Digital Snapshot Response As presented by this article, there are many positive things to using digital cameras in the classroom. The more obvious benefits that I thought of right away were: kids learn how to use a camera, they can become proficient in photo editing programs, and have a great time. But, this article pointed out the many positive ways camera use can enhance curriculum learning. The author told about how the children would use their cameras during an experience such as an educational field trip. When they returned to school each child would upload their pictures and start to add captions about what was going on in the picture. Doing this helped stimulate the childs creative thinking and helped them apply thoughts and change it into words on paper. Going through this process helped students engage in writing and actually enjoy it. Also, students would automatically be so engaged in the subject that they wanted to discuss their thoughts with other children. This aspect is helping students not only learn something, but gives them the opportunity to teach it to someone else and really learn the information. Children are suddenly growing academically and socially. The author also discussed how fun digital cameras were for the students. They loved taking pictures and uploading them. They suddenly had the power to change their pictures so they were exactly as they wanted them. Students were very advanced in their thinking and figured out how to do as much with a picture as they could. Soon children in kindergarten were making slide shows that could pass for a junior high school student's work. When the year was over and slide shows were presented to each parent, they were amazed. Each child had learned so much that year and learned how to apply their knowledge in many different ways. The positive feedback from parents helped encourage the students to do better and continue to succeed in school. Although there are many benefits to using digital cameras and computers in the classroom, teachers found many obstacles and problems with them too. Finding a spot to put computers in a classroom was one of the biggest issues. If they are in a predominant area of the classroom each student can be monitored sufficiently, but other students get distracted. They found that having the computers where they could be seen all the time just made concentration for students working on other assignments even harder. Another obstacle faced was that of monitoring the time each student used on the computer and making sure they were using it appropriately. With one teacher in a classroom, it could be nearly impossible to watch those students on computers and all the others. The last problem I would like to mention is that of equal time when it comes to cameras and computers. Some students could be very familiar with digital cameras and using the computer. I'm sure those students would love to be on the computer and taking pictures constantly. The goal with using cameras and computers though is to get all students involved so they can all benefit from the activity. If teachers can figure out how to solve issue one and two then issue three may be easier to deal with. Those children less familiar with cameras and computers could get the help from the teacher as needed and not be the center of attention in the classroom. Balancing the time between students may be difficult, but could be easier with a time limit for each student. With any kind of system in place the third problem could be fixed quite easily. Overall there are many positives and a few negatives to using digital cameras and computers. If teachers are willing to work through the challenges and find what works for their classroom the results could be very rewarding. After reading this article I plan to use cameras in my classroom. I have interned in a class where cameras were used as an extra activity to reward a small group of students for good work. But I believe cameras should be used regularly to benefit every child. I loved going out in with my own classmates and finding pictures this week. We went out and applied ourselves to the real world and it was pretty fun. I also got to know the two girls I was working with. I experienced my own positive results from a one day activity. I would love to use cameras in my classroom as the author of the article did. I want to be able to teach my students how to use a camera and altering programs. I think if I can teach a subject and have students use a camera to show me what they learned that would be awesome. For example, if we learn about physical exercise and how to keep our bodies healthy, I would want my students to take pictures pertaining to what they learned, add captions, and put it in a slide show to teach the rest of the class. With this kind of assignment the students are evaluating what they learned, teaching others from their perspective, and having fun while being social. I hope to get around any obstacles I may face and really incorporate cameras into my classroom.