Fall 1999

Teachers have taken photographs of their students ever since George Eastman introduced the Kodak Brownie camera and made photography simple. Kids love to pose for and take pictures, too in the classroom, on field trips, and at special class occasions. But let's face it. Up 'til now, the biggest barrier to doing more with photos in the classroom has been the cost of film and the time and cost of film processing.

That's changing, thanks to the advent of digital photography -- no film, no processing and the falling price of digital cameras. Now a class can go on afield trip in the morning, snap pictures with a digital camera, come back and write about what they've seen and heard, and put out an illustrated newsletter to take home to Mom and Dad by the end of the school day all thanks to the convenience of a digital camera and a computer.

But to borrow an old photography phrase, that's just a "flash in the pan" compared to the many other exciting uses of digital cameras in the everyday classroom curriculum. In a new 24-page booklet called "Digital Cameras in the Classroom," educators Dr. Merle Marsh and Diane Kendall outline practical suggestions for innovative uses of digital photography in almost every school subject area. In addition, they introduce appropriate software for editing, storing, and sending by email digital pictures, along with tips and tricks for using such programs quickly and efficiently. As an added bonus, the brochure contains an extensive resource guide on the variety of substances on which photos can be printed including fabric, decals, and plastic making digital photography an even more valuable resource for creativity in the classroom.