Integrating+photography+into+the+curriculum+inexpensively

Integrating photography into the curriculum inexpensively: student applications. By: McKenzie, Barbara K., Hurt, Jim, School Library Monthly, May 1995, Vol. 11

AUTHOR:	Barbara D. McKenzie and Jim Hurt TITLE:	Integrating Photography into the Curriculum Inexpensively: Student Applications SOURCE:	School Library Media Activities Monthly 11 36-8 My 1995 COPYRIGHT:	The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in violation of the copyright is prohibited. Photography is one of the most exciting kinds of technology that students of all ages can become actively involved in at school. Unfortunately, owing to the unfamiliarity of teachers with the subject and the prevalence of many misconceptions, photography continues to be overlooked as a technology to be integrated into the curriculum. This article focuses on the numerous benefits of photography for students and identifies selected activities that have been popular with K-12 students. In addition, a few teaching guidelines are suggested to assist the classroom instructor in familiarizing students with photography and general artistic principles. Photography is a vehicle through which students can be provided with meaningful hands-on learning experiences. It allows students to capture the world as they see it through the camera's viewfinder, learn and apply basic compositional principles, critically think and select subject matter for various photography assignments, apply principles of color as well as use black-and-white film, and have fun while learning. Despite all that photography has to offer, many teachers still do not give this technology a second thought when planning lessons on composition, color, or capturing artistic impressions of the students' surroundings. Such comments as "photography is too expensive to integrate into the curriculum"; "the school does not own a 35mm camera"; "we don't have a darkroom in the school"; "no one knows how to use a 35mm camera"; and "the last camera the school owned was broken about ten years ago and has not been fixed" are frequently heard. All of the above statements are common misconceptions that the vast majority of teachers have about photography. It is true that the manufacturers of 35mm cameras during the 1960s and 1970s were competing to produce professional cameras with the largest variety of built-in capabilities. These cameras were offered to the general public and were often very flexible machines with "bells and whistles" that made them capable of excellent photography under a wide variety of difficult conditions. But these cameras were not user-friendly and required some study in the basic principles of photography in order to make use of all of the often-confusing options that were included in the camera. During the 1980s, camera manufacturers realized that the cameras sold were purchased by people who simply wished to take photographs without having to learn the finer points of camera operations. It was during this time that cameras began to lose many of the manual functions that made them so flexible. Capabilities were eliminated in order to simplify the operation of the cameras. Thus, the automatic exposure, auto-focus, auto-zoom cameras were put on the market and the operator only had to point and shoot. However, these point-and-shoot cameras were still relatively expensive and in the last few years there has been a return to the roots of photography with the advent of the single-use camera. A single-use camera is a cardboard box with film inside and a simple shutter mechanism behind a fixed-focus plastic lens. The entire package costs less than ten dollars. Once again Kodak can advertise, "you push the button and we'll do the rest!" Throw-away cameras, made by several companies such as Kodak and Fuji, require minimal knowledge to shoot photographs successfully. All that is required is that the user look through the viewfinder to select the content and inclusiveness of the shot, push the shutter button, and then advance the film to the next shot. When the entire roll is exposed, the user takes the entire unit, camera and film, in for processing. Although these cameras cannot adjust for the lighting conditions present at the time a shot is made and the lenses are less than perfect, they can and do make acceptable photographs under normal conditions. If students progress beyond the single-use camera, some of the finest cameras ever made can be picked up for pennies on the dollar at yard sales, flea markets, and pawn shops. Sometimes cameras and lenses that are still worth hundreds of dollars can be purchased for as little as five to twenty dollars. Photography can be used in many diverse ways to make the curriculum come alive. The following activities are some of the more exciting student-centered applications that we have seen effectively integrated into the school curriculum. These include activities in five areas: (1) student preferences, (2) problem-solving, (3) public relations, (4) artistic self-expression, and (5) writing activities. STUDENT PREFERENCES Through the photographic medium, the classroom instructor is able to obtain important demographic information on students that may not have been made available through other means. Teachers can use photography that is carefully designed and implemented to learn about the nature of their students and their individual learning styles and preferences. Some useful assignments might involve students shooting the following content areas and then presenting the photographs to the class in a lecture demonstration format: * my family and home * my favorite pet * the person I would most like to be   * the profession I am most interested in    * my favorite leisure activity * my favorite subject area in school * the place I like the most, and * the best vacation my family and I have taken. PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES Photography can also be used for the student to think critically about selected problems and develop plausible solutions. A few photography-based activities that have been well received by students are: * photograph a part of something and then ask students to identify what it is (e.g., a part of an animal, a part of an historic building, etc.) * select a person that has been studied and do a photo essay on the person * photograph the steps in an important process in school and share this with the class in a presentation (the steps in a chemistry experiment, safety precautions associated with getting on a school bus after school, how to use a CD-ROM player in the library media center, how to take a well-composed photograph, etc.), and * photograph a concept and examples of it (shapes, animals, continents, people, plants, etc.). SCHOOL PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITIES One of the most popular uses of photography has been in the public relations area, for which students have taken photographs for various school publicity pieces. Some of the most common assignments have included: * photographing people, places, or activities for inclusion in the school yearbook * taking photographs for bulletin boards in the school (e.g., accomplished students or teachers, photographs on a selected theme, seasonal events, photographs for units of study, etc.) * photographing shots for selected public relations pieces on school events such as the school play, athletic events, PTO meetings, various school performances by clubs, and * taking photographs or slides of trips taken by students to the zoo, art museum, space center, or historic sites in the state. ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES Students can use photography as a means of self expression in a wide variety of circumstances. Popular assignments have included: * selecting shots to fit various photographic categories, such as an interesting indoor shot, outdoor shot, a well-composed shot, a photograph of a person, an action shot, or a night shot * taking photographs and writing an accompanying script (a photo report) * developing photographs for entry into the state media festival * photosketching photographs * taking photographs and developing a book using the photographs, and * designing and developing a slide/tape program to accompany an instructional unit in school. WRITING ACTIVITIES Teachers in many content areas, especially history and English, have used photography for research and photo-essay assignments. Students are given a research assignment, asked to retrieve both written and visual information, and then produce a photographic and written report for the class. The following are some interesting assignments: * select an historical event that has taken place in the region or state and produce a photo essay that incorporates as many authentic materials as you can obtain * produce a photo report with slides or prints of your favorite author and the author's books * design and produce a photo report on an historical issue that will be presented next term * photograph the school or a selected location or event from a different point of view, such as a "bird's point of view" or a "child's point of view," and * select a professional (writer, educator, principal, athlete), research his/her job responsibilities, and present a slide/tape program to the class. TEACHING TIPS Before students are given photographic assignments, it is highly recommended that you present basic compositional information to them. This should include: * information on and photographic examples of good composition (the rule of thirds, effective placement of elements, framing of subjects, etc.) * how to design, write, and shoot photo reports, and * a bibliography of useful photography books and articles for the students to refer to. Some of the best photography of all time is available through the Library of Congress in the files of the Farm Security Administration's historical section. These photographs by photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein, Walker Evans, and Russell Lee belong to the American people and may be purchased for very small prices for prints. These classic prints offer some of the best examples of composition, choice of subject matter to tell a story, use of existing lighting, and camera angles. If your students have access to adjustable cameras, they should be given information about the following in addition to the compositional information: * how to load and unload film from the camera and general operational principles associated with the selected camera * information on how to set up and use a tripod or copystand * what kind of film should be used and the advantages of each (print, slide, color, black and white, film speed, etc.) * the reasons for changing the shutter controls and aperture controls on a camera (stopping motion, allowing motion to show, adjusting depth of field, etc.), and * recommended photography processing centers. Photography can be an exciting and meaningful learning medium for students. These selected activities are but a few of the many that have been recently used with students in grades K-12. We hope that once educators become more aware of the existence of inexpensive cameras that are now available and the various exciting photography activities that students can participate in, photography will become a part of a multitude of school activities ADDED MATERIAL Dr. Barbara K, McKenzie is an Associate Professor in the Media Education Department at West Georgia College and the Director of the Center for Technological Development & Implementation. Jim Hurt is the Television Director of the Learning Resources Center at West Georgia College.