You hear much discussion about one laptop or tablet per child. However at the same time we are entering an exciting world where we have one camera per child. Schools are increasingly permitting students to use tablets and phones in the classroom and with them comes a built-in camera. This is a wonderful resource that you should be making the most of but it does require a bit of thought. Let’s have a look at some activities you could do with your students’ built-in cameras and examine the potential pitfalls.
Let’s say you are using the cameras to allow children to apply their learning to their environment. For example, you have been doing rhyming words and want them to take pictures of two objects that rhyme or in numeracy they are looking for certain shapes, angles or patterns. This is fine with their built-in cameras so long as they are working in a light environment and are going up close to the objects rather than using the zoom (if there is one). This is because phones and tablets do not have optical zoom. Thus, when you zoom in you are using digital zoom and thereby compromising the quality of the image. Phones and tablets, due to the desire to remain slim line, also have smaller sensors. Sensors capture all the light available and turn it into a digital signal, meaning tablets and smartphones can struggle with dim lighting. Nothing is more frustrating than students ending up with dark incomprehensible photos. To avoid this you can do a little work with them on photography basics prior to the activities, showing them how they could move the objects into a light space and move nearer to the object to take the photo.
Even bearing this in mind, teachers and students should be aware that other rich contextual activities will require digital still cameras. For example a science inquiry might have them find mini-beasts, parts of plants or the body. Much more learning will take place if they have a camera with a decent zoom and possibly with a close- up option. Alternatively you could even use a visualiser or digital microscope. However once you and your students are aware of the capabilities of the built-in camera, the world is your oyster.
Traditionally classroom cameras have largely been used to stimulate writing be it recounts, processes or descriptions. The students capture their photos of the field trip or the stages of them making a cake and use them to produce a piece of prose or poetry, often digitally. This is really where a student-owned device comes into its own (subject to the above lighting and proximity issues!) because it allows them to take their own photos. They are not using the class field trip photos to stimulate their stories but the photos that they took and that interest them. A student might arrive with an amazing shot he/she took of a sunset to stimulate poetry writing, or a series of photos of them working on a project with dad for a recount. This is the real beauty of each child having their own camera, even if it is a built-in one!
In addition, it is incredibly easy for the students to access these photos to edit and to drop into pages/Google docs/ word, or to upload to a blog or another online medium as they are working on a computer and this will most likely be on a wireless network. Many laptops and tablets have very easy to use editing apps available as well as digital story apps which means that the technical issues that often distracted the students from the writing part of the activity are largely removed. However, there is another side to the coin, and that is the ease with which the students can take and share photos that may not be related to the task at hand and may be inappropriate or hurtful. Most schools have a cyber-policy but with the increased access to cameras it may be worth just revisiting it to ensure that it is adequate for the resources that the students now have available.
You also have a fantastic assessment tool to hand. Students can take photographs of their writing at the beginning of term and at the end. Now you can have just-in- time photos of those wonderful learning moments and great achievements because every child has a camera to capture their own and each other’s experiences. The only word of warning on this is that a Smartphone or tablet is not going to suffice if you want to capture those looks of triumph when a student delivers a flawless speech in the school production, dances their socks off, scores a try and so on. Smartphones and tablets do offer the ability to capture multiple sequential shots but if you want sharp image quality and to see the emotion on a students face, it comes down to a fast camera and a good quality lens. Even a regular point and shoot camera will struggle at a sporting event so do ensure that your school or team has access to at least one serious camera.
The other reason why you should also consider keeping a compact camera is if you are heading off on a five day camp or planning a long shoot you need to consider battery life and storage. A compact camera allows you to switch batteries and swap out storage. Tablets and most phones are not so designed. You can buy extra batteries to plug in such as the Sony Capacity USB charger, but these can be cumbersome when taking photos. Work with students to ensure that if they are using a tablet or phone it is fully charged on arrival and have your “real” camera as back up!
Our advice is that schools invest in a range of options. Make use of the built-in cameras for simple point and shoot photos in good lighting conditions. However every classroom needs to have at least one compact still camera for shooting better quality images. Look out for multi- buy deals and kits sets that include bags and storage. Depending on the size of the school, you should also have access to one or more higher end cameras for capturing significant events and achievements which will incorporate the ability to take good action shots so that you don’t miss those moments and happy expressions that make teaching worthwhile!