Paint, toes and digital images

What cute little painted toes!  However, this blog post isn't on paint or toes, but rather on digital images.  The original version of this image was a large 1.76MB, which I was able to resize to a more web friendly 162 KB.  Resizing was very easy, and something I must do in the future (it only took a couple of seconds to upload vs the many many minutes it normally takes with the original size).

I used a PMI analysis to explore images in more detail:

Plus

• Can tell a story in one image
• Don't rely on language
• Can add value to text/concepts
• Can effectively document something that would take many words to describe
• Date stamped
• Visually represent concepts that are not visible to naked eye
• Can be shared across the web - widely accessed

Minus

• Sometimes used ineffectively as "fillers"
• Requires permission from those being photographed

Implications / interesting

• Because they don't rely on language, they can be useful for teaching with students with low literacy or ESL
• Need to ensure permissions are sought before taking photos, particularly of children (in which case, permission from their parent/carer will be required).
• Because they are date stamped, they can be used easily for activities that require a chronological order
• Because images (of pretty much everything!) are easily accessible over the web, students are able to see things all over the world that they may not normally have been able to see (eg students can see the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawai'i Big Island without having to go to Hawaii.)

I can see that images and photos will play a big role in my teaching in the areas of Home Economics and Science.  In Science, there are many principles and concepts that are invisible to the naked eye.  For example, it would be very hard for students to grasp the concept of an atom, if they were not able to see an image of it.  Images in science could also be very useful for students to document their work, particularly if they are conducting an experiment over time.  It is much easier and more effective to take photos of their work at each stage, rather than just trying to describe what they see in words.  For example, photographing a bacteria culture growing over time will give them a much clearer understanding of the changes rather than documenting what they see in words (where it would be much harder to remember and create a mental picture of what happened back on day 1).

In Home Economics, using photographs can also be a great learning tool.  In the area of food science, taking photos of each trial can provide the students with an ongoing portfolio of their learning (could be in the form of their own blog).  For example, if they are investigating how fats change a baked product, they can take a photo of the mixture and the end product of each trial … one set of photos for no fat added, one set of photos for optimal fat included, and one set of photos for too much fat added.  The photos will document the changes in consistency of the batter, changes in end overall look of the product, and changes in the texture and crumb of the product.  This would be much more effective to document with pictures and text, rather than text alone.  By having a portfolio of all of these images and findings in food science, each student will be able to use their portfolio for assessment, exam revision, learning, and if they use a blog to create their portfolio, it will contribute to the overall body of evidence available in food science.

 

With images, there are ethical, safe and legal guidelines that students must follow.  When photographing people, students must ensure they get permission from the subject.  In the case of children, they must get permission from the parent/carer (in my experience with Education Queensland, schools require parents to sign a permission form to allow photos to be taken of their children at school, however, students and teachers should check this in case the parent of their photo subject has not given permission).  It is also important that students understand that they do not use explicit images (nor take photos of explicit content).  Copyright restrictions also need to be complied with when using images.  Students (and their teachers) can access the Australian Copyright Council's webpage for student guidelines on copyright restrictions.