Curriculum Exemplar

For my curriculum exemplar I chose using digital camera technology. Remembering the first year I ever taught, I integrated photography into my one of my social studies lessons. We used an old manual camera and, of course, we had to wait many days to get the prints back. Nevertheless, the students loved the process of taking pictures. These days, we can do so much more using digital cameras.

I found the article on the site Education World. http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml The article goes on to describe the many uses for digital cameras in school. Students can take pictures for a project or other various activities and then publish those pictures on the Web. For example, the article describes an actual lesson where students created a virtual reality movie using digital pictures. This is a great article for educators because it includes two dozen digital camera activites teachers can use in the classroom. In addition, this article supports the idea of the importance of students becoming creators of content.

I found an interesting social studies lesson on the Web that uses digital camera technology called Know Your Community. http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~ucfcasio/combroch.htm

This lesson is a good example of how you might use digital cameras in the classroom. This lesson offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves and learn about the community in which they live. After compiling photographs of various locations and /or landmarks, they then can create a brochure, web page or video about their city. Lastly, the chamber of commerce is contacted and a set of brochures, or video is given to them.

I chose this exemplar because I was struck by the many ways teachers can use digital cameras in their lessons. In addition, there is an ease of use concerning digital cameras. Photographs come out immediately. Pictures can be viewed on screen, Smart Board or e-mailed. It seems that students would be able to easily use and also be engaged while using digital cameras. In addition, from my previous experience, I found that students become more involved with the subject. Students learn to reason and plan what pictures to take and why those pictures are needed. You are also giving them a certain amount of independence and choice.

The lesson Know Your Community hit me on a more personal level. I immediately envisioned doing this lesson with my students because many of my students have never left their neighborhood. Their knowledge of the different areas of Durham is very limited. Sure, they talk about Durham in the classroom; however, they have never physically been to other parts of Durham. In addition, the city of Durham is in the process of revamping its image. A school project like this could "give back" and benefit Durham by bringing positive attention to the city.

Some questions I would raise would be the question of how many digital cameras could a classroom teacher get for his/her class. Ideally it would be great if pairs of students could share a camera. I wonder where a teacher could get multiple cameras for classroom use? In addition, the concern for damage to the camera would be raised.
As an ESL teacher, I work with small groups. However, could I take just a few of those students out into Durham to take pictures? I would think not. I would have to do this project with a classroom teacher. However, each grade level pretty much goes on one or two field trips a year. Choosing to take a tour of Durham would have to be approved.