Created By: Amy Zurawski October 28, 2013

Shared Vision  Excerpt taken from Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School Handbook:  “Technology resources at OLA are provided for the purpose of supporting the educational mission of the school. The school’s goal in providing these resources is to promote educational excellence by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, scholarship, research, creativity, and communication”. (p. 61)  In my opinion, we are at a school that is very technology rich ranging from Smart Boards in every classroom, middle school students all having iPads, having two set of iPads for younger grades to check out throughout the day, a computer lab with 30 desktop computers…why not add digital cameras to the mix to further enhance learning!

Shared Vision Continued..  Photography and video are now part of everyday life. With tools like camera phones and Instagram, Vine, Facebook, etc. people deal with video and photos on a daily basis. Therefore, I think it is important to expose children to not only proper media usage but how to maximize their skills with digital camera and video editing software

Emerging Technology  The technologist and I applied for a Staples technology grant for our school. We asked for digital cameras, microphones, and accessories to use for photography and video projects that will enrich the curriculum across all grade levels.  Why should we use these tools?  How easy are these tools to use?  How can you use these tools in your classroom?

Why digital cameras?  According to Bill Stamatis, an author from the United Federation of Teachers, “digital cameras are easy to use and, because they provide instant feedback, they are a lot of fun. By using a digital camera, teachers can take advantage of the new technology and integrate photography into their daily teaching”.  According to Education World, “not everyone can pick up a pencil or paint brush and be happy with the results, but anyone who is willing to try can be really creative with a digital camera and some basic software!”  Kids love to take photographs with digital cameras of still photographs to their family and friends.  There are tons of resources out there for teachers who want to start incorporating digital cameras into their lesson plans!

Our Budget: Will be covered by grant money

Goals of Our Curriculum  Communicate the Gospel message.  Engender a sense of responsibility as members of a church community.  Empower learners to accept responsibility for the acquisition and use of knowledge.  Cultivate a desire for continuous learning through formal and informal education.  Engender a sense of responsibility as citizens within a democracy.  Empower learners to make informed choices.  Use independent and critical thinking.  Strive toward connectedness of all learning.  Implement instruction, which is developmentally appropriate  Strive toward clear and accurate communication through the development of a variety of skills.  Represent all subject areas resulting in comprehensive literacy.  Use all available technologies to support instruction  Implement effective prevention programs as early as possible for students who demonstrate learning challenges  To ensure a thorough foundation of knowledge for successful transition into secondary study.

Content & Technology  Technology is a content standard in each of the core curriculum classes.  Incorporating the use of digital cameras and other multimedia tools into your classroom not only allows the students to get creative but also for you to become hands-on with technology!

Archdiocese of Atlanta Technology Curriculum  Kindergarten:  TK.S2.O1: Effectively use technology to communicate information  TK.S5.O1: Utilize technology skills to creatively enhance learning  TK.S6.O1: Utilize a variety of technology tools to accomplish tasks  First Grade:  T1.S5.O1: Utilize technology skills to creatively enhance learning  T1.S6.O1: Utilize a variety of technology tools to accomplish tasks  Second Grade:  T2.S6.O1-O4: Utilize technology skills to creatively enhance learning, apply technology skills to real world situations, creatively use technology to communicate effectively  Third Grade:  T3.S6.O1-O4: Utilize technology skills to creatively enhance learning, apply technology skills to real world situations, creatively use technology to communicate effectively

Archdiocese of Atlanta Technology Curriculum Continued:  Fourth Grade:  T4.S5.O1-O2: Demonstrate knowledge of input and output process model  T4.S6.O1-O4: Utilize technology skills to creatively enhance learning, apply technology skills to real world situations, creatively use technology to communicate effectively  Fifth Grade:  T5.S5.O1: Demonstrate knowledge of input process output model  T5.S6.O1-O4: Utilize technology skills to creatively enhance learning, apply technology skills to real world situations, creatively use technology to communicate effectively

Ease of Use  Our students grew up with technology; they WANT to use it!  The middle school students already use their iPads to shoot videos for our morning newscast.  The younger students love using the iPads to enrich what they are learning in the classroom.  Digital cameras are very EASY to use!!!  I will be using the cameras in the computer lab with all the grades I teach so they will all have an introduction lesson.

Examples in the Classroom  Kindergarten: students can create an ABC book with pictures of items that start with each letter of the alphabet.  First Grade: Students can take still photos or shoot videos of groups of students acting out simple addition or subtraction problems.  Second Grade: Students can create a video tour of their classroom while using cardinal directions (North, South, East, West) to count the number of steps it takes to get from place to place.

Examples Continued…  Third Grade: Students can create an All About Me PowerPoint presentation, where they use photos that are imported from the digital camera within the presentation. PowerPoint presentations can be narrated with voice-overs that are recorded using microphones connected to the computers.  Fourth Grade: Students can take photos and shoot videos related to a study on a biome. The photos and videos can be used with Animoto web-based software to create an edited video with background music, captions, and transitions.

Examples Continued…  Fifth Grade: Students can create a video book report to summarize a book that they have read. The students can use Animoto web-based software to add effects to their video.  Middle School: Students can take photos and shoot videos when conducting a science experiment. The photos and videos can be used with Animoto web- based software to create a video lab report.

Tips for Teachers 1. “Digital cameras are still relatively expensive, so students must be taught proper handling and safety rules when using the camera.”  I will do one-on-one training sessions with students to ensure that they understand how to handle the camera in each of their technology classes. 2. Ensuring that students take appropriate photographs.  In technology classes, we will discuss how easy it is to snap pictures. We will talk about basic photography rules 3. Privacy  Some students do not have permission to be photographed. We will have to obtain a list from our principal before publishing any student picture

Communication & Collaboration  “Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others (ISTE website)”.  The use of digital cameras in the classroom would allow students to create videos through the Animoto software. These videos can be shared with their parents, teachers, and classmates to show what they know about a particular topic.  We could then incorporate Skype calls to other classrooms in the Archdiocese and share the projects by screencasting!  Digital Storytelling through ePals

Technical Support  If we run into any problems with the digital cameras we purchase, we have a service contract with the company SnapTech.  This company provides technical support on all of our equipment in our school.  Representatives from this company continually make site visits to our school to make sure our technology is running smoothly.

Professional Learning  Implementation of these tools would begin with professional development time during our faculty meetings weekly to show the benefits of using digital cameras in the classroom.  Technologist and I will meet with each grade level and talk about how they could use digital cameras in the areas that they are currently teach.  Classroom teachers across the grades could come and watch how the students interact with digital cameras in the computer lab.  Collaborating with other teachers across grade levels with projects that help the older students “teach” the younger students.

Okay…so we have taken photos and videos…now what?  Once your students have taken photos and videos with the digital cameras, they can turn them into multimedia media projects with simple steps!  Below is a 30 second video I created by using still photos through the Animoto software. Play Sample Video

Animoto: A free movie editing software 3 easy steps! Insert Photos & Videos Customize style Share & Enjoy

Reflection  The addition of digital cameras and accessories to our school would not benefit the students and teachers. Teachers can incorporate these digital tools into their lessons for the students to create projects to show their knowledge. Digital cameras can be used to enhance any project where the students are usually using clip art images or Google images. I’m excited to start using these tools in the computer lab with all the grade levels and I hope that you can find some use for using these tools in your own classroom!

Bibliography    implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/Communication++and+Collaboration implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/Communication++and+Collaboration