List your ideas for using photos/clip art in the classroom.

Be sure to post your name or initials after your post. Note your content area / grade level. List your own ideas, or a link to ideas you found online.

Jen Sanders, Compueter 6-12
I mentioned in my forum that students in my class have taken pictures and used them for PowerPoint projects. I also have had students use photos from the web and also scanned images to use in these projects. As part of their final, the high school students did a project on a particular year in the past and they had to summarize the important part of the year. Finding pictures that corresponded to news stories, events, music, movies, etc. was fun for the students. I did have them create a works cited page in their project.

All the exploration of these Web 2.0 tools is exciting and provides more ways to add pictures - to wikis and blogs - just showing students how to use the various photo sharing software. Heck, most of them can probably teach us a thing or two. One thing I think is important to teach the students when they add pictures to the Internet goes back to Internet safety. So little privacy on the internet can lead to more trouble. Even adults are finding themselves being scrutinized with employers looking at Facebook amd MySpace pages. If they see things they don't like - it may very well lead to a rejection for a job (or a termination). It is important for students to be aware of this especially with them using these sites.

Barb Scullin, Computer 6-8
My students and I use images from the web (Google Images, Flickr, Photo Bucket) and from our classroom digital camera when creating PowerPoint presentations, videos, desktop publishing documents and web sites. I take pictures of the students using our classroom digital camera the first week of school and require students to import their image into a Word assignment and display their work on the bulletin board. In addition, we use the images in PowerPoint assignments.

We discuss different image types, ways to acquire images, digital cameras, video cameras, flip cameras and photo imaging software (which we really need at the middle school!) I would love to incorporate photo editing if we had the tools and the time!

Kathy Robertson, 6th Grade Language Arts and other content areas
I use digital photos in my classroom in several ways in order to help my students (especially those with special needs) to make concrete connections to something that may be more abstract. I use google images to put on the smartboard in the morning sometimes as writing prompts especially if they go along with something that we have been reading. I also take pictures of my students in the beginning and end of the year and use them with autobiographical prose and poetry so they can see their own growth in their photos and in their writing throughout the year. I also use photos for my students when I am uploading information before it is taught in the large group in science and social studies. I also use photos when presenting unfamiliar vocabulary words.

Lori Gulley, 3rd Grade
I use digital pictures in my classroom by taking pictures of each student on the first day of school. These pictures are used thoughout the year for various reasons. I upload and order my prints from Walgreens whenever I need them. I get a 5x7 of each student for our "Star of the Week" board. Then I use 4x6 prints for things like holiday gifts, writing lessons and to include in our scrapbooks. I also take pictures of classroom activities to include in an end-of-the-year slideshow. The kids love this and are surprised at how much they have changed throughout the year!


Bridget Buchtel, Family and Consumer Sciences, 6 and 8 grade, Roehm and Ford Middle
I use digital pictures for many units/activites in my classes. I incorporate them in various PowerPoint Presentations. For example, I show a manners PowerPoint and it includes pictures of formal place settings and different foods from different cultures. When I am in different countries I always take pictures of the food to bring back and share with students. This is helpful for our Cultural Buffet Project. I share my pictures and students must research three additional pictures of the country food and pictures of the land. I can use Flickr instead of just using google. Here are some pictures of the food we ate in Italy this summer:
ITALY_232.jpg
Wild Boar
This is wild boar and zuccini mush.
ITALY_503.jpg
Italian Pizza
This is a true Italian Pizza.
ITALY_616.jpg
Ravioli
This is cheese ravioli. Students also have to create their own PowerPoint based on the career category they fall into. They can incorporate pictures to explain the chosen career. I plan to incorporate more ways my students can use digital photos. I can have them take pictures of their Home Cooking and Home Laundry assignment and they could post to Flickr. I also want to document Builders Club and FCCLA that I advise this year.

