Digital Cameras reach young students

Earlier this summer, through a grant from the Francis R. Dewing Foundation, NorthWoods received funding for fifteen digital cameras and support to develop a new "Focus on Nature" educational curriculum. With the grant, 7.1 megapixel Canon PowerShot A550 cameras were purchased, along with several portable "All-in-One" photo printers. Wasting no time, Peacham and Orleans Elementary Schools signed up for the program- and what a hit it has been! Eighteen 3rd graders from Orleans are now on the second week of their training and are learning about the camera components and the basics of taking pictures. The six week course will teach students about proper exposure, composition, macro and zoom features, and action photography, and in the process will introduce them to a new way of looking at the natural world. One benefit of photography is that it helps one to notice new and interesting living things. A benefit of digital cameras is the power of instant editing.

Since Peacham Elementary School students are a little older (5th through 6th grades), they are using the camera to create an educational pamphlet of trees that grow in their town. The four week project will not only encourage students to learn about digital photography, but also about creative writing and the trees around them. Developing a sense of place one pixel at a time....