iPhotography: Simply Me by Joyce Lourenço Pereira , Instructional Technology Coordinator at the International School of Curitiba
Cross posted to Joyce Lourenço Pereira’s blog
Image retrieved from: iMore
The art of capturing visual imagery on your mobile device.
I went to Google in Education Brazil Summit in Rio 2013 and met the incredible Nicole Dalesio who introduced me to the idea of teaching iPhoneography as part of my Digital Literacy and Citizenship course. I was so inspired that I quickly developed a unit called iPhotography that would incorporate the use of any mobile device (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch).
I am in the middle of teaching this unit to my 6th-8th grade students and have been thrilled to see the photos they have created. I just had to share!
I wanted to conduct this unit similar to my favorite reality TV shows (e.g. Top Chef, Face Off) where there are “challenges with a twist”. This unit consists of five lessons. (Each lesson will have its individual blog post.)
The first lesson in this series is: Simply Me
I begin by asking students to respond to the following questions on a backchannel. (I personally like using TodaysMeet.) Think About It:
What is the purpose of photography?
What were the earliest forms of photography?
The first lesson in this series is: Simply Me
I begin by asking students to respond to the following questions on a backchannel. (I personally like using TodaysMeet.) Think About It:
What is the purpose of photography? What were the earliest forms of photography?
Below are some of my favorite responses:
Correction: “The Croods” I then went over the unit’s objectives and focus questions. (Adapted from: Arts Online- Photography to Phoneography)
Objectives: Through guided class discussions and practical application you will learn about values of others and develop your ability to:
Express your values through generation, selection and refinement of visual imagery. Explore with empathy the values of others through reflection of selected images. Analyze values and how they are communicated through decisions made by photographers. Make ethical decisions about how they use cameras responsibly with respect for others.
Focus Questions:
How has changing technology influenced photography, the style, purpose and impact of images? What protocols (rules) may early photographers considered before photographing people? How does technology affect the decisions photographers make: what and how they photograph their subject? What is the relationship between the photographer and the subject? How might changing technology have affected this? Is cell phone technology a threat to privacy? What protocols (rules) should digital and cell phone users consider today? How could recent technology impact on peoples personal rights including their privacy, safety and intellectual property? What are model release forms and when should they be used? What is the value (worth) of cell phone images?
We then watched the following video on the history of photography. Watch:
“Illuminating photography: From camera obscura to camera phone” by Eva Timothy
After watching and discussing the video above, I presented this week’s “challenge with a twist”.
Challenge with a Twist: Simply Me
Create an image or collage that best depicts you as a person. Subject: YOU Twist #1: you have to take/direct all the photos to be included in your final image/collage Twist #2: you may not take a traditional “selfie”
Using Google Docs, write a reflection explaining the process and choices made in the “Simply Me” image you created. (Title: Your Name + iPhoto Simply Me; example “Joyce Pereira iPhoto Simply Me“)
To provide inspiration for my students, I shared a few images from various websites: (I googled “amazing self-portrait”.)
My students went above and beyond my expectations! Here are some of their finished results: This video was created using Animoto. Song: “Life” by Beckah Shae