Valerie Royed, SLP, Ford Middle School
I have typically gone to google images for pictures. As an SLP, I use them for language activities, or to illustrate vocabulary words. I also use them for visual communication boards. This is for use with kids who need to point to a picture to express needs or wants. Some kids need a very concrete photo, rather than a line drawing. Prior to getting a communication device, kids typically are assessed for their ability to use a very simple communication board. I also like what one person said on this post about using photos for reading activities--to help kids get an idea of setting. I could use photos for activities where I need pictures of actions/verbs and nouns.

Tracy Combs-Mountcastle-Intervention Specialist-Multi-Handicap Grades 9/10/11/12/23
Our curriculum is more vocationally based so I don't use photos a lot in academic lessons. I have had photo strips made to use at our job sites to help break down a task for a student. I also in the past have made photo albums of our field trips and working at our job sites for each school year-the students love looking at them over and over again. These photo albums have also been shown to parents of incoming students to help them visualize what to expect.
Students that take outside classes such as computer applications tend to stick with the clip art or google pictures for their projects.


Joyce Gruss - 6th grade science
In the past I used a lot of clip art on power points, worksheets, and tests. I have also found images on google but you have to go through a lot of pages to find something great. I really liked searching through Flickr but it has some flaws too - when I put in "scientists" I got a lot of mad scientist sketches and alblum covers for a rock band - We are Scientists! However, if I put in "geologists" I got the type of pictures I was intending to find. I like to make an interactive review for the Smartboard to be used the day before a test and use clip art and photos for it so Flickr will be handy for that.

I take a lot of digital photos of labs or class projects and share them as a slide show towards the end of a unit. Often I'll use a modified slide show from previous years to inspire new ideas for the present year's project. I put together a slide show for the end of the year with a few select slides from each grouping to remind students of all the things they accomplished and the good times we've had. I use some of my photos from vacations to illustrate science concepts, for example I use photos of rock formations illustrating sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks during our unit on the rock cycle. One summer I worked with the Cleveland Natural History Museum for a week on an archeologist dig in Sandusky. I put together a slide show of that week to illustrate "What Does a Scientist Do" which is our first unit of the quarter. Another day I followed up with a power point of scientists from A to Z (Astronomer to Zoologists) The students had to draw a picture of a scientist at work and many were inspired to draw archeologists!

We have a microscope that takes pictures and it is fun to show a blow up of a portion of the picture to see if the kids can guess what it is. For example I can show only the ovary of a flower to hook them on the day's lesson of dissecting a flower to learn about reproduction. I wait to show the head of a mealworm pupa until after they have bonded with their "pet" mealworm that we use to learn designing an experiment. If they saw that head first they would never have picked up their mealworm

Deborah Greaves-Grade 2
I usually go to the web to locate video clips far more often that pictures. The reason being that I had so much difficulty finding ones that were not copyright forbidden. This week I have found a wealth of new resources for using photos in the classroom. I really like Astronomy Picture of the Day. It shows a different astronomy picture each day from NASA and a brief explanation. The students really loved this last year. I plan on taking digital pictures more often next year to include in my students' individual portfolios. I now know that there are so many free backup sites such as Flickr that can help me store photos and the many editing sites that we have available to use to enhance them.

Laura French- Intervention Specialist
I use the web a lot to help me find pictures that go with my lessons. For the most part, I do a google picture search and find photos there. I have never used flickr before but from the sounds of it, that would be a better bet for me. I like to include pictures on my worksheets that go with that subject area. I also use a ton of photos and clip art for my individual behavior charts in the classroom. My students really like having pictures of what interests them for their desk charts. This year, I already made a bird chart and a Hannah Montana chart for two of my students.

