Digital+Camera

=DIGITAL CAMERA =

** Photo Story Welcomes Children to School **

__Description:__ The following Photo Story was created using my Canon PowerShot camera and the [|Photo Story 3 free downloadable program]. I decided to do a Photo Story that followed the schedule of our class to be an entertaining and captivating method to share the daily activities with families and children who were new to our class and as a review for current students. During this spring I had two new children start class and as is always the case the hardest part of their day is transitions (moving between different activities). These very young children have a hard time understanding why they are leaving one activity for another and do not always understand the verbal, visual, social, gestural and physical help we give them. It is hard to settle and explain a transition to child who is already upset so the best thing to do is explain the schedule before hand and repeatedly so they can know what to expect. The Photo Story was a great why to use real photos (which are easiest to understand) in a consistent manner and best yet it is online so parents could review it with their children at home to prepare their child.

media type="file" key="Welcome to school.wmv" width="299" height="269"

__Reflection:__ I think the real life photos were a great way to expose the children to the schedule. My students are drawn to television like technology so watching the schedule on a computer screen was comfortable for them. In hindsight, I think the music was a little distracting for my young students and I'd probably drop it for future use. I am a little torn about the pictures not having students in them on one hand it is less distracting on the other hand it seems less welcoming. I haven't gotten much direct feedback from parents but I'm hoping that the Photo Story also makes the parents more comfortable and helps them learn the terminology of the different parts of our day here at school. The idea for this Photo Story came form a book we have used in the past that we've given out to the parents for them to read through to expose their children to the school environment, with this more high tech version I only have to give the parents the web address instead of making and handing out a book that can easily get torn or lost.

__Maryland Technology Literacy Standards For Students:__ Pre-K Skills- Standard 2.0 - Digital Citizenship B. Legal and Ethical Issues 1. Practice responsible and appropriate use of technology systems, software, and information b) Work cooperatively and collaboratively with others when using technology in the classroom Standard 3.0 - Technology for Learning and Collaboration A. Learning 1. Explore and use Technology tools in an instructional setting for Learning a) Explore and use teacher selected technology tools, including software and hardware, to learn new content or reinforce skills B. Collaboration 1. Explore and use technology in an instructional setting to encourage collaboration b) Participate in a class lesson using technology tools exploring, collecting, and displaying data C. Increase Productivity 1.Explore and use technology to increase productivity a) Use appropriate technology tools to support learning goals Standard 4.0 - Technology for Communication and Expression A. Communication 1. Explore how technology is used for communication a) Recognize that technology helps with communication at home b) Recognize that technology helps with communication at school