x 5.1 4 2272x1704 15.1 x 11.4 7.6 x 5.7 5 2560x1920 17.0 x 12.8 8.5 x 6.4 8 3264x2448 21.7 x 16.3 10.9 x 8.1

Digital Cameras Things to Consider… Size, weight, & design Zoom Optical Digital Most cameras have both optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom works just like a zoom lens on a film camera. The lens changes focal length and magnification as it is zoomed. Image quality stays high throughout the zoom range. Digital zoom simply crops the image to a smaller size, then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again. Digital zoom results in a significant loss of quality as is clear from the examples below. It's pretty much a last resort, and if you don't have it in camera, you can do a similar job using almost any image editing program. Most cameras have both optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom works just like a zoom lens on a film camera. The lens changes focal length and magnification as it is zoomed. Image quality stays high throughout the zoom range. Digital zoom simply crops the image to a smaller size, then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again. Digital zoom results in a significant loss of quality as is clear from the examples below. It's pretty much a last resort, and if you don't have it in camera, you can do a similar job using almost any image editing program.

Digital Cameras Things to Consider… Memory Compact Flash (CF) Secure Digital (SD) Multimedia (MMC) SmartMedia Memory Stick XD Compact Flash (CF) - The original memory card. 42mm x 36mm x 3mm. Somewhat larger than the others, but used on all high end DSLRs. Secure Digital (SD) - Very small - about 24mm x 32mm and 2mm thick. They have a built in write protect switch to prevent accidental erasure and certain encryption capabilities of little interest to digital camera owners. Multimedia - Same size as SD but with less features and no encryption capability. There are some that can be used in some SD cameras but they aren't 100% compatible with SD cards in all applications. Smart Media - Thinner than CF cards, but lacking an on-card memory controller. Despite the name, they're pretty dumb! Memory Stick - Introduced by Sony and used only by Sony(?) XD - Developed and used by Fuji, Olympus and Toshiba - even smaller than SD. 20mm x 25mm by 1.7mm thick

Digital Cameras Things to Consider… Batteries AA Highly standardized Cheap—at least compared to most proprietary alternatives Compatible with a wide array of readily available chargers Widely available

Digital Cameras Things to Consider… Batteries AA Types nickel-metal hydride (NiMH, rechargeable) lithium (non-rechargeable) nickel-cadmium (NiCd, rechargeable) alkaline (non-rechargeable) Best Way to Go

Digital Cameras Things to Consider… Batteries Proprietary Batteries Non AA Made for a specific camera Must use a specific charger Battery life is longer than AA Use mostly in higher end cameras Expensive

Digital Cameras Things to Consider… Movies & Sound Uses large amounts of memory Some do not record audio Menus Make sure you can use them

Digital Cameras Things to Consider… White Balance LCD – Liquid Crystal Display Really is liquid inside! Cleaning Size

ViewFinders vs. Displays Low-end cameras rely on the traditional method of looking through a window to line up a picture subject. LCD Display Middle range and high-end cameras have a LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor for viewing pictures. Although very helpful in composing and viewing pictures, the LCD feature is a drain on batteries.

What Do Those Things Mean? Night Scene – shutter stays open longer, tri-pod is suggested Mountain – for taking pictures of landscapes Lady – Head and shoulders portrait photo Action (Sport) – Fastest shutter speed for moving objects

What Do Those Things Mean? Macro Mode – Very close-up shots within inches of the subject; choose the tulip Movie Mode – Record movies; not sharp enough for DVD, good for email

What Do Those Things Mean? Flash Modes Auto Flash – the camera decides when the flash is needed Fill Flash – on all the time Red-eye Reduction – flashes a light before the picture is taken; reduces pupil size No Flash – is off

Picture Taking Tips Take pictures at eye level when photographing a person 2. Use plain and simple backgrounds 3. Zoom in on the subject matter, you want it to fill the frame

Picture Taking Tips 4. Use a flash outside, especially if the sun is bright Without Flash With Flash

Picture Taking Tips 5. Rule of Thirds Move the focal point to where the lines intersect; much more interesting

Picture Taking Tips 6. Light source should not be behind the subject unless you want a silhouette effect

Picture Taking Tips 7. Lock your focus

File Formats File Format describes the particular computer code used to store your files. There are many different image file formats. The most common: JPEG – most common - compressed – Windows or Mac TIFF – not compressed – Windows or Mac – used for printing BMP – not compressed – large – used for Windows wallpaper GIF – Windows or Mac – only uses 256 colors – good for emails When attaching a picture file to an email, the two file formats that are used most frequently are JPEG and GIF. For example, you might receive a picture file attached to an email that looks like this …puppy.jpeg. Because the file format is JPEG, you will immediately know it is an image.

Downloading Images There are a number of different ways to transfer images from a digital camera to a computer. By far the most common method is to use a cable connection from the camera to the computer's USB port.

How Can You Integrate Digital Photography in Your Classroom? Acquire images Analyze images Create image-based works Communicate ideas and understanding

Sample Image-Based Works Create a photo journal of field trips Class newsletter illustrations Photos for greeting cards Photos of vocabulary items Create a personal or classroom alphabet with pictures Use pictures for concept illustration (art, math, science)

SCIENCE LANGUAGE ARTS MATH SOCIAL STUDIES Data collection Imagery in reading Analysis Primary sources Scientific visuals Bridge to writing Transformations Societal connection Present evidence Digital storytelling Problem-solving Social inquiry

Top Ten Tips for Teachers and Digital Cameras By APTE Professional Education Development Group Take a class. Learn about digital cameras so that you're more comfortable with using one in your classroom. Digital images can be a catalyst to learning and to teaching! Students are visual and are motivated to write by what they see and can capture with a digital camera. Set up rules. Establish clear camera handling procedures with your students to avoid unnecessary wear and tear -- a sturdy camera strap minimizes risk. Also, define when and where students can take photographs - and the subject matter. Manage the images. Create and label folders on your computer for storage of images. Students may also store on alternative media such as CD-RW, floppies, or removable drives. Practice builds confidence. Practice uploading, saving, and editing images. Be sure that your students do the same. Trial and error is the best teacher in photography. Keep in mind that photography is an art form, but it is also supposed to be fun! Know your camera. An inexpensive, low-resolution digital camera generally gets better results with close-ups. Get down to the eye level of your subject.

Top Ten Tips for Teachers and Digital Cameras By APTE Professional Education Development Group Steady and sturdy. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with one foot slightly forward. Keep your elbows close to your body. Lights, camera, action! Action photographs, rather than still or posed photographs, often produce a more natural look. Get the latest. Check your camera manufacturer's web site for product updates, including free downloadable software enhancements. Light and Dark. Avoid photographing windows, glass, or other shiny surfaces head-on. Keep the sun at your back. When your subject is backlit, the object being photographed often appears too dark to see. Avoid photographing dark subjects against dark backgrounds and light subjects against light backgrounds. Avoid taking pictures outside at noon - the lighting at noon tends to be flat and results in dull-looking photographs. Be digitally safe. Before taking pictures of your students, be sure to read and follow your school's policies about appropriate use of student photos.

Let’s Get the Cameras!

Let’s Go on a Digital Scavenger Hunt! Go in pairs to use cameras Each person must complete their own scavenger hunt You do not have to take pictures in order Be back in -- minutes!

When you return… Get a black cable Have a seat while we wait for the others We will upload pictures as a class

Here’s how to upload… Plug cable into both the camera and computer Turn on the camera

Free Photo Editing Software Picasa from Google http://picasa.google.com/ Kodak Easyshare www.kodak.com Click on “Free Download”

Delightfully Digital Thank you!