Amren Fowler- 2nd Grade
I go to the web often to search for pictures to extend lessons, or to help studendt visualize something they hear about in a book or we use in our discussions. BUT I usually search google pictures and there is a lot of junk to get through before I can find a quality picture. I went to Flicker and typed in a few things I might search in my classroom and quickily found thousands of quality pictures that I could easily use to and would be great examples to share with my students.

jinnifer roach--u.s. history, 8th
i use digital pictures for my seating chart which subs love! and because i am not publishing them, i can have everyone included.
i am also the yearbook advisor and am always taking photos of activities, projects, presentations...
the kids on our team seem to be "represetented" in the yearbook very well!
i like carrie's idea of having a ppt or slide show to show parents at the end of the year and then for open house the following year as a preview. thanks!
also, i use photos on my tests/quizzes that are clues to the answers---if the kids are paying attention they pick up on it and by the 3rd or 4th time they know to look.

David Kushlak - Language Arts 6th grade
I see the use of photo sharing coming in handy when we are reading novels. The photos could help the students visualize a setting which would open the door to more meaningful discussion on how the setting affects the story. I could see photos being used as story starters or to be added to a presentation by the students to help the audience.

Carrie Rump-Grade 2
I have to say that I have been lazy lately with taking pictures of my classroom activities and actually doing something with them. In the past I have taked pictures and made memory books for each child in my class. As my life got crazier (kids) I do not have the time to make books for each student. So for the past few years I have taken pictures and done nothing with them. Next year I am going to create a power point to show to parents at the end of the year. I will have to work on what it is going to look like. Then maybe the following year I can use some of the pictures to show parents what goes on in the classroom during Parent Info night.


1. 100 Ways to Use Digital Cameras in the Classroom Sue Ann Miller
Robin Marken -Grade 1
I use my digital camera frequently in the classroom. Last year we took pictures of our field trip to the farm. I had a few very technologically savy first graders who worked on a power point presentation that we showed during parent conferences. I have also created memory books for the students every year highlighting some of our science experiments or special activities in the classroom. I think using Flickr will be a great time saving source for me in the upcoming school year.

Kathy Jadud K-5 Art
I have been keeping student art portfolio’s for my students for 6 years on our online art gallery on Artsonia. Currently there are over 20,000 artworks in our gallery. I also take pictures / videos of my students working and show grade level slide shows in our last week of school classes. When I do a project of a living artist I send a slide show of student work inspired by the artist to the artist. Twice the artists have responded by posting the slide show on their websites.


Jane Darrow- grades 6-12 Gifted Services
I've used photographs at the middle school of places I've traveled, to help motivate and prepare students for the National Geographic Bee. I have many burned on cd's and really need to go through to limit the number to make them more accessible. At both the middle and high school, I've used pictures I've taken of students and activities to help illustrate future options and programs available to students. Having one place where all my educational photos are stored would make it much more convient for me.

Jamie Palcisko-Second Grade
In past years I have created student memory books. I took pictures throughout the year (parties, spirit week, fun activities, group work, home projects, field trips) and created individual student picture portfolios. This past year I took photos but never did anything with them. I am hoping to continue taking pictures and come up with an idea to create something with them. I did a search for a site with ideas for digital cameras and here is the link I found...
http://www.wacona.com/digicam/digicam.html

Pat Caine--Grade 6, Lang. Arts
I purchased a Digital Flip Mino this spring, and have utilized to record team projects. After reading part 1 of Chasing the Falconer's, groups were asked to choose a chapter, and write a skit based upon the story events. I was able to have IT install the Flip saftware onto my classroom computer. I wanted to download the work onto a site for studetns to view, but at that time did not know how to accomplish. As for photos I really have not used a camera in my classroom, other than the Flip video. I see that I could utilize a camera, when studetns have a reading project. They could take pictures of how the tought a character may look based upon the descriptions in the book, and post and share them with other who are reading the same book. Perhaps even share them with students in other schools; districts, cities, who may be reading the same book. That would increase the social aspect of photo sharing.

Barb Thomas--Third Grade
I really haven't used digital pictures in the classroom. I have in the past used photographs but digital pictures would be much easier, a larger variety, and the internet to keep and use them. I like the idea of using pictures of the students to post their work instead of names. I am thinking of doing a student made scrap book for their third grade year. In the past my room moms have taken pictures but not that I could use. I now have a digital camera and will be using it in the classroom. I am going to take pictures and put into a power point to use for next year's back to school night. I have a power point now with pictures from the internet but NOT of specific things done in my third grade class. I think by doing this it will add a personal touch.

Sheryl Medvetz-5th Grade Math
I use digital photos throughout the entire school year. Here are some of the ways I've used them:
  • student created electronic ppt portfolio included pics and graphics (self photos and group photos used as needed)
  • created imovie with pic and video for end year 5th grade farewell
  • pics of places I've visited for lessons...(ie. Washington D.C. and U.S. HIstory) or found on internet
  • Funny pics used for hook or motivators in class (sometimes I make cartoons using my mac using kids photos...just fun I guess!)
  • slideshow for Curriculum Night/Open House/Conferences
Shirley Shaver - Kindergarten
I have mostly used student photographs in the classroom. Here are some examples.
  • Added the student's picture next to his/her name on the Center Board - This helps some students know who is in their group and where they belong.
  • Made an ABC book - Lying on the floor the student, with a friend if needed, used his/her body to create a letter and then found pictures beginning with the letter sound.
  • Smartboard Growing Unit - Students brought in pictures of themselves as a baby, toddler, and school age. I put them into a smartboard lesson where the pictures were covered with digitally created stars and they had to guess who the student was from the baby picture. The subsequent pictures were displayed and students had to guess the Star Student's age and how much they had grown.
  • Professionally, I have used pictures of teaching ideas taken at various conferences as a reminder of the ideas.
All these photos are on the school network and inaccessible at the moment.

Scott Barber- 7th Grade Science
Here are some ways I have used digital photos.
*Document/Review classroom experiments
*Personal pics of real life science events
*Student generated pics for data collection during home labs
*Send and receive pics from professional contacts for use in the classroom
Here are some sample pics!
IMG_0017.JPGP8300061.JPG
P5280095.JPGairball.gif

Amanda Prok - 8th Grade Language Arts
The past couple of years I have used photos that came to me in an email with the subject line "The Last Photo I Ever Took". There were several pictures illustrating possibly your final moment. Here are a few examples from the email - images.jpgimage.jpgshark_attack.jpg
I use these photos for a creative writing assignment where the students write about one of the digital images (how did the person come to be in this situation, what happened to the person, etc.). It's always fun to read what they come up with. However, now that I've read the "7 Things You Should Know about Creative Commons" - I'm wondering if I am breaking any copyright laws (I don't know where the email originated). I also have a friend who travels the world and she always keeps my students in mind when on one of her adventures and therefore, takes pictures for me to share with the classes. Many times we use her photos for creative writing assignments. I have also started asking students to share some of their digital photos. Students who travel or are out and about are always on assignment for me to find those photos that would make a great writing assignment. I encourage the use of digital cameras, and cell phone cameras.


Terri Martin - Spanish





I have always used pictures in my classroom of the trips I have taken to Mexico to share the history and culture in a better way. I always cover one of the walls in my room with 8x10 laminated pictures of my most recent trip. It helps build interest in the next trip among incoming students. Plus it gives me an always available reference when we talk about cultural and historical things that come up in the book (our book talks about a few of the cities we tour during the trip). I can point to pictures on the wall and it extends the discussion. Here are a couple pictures I use.. IMG_2258_00.JPG IMG_2235.JPG I can also use these digital pictures in power point lessons that I created.



Diane Goulis - First Grade
I use my digital camera often on a daily basis in my classroom. For the past 15 or more years I have created a First Grade Memory book for each of my students. I switched to a digital camera 6 years ago. I have always printed out the pictures for my students, but this was the last year for this project as the cost was getting way out of hand. I will be looking to create digital memory books this year. I take pictures of field trips, guest speakers, lost teeth smiles, the weekly Super Star, completed art projects, funny incidents (like when our tongues turn colors from Ring Pops), recess fun, students working on various activities, etc. Students then write about their
pictures.
I also take my digital camera when I attend workshops so that I can remember great ideas to use in the classroom. As a creature of habit, I take photos of my classroom so that I can remember how to set it up each fall. I take pictures of bulletin boards and learning centers. We make class books with digital photos. (Whole Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?; the "h"
brothers -ch, th, sh, wh; ABC books) I frequently share photos from my own vacation travels with my students and photos sent from family members.
Hopefully I can include a slide show presentation that I have used with my students.



This is a power point presentation called Snow and Ice Festival. It is a 60 slide presentation of an ice festival in China. Great photos and music. I already have this on my school computer. It was sent to my by a friend via email. I had to do a websearch to find the site. Yeah for me!



Cool pictures of the earth from space Diane Goulis

John McDonnell This past year, I did a project called "All about me" The students make a powerpoint project about them and their families. Some students brought in pictures of their families on memory sticks and put them into their powerpoint. I also use powerpoint in my social studies and science lessons and I use the photos in them.


I have been doing power points with my class for years. We incorporate pictures we have "borrowed" from the web as well as digital pictures we took at school. The theme of the power points were "All About (insert name)"
I have also used photos from the web to go along with our Countries Around the World year long unit.
Tim Carpenter

Lori Sveda- Computer 6-8
My students use digital images both from the web and from a digital camera when creating powerpoint presentations, videos, desktop publishing and website creation. I use digital images when demonstrating or showing examples to my students.

Ryan Johnson - Grade 3
I use the web to look for photos that can extend the lessons I am teaching, or for showing more examples then what the books provide in a given lesson. There are even times that I am teaching or talking about something and the kids may not be familiar with something that I have talked about and I will pull up a picture to show them. I have also used power point to use and present some of the photos I have found.

Christi Hoffman - 7th grade Language Arts
In the past I've used pictures for students who are struggling to get started with a writing topic. I can show them different parts to set up a story and they go from there. For example, I show a landscape for their setting, and people for their characters.
Students are continually looking for pictures to add to their creative writing assignments or any writing assignment for that matter. They seem to love searching for photos!
I use photos about myself on the first day of school in a brief presentation about "me" and what I like to do besides teach.
I've also put together an album for students dealing with my travels and literature. Any time I've come across something that relates to class, it goes in the book, such as the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park, London, Shakespeare's Globe, Kit Carson's house and grave, just to name a few. Although with the ongoing additions, it may just be easier to post to an online album for student to view.

Sheri Williams - 9th - 12th grade Computer Applications
In the past I have provided pictures that went with the vocabulary unit in the Computer Applications class. I would like the students to take pictures and document the inside of a computer. They could then post them and document them privately to start with and then they could make them public using flickr.

Students could also document how to do certain tasks with pictures and directions. One of the tasks that would be great to document is how to make a network cable in the Networking class. Students could work in groups to create directions on how to create and test a network cable.


Toni Knotek--9-12 Computer and Social Studies
I advise the Robotics team and Key Club and take many, many pictures of the kids and their activities--which I then post to the G drive so that the kids can see their participation. I also burn CD's for students who would like a copy of the digital pictures that I have taken. In classwork, I add pictures to powerpoint presentations or other documents (including excel spreadsheets) to add emphasis or clarity or interest for the students. Pictures can also be used to help students understand 1, 2, 3 order in accomplishing tasks--such as how to correctly build or do something (as in robotics).


Heidi Demaline - Intervention Specialist
I have taken many pictures of students doing activities but have not really used them. I wanted to put them on the general drive like some other teachers have, but I have not done so yet. I would love to have them available for students to use for writing assignments where they can put the picture right in their document. I also think that the pictures could be used for digital story telling. I think the students would have a lot of fun with that.